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on Sports and Economics |
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Issue of 2012‒05‒22
one paper chosen by Joao Carlos Correia Leitao University of Beira Interior and Technical University of Lisbon |
| By: | Boon L Lee (QUT); Andrew Worthington (GU) |
| Abstract: | This note examines the productive efficiency of 62 starting guards during the 2011/12 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. This period coincides with the phenomenal and largely unanticipated performance of New York Knicks’ starting point guard Jeremy Lin and the attendant public and media hype known as Linsanity. We employ a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach that includes allowance for an undesirable output, here turnovers per game, with the desirable outputs of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game and an input of minutes per game. The results indicate that depending upon the specification, between 29 and 42 percent of NBA guards are fully efficient, including Jeremy Lin, with a mean inefficiency of 3.7 and 19.2 percent. However, while Jeremy Lin is technically efficient, he seldom serves as a benchmark for inefficient players, at least when compared with established players such as Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade. This suggests the uniqueness of Jeremy Lin's productive solution and may explain why his unique style of play, encompassing individual brilliance, unselfish play, and team leadership, is of such broad public appeal. |
| Keywords: | Data envelopment analysis, technical efficiency, basketball players |
| JEL: | D19 C61 M59 |
| Date: | 2012–05–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qut:dpaper:282&r=spo |