Matching Items (403)
ContributorsWard, Geoffrey Harris (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-03-18
ContributorsBolari, John (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-10-04
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Description
This paper intends to analyze the Phoenix Suns' shooting patterns in real NBA games, and compare them to the "NBA 2k16" Suns' shooting patterns. Data was collected from the first five Suns' games of the 2015-2016 season and the same games played in "NBA 2k16". The findings of this paper

This paper intends to analyze the Phoenix Suns' shooting patterns in real NBA games, and compare them to the "NBA 2k16" Suns' shooting patterns. Data was collected from the first five Suns' games of the 2015-2016 season and the same games played in "NBA 2k16". The findings of this paper indicate that "NBA 2k16" utilizes statistical findings to model their gameplay. It was also determined that "NBA 2k16" modeled the shooting patterns of the Suns in the first five games of the 2015-2016 season very closely. Both, the real Suns' games and the "NBA 2k16" Suns' games, showed a higher probability of success for shots taken in the first eight seconds of the shot clock than the last eight seconds of the shot clock. Similarly, both game types illustrated a trend that the probability of success for a shot increases as a player holds onto a ball longer. This result was not expected for either game type, however, "NBA 2k16" modeled the findings consistent with real Suns' games. The video game modeled the Suns with significantly more passes per possession than the real Suns' games, while they also showed a trend that more passes per possession has a significant effect on the outcome of the shot. This trend was not present in the real Suns' games, however literature supports this finding. Also, "NBA 2k16" did not correctly model the allocation of team shots for each player, however, the differences were found only in bench players. Lastly, "NBA 2k16" did not correctly allocate shots across the seven regions for Eric Bledsoe, however, there was no evidence indicating that the game did not correctly model the allocation of shots for the other starters, as well as the probability of success across the regions.
ContributorsHarrington, John P. (Author) / Armbruster, Dieter (Thesis director) / Kamarianakis, Ioannis (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description
When I was unsure of what my thesis project would be, the professor of my thesis prep class, Jill Johnson, recommended that I choose a topic that I am passionate about. Immediately, my mind went to basketball and the NBA, the business and operations side of things to be specific.

When I was unsure of what my thesis project would be, the professor of my thesis prep class, Jill Johnson, recommended that I choose a topic that I am passionate about. Immediately, my mind went to basketball and the NBA, the business and operations side of things to be specific. Initially, this research paper was going to look into market size and how those teams in a smaller market made their money and ran their teams. It was to focus on some of the more successful franchises that come from smaller markets, as well as those franchises that have been historically unsuccessful. However, the kind of data that I was looking for on market sizes was not very available. So I ended up focusing almost exclusively on the operations side of things. I wanted to see if there was one strategy for building a team that had proven to be more successful than others. I was not sure what sort of answers I would find, but I knew that there had to be some useful data that had yet to be discovered. I settled on researching the success of teams that build primarily using players they drafted versus teams that were built primarily through trades and free agent signings. I also wanted to illuminate the difficulties that front offices, particularly those in smaller markets, face when building a franchise. I chose to focus on things such as the luxury tax and betting on the wrong players. This paper went a lot of different directions before it became what it did. I want to thank all of those who helped me, particularly my director Tim McGuire, my second reader Peter Bhatia and Jill Johnson for helping me get started on the most intimidating, yet rewarding, project that I have ever been a part of.
ContributorsJohnson, Connor David (Author) / McGuire, Tim (Thesis director) / Bhatia, Peter (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
The media often portrays professional basketball players as narcissistic, entitled and selfish, but are these portrayals accurate? After all, basketball is a team sport and team sport research indicates that players are more altruistic and selfless. This study proposes a way to assess narcissism and altruism through observable behaviors from

The media often portrays professional basketball players as narcissistic, entitled and selfish, but are these portrayals accurate? After all, basketball is a team sport and team sport research indicates that players are more altruistic and selfless. This study proposes a way to assess narcissism and altruism through observable behaviors from all the active players in the NBA.
ContributorsPappas, Carissa Anne (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Mae, Lynda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-12
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Description
Sports is a business. Basketball is no different. Every rule change that has been enacted in the history of the game has been to make the game more exciting because that makes people buy tickets and helps the franchise's bottom line. I delve into the history of the rule changes

Sports is a business. Basketball is no different. Every rule change that has been enacted in the history of the game has been to make the game more exciting because that makes people buy tickets and helps the franchise's bottom line. I delve into the history of the rule changes and submit my own rule changes to make the game more exciting.
ContributorsSaar, Eric James (Author) / Tomasch, Kenn (Thesis director) / Edsall, Larry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-12
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Description
The NBA Draft has become one of the most exciting and unique events in sports. Draft decisions are so monumental; so crucial to be right, so disastrous to be wrong. The purpose of this project is to build a model that would help teams to predict which types of players

The NBA Draft has become one of the most exciting and unique events in sports. Draft decisions are so monumental; so crucial to be right, so disastrous to be wrong. The purpose of this project is to build a model that would help teams to predict which types of players perform at a high level upon entering the league. By using regression analysis to predict the rookie year PER (performance efficiency rating) as a dependent variable, teams would have some idea of whether their rookies were underperforming, excelling, or performing at a level they could expect. The independent variables and their statistical significance could help answer a host of questions that front offices have about players: If a player came from a worse conference, can we expect them to have a harder time adjusting? Will their shorter wingspan have a negative effect on their play in the NBA? Do guards or forwards tend to have higher PERs upon entering the league? To answer these questions, I've gathered data on every first round NBA draft pick from 2001-2014 who played at least one season of Division 1 NCAA basketball. The data consist of anthropometric measurements (height, wingspan, standing reach, etc.), NBA draft combine results (agility drills, sprint times, etc.) and their college statistics per 40 minutes in their final season of college basketball (points, rebounds, assist-to-turnover ratio, etc.). I then separated the data into seven different sets: aggregate, backcourt, frontcourt, guard, wing, forward, and big. For each of these data sets, I built a predictive model for rookie PER. In doing so, I aimed to gain both a broad understanding of what factors lead to translation of college basketball play to professional play, and also a precise understanding of how those factors change for each distinct position.
ContributorsMurphy, Benjamin Joseph (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Marburger, Daniel (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
ContributorsOftedahl, Paul (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-09-29
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Description
The NBA operates under a unique system with both forms of the salary cap. The league has a team salary cap that sets a limit that teams can spend on their entire roster. The NBA has a soft cap and a luxury tax system, meaning if teams spend over a

The NBA operates under a unique system with both forms of the salary cap. The league has a team salary cap that sets a limit that teams can spend on their entire roster. The NBA has a soft cap and a luxury tax system, meaning if teams spend over a determined amount, they are taxed for the salaries in excess. The league also has a player salary cap. The 1999 NBA collective bargaining agreement first introduced the individual player salary cap in the league. This cap sets a limit on what the best players can earn, otherwise known as the maximum contract. In an economic system with a soft team cap, the introduction of the player salary cap has important implications. The stated outcome of such a salary cap is to improve competitive balance and better distribute star players throughout the league. This study evaluated the 1990-2015 regular seasons to measure the impact of the player salary cap on competitive balance, the distribution of team payrolls, and the dispersion of star players. In accordance with the Rottenberg's invariance hypothesis, the player salary cap has hurt the players and benefited the owners by redistributing income from one party to the other, without impacting the distribution of talent in the league. The rule change has not affected competitive balance, while team payrolls have converged and star players have become more dispersed throughout the league. These changes hurt the league overall, preventing the maximization of revenues. Despite this inefficiency, the chance of the league moving to eliminate the player salary cap is low.
ContributorsWelu, Brian Andrew (Author) / Marburger, Daniel (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
In the wide world of sports, not all fan bases are created equally—especially in the NBA. Differences in factors like tradition, history, team performance amongst teams make each fan base distinctly unique. This paper will analyze how team performance effects one component of fan behavior: home game attendance. Using win-loss

In the wide world of sports, not all fan bases are created equally—especially in the NBA. Differences in factors like tradition, history, team performance amongst teams make each fan base distinctly unique. This paper will analyze how team performance effects one component of fan behavior: home game attendance. Using win-loss data and home game attendance data for each NBA team from 2001 to 2017, I will construct statistical models to estimate how great of an impact team performance has on each team’s home game attendance. I expect each team’s fan base to respond differently to changes in their team’s win-loss record. This paper will also attempt to quantify other facts that impact attendance at NBA games, including year-to-year changes in team salary expenditures, regional income, and the number of star players playing for the team. Finally, this paper will explore the factors that affect home game attendance for specific games within a given season—things like weather, strength of opponent, and win streaks. Ultimately, the goal of this paper will be to provide NBA business analysts with resources to more precisely anticipate their team’s home game attendance. The ability to understand what motivates the behavior of a fan base is invaluable in creating a marketing strategy that drives fans to the arena. This paper will help to identify teams that are most susceptible to significant fluctuations in attendance and outline alternative strategies to positioning their product offering effectively to fans.
ContributorsSloan, Jacob Marlow (Author) / Lee, Christopher (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05