Kirk Goldsberry (born 1977) is a basketball writer. He was the vice president for strategic research for the San Antonio Spurs, the lead analyst for Team USA Basketball, and a visiting researcher at the Harvard Institute of Quantitative Social Sciences. He is best known for his sports writing and for pioneering the hexagonal [1] shot chart in basketball analytics, [2] [3] [4] and for being one of the leaders of the recent advanced metrics movement in basketball.
Goldsberry earned a Ph.D. (2007) from UC-Santa Barbara where he studied Cartography and data visualization. He also holds a master's degree from UCSB, and a bachelor's degree from Penn State (1999), where he majored in Earth Science and Geography. He played basketball recreationally. [5]
Following graduate school, Goldsberry served as an assistant professor of geography at Michigan State (2007–2013) and a visiting professor at Harvard (2011–2013). At Harvard, Goldsberry designed and co-taught the first Geography course offered since Harvard eliminated Geography in the 1940s. In 2012, Goldsberry presented his first basketball research at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, which focused on the need for new “spatial and visual analytics” in basketball. Within the paper, Goldsberry introduced a new method for making shot charts using NBA shooting data.
He is currently teaching Sports Analytics within the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. [6]
During his time at ESPN and Grantland (2012–2015), Goldsberry achieved prominence by integrating his shot charts with analytical breakdowns of NBA players. His work appeared regularly at Grantland, FiveThirtyEight, and other ESPN outlets. Among his most cited pieces are The Kobe Assist, The Evolution of King James, and DataBall.
Goldsberry leveraged his background as a cartographer to analyze and present spatial basketball data to readers in novel ways. He used his personal experience playing basketball, where his strengths and weaknesses varied depending on his location on the court, and figured that it also applied to other players. [5]
After Grantland was shut down, Goldsberry joined the San Antonio Spurs as their vice president for strategic research in 2016. He left in 2018 to return to writing. [7]
In 2019, Goldsberry published SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA, which focuses on the inefficiency of shots in basketball taken between the restricted circle and the three-point line. [7]
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Credited for popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA, he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the league's history and as the greatest Latin American player of all time. Ginóbili notably led Argentina to a gold medal winning the FIBA Olympics MVP award in Athens 2004, and achieving with his team the only elimination of a US NBA team in the history of this competition. Over a 23-year professional career, Ginóbili became one of only two players to have won a EuroLeague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. A four-time NBA champion, Ginóbili was a member of the San Antonio Spurs for his entire 16-year NBA career. Along with Spurs teammates Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, Ginóbili was known as one of the "Big Three" during the Spurs' era of success. During their playing years together, the Spurs became a "model franchise" for other NBA teams. Since September 2021, Ginóbili had been appointed as special advisor to basketball operations for the Spurs.
Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American former professional basketball player. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history, and was a central contributor to the franchise's success during the 2000s and 2010s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
William Anthony Parker Jr. is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in the LNB Pro A. The son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in the French basketball league before joining the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and quickly became their starting point guard. Parker won four NBA championships, all of which were with the Spurs. He also played for ASVEL Basket in France during the 2011 NBA lockout, and finished his playing career after one season with the Charlotte Hornets. He retired as the ninth leading scorer and fifth leading passer in NBA playoffs history.
Brent Robert Barry, also known by the nickname "Bones", is an American basketball coach, executive, broadcaster and former player. He is currently an Assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns. The shooting guard played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning two league championships with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007, and also won the Slam Dunk Contest in 1996. He is the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry.
The center (C), or the centre, also known as the five, the big or the pivot, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is almost always the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well. In the NBA, the center is typically close to 7 feet (2.13 m) tall; centers in the WNBA are typically above 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m). Centers traditionally play close to the basket in the low post. The two tallest players in NBA history, Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureșan, were both centers, each standing 7 feet 7 inches (2.31 m) tall.
Robert Keith Horry is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He earned the nickname "Big Shot Rob", because of his clutch shooting in important games. A seven-time NBA champion, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest clutch performers and winners in NBA history.
Rudy Carlton Gay Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. The forward played college basketball for the UConn Huskies before being selected eighth overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets; he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies days later.
In basketball, a rebound, sometimes colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw.
In basketball, a field goal is a basket scored on any shot or tap other than a free throw, worth two or three points depending on the location of the attempt on the basket. Uncommonly, a field goal can be worth other values such as one point in FIBA 3x3 basketball competitions or four points in the BIG3 basketball league. "Field goal" is the official terminology used by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in their rule book, in their box scores and statistics, and in referees' rulings. The same term is also the official wording used by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school basketball.
Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila is a Spanish-Congolese professional basketball player for Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Ibaka is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, he is also a Spanish citizen and has played for the Spain national team. In 2019, Ibaka won an NBA championship as a key member of the Toronto Raptors.
In basketball, small ball is a style of play that sacrifices height, physical strength and low post offense/defense in favor of a lineup of smaller players for speed, agility and increased scoring. It is closely tied to the concepts of pace and space, which pushes the speed of the offense and spreads out the defense with extra shooters on the court. Many small ball lineups feature a non-traditional center who offers skills that are not normally found from players at that position. Teams often move a physically dominant player who would typically play the small forward position into the power forward position. Examples of players who have been used in this role include Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and LeBron James. That individual would play alongside either a traditional power forward, or alongside a center.
George Jesse Hill Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played for 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing for Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) he received many honors, including Summit League Player of the Year and was an honorable mention All-American his junior season.
Brett William Brown is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Brown is a former college basketball player who previously served as head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2013 to 2020. Before that, Brown was an assistant on Gregg Popovich's staff on the Spurs. He also has extensive experience coaching in Australia, having been the head coach of the North Melbourne Giants and Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL).
Harrison Bryce Jordan Barnes is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before being selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft with the seventh overall pick. Barnes won an NBA championship with the Warriors in 2015. He also won a gold medal as a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
In basketball, a stretch four (sometimes called a stretch big) is a player at the power forward position that can shoot farther from the basket than a conventional power forward. "Stretch" describes the effect that such a player has on the opposition's defense, and the power forward position is also known as the "four"; hence "stretch four". The stretch four is a fairly recent innovation in the NBA, but is still becoming increasingly common in today's game, as many NBA coaches now use the "small-ball" line-up/tactical play.
The 2013 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2012–13 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat defeating the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. LeBron James was named NBA Finals MVP.
The 2013 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2012–13 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs, played from June 6 to 20, 2013. The defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, who were favored to win the series, defeated the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs in seven games to win their third championship.
The 2014 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs, played from June 5 to 15, 2014. It was contested between two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat and the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs. In a rematch, the Spurs defeated the Heat 4–1 for their 5th title overall. Kawhi Leonard was named the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), receiving 10 out of 11 votes.
SportVU is a camera system that collects data 25 times per second. Its main objective is to follow the ball and all players on the court. SportVU provides statistics such as real-time player and ball positioning through software and statistical algorithms. Through this data, STATS presents performance metrics for players and teams to use.
Sports analytics are collections of relevant historical statistics that can provide a competitive advantage to a team or individual by helping to inform players, coaches and other staff and help facilitate decision-making both during and prior to sporting events. The term "sports analytics" was popularized in mainstream sports culture following the release of the 2011 film Moneyball. In this film, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane relies heavily on the use of baseball analytics to build a competitive team on a minimal budget, building upon and extending the established practice of Sabermetrics.
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