Nice way to describe this. I find that most people using Redux or Flux say what you said.. only use it if you need it. or your application starts to grow and become unmanageable. The problem I have with that is, I find it much harder to try to bring Redux in to an existing app, retrofitting things and changing things for Redux to work, than to just start off with it in the first place, and add things to it as I go. I understand the reason for such a statement.. redux/flux can add some extra complexity, especially for someone new to React, that may be overkill. However, I tend to like to future proof my work, so “just in case”, I can expand without much pain knowing that its there for me to use.

There are some things with Redux that are a little confusing. Namely the concept of smart/dumb components, and how you use the undocumented (or now documented but advised not to use in most cases) Context to wire up the smart/parent component that will do the Redux work (dispatching events, updating props, etc). If you could work that in to your basketball analogy, that would be a welcome addition.