Press Release, September 23 2020
Click here to view the NBA’s Press Release
Like most other sporting events in 2020 this year’s NBA pre-Draft process is going to look a little bit different.
This year the NBA Draft Combine will utilize their online ‘Combine HQ’ platform to provide teams with access to information and footage of this year’s Draft-eligible prospects so they do not need to attend an in-person event.
Previously used to enhance the 2019 Draft Combine, Combine HQ was developed by technology company Fusion Sport in their software platform Smartabase. It provides a central platform for all the pre-Draft information that teams need to assess Draft-eligible prospects online, a huge advantage in the current situation.
Whilst there will be no in-person event this year for teams and scouts the NBA will still host smaller regional events for Draft-eligible athletes in order to collect anthropometric, testing and shooting information.
This information will be added to their player profiles in Combine HQ, for which historical information such as college statistics and access to past game footage is already available. The real key to Combine HQ’s innovation, however, is that it provides more than just information; it also provides teams with the tools to compare and assess Draft prospects in much more detail.
Teams and scouts will have the ability to compare a particular player to their cohort, to past Draft Combine participants, to current NBA players and to positional averages. Teams are also able to dive deeper into a player’s performance history and view detailed shot charts and statistics.
Fusion Sport CEO and Co-Founder Dr. Markus Deutsch says
“Going into our second year of Combine HQ we were all set with another great step up in user experience and information for the teams. Now that the pre-Draft process is going online, the platform will take an even more pivotal role in this year’s NBA Draft process, which is really exciting for us.”
The regional events will also utilize innovative technology to test the athletes and collect results.
The Fusion Sport Smartspeed timing gates will be used to test speed and agility, as they have done at the Draft Combine for the past few years, with all results pulled into Combine HQ and added to the Draft prospect’s profile.
HomeCourt, a mobile basketball training application, will also be used at the regional events to collect shooting data. The video footage, shot charts and statistics captured via HomeCourt will all be linked into Combine HQ.
Executive Vice President of NBA Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeWeghe says
“We are excited to continue to utilize Combine HQ to help us serve NBA teams as they prepare for the 2020 NBA Draft and enhance player experience at the 2020 NBA Draft Combine and throughout the pre-Draft process.”
“Fusion Sport is a valuable partner providing a central hub of essential information for both NBA teams and potential draftees.”
Fusion Sport has been working with the NBA for several years and also has a large number of NBA teams as clients including Western Conference finalists the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets.
“Working with the NBA has been really fascinating and rewarding. They really leave no stone unturned and I take my hat off to them the way they have continued to adjust and deliver through 2020. I’m also really proud of how our team have continued to innovate and keep up with the constantly changing needs this year has presented.” says Dr Markus Deutsch.
About Fusion Sport and Smartabase
Fusion Sport is the global leader in human performance software. Our customers include national sporting federations, Olympic committees, many of the world’s highest profile sporting teams, research and operational wings of military organizations and performing arts. Our flagship product, Smartabase, is an intuitive platform of tools for customizing a performance data management system, without having to be a programmer or IT expert. Smartabase can be deployed to capture and analyze any type of data and then automate the analysis, reporting and sharing of that data. Smartabase provides a central hub for managing human performance data and automating a range of reporting and alerting features. It also offers powerful integration features to assist with the aggregation of data from hundreds of different technology products and systems.
For more information contact us here
