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We investigate whether/how various kinds of experience predict managers' selection outcomes.

Drawing from personnel selection and decision-making research, we used a multilevel model to examine whether various types of experience predict employee selection outcomes in the National Basketball Association. We examined 289 selection events of basketball players by 63 general managers. Measures of general manager experience included tenure, education level, family relations, experience as a college coach, experience as a National Basketball Association Player, experience as a National Basketball Association scout and experience as a National Basketball Association coach.

College coaching experience, tenure and vicarious experience through family relations improved selection decision outcomes, while experience as a basketball player reduced the quality of selection decision outcomes. Tenure was associated with general managers’ ability to select employees who made high individual contribution to team wins; vicarious experience improved ability to select players with high peak individual performance, and college coaching experience improved general managers’ ability to select employees with higher contributions to team wins, higher peak individual performances and higher average performances over the course of players’ careers.

Experience’s importance is taken for granted, but this paper demonstrates that all experience is not equally effective. Notably, experience as a professional athlete did not seem to make managers better decision-makers about personnel than people who did not have that experience.