Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

138 | Daryl Morey on Analytics, Psychology, and Basketball

Mar 15, 2021

Daryl Morey, President of Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, shares his insights on the intersection of analytics and human psychology in sports. He discusses the evolution of the three-point shot and how data analytics transformed game strategies. Morey also explores player evaluation, team dynamics, and the complexity of decision-making in basketball management. The conversation delves into the unique impact of star players and the emotional connection fans have with sports, highlighting its role in community and happiness.

01:16:43

Episode guests

Daryl Morey

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

The Art of Basketball Management: Balancing Analytics and Insight

17min

The Art and Science of Basketball Analytics

5min

The Rise of the Three-Point Shot and Analytics in Basketball

15min

The Unique Advantage of Star Players in Basketball

3min

Strategic Insights in Basketball Decision-Making

14min

Team Dynamics and the Power of Comfort

3min

Team Dynamics and Draft Strategy

7min

The Duality of Sports and Cosmic Mysteries

12min

You might think that human beings, exhausted by competing for resources and rewards in the real world, would take it easy and stick to cooperation in their spare time. But no; we are fascinated by competition, and invent games and sports to create artificial competition just for fun. These competitions turn out to be wonderful laboratories for exploring concepts like optimization, resource allocation, strategy, and human psychology. Today’s guest, Daryl Morey, is a world leader in thinking analytically about sports, as well as the relationship between impersonal data and the vagaries of human behavior. He’s currently an executive in charge of the Philadelphia 76ers, but I promise you don’t need to be a fan of the Sixers or of basketball or of sports in general to enjoy this wide-ranging conversation.

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Daryl Morey received a bachelor’s in computer science from Northwestern University, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He served as general manager for the Houston Rockets from 2007 to 2020, and since November 2020 has been the President for Basketball Operations for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is founder and co-chair of the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. He was voted NBA Executive of the Year in 2018.

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