Events

When Chris Paul signed with the Phoenix Suns ahead of the 2020-21 season, he had never played with their three most frequent shooters (Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges). He didn't know how they moved on the court, or where they wanted to receive a pass to most complement their shooting motion. The lack of familiarity with his teammates showed, as during the first two months of the season, the trio had an eFG% of 46.6% on the 74 shots off of Paul passes. Throughout the season, the familiarity between teammates grew with reps both in games and in practice. Paul learned how to setup his teammates to maximize their production. The increased familiarity between the teammates showed as the trio had an eFG% 72.3% on shots off of Paul passes over the last 20 games. The Suns were a specific example of what we see in general: as players play together, they learn how to play together better. Teammate familiarity leads to better shooting, particularly on catch-and-shoot jumpers. Measuring the average and player specific magnitude of the impact of familiarity has implications for team building and player development. The talk will present a framework for measuring this effect on shooting and present results from the 2019-2024 seasons.