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Players such as Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz have been accused of suffering from the yips. But every player has to confront fear at some pointPhiladelphia 76ers basketball fans know one sentence above all else: Trust the process. It was used often when the team was struggling in the 2010s as the team appeared to tank for the sake of high draft picks and long-term team building. But two of the franchise’s ensuing No 1 selections – Ben Simmons and Markel Fultz, both of whom are no longer on the team, despite being dubbed saviors – seemed to lose sight of the maxim when it came to their own on-court games. Both players came into the NBA with sky-high potential. But they both came under unwelcome scrutiny: <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/3/19/24105239/markelle-fultz-orlando-magic-comeback-sixers">Fultz for a hitch in his shooting technique</a>, and Simmons for a reluctance to shoot at all. The pair were <a href="https://sportstalk790.iheart.com/featured/houston-sports-news/content/2023-02-07-does-ben-simmons-have-the-worst-case-of-the-yips-in-sports-history/">inevitably accused</a> of succumbing to the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2012/sep/26/yips-strange-affliction-affecting-sportsmen">the dreaded yips</a>.”Throughout the history of pro sports, there have been many high profile cases of players losing the ability to conduct the most basic of on-field tasks. In baseball, New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch somehow could not <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnJFklbt0es">throw to first base</a>. Similarly, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DwjR5CNkr8">catcher Mackey Sasser</a> found himself unable to send the ball from home plate to the pitcher, double clutching his throws, as if he was thinking too much about the task. Pitcher Rick Ankiel, who lost his ability to pitch and later became an outfielder, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2018/09/07/markelle-fultz-yips-jump-shot-fix-explaining-past-cases-1055214.html">said of his issues</a>, “Throwing the baseball, it felt like my wrist wouldn’t work. I couldn’t feel the ball.” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/02/fear-is-the-basis-of-human-psychology-how-self-doubt-haunts-the-nba">Continue reading...</a>

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--- !ruby/object:Feedjira::Parser::RSSEntry
published: 2024-04-02 09:00:32.000000000 Z
carlessian_info:
 news_filer_version: 2
 newspaper: US general21
 macro_region: USA
image: https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/ad52625c2c364f51523dd01446c2fbfb943e5d9a/0_79_2406_1443/master/2406.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d00181b617aee27da089fe8a1f685388
entry_id: !ruby/object:Feedjira::Parser::GloballyUniqueIdentifier
 guid: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/02/fear-is-the-basis-of-human-psychology-how-self-doubt-haunts-the-nba
title: "‘Fear is the basis of human psychology’: how self-doubt haunts the NBA"
categories:
- NBA
- Basketball
- US sports
- Sport
summary: 'Players such as Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz have been accused of suffering
 from the yips. But every player has to confront fear at some pointPhiladelphia
 76ers basketball fans know one sentence above all else: Trust the process.
 It was used often when the team was struggling in the 2010s as the team appeared
 to tank for the sake of high draft picks and long-term team building. But two of
 the franchise’s ensuing No 1 selections – Ben Simmons and Markel Fultz, both of
 whom are no longer on the team, despite being dubbed saviors – seemed to lose sight
 of the maxim when it came to their own on-court games. Both players came into the
 NBA with sky-high potential. But they both came under unwelcome scrutiny: <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/3/19/24105239/markelle-fultz-orlando-magic-comeback-sixers">Fultz
 for a hitch in his shooting technique</a>, and Simmons for a reluctance to shoot
 at all. The pair were <a href="https://sportstalk790.iheart.com/featured/houston-sports-news/content/2023-02-07-does-ben-simmons-have-the-worst-case-of-the-yips-in-sports-history/">inevitably
 accused</a> of succumbing to the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/shortcuts/2012/sep/26/yips-strange-affliction-affecting-sportsmen">the
 dreaded yips</a>.”Throughout the history of pro sports, there have been many
 high profile cases of players losing the ability to conduct the most basic of on-field
 tasks. In baseball, New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch somehow could
 not <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnJFklbt0es">throw to first base</a>.
 Similarly, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DwjR5CNkr8">catcher Mackey
 Sasser</a> found himself unable to send the ball from home plate to the pitcher,
 double clutching his throws, as if he was thinking too much about the task. Pitcher
 Rick Ankiel, who lost his ability to pitch and later became an outfielder, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2018/09/07/markelle-fultz-yips-jump-shot-fix-explaining-past-cases-1055214.html">said
 of his issues</a>, “Throwing the baseball, it felt like my wrist wouldn’t work.
 I couldn’t feel the ball.” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/02/fear-is-the-basis-of-human-psychology-how-self-doubt-haunts-the-nba">Continue
 reading...</a>'
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url: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/apr/02/fear-is-the-basis-of-human-psychology-how-self-doubt-haunts-the-nba
author: Jacob Uitti

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