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Saturday, November 8, 2025

Basketball - Why We Choose Our Opinion Instead of Facts


Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player ever. If alive today, Teddy Roosevelt might say, "Comparison is the thief of joy." 

Life constantly challenges us to improve. We could think better. Of course, most of us will not. Why not?

James Clear shares answers in "Why Facts Don't Change Our Minds."

Three excerpts:

1) Economist J.K. Galbraith once wrote, “Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.” People prefer their beliefs over truth. The bandwagon effect is real. 

2) "In Atomic Habits, I wrote, “Humans are herd animals. We want to fit in, to bond with others, and to earn the respect and approval of our peers. Such inclinations are essential to our survival. For most of our evolutionary history, our ancestors lived in tribes. Becoming separated from the tribe—or worse, being cast out—was a death sentence.” We put the tribe first. 

3) "We don’t always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about." 

Nobody wants to be told how or what to think. That's fine until it's not. In the dreaded Mann Gulch forest fire, leader Wagner Dodge dropped his tools and lit an "escape fire" at his feet to consume the surrounding area. His men carried their tools up the slope, most to their demise. How do we know when to drop our tools or our beliefs? 

For example:

  • Who's right about zone defense in youth basketball? 
  • Sports gambling, how much damage?
  • Coach Pitino says that the players don't care about the money?
  • Shot clock for all states? 
  • Youth sports costs...sustainable? 

Every other ad on sports seems like it's about sports betting. There were two gambling ads on while I wrote this article. 

There's obligatory caution about the hazards of gambling and fine print about where to get help. Sports wagering data suggest the print is smaller than fine. 

Lagniappe: Everyone has their opinion about the most clutch player ever. Via Reddit:

It's pretty well known that Bill Russell was 21-0 in winner-take-all games, but that's incorrect. 

It's been commonly stated over the years that Russell was 21-0 in winner-take-all games (example). If Russell's team played even with an opponent throughout a series or they both got to the same place in a tournament, Russell's team was ALWAYS going to pull it out in the end

But where does that 21-0 mark come from?

  • At USF, his '55 team was 5-0 in the tourney on the way to the title.

  • At USF, his '56 team was 4-0 in the tourney on the way to the title.

  • In the '56 Olympics, the US squad was 2-0 when it came to the winner-take-all final 4 for gold after the group stage.

  • In the NBA, the Celtics were famously 10-0 in Games 7's throughout his career.

That adds up to 21-0, but it's incomplete.

  • In the '66 playoffs, the Celtics won Game 5 in the best-of-5 series with Cincinnati (link), so Russell was actually 22-0 in winner-take-all-games.


Lagniappe 2. Excuses or discipline? 
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