If that’s you, you probably haven’t kept up with an underdiscussed trend in the NBA over the last 10 years… positionless players.
But maybe you should, because the exact same thing is now happening in the startup world.
Let me explain…
Positionless Basketball
What are you even talking about…?
I know, I know.
For most of you reading this newsletter, spending time paying attention to basketball doesn’t seem particularly interesting compared to building your business.
But stay with me on this.
A little over 10 years ago in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors debuted a lineup where all 5 of their players on the court were small, could pass well, and could shoot.
This proved dominant and was dubbed their “Death Lineup” since other teams were not well equipped to defend against it. Always, the other team would have some big-but-slow guy guarding a small-but-fast guy, which allowed the GSW to move around and get someone open for a good shot.
The Warriors’ players were effectively positionless since they were all relatively comparable in size and agility, unlike traditional teams that had a point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center with defined roles.
Can we get to how this relates to startups…?
The “Death Lineup” (and the 10+ years of basketball strategy it has spawned) has been on my mind lately because it reminds me a lot of what’s going on with AI.
In basketball, it was GSW’s former power forward Draymond Green flexing his ability to also play against the opposing team’s center or small forward.
Right now we’re seeing a very similar dissolution of boundaries of traditional roles.
Founders have always worn many hats, but that should increasingly extend to your team members as well… regardless of stage.
But why make this analogy at all?
Be honest.
In 2026, would you rather have a “designer” or a “positionless designer” aka someone who can spec a product, prototype it, write copy, design landing pages, analyze data… you get the idea.
You should be optimizing for hiring high agency generalists first, while most candidates are still thinking of themselves like “I’m a backend engineer” or “I’m a designer.”
Specialists can be useful if they bring truly deep experience, unique POVs, and know how to ask the right questions but while most zig to pigeon-hole and “differentiate” themselves by niching down, you should zag and find the action-oriented, capable, and versatile unicorns who don’t care about their title.
Taken to its extreme, you could bring the specialists in as 1099 contractors / consultants / advisors / mentors, and keep your core team as AI-superpowered generalists.
They’re not scared of the Block layoffs nor are they looking to optimize their job security or their “role” but rather how much they can move the needle themselves in order for the company to be a success.
Those are the people who will turn your company into an AI-native, high-margin, forward-thinking place other high agency people will want to come work at. Maybe you’ll even get an angel check from Kevin Durant…