The use of analytics to evaluate the action unfolding in the NBA is a hot-button issue between the drivers of the movement and former players. In a discussion with The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner, ESPN analyst and former NBA player Jalen Rose discussed how he views the discourse between both sides.
When asked about why former players aren’t always onboard with analytics-driven observations, Rose revealed that his sticking point comes down to racial overtones.
No. 1, there are many people that feel like it has a cultural overtone to it that basically suggests that, even though I may not have played and you did, I am smarter than you, and I know some things that you don’t know, and the numbers support me, not you.