Even the most dedicated basketball fans often find advanced metrics confusing. No surprise in that — game analytics have transformed over recent decades. Today, the EuroLeague showcases a blend of strategic play and individual brilliance since traditional statistics such as points, rebounds, and assists, often fall short of capturing the true essence of a player's impact.

It’s hard to argue that talent evaluation should go beyond traditional counting. Still, a more nuanced player analysis often leads to confusion. After all, the first metric everyone pays attention to is victory.

Looking at modern basketball is sometimes like watching the Chicken Road gambling game, where people place wagers on whether the chicken will cross that road or not. But basketball understanding does not need to be as simplistic as that. And that's where advanced metrics come in.

Traditional statistics tell us what happened; advanced metrics help explain why and how those events occurred within the broader game context. Back to our Chicken Road slot game example, traditional metrics offer a yes/no, win/loss outcome — the chicken crossed or it didn’t. Advanced analytics, however, offer a greater degree of detail.

Player efficiency rating attempts to capture a player's overall contribution in a single number. The formula includes:

? Positive contributions (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks);

? Negative contributions (turnovers, missed shots, personal fouls);

? Team context and pace adjustments.

PER has become especially valuable in European basketball, where playing time is often more evenly distributed than in the NBA, making per-game averages potentially misleading.

To understand the value of advanced metrics, consider how differently they can portray player performance:

Player	PPG	RPG	APG	PER	PIR	Win Shares
Player A	18.2	3.1	2.6	22.4	19.2	8.7
Player B	12.5	7.3	5.2	24.1	22.8	10.2
Player C	21.3	4.2	1.8	18.9	16.5	6.4

In this example, Player C scores the most points per game, but Player B contributes more to winning according to advanced metrics. This illustrates how traditional box scores can sometimes misrepresent a player's overall impact.

For beginners, PER may be the most important indicator. For example, EuroLeague player Shane Larkin of Anadolu Efes led the 2023-2024 league with a PER of 19.9, accumulating a total of 698 efficiency points over 35 games. But PER is not the only metric that matters.

The EuroLeague's Performance Index Rating (PIR) offers another comprehensive metric specific to European competition. This system:

? Rewards positive statistical contributions;

? Penalises negative actions;

? Provides an immediate overall performance score;

? Simplifies complex contributions into a digestible number.

PIR has become the standard efficiency metric across most European competitions and is featured prominently in league statistics and broadcasts.

Teams across Europe are using advanced metrics for:

Coaches no longer rely solely on their intuition; instead, they incorporate data-driven insights to maximise team performance and player development.

Despite their value, advanced metrics have notable limitations:

? They cannot capture intangible contributions such as leadership and basketball IQ;

? Defensive contributions remain difficult to quantify accurately;

? Sample size issues can skew results.

For fans who want a deeper understanding of the game, advanced metrics are a generous source of new perspectives. Again, just like gamblers who study the patterns in the Chicken Road game demo before placing a real bet, basketball fans should get acquainted with in-depth analytics to really savour the game.

Besides, broadcasters across Europe regularly incorporate advanced statistics into their coverage. While they try to educate audiences as best as they can, time constraints do not always leave much room for such education — so, it’s up to the fans.

Advanced metrics have transformed how we evaluate basketball performance across European leagues, revealing hidden values and challenging conventional wisdom. The statistical revolution continues to evolve as teams, analysts, and fans seek an ever more nuanced understanding of the game.

On the whole, advanced basketball metrics are far from perfect. They do have their limitations, but they still provide valuable insights when used appropriately and in context.