Hoops Hypothesis

Since the turn of the decade, the NBA has evolved at the speed of light. The advent of high volume 3-point shooters, small ball and the point forward phenomenon are just a few of these. Basketball is being played at its fastest pace since the 1960s, with the “pace and space” era leading to points galore. The architects of this movement include Steph Curry and Mike D’Antoni, who have become synonymous with the evolution. However, there is one man who does not get enough credit for his role as perhaps the originator of most of these tactics. His name is Don Nelson. Don Nelson is one the greatest coaches in NBA history. Coaching four different teams in 34 years, Nelson has the record for most wins, with 1,335. However, his lasting impact is in his style of basketball, which helped usher in a lot of the basketball tactics and playstyles we know today. Don Nelson got his start in coaching as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976. After 18 games, head coach Larry Costello resig...

Ron Artest, also known as Metta World Peace, might not be an NBA legend, but he is certainly one of the more well-known NBA players of the 2000s, both for his on court accomplishments and his rather eccentric personality. Artest was born and raised in New York, and went to his hometown St. John’s University, where he played from 1997-1999. After declaring for the 1999 Draft, the Chicago Bulls selected him with the 16 th overall pick in the draft. Artest’s hometown New York Knicks passed on him to select Frédéric Weis, a French center. Weis would never play in the NBA and is remembered for being on the wrong end of Vince Carter’s ‘Dunk of Death’ at the 2000 Olympics.   From 1999 to 2002, Artest would play for the Chicago Bulls. He was thrust into a starting role in Chicago and made the All-Rookie 2 nd team in his first year. During the 2001-02 season, Artest was traded to the Indiana Pacers for a package headlined by Jalen Rose. In Indiana, Artest would reach his peak, winni...

Most casual NBA fans know the term ‘Moreyball’ from watching the Houston Rockets. It gets it name from the Rockets’ GM, Daryl Morey, who helped turn Houston from also-rans into consistent championship contenders. But most people don’t know the origins of Moreyball and how it evolved into its current form. Moreyball has its roots in analytics, consistent with Morey’s status as a co-founder of the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The essence of the style is to take analytics-friendly shots (3 pointers and shots at the rim) while reducing the amount of non-analytical friendly shots (the long two or mid-range shot). This is mainly achieved by surrounding a big man with four shooters, ensuring that both 3-pointers as well as shots at the rim are taken. One of the first iterations of Moreyball was showcased by the 2009 Orlando Magic, who surrounded star center Dwight Howard with four shooters. This novel idea helped the Magic reach the 2009 NBA Finals, where they would go on to los...

There have only been 4 players who have ever recorded a quadruple double (Double digits in 4 categories). Hall Of Famers David Robinson, Nate Thurmond, Hakeem Olajuwon (twice) all recorded quadruple doubles in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. The 4th member of that esteemed list is Alvin Robertson. Unlike the other three, Robertson was a guard, and recorded his quadruple double in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He did not make the Basketball Hall Of Fame and his achievements have been forgotten by most NBA fans. Alvin Robertson was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 7 th pick in 1984 and would go on to play 10 seasons in the NBA, 5 with the Spurs, 3 with the Milwaukee Bucks, and 1 each with the Detroit Pistons and the Toronto Raptors. In only his 2 nd season in the league, he recorded 301 steals (3.7 per game), a record that still stands to this day. He would lead the league in steals two more times in his career and retired with an average of 2.7 steals per gam...