Think You Know Basketball? You Need to Know the Numbers to Know the Game

David J. Berri

Critical to the success of any (sport) entertainment organization is its ability to evaluate talent and recruit the best performers. Entertainment is a star-driven industry and the success of a team, event, or entertainment product (such as a movie, theater show, or concert) is often dependent on the ability of the organization to select the right performer for their entertainment property (Elberse, 2013). Among all forms of entertainment, sport might have it the easiest in recruiting and evaluating talent, as unlike other forms of entertainment, the performance of athletes is grounded in quantifiable actions. Nevertheless, as we demonstrated in The Wages of Wins (2006), many sport organizations struggle with the task of selecting talent.