1. Reading Between the Lines:
How SportVU Cameras are
Revolutionizing the NBA
By Robbie Loeb

2. What is SportVU?
SportVU is a player tracking system developed by
the sports analytics company STATS LLC that uses
mounted cameras equipped with Israeli missile-
tracking technology to record and track the position of
everything on the field or court – the players, the ball,
even the referees. The data is then compiled in a
variety of ways, delivering reports on speed, distance,
spacing and possession, as well as how those change
with regard to lineups, opponents, time, or just about
anything else a team may want to measure.

4. Cameras
• 6 cameras located
along catwalk
• 3 cameras per half
• Complex algorithms
record X/Y/Z position
data of players, ball,
referees in real time
• Data collected 25x per
second

5. Data Concepts
Player Team Ball
Speed/Distance
- Avg, max, instant speed
- Total, possession distance
Speed/Distance
- Avg, max, instant speed
- Total, possession distance
- True pace of play
Speed/Distance
- Avg, max, instant speed
- Shots, passes, block
Shooting
- FG% by location
- Distance on shots
- Location tendencies
- TOP – shot vs. pass
- Shot logs
- Catch and shoot
Shooting
- FG% by location
- Distance on shots
- Location tendencies
- TOP – shot vs. pass
- Shot logs
- Catch and shoot
Shooting
- Player arc comparison on
makes vs. misses
- Goaltending accuracy
Passing
- % of passes led to assists
- Total, avg # of passes
- FG% based on passer
- Pass distance
Passing
- % of passes led to assists
- Total, avg # of passes
- FG% based on passer
- Pass distance
Movement
- Automated pass, dribble,
shot counter
- Connect # of passes,
dribbles with play results
- FG% on shots off dribble

6. Data Concepts (cont’d)
Player Team Ball
Defense
- FG% based on defender
distance/location
- Exact defensive spacing
- Response to exact player
tendencies
Defense
- Tendencies/exact position
and results
- Exact defensive spacing
- Closest defender
Defense
- TOP breakdown by play and
total game
- Connect TOP to results
Rebounding
- Contested rebounds
- Rebound vicinity
- Rebound %
Rebounding
- Contested rebounds
- Rebound vicinity
- Rebound %
Touch Type
- Elbow
- Wing
- Paint
- Post
- Drives
Touch Type
- Elbow
- Wing
- Paint
- Post
- Drives

7. Highlighted Content:
Ball and Player Information
• Using XYZ coordinate
information, the tracking
software automatically
calculates player touches,
dribbles and passing data.
• The SportVU tracking data
is combined with
traditional game statistics
to provide a full view of the
game as well as many
creative evaluative metrics.

8. Highlighted Content:
Player Movement
• SportVU tracks
player and ball
movement on
both offense
and defense,
recording each
player’s speed
(avg, current,
top) and
distance
traveled.
• Analysis of this
data allows
hustle, energy
fatigue and
pace to be
quantified.

9. Highlighted Content:
Possession
• Possession information
includes individual touches,
time of possession, passes
made/received, dribbles,
location tendencies and
defensive coverage.
• Analyzing a player’s
possession data allows for
coaches to better
understand a player’s
efficiency and impact on a
game.

10. Highlighted Content:
Touch Location
• SportVU tracks whether a
player’s first touch is at
the elbow, on the wing, in
the paint or on a drive.
• Analysis of how players
operate at different spots
on the court allows
coaches to see at which
spots players are most
efficient.

11. League Leaders:
Speed and Distance
Player
Distance Traveled
(total miles)
Average speed
(mph)
Distance Traveled
per Game
1. Nicolas Batum 216.04 4.40 2.6
2. Monta Ellis 208.33 4.10 2.5
3. Damian Lillard 207.49 4.20 2.5
4. Paul George 203.89 4.20 2.5
5. Kevin Durant 202.62 3.90 2.5
Speed and Distance measures average speed and distance traveled for
all movements (sprinting, jogging, standing, walking) by a player on
the court.

12. League Leaders:
Touches/Possession
Player
Touches per
Game
Points per Touch Total Touches
1. John Wall 95.0 0.20 7696
2. Kemba Walker 100.3 0.18 7219
3. Kyle Lowry 90.0 0.20 7022
4. Ricky Rubio 85.1 0.11 6979
5. Damian Lillard 84.0 0.25 6888
Touches/Possession measures how many times a player touches or
possesses the ball during a game.

13. League Leaders:
Passing
Player
Passes per
Game
Points by Assist
per Game
Total Assists
1. John Wall 70.1 21.3 717
2. Ricky Rubio 69.4 20.2 703
3. Chris Paul 71.5 24.5 663
4. Stephen Curry 53.0 19.2 656
5. Brandon Jennings 59.9 17.0 609
Passing measures the total number of passes made by a player, as well
as the outcome of that pass (basket, free throw, assist, etc.)

14. League Leaders:
Defensive Impact
Player Opp FG% at Rim
Opp FGM at Rim
per Game
Total Blocks
1. Serge Ibaka 43.9% 4.2 219
2. DeAndre Jordan 49.4% 5.1 203
3. Anthony Davis 48.9% 3.2 189
4. Roy Hibbert 41.4% 4.1 182
5. Tim Duncan 47.6% 4.4 139
Defensive Impact measures defensive statistics based on the
defender’s proximity to the basket and the shooter (within 5 feet of
both).

15. League Leaders:
Rebounding Opportunities
Player
REB Chances
per Game
% of Available
REB Grabbed
Total REB
1. DeAndre Jordan 19.0 71.6% 1114
2. Andre Drummond 18.8 70.3% 1071
3. Kevin Love 18.9 66.1% 963
4. Joakim Noah 18.0 62.5% 900
5. Dwight Howard 17.8 68.5% 866
Rebounding Opportunities measure how many rebounds a player
collects given the number of opportunities within 3.5 feet.

16. League Leaders:
Drives
Player PPG on Drives
Team PPG on
Drives
Total Player PTS
on Drives
1. Monta Ellis 7.3 12.5 596
2. Kevin Durant 6.2 8.4 504
3. Tyreke Evans 6.7 11.8 480
4. LeBron James 6.0 9.4 463
5. Damian Lillard 5.6 8.6 461
Drives measure how many times a player touches the ball at least 20
feet from the hoop and dribbles to within 10 feet (excluding fast
breaks).

17. League Leaders:
Catch and Shoot
Player
Catch and Shoot
PPG
Catch and Shoot
3FGM per Game
Total Catch and
Shoot PTS
1. Klay Thompson 9.1 2.4 728
2. Dirk Nowitzki 8.5 1.5 680
3. Kyle Korver 8.4 2.4 591
4. Channing Frye 6.9 1.9 562
5. Wes Matthews 6.8 2.1 554
Catch and Shoot relates to all jump shots outside 10 feet in
which the shooter does not dribble and holds the ball for
two seconds or less.

18. League Leaders:
Pull-up Shots
Player
Pull-up Shots
per Game
Pull-up 3FGM
per Game
Total Pull-up PTS
1. Stephen Curry 11.0 2.0 848
2. Kevin Durant 8.1 1.1 658
3. Carmelo Anthony 7.4 0.6 570
4. Kyrie Irving 7.9 1.0 558
5. John Wall 6.6 0.5 534
Pull-up shots relate to jumpshots outside 10 feet in which the shooter
takes one or more dribbles prior to shooting.

19. Practical Uses of SportVU Data
in Basketball
• Player and team evaluation
• Opponent scouting
• Player development
• Evaluating draft candidates
• Contract negotiations
• Referee evaluation
• Broadcast enhancement presentation/analysis
• Web & mobile gamecasts
• Brand and sponsorship activation

20. Research & Development
• SportVU is already featured in many
soccer stadiums worldwide and all 29 NBA
arenas, as well as a few NCAA arenas
(Duke, Louisville and Marquette).
• There are plans to expand to include the
NHL, NFL and cricket, with in-game tests
already underway.

21. Works Cited
Ecker, Danny. "How New Sports Stats Produce Better Financials." STATS. STATS LLC, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.stats.com/pdfs/SportVU_CrainsChicagoBusiness.pdf>.
• This article lent insight into how the SportVU statistics can be compiled and branded for additional revenue, as well as all the revenue-generating
capability of the new technology.
Ellington, Trey, and Eric Jenvey. "SportVU: The Revolution of Analytics in Basketball." CapTech Consulting. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.captechconsulting.com/blog/trey-ellington/sportvu-the-revolution-analytics-basketball>.
• This article talked about some of the ways SportVU will impact coaches, players, fans and referees.
Grantland. "How SportVU Cameras Are Changing The NBA | Zach Lowe and Brian Kopp." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ugQ5MQX0HU>.
• This interview between Grantland.com writer Zach Lowe and STATS LLC vice president Brian Kopp provided me with excellent background
information on SportVU and all its statistical capabilities, as well as some major things to highlight from the technology.
McCann, Zach. "Player Tracking Transforming NBA Analytics." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 18 May 2012. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
<http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/492/492>.
• This article gave me a lot of the basis of my paper, talking about first what SportVU is and what it does, more more importantly it discusses the
things it will do in the future and how that will change the way the league operates.

22. Annotated Bibliography (cont’d)
"Player Tracking." NBA Stats – Player Tracking. NBA.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://stats.nba.com/playerTracking.html>.
• This source provided me with the league leaders for some advanced stats based on SportVU data. Additionally, I used some images from this
source in my presentation.
"Rebounding Report." NBA: Inside the Numbers. STATS LLC, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.stats.com/pdfs/NBA_InsidetheNumbers_ReboundingAnalysis.pdf>.
• This report helped me to see and understand the kinds of reports and analysis that can be done based on the SportVU data.
STATS LLC. "SportVU NBA." YouTube. YouTube, 09 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOQEl_tkEwE>.
• This video is an example of how a basketball game is tracked using SportVU. I used it in my presentation to aid in the explanation of what
SportVU is and does.
STATS. STATS LLC, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://www.stats.com/sportvu/sportvu.asp>.
• This source provided me with most of my information on the types of data and the capabilities of the technology of the SportVU system.
Witz, Billy. "College Basketball Data Aplenty for Those Who Can Afford It." The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Apr.
2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/sports/ncaabasketball/sportvu-offers-college-basketball-data-for-those-who-can-afford-
it.html?_r=0>.
• This article talked about how SportVU has and will continue to impact NCAA basketball. It discusses how only the teams (or conferences) with
large enough operating budgets will be able to afford to install the technology.