Every sporting league around the world is based on numbers. The NBA, too, is no different, but is the association snubbing raw talent by focusing too much on analytics instead? A former NBA champion stated Kobe Bryant as an example of a player who shattered the numbers approach. 

The league seems to be obsessed with the numbers. Of course, we would be unable to learn in-depth about a lot of areas without them, but sometimes the numbers hinder the true aspect of the game.

People tend to blindly believe these numbers, and if not for the others who went against it, we would’ve not enjoyed some real talented athletes grace the league. 

Kobe Bryant is a prime example of a player who defied analytics

Kobe Bryant was the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, and not many believed that this kid would go on to have a Hall of Fame career. But that’s where the analytics downplays an athlete, feels 1993 NBA champion, Darrell Walker.

Walker is now working as a head coach of the Little Rock Trojans, and he lashed out about how numbers degrade the sport during a recent appearance on ‘The Field of 68’ podcast. Walker admitted that he was not a fan of the number-driven approach since he thoroughly understands basketball. 

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“To me, it’s just ludicrous, and I can give you an example. Jerry West traded Vlade Divac, who’s a damn good player for an 18-year-old Kobe Bryant. He traded him to Charlotte for the 12th pick of the 18th, whatever pick it was for Kobe Bryant. Analytics didn’t tell Jerry West anything,” Walker mentioned. 

“He [West] brought Kobe, he watched film, he brought him in for a workout against Michael Cooper, he watched the workout and said this kid is going to be a ‘player’ and he traded a really good player a couple of times All-Star Vlade Divac to Charlotte for an 18-year-old player. So I don’t know what analytics would have said about that,” Walker added. 

Walker is heavily against numbers taking over the positions of former players

Darrell Walker has a simple logic. He’d rather hire a former player who played the game professionally as his team’s head coach rather than someone who purely trusts the numbers but has no prior experience. 

60-year-old Walker is just frustrated that there is a downward spike in the number of former players who are filling up head coach positions in the NBA.

“The NBA is run by a lot of guys that have never played at all. I’m not saying that it’s not a place for them, I’m just saying it should be a place for the guys that have played before to have some jobs. But it’s not like that it’s all set up. It’s just mind-boggling, and it’s really sad,” Walker expressed. 

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