Three Ideas for Kobe’s Next Move

Whenever an athlete of note announces his retirement, the conversation flows to the next phase of his life. Some recently retired NBA stars, like Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd, have followed in the footsteps of greats before them, going directly into the broadcasting or coaching ranks. Kobe Bryant is now in the process of choosing

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Why Statistical Analysis Makes Sports Fans Unhappy

Imagine you and your friend sat down to discuss a simple basketball question: Who is better—Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James? Basketball fans could spend hours debating a question like this. But let’s say you invited me to come along for the discussion. At first, this might seem like a good idea. My co-authors and I

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Max Money, Max Problems

When the Miami Heat signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh as free agents in 2010, it was a pretty big deal in basketball circles. People thought some wholesale change toward “superteams” would have to occur, and critics saw it as the death knell of “parity” in the NBA (a league in which two franchises, the

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