2016-17 Phoenix Suns plan to high five more this season

The Phoenix Suns intend to high five more throughout the upcoming NBA season because … winning.

The psychology behind team chemistry is a beautiful thing. It inspires better performances, which boosts the team’s overall morale. Those positive vibes can translate to more wins.

At least that’s what the Phoenix Suns are buying into.

To weigh the effect of handing out high fives, the Suns enlisted in a UC-Berkeley professor, who specializes in psychology. That man, Decher Keltner, explained that increased physical contact among a team results in better outcomes.

(via NBA.com)

"“Controlling for how much money they’re making, the expectations that they would do well during that season, how well they we’re doing in that game. Not only did they win more games but there’s really nice basketball statistics of how selfless the play is.”"

This season, the Phoenix Suns and new head coach Earl Watson intend to keep count of how many high fives are given out per game. The reason? They want to win … or at least believe in the coincidence. Greeting a teammate with a high five is a symbol of solid team chemistry. Once that’s established, production and efficiency are the two key benefactors.

In a 2010 study done by the journal Emotion, the “touchiest” teams in the NBA were the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. That year, Kevin Garnett dished out the most high fives as the Celtics concluded their season as first place finishers in the Atlantic Division. However, they lost to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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The Lakers shared a similar fate. They finished first in the Pacific Division, but lost in the semifinals to the Mavericks.

As for this year’s Phoenix Suns, they hope the enthusiasm brought onto the court by Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley will have a good impact in the wins category.