The Hidden Statistics That Control The NBA - Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a data scientist, economist and author. Basketball is one of the most popular sports on the planet. Seth has used advanced AI to statistically analyse everything about the players, their backgrounds, hand-span, height, first names and more to uncover some of the wildest trends in the game. Expect to learn what percentage of American men over 7 feet tall are in the NBA, where there is a huge outlier of the most common name of all NBA players, who the best height-adjusted player of all time is, just how important genetics are in basketball, whether the Draft is effective and much more... - 00:00 The Percentage of 7ft+ NBA Players 04:34 Is Being Tall Really a Basketball Advantage? 08:53 Why Americans Are Over-Represented in Basketball 12:21 How Genetic is Basketball Ability? 21:44 Chris is the Most Common Name of Black NBA Players 28:13 What Determines Who Chokes Under Pressure? 35:04 What Warren Buffet & Paul Millsap Have in Common 42:57 How Effective is the NBA Draft? 48:59 The Advantage of Being Able to Make Yourself Better 54:22 How Seth Used AI to Write About Basketball 1:00:56 Seth’s Goal to Write 100 Books - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Chris WilliamsonhostSeth Stephens-Davidowitzguest

Feb 24, 20241h 3mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 24, 2024
Duration: 1h 3m
Channel: Modern Wisdom
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is a data scientist, economist and author. Basketball is one of the most popular sports on the planet. Seth has used advanced AI to statistically analyse everything about the players, their backgrounds, hand-span, height, first names and more to uncover some of the wildest trends in the game. Expect to learn what percentage of American men over 7 feet tall are in the NBA, where there is a huge outlier of the most common name of all NBA players, who the best height-adjusted player of all time is, just how important genetics are in basketball, whether the Draft is effective and much more... - 00:00 The Percentage of 7ft+ NBA Players 04:34 Is Being Tall Really a Basketball Advantage? 08:53 Why Americans Are Over-Represented in Basketball 12:21 How Genetic is Basketball Ability? 21:44 Chris is the Most Common Name of Black NBA Players 28:13 What Determines Who Chokes Under Pressure? 35:04 What Warren Buffet & Paul Millsap Have in Common 42:57 How Effective is the NBA Draft? 48:59 The Advantage of Being Able to Make Yourself Better 54:22 How Seth Used AI to Write About Basketball 1:00:56 Seth’s Goal to Write 100 Books - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

SPEAKERS

Chris Williamson
host
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
guest

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, The Hidden Statistics That Control The NBA - Seth Stephens-Davidowitz explores how Hidden Genetics and Data Shape Who Actually Makes the NBA Seth Stephens‑Davidowitz explains how height, genetics, and overlooked statistics determine who reaches and succeeds in the NBA, arguing that basketball is unusually governed by biological luck. He details how traits like extreme height, hand size, and vertical leap are vastly more predictive than effort alone, and shows how popular narratives about players’ backgrounds often get the data wrong. Using large datasets and AI tools, he uncovers inefficiencies in NBA scouting, from undervalued standing jumps and hand size to the outsized impact of being an ex‑player’s son. The conversation also explores how AI supercharged his research process, what this means for talent, and how much hard work can or cannot overcome genetic limits.

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