The environment and its effects on skill development

Would Steph Curry still be Steph without the Warriors?

Originally published in Hard2Guard Player Development Newsletters, Volume 7.

Skill development discussions rarely consider the environment, instead centering around the individual or the task. As Stephen Curry ran roughshod through the NBA last year, I asked if Curry would be Curry in a different environment. What if Marc Jackson had been retained? What if Sacramento or Minnesota drafted Curry? What if Curry had been traded to Milwaukee instead of Monta Ellis? Would he be the same player with a different coach or in a different organization?

The easy answer is yes. Curry would be the same individual. He would possess the same shooting technique and dribbling acumen. However, would he play the same game in a different environment with different teammates? Would Jackson allow him to pull up from 35 feet? Would he affect the game in the same way if he played shooting guard next to Ricky Rubio? Would he have developed similarly playing for the various coaches hired and fired by the Kings during his career? He would be a great player, and maybe an All-Star, but would he have transformed and transfixed the NBA in a different environment?

Golden State with Steve Kerr was the perfect environment for Curry’s skill set and confidence. Kerr empowered Curry to maximize his skills and potential. A different coach or environment may have run the offense through Andrew Bogut or Andre Igoudala with Curry spotting up. Curry would have shot a ridiculous percentage on open catch-and-shoot corner three-pointers, but so has Kyle Korver, and Korver never captured the imagination or inspired a generation like Curry.

Coaching affects development. I watched as a high-school player who shot over 40% from the three-point line and had committed to an NCAA Division 1 program stopped shooting because his coach substituted when he missed. The coach negatively impacted performance and development when his behaviors stopped a player from using his best skill. The player’s skill did not change; he was the same shooter. The environment changed, and consequently the player changed his behaviors to match the environment. Would Curry be Curry if his coaches had substituted when he missed a three-pointer in high school, college, or the NBA?

I was a good point guard in pick-and-rolls, but my school coaches never incorporated on-ball screens; they were derided as an NBA offense. The environment never allowed me to use my best skills, and I lost playing time to players who fit more closely with the coach’s desired model. Did this affect my development? Of course. Would I have played better in a different system or with a different coach? Yes (the system worked for my teams, just not for my skill set — I certainly was not the player around whom to build a program).

I never maximized my potential because I did not work hard enough. Part of that was a lack of knowledge; I needed to lift weights and do plyometrics to get stronger and quicker, but weightlifting was not popular, and often discouraged, and plyometrics were considered dangerous. My lack of effort also could be attributed to the environment. I was told early and often that academics were my ticket to college, not sports. I developed in a system not designed for my skill set, and lesser skilled, but bigger, more athletic players received more playing time. In a different environment, one where I saw a path to more playing time and opportunities to use my skill set, I may have worked harder or pursued nonconventional (at the time) training. Instead, I relied on academics and let go of athletic aspirations.

Ultimately, that was my decision, but a different environment, a different coach, a different peer group, etc. may have changed my behaviors and decisions. My individual constraints affected my perceptions of the environment, and the environment affected my perceptions of myself, and ultimately my work ethic, dedication, grit, and other psychological factors.

The environment includes more than the team’s system and the coaching style. One’s teammates, peer group, coaches, team culture, playing time, and more affect development.

I spoke to an NBA coach about a player’s lack of development and playing time, and he felt the player was distracted by his business partners, old friends, and outside interests. Those closest to him enable the distractions rather than motivating him to improve and reach his potential. In one sense, the new riches at 19 years old were too much, and he lacked the support structure within his team or his personal life to keep him grounded and focused on his development.

The team was not wrong to pick him in the NBA lottery; he has the potential to be a difference maker, but the team has not created an environment for him to thrive and develop, and the player’s outside interests and friends have filled the void. Ultimately, the player must do the work and take responsibility for his own success, but the environment plays a role. There is a reason one never hears of these issues with the San Antonio Spurs; the environment they have created encourages and demands professionalism and improvement, and consequently players improve and develop.

Several college players from my neighborhood who were a few years older gave me advice and showed me things when I played pickup games at a nearby court. They assisted my learning and development. The upperclassmen did not help younger players at my high school. We were on our own to develop despite the school’s success and culture, and the older players teased and mocked younger players more than encouraging, assisting, or motivating. I may have learned more or had greater motivation had I spent more time with the players from my neighborhood, not the future college players at my high school. Watching and practicing with them during the off-seasons rather than my schoolmates would have changed the environment.

The environment affects development from youth basketball to the NBA. Curry is Curry because of his efforts to practice and improve, his family’s impact, and the instruction from coaches and trainers, but the Warriors’ environment allowed him to flourish in a way that would have differed with a different organization or coach. That is not meant to take away anything from Curry, but to remind coaches, parents, and players of the importance of the right environment to maximize skill and talent development.