In this paper, I examine trends in salary inequality from the 1985-86 NBA season to the 2015-16 NBA season. Income and wealth inequality have been extremely important issues recently, which motivated me to analyze inequality in the NBA. I investigated if salary inequality trends in the NBA can be explained by either returns to skill or widening skill distributions. I used Pareto exponents to measure inequality levels and tested to see if the levels changed over the sample. Then, I estimated league-wide returns to skill. I found that returns to skill have not significantly changed, but variance in skill has increased. This result explained some of the variation in salary distributions. This could potentially influence future Collective Bargaining Agreements insofar as it provides an explanation for widening NBA salary distributions as opposed to a judgment whether greater levels of inequality is either good or bad for the NBA.

Each year the NBA draft helps determines the future success of the NBA team and during the 1990’s to 2000’s international players were being drafted at a high rate. Why was this happening and were international players more successful than domestic players throughout their careers? Through my study I wanted to examine what determines success for NBA players and whether certain statistical or award performances affects their career. Furthermore I wanted to see the effects that international players had on team attendance throughout their NBA career. Ultimately I wanted to see how NBA coaches, executives, and fans value international players. This study aims to provide insight regarding international players and their success in the NBA.

In evaluating a prospective NBA player, one might consider past performance in the player’s previous years of competition. In doing so, a general manager may ask the following questions: Do certain characteristics of a player’s past statistics play a role in how long a player will last in the NBA? In this study, we examine the data from players who entered in the NBA in a five-­‐year period (1997-­‐1998 through 2001-­‐2002 season) by looking at their attributes from their collegiate career to see if they have any effect on their career longevity. We will look at basic statistics take for each of these players, such as field goal percentage, points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game. We aim to use Bayesian survival methods to model these event times, while exploiting the hierarchical nature of the data. We will look at two types of models and perform model diagnostics to determine which of the two we prefer. / text

In the last two decades, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has made extensive efforts into expanding its reach outside of the North American market. Numerous attempt have been made by the league to spread the game of basketball into such areas as Europe, South America, and East Asia. As popularity for the sport grew, so did the potential for NBA teams to draft foreign talent. Indeed, the 1990’s and 2000’s saw an influx of foreign talent into the NBA. By the 2014-2015 season, there were a record 101 foreign players on opening day rosters, nearly five times as many as during the 1990-1991 season (21 players). This papers examines whether discrimination of foreign players exist via two value outcomes: salary and minutes per game. Based on an analysis of performance metrics, this paper found significant nationality effects on minutes per game, specifically that foreign players receive less playing time for commensurate performance. This paper did not find evidence to suggest salary or minute per game discrimination by race.

This paper explores the value of attending college to Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball players in terms of future success in the NBA. Future success is measured by both salary and minutes played per game. A dataset of 660 athletes from the 2006 through 2016 drafts was collected from Basketball-Reference. An empirical model is estimated using this data in order to identify the determinant factors in a player’s success in the NBA. It is found that college is not a determinant of success in the NBA.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has recently come under scrutiny from media and fans due to the perception that some franchises are losing games on purpose in an attempt to win a higher draft pick. While researchers have concluded tanking does exist in the NBA, this is the first paper to analyze the strategy’s success in terms of generating increases in future winning percentage or future franchise value. This paper, through panel data regressions controlling for fixed effects for 21 seasons, has found that tanking does have a large impact on future winning percentage. A team that tanks typically sees a significant increase in wins of approximately 9.87 games between the 2nd and 4th year after the team tanked. These results have large implications for the league as the NBA recently began draft reform discussions to reduce the incentive to tank. This paper validates the leagues’ belief that draft reform must occur as tanking can give an unfair advantage in future years.

摘要 研究動機與目的:在大數據的時代，為NBA籃球運彩迷們提供一些籃球數據的分析與模型，使其在購買台灣運彩時，能多些中獎的機率與樂趣。 研究方法:透過相關係數、迴歸來進行NBA籃球數據分析。 創新與推廣:相關係數與迴歸分析出來後，與NBA運彩應用結合，產生策略。 結論:預測數據部分最為困難，必須找出策略搭配預測數據之方法。 關鍵字: NBA運彩策略、迴歸、預測 / Abstract Motivation and purpose of this study: In the era of big data, provide NBA basketball fans with some analysis and models of basketball data, so that they can win more chances and fun when purchasing Taiwan NBA lottery. Method: NBA basketball data analysis is performed through correlation coefficient and regression. Innovation and promotion: After the correlation coefficient and regression analysis come out, it is combined with NBA lottery application to generate strategies. Conclusion: The prediction data part is the most difficult and it is necessary to find out the method of strategy matching the prediction data. Keywords: NBA lottery strategy, Regression, Predicting

While the concept of deterrence has been applied to punishment in America’s criminal justice system, the empirical data is mixed on whether is effectively deters crime. This lack of consensus may be a result of missing elements from deterrence theory; namely, that punishment is often neither swift nor certain. Similar to the criminal justice system, professional sports leagues aim to control behavior of athletes by having guidelines that, when violated, result in punishment. However, these punishments are delivered much quicker and there is a higher level of certainty. The current study examines specific deterrence in the National Basketball Association by using longitudinal data of fines and suspension from the 2000-2001 season to the 2015-2016 season to test whether punishment that is swift and certain can deter rule-breaking behavior. Results from the study showed no deterrent effect when deterrence was analyzed by punishment type (suspension or fine) and severity of punishment.

As part of America’s cultural traditions, sports have become one of the most followed and widely appreciated aspects of entertainment and enjoyment for generations. The one consistent part of sports, that all fans and non-fans can understand, is the practice of team uniforms serving as identifiers and connectors to the city, franchise, and history they obtain. Look Good, Play Good: The World of American Sports Uniforms informs of the sports realm in the context of clothing. Four parts of the uniform world help describe and explain the teams and locations that wear them. They do this through historical, influential, and forward thinking distinctions. / text

In 2006, the NBA introduced the "one-and-done" rule that restricted high school graduates to enter directly into the NBA draft following high school. In turn, a high school prospect would essentially now have the option of playing professionally elsewhere (most likely overseas), enter the NBA's Developmental League, or play NCAA basketball. The rule has proved to be quite controversial, as it has had a great effect on both NBA and NCAA basketball, as well as the players. Various media outlets have been quite vocal not only about the rule itself, but the perceived effects it has had on both collegiate and professional basketball. This study will utilize framing theory to explore the way the media has presented the issue to the public, its causal interpretation, any moral evaluations necessary, and any solutions to the problem. This study will utilize a content analysis to analyze not only the media's presentation of the rule, but also what frames have been formed pertaining to the rule's successes and failures. The study will also aim to give a greater understanding of how the basketball media form frames.