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The Value of Statistics Contributing to Scoring in the NBA: A Quantitative Approach

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  • Jim Lackritz
  • Ira Horowitz

Abstract

We model three years of National Basketball Association (NBA) data to calculate the number of points generated from assists, offensive rebounds, and steals. We partition the data into eight groups based on the combinations of occurrences (or not) of these three statistics in a made basket. A linear programming model solves for the coefficients of each of the three statistics in each combination, and the weighted average of the coefficients by combination frequency produces a final value for the points generated by each statistic. A fraction of these points is assigned to the player that made the assist, offensive rebound, or steal, with the remaining portion of the points scored assigned to the scorer. A scale for total points accounted for by a player from points scored, assists, offensive rebounds, and steals is developed and used to compare the offensive production of a sample of NBA players from the 2018–2019 season. JEL Classifications : C1, C3,C6, Z2

Suggested Citation

  • Jim Lackritz & Ira Horowitz, 2021. "The Value of Statistics Contributing to Scoring in the NBA: A Quantitative Approach," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 66(2), pages 175-189, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:66:y:2021:i:2:p:175-189
    DOI: 10.1177/0569434520968477
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Shmanske, Stephen & Kahane, Leo H. (ed.), 2012. "The Oxford Handbook of Sports Economics Volume 2: Economics Through Sports," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195387780.
    4. Örn B. Bodvarsson & Raymond T. Brastow, 1999. "A Test Of Employer Discrimination In The Nba," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 17(2), pages 243-255, April.
    5. Berri, David J. & Schmidt, Martin B., 2002. "Instrumental versus bounded rationality: a comparison of Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 191-214.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jackson P. Lautier, 2023. "A New Framework to Estimate Return on Investment for Player Salaries in the National Basketball Association," Papers 2309.05783, arXiv.org.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    offensive performance metric; linear programming; point allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • C3 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables
    • C6 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling
    • Z2 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics

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