In a team environment like on a NBA basketball team, it is easy for personal laziness (especially on the defensive end) to be hidden underneath the overall team’s results. Some players focus only on offense, where stats are more easily seen on the box score. On the flip side, people who go all out and fight for every possession may not be properly recognized — these plays have a great effect on the team’s performance, but may not show up on in stats (which most people pay attention to). The Washington Wizards have a bulletin board tracking “hustle plays” per individual to try to track, recognize, and reward players who pay attention to the little details of every play on the court
The Pelicans have a similar board, and the player with the most “hustle points” is reportedly allowed to use the coach’s suite for the weekend to use however he likes.
Love it, go Wiz.
It is also an example of deliberate practice. While some of these “hustle” plays are the least enjoyable things to do (who likes taking a charge?!), after this image came out the Wizards acknowledged that they include some parts of practice in these counts. They spend a lot of time focused on the deliberate practice of parts of the game that aren’t fun, and that players wouldn’t otherwise focus on. That’s an important distinction from just spending 10,000 hours playing basketball games, but never actually focusing on the individual skills of playing basketball that make of the sport.