Basketball Analytics: Spatial Tracking

by Stephen Shea

Equipped with new spatial tracking data collected by SportVU and others, Basketball Analytics investigates game strategy, player evaluation, player types, and prospect potential. Author Stephen Shea, Ph.D. introduces new measures of a player’s scoring and playmaking efficiency, quantifies the spacing in an offense and the stretch of a defense, and demonstrates several ways in which the NBA game has changed over the years. He also reveals the full methodology behind popular topics from the blog, BasketballAnalyticsBook.com, such as the College Prospect Rating System and the periodic tables of NBA elements. The author presents a modern viewpoint on basketball analytics’ most fundamental principles and demonstrates the power of the industry’s latest statistical breakthroughs. Basketball Analytics is a must-read for any sports analytics enthusiast.

Genres: Sports, Basketball

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2014

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very academic and pretty clunky, though nonetheless important. Not a casual read whatsoever; the prose and language use can be frustrating even though the point is fascinating.

[Connor Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should’ve paid more attention in statistics class in college