NBA, Stats LLC Work During Finals To Try To Create New Statistics

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

NBA and Stats LLC during Games 3-5 of the NBA Finals experimented with optical motion-tracking technology to develop a series of new game statistics such as player and ball velocity, shot height and trajectory, and energy exertion. The work was in part an outgrowth of Stats’ '08 purchase of SportVU, a Tel Aviv-based outfit that already has been working with location-based data collection, primarily for soccer. The basketball tests involved collating video from six HD cameras taking pictures every 1/30 of a second and then connecting those images with software originally designed for aerospace applications such as missile tracking. The ultimate goals for the effort involve both commerce and competition, with inevitable scouting applications for individual clubs to be supplemented by additional statistical licensing opportunities. Stats and NBA are in the midst of a multi-year statistical licensing agreement. Further tests are expected next season, but full deployment of the optical motion tracking system at all 29 NBA arenas is not expected until the '10-11 season. “I’ve been thinking about player tracking for years, and we’re now at a point where’s it’s become affordable to do,” said NBA Entertainment Exec VP/Operations & Technology Steve Hellmuth. “What’s been happening in this area elsewhere, such as soccer and pitching in baseball, is very exciting. Basketball represents a unique set of challenges and complexities given the many different types of things that happen on the court. But that’s what we’re exploring right now.”

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