Ranking players, especially in the widespread arbitrary sense by which most instances occur, essentially has no practical value. But that’s because “player ranking” is often treated as a self-contained thing that looks inward of the result, disregards the implications value-systems have on the processes of team-building and assigning market values. Therefore, while the “result” (a […]

“All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.” Basketball is not the study of individuals, but rather the study of the interactions among parts which form wholes. The conditions of the sport make it so, repressing individuality, providing […]

(Image via Bleacher Report) Player Efficiency Rating (PER) was the turning point for basketball analytics in the public domain; but with time comes controversy. Lots will claim that PER is an outdated metric, that recent efforts of all-in-one metrics have left PER useless. Let’s say this is true, and for good reason. PER has a […]

(📸 The Ringer) The conflict between performing and storytelling on the basketball court has clouded the MVP race for decades; and like other highly-divisive topics in sports, both sides are represented by two camps: Criteria Traditionally, the MVP has a very loose criterion that hinges on the voter’s ability to tell a story with their vote. […]

(📸 MLB.com) The development of sabermetrics in Major League Baseball has coincided with an increased awareness of confounders, one of which is the effect of ballparks and their playing environments. The ubiquitous example is Coors Field in Denver, whose abnormal elevation is known to cause baseballs to travel 5 to 10% farther than at typical sea […]