Danielle Borrino and Nicholas Gelder

Abstract:

This paper uses college basketball data from 2020-2021 and 2021-2021 seasons covering college basketball players’ performance and physical attributes that the NBA looks into when considering which players to draft. We chose these most recent years because we are looking for what the NBA is currently looking for in players when deciding who to draft. Using probit regression, we looked at college performance statistics and NBA Draft Combine data to determine what factors have the most significant impact on whether a player gets drafted into the NBA. Specifically, we looked into where the players played during college, their position, NBA combine statistics, and college performance based on averages of their whole season in college. Our analysis will help companies determine which players to sponsor using NIL, if those players are not drafted into the NBA and return to their college seasons. NIL refers to the use of an athlete’s name, image, and likeness through marketing and promotional endeavors.