Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Games: A Player Who Makes His Teammates Better

Quick... name the most important and valuable player on your local sports team. Now... tell me why he's valuable.

Scores the most points/goals/baskets/touchdowns? Intimidating and a presence on the field/diamond/court/ice?

What if the most valuable player on a team didn't score often and was one of the smallest people in the league? You would't believe it would you?

Believe it. In the NBA Shane Battier is one of the most valuable players on the court. Dollar for dollar he does more for his team than anyone else. Not because he scores or gets great stats. It's because when he's on the court all his teammates perform better. Let me introduce the The No-Stats All-Star.

Shane Battier is an example of what happens when stats and numbers are looked at carefully. Conventional wisdom can be proven wrong. The results may change how the NBA owners, and then owners and managers in other leagues, look at choosing players.

Players like Shane may help win games and championships but they make water cooler conversation much more challenging. Intangibles are harder to discuss.

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