{"id":2607,"date":"2015-11-22T18:58:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-22T23:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/san-antonio-spurs-data-driven-approach-to-win-games\/"},"modified":"2015-11-22T18:58:50","modified_gmt":"2015-11-22T23:58:50","slug":"san-antonio-spurs-data-driven-approach-to-win-games","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/san-antonio-spurs-data-driven-approach-to-win-games\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio Spurs\u2019 Data-Driven Approach to Win Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"spursalytics\"<\/p>\n

At the 2015 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, the San Antonio Spurs were named the \u201cBest Analytics Organization,\u201d and Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford was honored with a lifetime achievement award for his work in this space of using advanced analytics to improve team and player performance.<\/p>\n

The Spurs are an organization in the National Basketball Association, where team performance is a critical determinant of financial success. Value creation in this creative industry is a complicated and competitive process of finding and developing talent, then coaching that talent to success in winning games. Winning games is critical to capturing that value with lucrative media contracts and selling out tickets. Teams are always looking for ways to gain an edge, and as the wave of digital innovation swept through the NBA, we began to see a rise in the use of analytics.<\/p>\n

Sports organizations have always utilized statistics and simple data to determine team and player performance, but analytics take it to the next level. Sports analytics were\u00a0popularized in the 2011 film, Moneyball<\/em>, which features\u00a0how the Oakland Athletics revolutionized how baseball teams are put together using more advanced analytics.<\/p>\n

All NBA organizations are now using in-depth analytics in some form, but they differ on how and when the data is used and how valuable it is perceived to be. Just like any organization in other industries, NBA teams have a really hard time discerning those valuable, key insights in the ocean of big data.<\/p>\n

Analytics are certainly not the holy grail for any organization trying to create and capture value. Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich commented<\/a>\u00a0last season on the Spurs’ use of analytics:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI think most of the things we find out from analytics pretty much are logical. Things you already have a pretty good feel for. Sometimes they prove what you were thinking ahead of time. Now and then, there might be something you need to look at because there\u2019s something that might be happening that you didn\u2019t notice. So there\u2019s a use for it. But we don\u2019t walk in everyday and say, ‘give me the analytics.\u2019 It\u2019s just one of the tools.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

While this quote may imply the Spurs use less analytics to guide their decision-making than is perceived, the organization does have a history of being the leaders in this new wave big data in sports. They were among the first teams to install SportVu cameras that now exist in every NBA arena. SportVu Cameras follow the ball and every player on the court in real-time, which is then translated into a mound of digital information. You can now know fast and how far a player runs, how many times he dribbles, where he takes shots, how he defends, and much more. The Spurs were also among the first teams to have an analytics department, which is also now much more prevalent in NBA organizations.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2015\/11\/SportVu.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div><\/p>\n

SportVU cameras, analytics departments, and the use of\u00a0digital technology to capture and interpret detailed data all fit into this NBA era of Moneyball<\/em>. Analytics help organizations get an edge in an extremely competitive environment. They are especially valued by teams in smaller markets with more limited resources. For a team like the Spurs, which does not have the money or glamour of the bigger NBA franchises, data-driven marginal improvements can be critical in achieving success. Spurs Director of Basketball Analytics Gabe Farkas<\/a> recently said, \u201cI think analytics have grown in popularity because it can give you a competitive advantage if you do it well. Games are decided often by a point or two, which can come down to an inch or two. Every little bit helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spurs certainly do not share exactly how they use their analytics (to maintain that competitive edge), but they\u2019ve been among, if not the, best teams to find and develop hidden talent. They were among the first-movers in the NBA analytics revolution, and now they are known to be among the best in applying the analytics.<\/p>\n

Of course correlation does not equal causation. The Spurs are not one of the best NBA franchises solely due to analytics, but even old-school Popovich (who does not even have a computer in his office) admitted the analytics are an important tool in either ratifying their instincts or the more rare event of discovering hidden insights. Much to Charles Barkley<\/a>\u2019s chagrin, there\u2019s certainly good reason why every NBA team is embracing digital innovation and technology in this new era of analytics: it is another tool that helps teams create more value. Some teams have used that tool to create more value than others. This past summer, Spurs were publicly recognized for just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The San Antonio Spurs were recently named "Best Analytics Organization" at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. 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