NBA Court Real Estate

The Value of Positioning and Spacing

Dan Cervone
New York University
dcervone@nyu.edu

JSM 2016
Chicago, IL
August 3, 2016

The basketball court is a real estate market

Space is a valuable commodity in basketball.

During a possession:

  • Players own (occupy) different court space.
  • Players compete for space.
  • Through movement, players exchange space.

The basketball court is a real estate market

How do we quantify:

  • Which space is most important? And to whom?
  • Who has the upper hand in the battle over floor space?
  • How do different teams/players value space differently?
  • Impact of personnel, matchups on court spacing.