MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Summary

statistical analysis had become mainstream in the NBA.

Entering the Mainstream - Sloan Conference Recap

basketballprospectus, by Kevin Pelton, March 8, 2010

I'll remember the 2010 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, held Saturday at the Boston Convention and Events Center, as the point I realized that statistical analysis had become mainstream in the NBA. The role of analysis is a topic I write about as much as anyone, I suspect, including last Friday's column on "The State of APBRmetrics." Still, I apparently missed just how much things had changed.

What sold me? Not the 1,000 people in attendance, though it was a stunning turnout that Bill Simmons joked "broke the record for most dudes in one room" despite the 400 people on the waiting list who could not get in. It wasn't even the number of NBA team employees or consultants present in Boston, though between panelists and attendees half of the league was represented by my count. No, what surprised me was the respect accorded to the numbers by members of the two groups traditionally most resistant--coaches and former players.

The last panel of the day, on the subject of coaching analytics, featured former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson and long-time NBA guard Brent Barry, both of them now TV analysts. Admittedly, neither Johnson nor Barry is a stat guy by nature. Yet their experience with two of the leaders in the field--Johnson implementing statistical analysis at owner Mark Cuban's behest in Dallas, and Barry when he finished his career playing for GM Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets--appeared to have largely won them over.

Read more.