As I’ve been learning more about basketball, I’ve been struck by the fact that the rules change over time. Basketball was invented in 1891, but the rules have evolved, and continue to evolve. For example, now that I’m paying attention to the Knicks, I’m interested in the ongoing debate about whether the scoring of the three-point field goal should change, as a way to make the game more exciting.

One decades-old rule-change was particularly interesting to me, because it reflects a deep insight into human nature. That truth is: We manage what we monitor. So if something matters to us, we should find a way to monitor it, or else it may get ignored or discounted.

In the early 1940s, decades after basketball was invented, its rules were changed to recognize the “assist.” Now an “assist” is awarded when a player makes a pass that directly leads to a basket made by a teammate.

This statistic is reported for every player. Just as each player gets a number reporting how many field goals (or baskets) they’ve scored, they also get a number reporting how many assists they’ve made. 

After all, the goal in basketball is for players to score points. This change in rules gave credit to the player who made it possible for a teammate to score points. By recognizing that contribution, the rules encouraged teamwork and collaborative behavior. The player who saw scoring opportunities for others and passed the ball got credit for it. 

If, by contrast, the rules didn’t give credit to players for making an assist, it seems highly likely that players would be more inclined to take a shot themselves, even if they weren’t the player best positioned to succeed.

This change made the game more dynamic and showed the value of players who could both score and assist. 

We manage what we monitor, and we encourage what we reward. So we should be sure to note and encourage the behavior we wish to foster.