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| Sam Hinkie, former Philadelphia 76ers GM, has changed the way analytics and data are used in professional sports |
It is the quest of every sports front office to build an
ultimate team, a dynasty to rule the league for the years to come. Though so
many organizations across the country strive for this feat, it is a rare
occurrence for it to actually happen. There’s no exact science to building a
perfect team, but when we look at the tale of Sam Hinkie we can see that there
is one key piece: Data. By using data, professional sports teams can make better
draft picks and ultimately build more successful teams.
Sam
Hinkie had been working most of life in the field of analytics, earning his
M.B.A from Stanford before entering as the General Manager for the Philadelphia
76ers. While most saw it as a pretty standard hire for the program, Hinkie was
about to change the league and sports as we know it forever. With a
number-driven, data-heavy approach Hinkie was looking to turn the mediocre
basketball team into one of the best franchises in the league.
After
pouring over the data Hinkie came up with a simple conclusion. In order to
build a better team, you simply need better draft picks. Pretty obvious right?
Nope. While fans and coaches around the league found his “findings” to be
rather fundamental, Hinkie took this insight to new extremes.
Hinkie
immediately started his tenure as the Sixers GM, by trading away their star
player Jrue Holiday, thus starting what Philadelphia fans coin “the process”.
For three straight years Hinkie began to tank the program, purposefully trading
away any player that showed any glimpse of hope for the team and losing as many
games as possible. Now purposefully losing may not seem like the way to start
winning, but for Hinkie that was what it was all that was about. "We talk
a lot about process—not outcome—and trying to consistently take all the best
information you can and consistently make good decisions. Sometimes they work
and sometimes they don't, but you reevaluate them all." Said Hinkie in
2013. For years the Sixers turned into the laughing stock of the NBA, with
consecutive records of 19-63, 18-64, 18-64, & 10-72.
Though
there was not much victory for Philadelphia on the court, Hinkie’s process was
slowly making its way in the draft. In 2014 Hinkie and the sixers selected Joel
Embiid with their number 3 pick in the draft. Embiid was a 7-foot-tall player
injury plagued player from Cameroon who had only started the sport at the age
of 16. The general basketball community questioned the strange pick of the
sixers, yet Hinkie continued to stick to his guns, with analytics showing that
Embiid was a once in a lifetime player. “I think, in hindsight, that people
undervalued young, foreign, dominant players, the cherry-picked example being
Dirk Nowitzki.” Stated Hinkie. The sixers later went onto select another number
three draft pick the following year followed by two number one picks.
Unfortunately,
Hinkie never truly got to see his masterpiece flourish. In 2016 Hinkie retired
from the program. Between Embiid being benched for two straight years due to
injuries and Jalil Okafor, the second number three draft pick, not panning out,
it seemed that the process was a failed experiment.
However, 5 years after Hinkie’s
start at GM and 2 years after his resignation, it seemed that the process was
finally coming together. By analyzing loads of data, Hinkie systematically
drafted a young core of talented generational players. In the 2018-19 season
the Sixers lead by a healthy Joel Embiid and rookie Ben Simmons, ended their
season on a 16-game win streak and made it to the second round of the playoffs.
This was their first playoff berth since 2011.
Though the team has yet to win a
championship, a core of young players promises a bright future for Philadelphia
basketball. Though Hinkie’s strategy did not take full form in the time span
that he was expecting, the data speaks for itself. By building a team
completely based on analytics Hinkie was able to take a failing program to
championship contenders. Whether Philadelphia will realize its goal of being
crowned finals champions is yet to be decided, but the process has proven
itself to the world of sports. Systematic data-driven front office moves can truly
help front offices build a better team.
Sources:
Patel, Nilkanth. “Sam Hinkie and the Analytics Revolution in Basketball.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/sam-hinkie-and-the-analytics-revolution-in-basketball.
“Philadelphia 76ers Draft Picks.” Basketball-Reference.com, www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHI/draft.html.
Rappaport, Max. “The Definitive History of 'Trust the Process'.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 4 Oct. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/2729018-the-definitive-history-of-trust-the-process.
Jared,
ReplyDelete1. I liked that you chose to write data and basketball because if anything will make the general public interested in data, it is sports. I think that is very relevant content considering sports teams are beginning to use data to improve their teams. I think you did an excellent job of finding content to write about that the public will want.
2. I also really liked that you included a discussion about how the coach's process may not have worked right away but there was later success with his data-centered approach to coaching. This topic will also be one that many will want to read about, and it is interesting as well.
3. According to Jay Bear, founder of Convince and Convert, in 11 Must-Dos for the Serious Blogger it is important to “where possible, don’t just ramble, be helpful.” The substance in your post was very useful to the reader and you did not ramble. Your post was relevant, interesting and informative.
1. My only suggestion would be to add another photo because the audience is engaged by photos, but it is not necessary because the one photo is engaging.
2. Bear also writes, “Whether you’re solo or part of a group blogging effort, being personal and showing yourself is critical. If people want to read content created by a nameless, faceless entity they can read a newspaper. Blogging is PERSONAL. That’s the whole point. I think your post is excellent but if I was to give one more constructive criticism point it would be you could make the post more personal, but I don’t think this is necessary because your content was great. But this could be another possible improvement for your post.
Jared,
ReplyDeleteI am very intrigued by your understanding of basketball and how data ties in with sports and building a better team. I am also doing my blog about something similar so I understand the importance of data in sports. I also enjoyed the "story-style" of your blog post in how it introduces itself with a story of Sam Hinkie and continues to tie in his tenure with the 76ers with data. This was a strong example to use. I believe Husker fan will agree that trusting "the process" takes time and shedding off some bad apples.
However, a couple improvements could be made to enhance your blog post. I believe that the use of visuals should go further than just a photo of Sam Hinkie. An infographic of players lost and gained could supplement your post. Another thing that could be added are some hashtags that relate to your post. Hashtags can help potential readers find your post.
Below is an article explaining the benefits of hashtags!
https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-hashtags/
Best regards,
Hiep Ngo