Psychology behind ‘let-it-fly’ and why it works
Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer’s philosophy of letting his players shoot freely, especially from beyond the three-point line, has been fascinating to observe.
Since leading the Bucks to an NBAbest record and the Eastern Conference finals in his first season in Milwaukee, Budenholzer has stood by Eric Bledsoe after his shooting slump late in the playoffs and finally convinced Giannis Antetokounmpo he can and should take open three-pointers.
Entering Monday, the Bucks led the NBA with 119.7 points per game and a field-goal percentage of 48.3. They were fourth in the league with 481 threepointers made while shooting 36.2% from that range.
But behind the numbers, could the “let it fly” approach have a deeper, nuanced connection to the Bucks’ success?
Maybe it relieves some overthinking, doubt and hesitation for the players, knowing they have the green light on a good shot, especially from long range.
Maybe it boosts confidence – Budenholzer believes in the shooters – and thereby reduces internal pressure to perform. (There’s already plenty of external pressure.)
Maybe it helps balance the team, since everyone is expected, not just encouraged, to share in the offensive workload.
And maybe it helps the Bucks players deal with failure, as all athletes must. It’s a lot easier to forget about one missed shot if the player can just make another one 2 minutes later. And the Bucks can do that because the coach encourages it.
If you’re not a believer in sports psychology, this may change your mind. Three experts explain the overwhelming benefits of Budenholzer’s greenlight approach, which has helped lead
the Bucks to an NBA-best record of 29-5 entering Monday.
Gregory Chertok, a sports psychology consultant in New Jersey, said the philosophy is rewarding rather than punitive:
“Absolutely takes away some of the doubt. A player who knows he’ll be penalized – with diminished playing time, harangues from coach, embarrassment – for missing is motivated to avoid the penalty, rather than motivated to achieve success.
“It creates an aggressive team mentality and culture. It creates a ‘want to take it’ attitude. Players are more likely to want the action than to quickly pass it away, if there’s a clear message by the coaching staff to keeping the shots coming.
“It minimizes, even eliminates, favoritism. Everyone is encouraged to shoot, and so players (hopefully) aren’t feeling any twinges of jealousy or animosity toward teammates getting preferential treatment.
“I agree with you on the confidence issue, too. Players are more likely to play freely and not constricted when they have perceived support and belief from their coaching staff.
“Finally, a player who is benched isn’t necessarily learning how to ‘deal with failure.’ He’s learning the ramifications of failure: sitting down and ‘thinking about what he’s done,’ akin to a toddler sitting in timeout after throwing his sister’s toys.
“When we’re encouraged to keep shooting after missing, we are more likely to do just that: keep shooting. We have no choice but to make adjustments and keep our attention on the present shot (not dwelling or ruminating over the last one). Through the exposure to more shooting is how we develop the coping tools to overcome failure from the past.”
Himanshu Agrawal, M.D., a psychiatrist at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he is also an assistant professor of psychiatry:
“From what we know about human behavior and human nature, we go right back to the first model: childhood. What gives us confidence and self-esteem is what we call in psychology, ‘mirroring.’ Which says yes, I will be there for you no matter what. (And the first person that’s there for us is what we call ‘the good enough mother.’ You don’t have to be the perfect mother, you just have to be good enough, including saying, ‘Hey, I’m imperfect just like you.’)
“I think that’s what the coach is doing. He’s not being the perfect coach; he’s saying, ‘I’m not a perfectionist, I’m not expecting you to make 100% of the shots. As long as you can do a good enough try, you’re good enough, that’s OK.’
“And that can be tremendously empowering.
“Confidence is different than empowering. Those are two different terms. Athletes might be confident, but they’re also very vulnerable to confidence going away.
“These are world-class athletes. But their form is very, very vulnerable. So, something like Budenholzer’s philosophy can be very empowering, and it doesn’t necessarily make them less vulnerable to loss of form. But it can certainly help them ricochet back quicker.
“If you see that look of disapproval in your coach’s eye (or a child sees in in a mother’s eye), that can really be a hindrance in getting your confidence back. It really helps the resilience.
“As for the pressure, and the external criticism, you have to remember these are young kids. They don’t necessarily have the wisdom; that’s where the coach comes in, because they have more wisdom. The coach says, ‘I can see things that you can’t because I’m around the bend already.’
“That can be tremendously empowering. If a top-class athlete looks at a coach that he trusts – ‘If you’re saying it’s OK to miss shots? OK. I will go for it then.’ “
Arnold LeUnes, a sports psychology professor at Texas A&M:
“When I think of failure, and success, in sports, I think of that old quote from Michael Jordan. He said, ‘I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, lost almost 300 games, 26 games I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot. I failed over and over and over again in my career.
“‘And that’s why I succeed.’
“I really believe that.
“In baseball you get to sit and ruminate for 30, 40 minutes before you get to correct your last mistake, sometimes. And that’s got to grind on you. That’s the beauty of basketball – you just don’t have time to dwell on those things.”
Horst a believer
In the spring when the Bucks were in the playoffs, general manager Jon Horst saw the benefits of the style of play that continues even now as the calendar year changes to 2020.
“Offensively we have a system. We have a style of play. Bud wants them to play freely. Let it fly,” Horst said then.
“That’s Bud’s philosophy. Giving our guys confidence and believing in themselves, whether they missed the last five or they made the last four, he wants them to continue to shoot.”
While the Bucks now work on growing their offensive diversity by getting more people the ball in key spots on the floor, the green light philosophy that was established last season is well in place in Budenholzer’s second season.
“I’m going to keep shooting. It doesn’t matter for me if I made one, two or five, I just want to be better,” Antetokounmpo said after a recent game. “And I want to keep getting better and keep working on my game, and it’s going to be some nights that I’m going to make zero and it’ll be nights I’ll make five, but I’ve got to keep shooting because that’s what my team wants me to do.”