The NBA and Engineering: A New Age of Position-Less Athletes

With the NBA season about to start, the excitement and anticipation around the sport of basketball is reaching its peak. Parity and competition is at an all-time high as fans debate who will win between the Lakers, Clippers, 76ers, and several other teams. As I discussed this with my peers, I noticed that the improved quality of product by the NBA is due in large part to the increased skill level of the athletes.

Over the past decade, there has been a transition into what is known as “position-less basketball”. This style of play has greatly refined the aesthetics of the on-court product. In the past, players were taught that 7-foot centers should stay in the post and that point guards should just pass the ball to set up teammates. However, it is now an expectation that 7-foot centers have the ability to shoot from 3-point range and that point guards lead their team in scoring. On defense, opponents must match that versatility with the ability to switch between 3 to 5 different players rather than only guarding their position.

Kevin Durant, a 7-foot player with elite guard skills, described this transition best when discussing the dominance of the Golden State Warriors. “Our team now, the way we play, we’re forcing the league to get back to skilled players. Like forcing guys to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot. If you’re a one-dimensional player, you can’t play with us.”

In the same way basketball players had to adapt to the increased demand in skill level, engineers in the 4th Industrial Revolution must become versatile athletes as well. Prior industrial revolutions, epitomized by the advent of the steam engine and the use of electricity, necessitated specialization and the division of labor. An engineer could go to school, master one topic, and then enjoy a career working in one industry. However, the proliferation of technological advancements in this era require engineers to continuously improve their skill set across multiple engineering disciplines and industries to keep up with the disruption.

My mechanical engineering professor exemplified this point while teaching an Artificial Intelligence course. “You may be wondering why a mechanical engineer would have to learn AI. ‘Isn’t that for CS majors?’ Well 30 years ago, my students said the same thing about teaching mechanical engineers Microsoft Word and Excel. Trust me, you need to know this” he told the class. Additionally, in my own engineering career, I’ve noticed that I have had to solve interdisciplinary engineering problems in the fields of mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, nuclear engineering, civil engineering, and computer programming.

This interdisciplinary problem solving can only be accomplished through continuously learning and pushing the boundaries of your own capabilities. We are in an era marked by exponential changes in the way we live due to robotics, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things, and much more. Engineers who aren’t training to be better athletes will get left behind. Just like Kevin Durant said, “If you’re a one-dimensional player, you can’t play with us.”