Basketball beyond Paper: Insights into the Game's Analytics Revolution

by Dean Oliver

As a follow-up to Dean Oliver’s Basketball on Paper, Basketball beyond Paper recounts the insights gained over Oliver’s twenty years of experience using statistics to understand basketball.

Genres: Sports, Basketball, Nonfiction

310 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2024

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is very fitting. While it focuses on basketball through the lens of analytics, it stretches the eyes of the reader beyond the paper (or computer) to the impact on the court, which typically comes through communication and relationships. As a data scientist in baseball, this resonates deeply. Your models can be the most accurate or predictive, but they don’t mean anything if they cannot meaningfully impact the decision maker/coach/player. Appreciate Oliver’s perspectives on this and learning more about the application of basketball analytics. Who knows, maybe I’ll make the switch from studying the diamond to the hardwood sometime.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this book for the CSU Statistics Book Club in Fall 2025. In Basketball Beyond Paper, Dean Oliver updates and expands upon the statistical analyses he first introduced in Basketball on Paper. The book alternates between Oliver’s personal journey in basketball analytics—including behind-the-scenes insights from his work with NBA teams—and chapters that delve into the methods and applications of advanced basketball statistics.

The mathematical material is mostly relegated to the appendix, and even there it’s not explored in depth, making the book more accessible but occasionally light on technical detail. Some sections can be tough to follow if you’re not familiar with a wide range of NBA players, and I found myself skimming those portions more quickly. Still, I came away with a deeper understanding of basketball analytics and especially appreciated Oliver’s discussion of how to break into the field and what life is like as an NBA statistician. It’s not a perfect book, but it’s among the best I’ve read on the subject.

[William Torgerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

analytics that can be used practically

One of the questions this book got me thinking about was this: if I planned practices around the most important statistics when it comes to winning basketball games, what would those practices look like?

[Clay Kallam · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the surface, it's just five guys on each team and one basketball. But Dean Oliver was one of the first to really dig deep into the numbers that define the game. At that time, however, no one had access to the kind of data available today and basketball analytics was definitely in the Stone Age.

"Basketball beyond Paper," on the other hand, takes full advantage of all of the modern tools and Oliver delivers some unexpected insights into the way the game is played. Equally important, he talks about how important it is for numbers and human interaction to work together. Coaches and players aren't going to take deep dives into analytic formulas. They want to know what will make their game and their team better. and communicating that isn't as easy as it might seem.

What that means in terms of the book is that "Basketball beyond Paper" isn't quite as revolutionary as Oliver's first book, "Basketball on Paper," was in 2004, but basketball junkies, like me, will devour every page. If you're deeply into the game, you will too.

(On a personal note, I met Oliver when he lived in the Bay Area and he came out and scrimmaged with my Bentley girl's basketball team. In the apotheosis of my basketball life, he mentioned me in his acknowledgements for "Basketball on Paper," for which I am forever grateful.)

[AndrewMillerTheSecond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basketball Beyond Paper is a solid, if sometimes too specific, look at what analytics can tell us about the modern NBA. It’s better than the other book (The Midrange Theory) I read on the subject so it’s a 4/5. I appreciated his straightforward style and even though I was looking for a broad explainer on basketball analytics, his personal journey—which is about four chapters of the 20 in the book—on how he became an analyst and the different teams he worked for was enjoyable enough. I may have actually liked this book better if he did what he said he was planning on writing originally, which would’ve been more numbers-oriented, but writing it the way he did makes it digestible to the average fan (and the hard data stuff gets put in the appendices). As a baseball fan first and foremost, it seems that it’s simply harder to suss out value in basketball because it’s so difficult to apportion credit. Regardless, there is still a lot to be learned by looking at the advanced metrics.

[Kyle P · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ability to put myself in Oliver’s shoes and learn about his journey was truly inspiring. After quitting his corporate job to pursue his basketball dreams, he went on to have a successful NBA front office and coaching career. After reading Basketball on Paper, I expected Basketball Beyond Paper to involve more advanced and contemporary analysis methods for basketball, so I was surprised to see that there was very little. Despite my surprise, Oliver’s narrative and anecdotes to his time working in the NBA were invaluable and gave me a better perspective of what it might be like. Additionally, it was refreshing to see his perspective on analytics evolve in tandem with coaching methods and player development strategies. I would recommend this book to all basketball coaches too. 4.5/5 stars

[Brittany]

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I'm not as avid of a basketball fan/viewer anymore, but I thought this was an interesting contribution that answers the question, "Why do stats matter? Why use them?" I think basketball fans will enjoy this one!

[Jeff Wait · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one does a great job bridging the gap between numbers and humanity in basketball analytics. It’s part memoir, part theory, part reference and all awesome for hoop heads. Does such a good job of answering “why use analytics,” as told by the authority on the topic.

[Jason Teno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the insights that went beyond basketball. Working in an analytics space for a retail company, it was eye opening how these principles of analytics departments in basketball could apply to business. Great work, Dean!

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only three stars because it got WAAAAY to technical for me. I thought I knew basketball analytics but this went far into the weeds and I never found my way out. More for those working in the field than for the average fan.

[Matthew Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. I really enjoyed basketball on paper, and enjoyed this one just as much. Dean Oliver's insights from his experience, mixed with great writing make this a joy to read.

[Bill Mill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, was more about the usage of analytics in a sports business context than it was about analytics themselves. I’d prefer more of the math, but understand why they wrote this instead

[Andrew Lawlor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking read for anyone interested in basketball analytics. Also really enjoyed the stories from Dean’s time in the league