The Golden State Warriors have been perennial title contenders in the NBA over the last decade, feeding off their core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and formerly Klay Thompson. None of those players are particularly gifted when it comes to “length and athleticism.”

And yet, the Warriors have established a dynasty that has resulted in four NBA championships since 2015, something Pat Spencer believes is a result of choosing IQ over everything else.

“If you’re a guy who can connect the dots, but also do some other things, knock the 3-ball down, there’s always going to be a place for you in the league. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of organizations that are stuck in the bottom that continue to value length & athleticism over IQ. And they tend to stay in the lottery every year,” Spencer said, per The San Francisco Standard’s Danny Emerman.

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The 29-year-old believes that some teams in the NBA, who find themselves consistently in the lottery region, habitually choose size and athleticism over basketball IQ. While it is unclear which teams he may be referring to, franchises such as the Detroit Pistons or the Orlando Magic do come to mind.

On the other hand, Steve Kerr has found consistent success with what can be described as a “small-ball lineup” that relies on basketball IQ. The likes of Green, Thompson and Curry are versatile players who can pass, shoot and read plays better than most, which undoubtedly played a major role in their title runs.

For the Pistons in particular, players such as Killian Hayes, Stanley Johnson, and Luke Kennard come to mind, with the latter even picked over Donovan Mitchell in 2017, another player who may lack size but more than makes up for it in other areas. Similar examples can be given for teams such as the Portland Trail Blazers and the Magic, who may as well have been in Spencer’s firing line.