National Basketball Association

Are NBA Players Paid to Perform in the Clutch?

Authors: Kevin Sigler

Corresponding Author:
Kevin Sigler, PhD
601 College Road
Department of Economics and Finance
Cameron School of Business
UNC Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403
siglerk@uncw.edu
910-200-2076

Kevin Sigler is Professor of Finance in the Cameron School of Business, UNC Wilmington

Are NBA Players Paid to Perform in the Clutch?

ABSTRACT

The star players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) are paid extremely well. In the 2018-19 season there were 60 players in the NBA that were paid $17 million or more for their services. Stephen Curry was the highest paid at $37.5 million (Table 1). LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Russell Westbrook tied for second at salaries of $35.7 million (1). This study examines if the highest 60 paid NBA players are compensated for performing in the clutch. The research finds that the pay for the sample of highly paid NBA players is related to their field goal percentage and to assists to other players during the last four minutes of close games when the score is within five points. Their pay is tied significantly to field goal attempts in the last minute of close games as well. It appears from the results that NBA organizations reward players who at the end of close games make shots, are able to handle the ball, and set up their teammates to score as well as be willing to take shots in the last minute of tightly contested games.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-02-19T09:49:46-06:00February 28th, 2020|General|Comments Off

NBA Referee Missed Calls: Reasons and Solutions

Authors: Kevin Sigler

Corresponding Author:
Kevin Sigler, PhD
601 College Road
Department of Economics and Finance
Cameron School of Business
UNC Wilmington
Wilmington, NC 28403
siglerk@uncw.edu
910-200-2076

Kevin Sigler is Professor of Finance in the Cameron School of Business, UNC Wilmington

NBA Referee Missed Calls: Reasons and Solutions

ABSTRACT

This paper examines officiating in the NBA to determine if it has kept pace with the changes to the game. This research concludes that since the game is so fast now with athletes that are bigger, stronger and faster than any time in NBA history, NBA officiating should consider changing as well. Some possible modifications are adding more referees, allowing each official to sit out a portion of the game while being replaced by a fresh alternate, and using more cameras with referees viewing them remotely.

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U.S. Sports Academy2019-01-24T11:54:39-06:00January 24th, 2019|Commentary, Sports Management|Comments Off

NBA Players’ Pay and Performance: What Counts?

Authors: Kevin Sigler and William Compton

Corresponding Author:
Kevin Sigler, PhD
601 College Road
Department of Economics and Finance
Cameron School of Business
UNC Wilmington
Wilmingtomn, NC 28403
siglerk@uncw.edu
910-200-2076

Kevin Sigler is Professor of Finance in the Cameron School of Business, UNC Wilmington

William Compton is Professor of Finance in the Cameron School of Business, UNC Wilmington

NBA Players’ Pay and Performance: What Counts?

ABSTRACT
The stars in the National Basketball Association (NBA) are paid handsomely. In the 2017-18 season Stephen Curry received over $34.7 million and LeBron James made over $33.3 million on the court. Prior studies show that players are paid for points scored, rebounds, experience, assists, blocks, field goal percentage and fouls. But the NBA is evolving. Teams over the years have gone from seldom shooting the 3-point shot to making it the focus of their offense. Analytics that first received much attention in baseball with the money ball phenomenon are now in all sports as well. This study accounts for the change in the game by not only including significant variables from prior studies but by also incorporating the 3-point shot and the Hollinger player efficiency rating (PER) in analyzing what counts in determining NBA players’ pay. The researchers find that points, player experience (years in the league), assists, rebounds and fouls are statistically significant factors when it comes to paying NBA players but we also discover that 3-point shots made and Hollinger’s PER are insignificant. In addition, the researchers perform a backward stepwise regression eliminating insignificant independent variables one at a time (least significant each time) until the model includes only significant variables. Again, the same variables are statistically significant although the statistics for the stepwise model improve over the original model.
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U.S. Sports Academy2018-06-19T13:57:59-05:00August 2nd, 2018|Commentary, Sports Management|Comments Off

Determinants of NBA Player Salaries

Submitted by Dr. Robert Lyons Jr.1*, Dr. E. Newton Jackson Jr.2*, Dr. Aaron Livingston3*

1* Associate Professor, Sport Management, Queens University of Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

2* Professor, Sport Management, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL

3* Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Hampton University , Hampton, VA

Abstract

Determining the factors that influence National Basketball Association (NBA) owners to pay players is of great importance in light of financial constraints such as the NBA salary cap. The purpose of this study was to identify the performance variables i.e. scoring, assists, and fouls that significantly contributed to determine a NBA player’s salary. It was hypothesized that scoring performance variables such as points per game; field goal, free throw, and three point percentage would be significant contributors to player salaries. The authors utilized multiple regression to analyze the 2013-2014 salaries of 243 NBA players and their career performance variables. Results indicated that points per game, rebounds, and personal fouls contributed significantly to a player’s salary. Implications of these findings are discussed in this investigation.

Keywords: National Basketball Association, salary cap, player salaries

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U.S. Sports Academy2018-07-13T08:49:03-05:00May 29th, 2015|Contemporary Sports Issues|Comments Off