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The analytics revolution in basketball is one of the …
TL;DR
The analytics revolution in basketball has transformed how teams evaluate player performance, emphasizing the value of 3-pointers over midrange shots. Key metrics like points per possession and true shooting percentage provide clearer insights into player efficiency and impact.
The analytics revolution in basketball is one of the most important intellectual shifts in sports history. It corrected decades of bad intuition inherited from an era predating the 3-point line. It helped teams see that 3-pointers counted for more than midrange jumpers, and that box-score stats were hiding more than they revealed. Some of the changes were software updates that make obvious sense. Points per possession replaced points per game, normalizing every offense to 100 possessions to actually compare efficiency. True shooting percentage and effective field-goal percentage are clearer versions of raw field-goal percentage because volume and efficiency from the free-throw line and the 3-point line are more directly tied to actual impact. Box plus-minus. Assists and steals per 100 possessions. These first-generation metrics were built to answer a specific question: How good is this player, really? That work was real, and it mattered. These were the right questions for that era.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: The analytics revolution in basketball is one of the …
Q&A
How has basketball analytics changed player evaluation?
Basketball analytics has shifted focus from traditional stats to metrics like points per possession and true shooting percentage, allowing for a more accurate assessment of player efficiency and contributions.
What are the key metrics introduced by basketball analytics?
Key metrics introduced include points per possession, true shooting percentage, effective field-goal percentage, and box plus-minus, which help teams better understand player performance and impact.