Predict the Future Performance of a Player/Team

Business Problem

People watch the teams that win, and even die hard sports fans will admit that they will likely only buy a $100 ticket if the team they support has a chance to win. A case study for success is the Golden State Warriors. Once just an overlooked team in the bay area which in 2010 was sold for what at the time was an astounding $450 million, the Warriors’ dominance on the court has not only resulted in three NBA championships but also led to a tremendous growth in valuation which in 2020 is at a staggering $4.3 billion. In a decade, they have lept to becoming the third most valuable organization in the league, trailing behind the Lakers, a powerhouse that has dominated since the inception of the league with a total of 16 championships.

A driver of team performance is the ability for teams to identify unproven players who have incredible potential for success in the future. The diamonds in the rough, players who became superstars in the teams that drafted them, such as Stephen Curry, Lebron James, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, have been the driving force behind the dynasties of the league, including the Warriors.

Unfortunately, making the right drafts are incredibly difficult and are based on analyzing historical performances that were generated in different environments. Players who excel in the college arena frequently fluke when they are tested in the big leagues, and the key is finding the ones that don’t, along with making other strategic trades across the entire team.

Intelligent Solution

AI allows your scouts to have an unprecedented view to discovering valuable players by predicting their future performance based on the similar characteristics they share with other players who have performed strongly in the past. AI identifies these patterns to predict future performance in a way the naked eye can’t by simply looking at historical player stats.

In addition to predicting performance for new drafts or trades, AI can continuously ingest new information on existing player performance to provide regular updates on its predictions for their performance in the future, allowing you to quickly identify players whose potential performance is rapidly changing. This information will not only allow you to select the players who will enable you to win, but will also offer you with the ability to better assess a player’s value and allocate the right salary and resources accordingly to each.