Lens 36: Where Hoopers, Culture, and Mastery Meet

One of the best intros in the podcast world comes from Dr Michael Gervais, of Finding Mastery. We’re going to borrow it today.

Welcome back! Or Welcome TO The Lens Newsletter. I am Sean O’Connor, and I lead our customer and partner teams at SportsVisio and I’ve been obsessed about basketball every since Keith Smart hit that jumper for the Hoosiers.

SportsVisio is growing and we’ve added a huge number of new leagues, teams, and players join us over the past couple of months who are enjoying our AI driven stats, highlights and insights. If you are new here, welcome to our community!

The Lens is our every-other-week newsletter that highlights our top player performances, brings the basketball culture to the surface, and keeps you up to date on everything new at SportsVisio. This small newsletter started with a few hundred of our early adopters in 2024, and is now being delivered to you and over 23k others who love the game.

Thanks for joining us on this journey.

Sean

Speaking of Podcasts

It’s hard to not admire the work that Steve Kerr has done with the Warriors. He’s been at the helm at Golden State since 2014 and has won four Championships. That’s on top of the five that he won as a player with the Bulls and Spurs. Last summer, he added a gold medal to his trophy case. Throughout it all, he’s redefined leadership with a focus on JOY.

Now, coming back to Michael Gervais. This Finding Mastery pod with Steve Kerr is a few years old, but it’s a classic and it’s aging very well. Take a listen:

Player Spotlights

Don’t forget to fill out this short form and we’ll spotlight your favorite (or you): Player Spotlight Nominations.

This week, huge shout out to Ava Learn of the Trinity Meteors and David Vasquez of the Purple Patio Pounders in the Suburban Dads League. No shortage of long range game between these two!

App Tip of the Week - Follow Your League

We’ve shared the importance of claiming your player profile. It’s the number one thing that you can do in our app to ensure that you get the best experience. The second most important thing you can do to get the most of our app is to “Follow” the league that you play in.

Following your league puts access to leaderboards and scoreboards within easy reach from your home screen. It also ensures that you are up to speed on the scores and results across the league - you’ll get app alerts when all of the games are ready for review.

A Deeper Look at What your Shoes Say About You

We dove deep on sneakers a few weeks back, and many of you asked for more. Packed courts, weekend leagues, post-work runs: you know a lot about a player before they call for the ball. The crossover, the jumper, the way someone fills a lane… all sure signs. But if you know, you know, the sneakers say it first.

Every game has that moment. Someone walks in, and all eyes drop to the floor. Not because of hype, but because hoopers read shoes like a scouting report. You see the guard laced in something built for quick stops and think:

“He’s going to live in the mid-range.”

There’s a pair with extra cushion, and you know someone’s ready to bang inside and crash the glass. A bold colorway? You're dealing with a confident (or maybe over-confident!) player.

Sneakers are identity, signal, and vibe. They also bring us JOY.

So, Which Sneaker Fits Your Game?

What shoe you’re sporting is basically an introduction. Here’s our sure-fire guide to showing up right.

Quick guards: Sabrina’s can do it all these days—great for low-to-the-ground guards. And they look extra nice in a SportsVisio colorway.

Slashers and wings: Way of Wade 12 are known for balanced cushion and easy transitions between defending and running the show.

Bigs and power players: Lebron’s are synonymous with power, and stability for landing, rebounding, finishing. The 20 Pink Diamond’s are pure class.

Players who do a bit of everything: Nike KD18 gives you versatility with support. We love this clean all white version.

For players who know the Science and Probably Shoot over 50%: Andiem Pivot 1.0 offers the most advanced ankle support

Keep hooping, keep sharing. We’re watching.