𝐍𝐁𝐀 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬

Abhay Pancharathi

In an ever-evolving NBA, new players join every single year. With new players come new playstyles, which begs the question, are certain playstyles more conducive to winning? Do the physical restrictions of a player, namely their height, play a role in what type of player they are? And lastly, can we predict breakout players based on how they play? 

To answer these questions I first divided all 366 eligible NBA players into three different position groups, those being guards(point and shooting guards), forwards(small and power forwards), and centers. Then, I defined the different archetypes for these positions, using two different box score statistics.

For guards, I used field goals made and assists to see whether or not a selected player was “pass first” or “shoot first”. Historically, guards are the ones who lead their offenses, and the ones who have the ball in their hands the most. Guards such as Isiah Thomas, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul made their money directing their offense through passing, as assists first players, but guards like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson led offenses by scoring. Both of these archetypes The rationale behind using these two stats as a metric to determine if a player passes first or assists first is that Field goals made are a product of made shots by the subjected player. In contrast, assists are field goals made as a result of a pass by the player. This properly encapsulates how many points a player is responsible for scoring-wise, and how many he’s responsible for by passing. Using CBSSports’ top 15 guards for the 2023 NBA season, I plotted these players on a plane with height being the X-Axis and FGM/AST ratio being the Y-Axis. What I found is that, almost exclusively, taller players tend to be more pass first, while shorter players tend to be more shoot first. There are obvious explanations for this phenomenon, mainly being that taller players can better see over the defense to deliver passes to teammates, while shorter players may have to compensate for their lack of vision with better shooting. Given the near-perfect split among the top left quadrant(short scorers) and the bottom right quadrant(tall passers), it can be assumed that these are the two archetypes most valued by NBA organizations. A lot of similar players, stylistically, are clumped together. Jalen Green, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Shaedon Sharpe, Kyrie Irving, and Devin Vassell all conjure up images of scoring-first secondary options. 

For the forwards, I used Rebounds and Assists, to see what forwards contribute to their teams. While some forwards contribute to their team by providing rebounding value, such as Lauri Markkanen and KAT, others run their team’s offense. Both are incredibly valuable, Jayson Tatum oftentimes initiates offense for the Celtics, but conversely, the Wolves wouldn’t have made the WCF without Karl Anthony Towns. I found that taller forwards are more likely to be assisters, while shorter ones are more likely to be rebounders. Historically, forwards were complimentary pieces to their teams, except for rare examples such as Dr. J (and even he played guard for several seasons). Players such as Scottie Pippen and Kevin Mchale, while excellent players are better known as the 2nd or 3rd fiddle on their teams. Since 2000 players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant, have proven that you can run a team through a forward, and it is possibly more productive than running your offense through a guard. This is interesting, as the taller forwards include 6’9 Jayson Tatum and 6’9 LeBron James. This follows the trend of NBA guards, in terms of taller players being assisters. This may have something to do with tall players being able to see over the defense and having the ball in their hands more. Additionally, taller forwards often function as secondary playmakers, allowing them to distribute the ball effectively. Their height gives them a vantage point to exploit mismatches and find open teammates. In contrast, shorter forwards may use their agility to secure rebounds and initiate fast breaks. Again, we see similar players in similar clusters, large forwards who can shoot such as KAT, Markkanen, and Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. all have similar REB/AST ratios.

For the Centers, I decided to use Rebounds and points. Much like guards, centers have historically had two different roles, primary focal points on offense or role players meant to end possesions with rebounds. In the early days of the NBA, we saw far more teams led by Centers. The Lakers with George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, and eventually Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Bucks with Abdul-Jabbar, the Knicks with Patrick Ewing, and the Rockets with Hakeem Olajuwon. Throughout history, we see that teams have a Center as their offensive focal point less and less. This may have to do with the popularization of the three-point shot and the sudden influx of 7 footers to make those Centers' jobs harder. Today, the centers capable of leading teams have a game outside of the post, Joel Embiid can pop out for mid-rangers and the occasional three-point shot, Nikola Jokic can do everything a guard does and is one of the most efficient mid-range players ever, and Victor Wembanyama can do absolutely everything. Indeed, these three players place in the top 10 among other offensively oriented centers such as Kristaps Porzingis, Alperen Sengun, and Naz Reid.