It's natural to dream of shooting the game winning basket or scoring the go ahead goal or touchdown.  However, as team skills increase, it becomes progressively harder for one player to be the scoring hero.  That's when smarter players start using their teammates to help them score goals and win games. A timely pass, throw or block are effective ways to score points in a game.  Though not scoring directly, players who facilitate these goals are guiding their play and, in fact, asking their teammates to finish off their own efforts.  It actually takes more player skills to contribute to team wins in this fashion than it does to contribute unassisted. In hockey, player statistics are kept that record individual goals and assists with goals.  Wayne Gretzky, recognized as one of the best hockey players ever, finished his career with over twice as many assists (2,223) as goals (1,016).  Though he had the skills to score by himself, he more often used his teammates to get the job done.