5 Skills That Define a Great Basketball Coach

Gregg Popovich. Erik Spoelstra. Phil Jackson. Longtime basketball fans will likely have heard of these names at some point. These guys represent only a subset of some of the most celebrated basketball coaches in the history of the NBA, and the sport itself. In building my game BasketballCoach, my aim has been transferring as much of the real-world impact of coaches into the basketball coaching simulation engine. Of course, this is an imperfect science. It’s impossible to translate every coaching dynamic into a simulation setting. However, one approach I’ve utilizing is defining the exact skills that constitute a great basketball coach. Constructing a solidified definition helps guide a proper implementation. The following skills are what I’ve found to be five of the most important traits for successful coaches to have:

Knowledge of basketball rules

The basics are a must. Understanding the foundational rules like fouls, violations, and timeouts is without question. The more subtle elements include details like pick-and-roll coverage (when players should go under/go over/switch screens), and basketball positions like guards/wings/bigs. Again, this is foundational stuff, and should be the bare minimum for any aspiring basketball coach.

Ability to develop winning strategies

Here is where the individuality of a coach begins, in my opinion. A good basketball coach should have a core basketball philosophy, and a great coach should be able to implement their philosophy into sustained success on the court. A basketball philosophy includes what you want your players to focus on and prioritize. On offense: this could mean crashing the offensive glass to create extra opportunities to score or putting an emphasis on sharing the basketball and making extra passes. On defense: other basketball coaches focus on areas like limiting three-point shots, or instead choosing to prioritize protecting the paint. These strategies on both sides of the ball should also include offensive plays and defensive formation schemes like man-to-man or zone coverages.

Expertise in establishing roles on the team

With offensive and defensive philosophies in place, the next step for a skilled basketball coach is identifying the best roles of each player to occupy on the team. If a coach wants to prioritize offensive rebounding, they will have multiple plus rebounders on the court at all times. If a coach wants to play a pick-and-roll heavy offense, that likely involves several key roles: A great ball handler, solid basketball screeners, and effective off-ball cutters or spot-up shooters to take advantage of a rotating defense. Defense follows a similar pattern. The desire to protect the paint requires a sturdy rim protector as a big. What’s also important here is that the coach understands the capabilities of their roster. Some philosophies just aren’t well-suited for every team. A team full of poor shooters should not be jacking up threes on every possession. At least, you would hope not.

Analytical prowess

Nowadays, basketball coaches in the modern era have additional responsibilities to understand the analytical part of basketball more. This includes offensive and defensive rating, stats that measure the scoring/defense efficiency of a team in a standardized number. A team that has great shooters could have an above average offensive rating, but so can a subpar shooting team that has elite offensive rebounders (like my New York Knicks). Another important advanced stat is true shooting percentage – a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws. A player could look like they struggling to score based on their FG%, but TS% can tell a different story. For the following players, you might be surprised as to who has the higher TS%:

Player A:

• Points Scored: 28
• Field Goal Attempts (FGA): 20
• Field Goals Made (FGM): 8 (including 4 three-pointers)
• Free Throw Attempts (FTA): 8
• Free Throws Made (FTM): 8

Player B:

• Points Scored: 28
• Field Goal Attempts (FGA): 20
• Field Goals Made (FGM): 12 (all two-pointers)
• Free Throw Attempts (FTA): 4
• Free Throws Made (FTM): 4

If you guessed Player A, you’d be right. A good basketball coach should identify this player as well.

Intuition to make decisions under pressure

This skill is arguably one of the most important skills for any basketball coach to have. I say this because it may involve subverting all of the prior skills mentioned so far, depending on the flow of the game. Well, maybe not the knowledge of basketball rules, so I’ll say most of them. A winning strategy may not be the same against every team, in every game. A player’s role may need to change depending on team matchups, or injuries to players in other key roles. Analytics are a powerful tool, but sometimes need to be ignored in favor of instinct and experience. Especially when the game is coming down to the wire, each possession becomes incredibly crucial to deciding who wins. A great coach needs to be able to adapt their strategy to fit a variety of in-game situations.

Conclusion

In summary, this post is meant to serve as a template for successful basketball coaches. Both in the real world and in BasketballCoach. At least, that is what I intend to continue working towards, since some of the more subtle details can be a pain to get completely right. It’s a joy to craft a coaching simulation based on a sport I enjoy watching, and I hope to continue building on this definition as the game evolves.