Ranking the Greatest NBA Players: an Analytics Analysis
1 Ranking the Greatest NBA Players: An Analytics Analysis An Honors Thesis by Jeremy Mertz Thesis Advisor Dr. Lawrence Judge Ball State University Muncie, Indiana July 2015 Expected Date of Graduation May 2015 1-' ,II L II/du, t,- i II/em' /.. 2 ?t; q ·7t./ 2 (11 S Ranking the Greatest NBA Players: An Analytics Analysis . Iv/If 7 Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to present a statistical model to help rank top National Basketball Association (NBA) players of all time. As the sport of basketball evolves, the debate on who is the greatest player of all-time in the NBA never seems to reach consensus. This ongoing debate can sometimes become emotional and personal, leading to arguments and in extreme cases resulting in violence and subsequent arrest. Creating a statistical model to rank players may also help coaches determine important variables for player development and aid in future approaches to the game via key data-driven performance indicators. However, computing this type of model is extremely difficult due to the many individual player statistics and achievements to consider, as well as the impact of changes to the game over time on individual player performance analysis. This study used linear regression to create an accurate model for the top 150 player rankings. The variables computed included: points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, win shares per 48 minutes, and number ofNBA championships won. The results revealed that points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and NBA championships were all necessary for an accurate model and win shares per 48 minutes were not significant.
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