A team from Cornell University has applied density-functional fluctuation theory—a method originally used to predict the collective actions of electrons in quantum systems—to analyze player positions in the NBA. Led by Professor Tomás Arias from the College of Arts and Sciences, the team used this theory to predict how players position themselves on the court and rank their defensive contributions.

The research also focused on quantifying “player gravity,” a measure of how strongly a player draws defenders due to his threat to score. Boris Barron, M.S. ’21, Ph.D. ’24, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany, explained that while the term “gravity” is commonly used in basketball, defining it mathematically has proven challenging.

The findings were published on June 5 in Scientific Reports under the title “Analyzing NBA Player Positions and Interactions With Density-Functional Fluctuation Theory.” Co-authors on the report include Professor Arias and Nathan Sitaraman, M.S. ’18, Ph.D. ’22, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education.

Source: Cornell University

Source Type: College

Source Location: Ithaca

Ithaca, NY

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