A HomeCourt screenshot featuring Steve Nash working with a young player. (Courtesy of HomeCourt)
HomeCourt, the AI-powered shot-tracking app featured during the Apple Keynote last month, has released an update with a new series of advanced analytics called Shot Science.
The first version of the HomeCourt basketball app launched in July, granting users the ability to chart shots from an iPhone camera. Players could tally their makes and misses, and receive location data about where they took each shot. Videos were automatically clipped of each attempt.
HomeCourt rollout of Shot Science this week with introduces new metrics such as release time, release angle (or initial arc), leg angle while bending to jump, running speed prior to the shot, and vertical jump.
App screenshots. (Courtesy of HomeCourt)
“When I was young and learning the game I never really knew if I was doing the right things to improve my skills. I would spend hours and hours shooting by myself just hoping I was refining the techniques that would take me to the next level,” Nash, a two-time NBA MVP and Hall of Fame point guard, said in a statement. “Now with HomeCourt’s Shot Science technology, players get immediate feedback to know if they are practicing with the right form. These meaningful insights and feedback just weren’t possible before.”
HomeCourt’s parent company, Nex Team, assembled engineers with experience at Apple, Facebook, and Google and attracted bold-faced basketball names like Steve Nash, Mark Cuban, Sam Hinkie, and Jeremy Lin. The HomeCourt app is free to download and will record 300 shots per month at no cost. Subscriptions for unlimited use cost $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
“We wanted to bring the same types of statistics that have been popularized by shows like ESPN’s Sports Science to every athlete in an incredibly, user-friendly format,” added David Lee, CEO and cofounder of NEX Team. “Shot Science is made possible by advancements in computer vision, artificial intelligence technologies as well as improved mobile device hardware.”
SportTechie Takeaway
The Shot Science metrics that HomeCourt now provides are not common even in the elite echelons of the sport. Offering such advanced analytics to younger players could have a significant impact on the development of shooting skills, especially for players who live far from good coaching bases or who cannot afford better the best instruction.
