He is not the first, not even this week. But he is currently the loudest. David West has had enough.
The former NBA All-Star and member of the Golden State Warriors has spent the past few days on social media, costing a series of messages on social media criticizing what he views as basketball’s growing obsession with analytics, efficiency metrics and theoretical discussions at the expense of the game itself.
West did not start the debate, which – while not exactly new – was given new voice earlier this week when Josh Hart of the New York Knicks spoke of his (once strong, still somewhat present) distrust of analytics and those who worship at the altar of them in a podcast appearance over the weekend. He did, however, pick up the ball and run with it. And in retirement, West has not been abashed about being an opinion-giver.
West Angry At A Stereotype
West’s – and up to a point, Hart’s – argument is not especially complicated. He believes too many conversations about basketball have become detached from what actually happens on the court, by people who could never get on the thing. And his issue, more than anything, seems to be in how modern basketball debates are framed.
Rather than discussing skill, decision-making, physicality or game situations, West argued that too much attention is paid to spreadsheets, percentages and statistical models, which has made for a homogenous game devoid of the range of styles it once boasted. In his view, numbers have become a substitute for understanding the game rather than a tool to help explain it, and that because of the new rigid understanding of shot quality, everything has to be a three-point shot or an attempt right at the rim,.
Having made his career largely on account of his mid-range jump shot, West has skin in the game. And he rails against those that do not, who are pious about it. He does however slightly undercut his authority with the high school insults.
It Isn’t Exactly Frost/Nixon Out Here
The debate over analytics is often presented as a battle between old-school basketball people and modern thinkers, and that is certainly how West sees it. In reality, successful teams use both.
It is absolutely true that those who cannot do what NBA players do – including the author of this article, who can barely run, let alone play basketball to any standard – who somehow still assign themselves an ivory tower from which to judge those who can, is an inherent contradiction. There is however a balance to be struck. It is not as if the pre-analytics NBA had everything optimized.
In reality, NBA front offices employ large analytics departments, but coaches and scouts still spend countless hours watching film. The disagreement should be about proportionality, rather than the existence of either. West appears to believe the balance has shifted too far.
In terms of the online discourse, he is probably right. But constantly calling people “dorks“, “nerds” and the like does not help with the discourse much either. And neither did Hart (not West, to be clear) bringing race into it.
West’s NBA Career
West played 15 NBA seasons, appeared in 1,034 regular-season games, made two All-Star teams and won championships with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. He averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds across his career, and his best years came with the New Orleans Hornets alongside Chris Paul. Between 2005 and 2011 he averaged more than 18 points per game and established himself as one of the NBA’s most reliable power forwards. He later became a key veteran for playoff teams in Indiana before finishing his career chasing titles in San Antonio and Golden State.
West is frustrated with what he sees as people discussing basketball primarily through data sets rather than experience, observation and context. He is hardly the first former player to make that argument, but the frustration must be palpable for him. Similar complaints have come from players, coaches and executives for more than a decade as analytics became increasingly influential throughout the league.
Analytics have unquestionably improved teams’ understanding of basketball. At the same time, many fans would probably recognize the tendency West is describing. A long two-pointer gets shouted at now, rather than being a high percentage look created from good offense, which it could easily be and was for so long. Discussions can sometimes become exercises in comparing spreadsheets and hard-line black-and-white thinking rather than examining what players actually do on the court. West’s criticism is therefore less an attack on analytics themselves than on the way they are sometimes used, arguing that basketball should still come first.
Fair enough. This nerd hears you, and largely agrees. You really do know best here. But this debate style is not going to win people over.
David West Has Had Enough of Your Analytics Bros