SAP and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that the league is finally rolling out a new and improved stats section on its flagship website NBA.com, giving hardcore fans more ways to crunch seemingly endless amounts of statistics. It’s powered by SAP’s HANA in-memory database technology.
The project was announced last July. “We know our fans are just super hungry for stats,” Michael Gliedman, senior vice president and chief information officer for the NBA said at the time. “[The statistics section] is a very well-trafficked piece of NBA.com. They’re always looking for new angles on stuff that’s happening in the game.”
Information now available on the NBA.com/stats section of the site includes:
- Every NBA box score: Dating back to the inaugural 1946-47 season, every NBA box score will be available, including memorable games such as Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962 and Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006.
- Advanced shooting charts: Comprehensive diagrams illustrating offensive and defensive performance, where on the court players shot from, and more.
- Top lineup combinations: The best two- through five-man lineup combinations over the last six seasons. Combinations can be sorted based on a variety of statistics.
- In-depth statistical breakdowns: Per possession, player/team comparisons and additional in-depth statistics with many breakdown options.
- Pages for every NBA player: Complete individual statistical pages for every player in NBA history.
The box scores from 1946-1995 were initially paper-based, according to the NBA, so it undertook a year-long initiative to validate, digitize and enter each one into the database.