Great Teams Don’t Think, They Automate

Hey Coach,

Two years ago I got to spend 2 weeks in the Philippines. I spent most of that time in Manila running camps, coaching clinics, and working with local youth teams.

During that time I had the singularly panic-inducing experience of driving through metro Manila.

If you're not familiar with Manila, it's a metro of 13.5 million people that's slowly sinking into the ocean. 🙃

And every one of the cars, bikes, scooters, jeepneys (yes this is a thing) and pedicabs are all navigating like they are escaping certain death.

To make traveling on these roads even more perilous, there are no traffic laws I could understand or that were enforced. There was no merging, stop signs or agreed upon ethics of travel.

There were random roadblocks, wild dogs, suicidal pedestrians and the occasional flash flood.

So when my friend Austin tossed me the keys to the land rover and said just follow me, I knew we may very well die.

I got behind the wheel and as I pulled out into this chaos of wheels, horns and humanity…. I froze.

I couldn't turn, merge or change lanes.

I was stuck.

There was information overload, too many changing factors, I didn't recognize the patterns of traffic flow.

Until I remembered one thing I taught players who had trouble trusting themselves on court.

If you see it, it's there. If you think about it, it's gone.

So I took my own advice and eliminated second guessing, any distractions and just decided to aggressively attack space.

And I started to move.

Slowly at first but gaps opened as I seized them. I had no time to evaluate the situation, plan a grand strategy or do any fancy driving. I just automated one decision:

If I saw a gap, I took it. No doubts, no decisions, just action. And by the grace of God, 4 hours later we arrived without any fender benders. I was shocked.

If you haven't already made the connection, let me spell it out.

This is how championship players operate.

Klay Thompson was once asked what he sees or thinks about when defenders are guarding him. His answer?

"I don't think. If I can catch the ball and shoot it, I shoot it."

No thought. No awareness of defender distance. No mental checklist. If he can shoot it, he shoots it.

That's not arrogance. That's automation.

Klay has taken so many reps in game-like conditions that the decision isn't a decision anymore. It's instinct. He doesn't evaluate the closeout, calculate the contest percentage, or consider his other options. He just shoots.

And that's the difference between good players and great ones.

Automate as many decisions as possible so you can play with aggressive confidence. Too many decisions will leave you where I was at the beginning of my Manila journey.

Frustrated and stuck.

If you see it, it's there. If you think about it, it's gone.

This is why great teams develop systems and core principles. When you automate the foundational decisions—your offensive space, defensive rotations, transition rules—you free your players to read the game, exploit advantages, and play with confidence.

It's like driving in Manila.

When you automate your responses, you can see the patterns.

The patterns show you the advantage, and the advantage allows you to play confident and aggressive.

As a coach, your job isn't to control every decision your players make.

It's to build the system that automates the routine so they can dominate the critical moments.

That's when basketball becomes beautiful—when your players stop thinking and start playing.

So how do you train automated decisions in your players?

Here's where most practices miss the mark.

Players are trained to follow patterns, cues, and pre-planned movements. They're told what to do instead of being placed in environments that allow the decision to emerge.

Basketball isn't predictable. So practice shouldn't be either.

Small-sided games with constraints on time, space, and dribbles create the conditions for players to adapt, self-organize, and act without hesitation. Not by thinking more, but by learning in situations that demand real solutions.

Just like me in Manila traffic—I didn't need a driving manual. I needed reps in chaos until "see a gap, take it" became instinct.

Your players don't need more plays. They need more reps in environments where the right decision becomes the obvious one.

If you want a whole library of SSGs and constraint-led training, check out our Drill Library in SAVI Basketball.

You can take it all in FOR FREE in our 7-day free trial.

Cheers, 

-Tyler

Each week, either I, Mark, or Clare will share another edition of STUFF Good Coaches Should Know.

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