How the NBA is using technology based on military missile tracking

If you've seen the movie Moneyball, then you know how analytics (also called Sabermetrics) have changed the game of baseball forever. Now the NBA is using technology to get better statistics on players.

Six cameras in the rafters will be able to keep track of each players on the court. The cameras are based on “military missile tracking technology.” How they're performing in dozens of ways, everything from the number of touches, speed, distance, separation to passes and assists. “Those cameras are … locating the players and the ball, and they're doing it 25 times a second,” said Brian Kopp of Stats, the company that created the system. As the game progresses, all the video is turned into graphics showing how each player is doing during the game. 

Coaches have said that they'll still rely mainly on what they see and their gut, but not everybody likes the new tech. Some proponents of analytics say it's not revolutionizing the game, and player are trying not to make it a distraction by thinking about it.

The technology has now been installed in all 30 NBA venues and will be used this season.