Team Building with Generalists
Note: Much of this appeared in September, but I reference the idea constantly and wanted a separate link with some edits/additions.
A Twitter account (@nonewthing) described generalist versus specialist player profiles in soccer over the last month. Generalists and specialists received some notoriety after David Epstein wrote Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World in 2019.
I learned the specialist/generalist concept from Vern Gambetta who once wrote about dinosaurs being extinct because they were specialized or adapted, whereas cockroaches survive because they are adaptable. Specialists thrive in one environment or role, but struggle in another. Generalists are adaptable to different roles and environments.
“The more talent a player possesses, the more his profile expands on the specialist-generalist spectrum: Positional versatility; different roles/playing contexts in the same position; ability to roam and look natural across the pitch: This defines a generalist,” explained @nonewthing.
Years ago, in an article titled The Myth of a Talented Player, I questioned another article and posts on old rivals.com and scout.com message forums that suggested coaches of the über-talented must “let them play” because the über-talented cannot fit into a style other than a stereotypical AAU game. Is a player talented when he excels only in three-vs-two fast-breaks, isolations, or catch and dunk lobs? The player may or may not be good, but he is specialized: He lacks versatility for different positions, roles, and contexts.
Nikola Jokic is a generalist. Most post players, even great post players, are specialists because they play only one position and can be contained with double teams or exploited through mismatches. Teams struggle to play two centers at the same time, at least since the Tim Duncan played as the power forward next to David Robinson. In that sense, posts are specialized, whether due to size, mobility, or skill.
Jokic is atypical. He can function in different positions, as he is equally-adept as a center or a point guard. He uses his size, hands and intelligence to defend capably enough, and offensively, there is no answer: He has footwork and great touch at the basket, shoots well from the three-point line, and is most dangerous as a passer. He plays at the top of the key and handles in transition, but also can post on the block. He could operate out of the corners as a stationary shooter and occasional cutter as well, but it would limit his influence. He can win games as a passer and a scorer. Teams cannot double him because he punishes them with the pass, but virtually nobody can defend him one-vs-one, whether he is close to the basket or at the three-point line. He is the ultimate generalist.
“Generalists are the possible best and higher ranking talents than specialists in most cases,” (@nonewthing). Jokic is better than Joel Embiid because he is a greater generalist. Teams can game-plan to take away Embiid, especially during the postseason with the greater intensity and more detailed scouting. He can be played off the court and made less effective through mismatches, forcing him away from his spot, and/or double-teaming. Teams are unable to take away or limit Jokic. Jokic is ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo because teams can game-plan to limit Giannis’ drives and force him into jump shots. It is not easy, but it is possible. Teams cannot back off Jokic because of his shooting, and they cannot double because of his passing.
Teams built around great specialists often keep pace during the regular season, but teams led by generalists are more difficult to defeat in the playoffs. In the last dozen years, the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis are the closest to being specialist-led. Jokic, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Kawhi Leonard, the epitome of generalists, led the other champions. Giannis, to me, is close to a specialist because of his lack of shooting, but he offers huge versatility defensively and plays different positions.
Generalists make team-building easier: Jokic and Curry can excel with almost anyone as a teammate. The Warriors can acquire Chris Paul because Curry can function on the ball as well as off the ball, whereas Kyrie Irving and James Harden did not enhance each other’s skills because neither plays as well off the ball as on the ball. Curry enhanced Durant’s skills with his off-ball play, while Durant is also a devastating shooter when Curry is on the ball.
Curry can score off the dribble, off the catch, at the rim, and far beyond the three-point line; he can handle the ball to defeat pressure and make the pass to defeat a double team. He is an amazing finisher around the basket and a tireless cutter off the ball. He excels in any position or any role. His gravity alone makes his teammates better.
Team-building is more than selecting an all-star team or the über-talented who are actually overflowing in athleticism, but limited in skill. Minnesota Timberwolves currently are ascending as Anthony Edwards morphs from a specialist scorer to an elite generalist, demonstrating greater playmaking and defensive versatility. A team comprised of elite specialists last year (Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels defensively, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards offensively) now is building its game model around an elite generalist.
On the other hand, every time Golden State struggles, fans complain about the number of specialists surrounding Steph and the game model with some arguing for almost exclusively Curry pick-and-rolls because nobody else can create his ow shot and others arguing for more motion offense as in their peak years because their other shooters have been unreliable this season. The game model with the movement, off-ball screens, and spacing hid the lack of shooting outside Steph and Klay Thompson and the lack of playmaking outside Steph and Draymond Green (and Andrew Bogut, Andre Igoudala, and Shaun Livingston during the early, peak seasons).
Team-building and the game model should work together. High-school teams generally do not have sufficient numbers or talent to be concerned with player profiles when selecting teams. A high-school team lucky enough to have one great generalist likely is ahead of most. When several good specialists surround the generalist, and the coach employs a game model to maximize these skills, he team has a very good chance of success.
I remember the first high-school team I watched in middle school. The team was built around a tall, do-everything guard. The secondary scorer was a 6’3 shooter. The center was an offensive lineman. The point guard was tough and quick and did not turn over the ball and mostly there for defense. The fifth starter alternated between two wide receivers who were athletic and bouncy and added some unpredictability with drives, offensive rebounds, transition, etc. due to their athleticism. The team-building for a high school was not unlike a Cory Joseph-Steph-Klay-GPII-Looney lineup. The offense focused on screens for the guard and the shooter; the shooter almost always shot catch-and-shoot jump shots and the guard often used the screens to catch and penetrate for pull-ups or to create shots for others. The team used two basketball players (future Division 1 players) and three multi-sport athletes in specialist roles to maximize their size, athleticism, or toughness to excel.
AAU (and college) teams often control their team-building. At this developmental level, coaches should emphasize generalist skills. Rather than play the best player on the ball every possession of every game, play him or her off the ball and emphasize cutting. Use the best shooters as movement shooters coming off screens, not just standing in the corner shooting spot-up three-pointers. Use post players as playmakers in the low and high post, not just as shot blockers and rim runners. The more players adopt the generalist profile, the harder they will be to stop, and the easier it will be for them to fit into different systems, teams, and styles of play. The über-talented who only fit in transition and isolation situations are specialists, and most face a rapidly-approaching ceiling on their games.