We begin with the player who did not take the shot. Their route may explain more about the possession than the final box-score entry.
Velvetrainbanter.living is an independent publication about AI basketball player tracking: the automated analysis of movement, positioning and game decisions. We write for coaches who want clearer questions and players who want to understand what happens between touches.
Our point of view
Technology is most useful when it improves observation. A route can help locate a late cut. A positional summary can reveal a recurring crowding problem. An outcome estimate can challenge our reaction to a missed shot. None of these replaces the possession's context or the player's account.
We want the next replay to be more revealing, not the next dashboard to be more crowded.
How we handle evidence
We distinguish direct observations, model estimates and tactical interpretations. The possessions described here are teaching illustrations, not tracked match data. Editorial photographs provide atmosphere and visual reference; they do not substantiate numerical claims.
We do not claim access to private NBA, WNBA, EuroLeague or club tracking feeds. We are not affiliated with those organisations, FIBA, the NCAA or the technology providers named below. There are no paid product endorsements or affiliate links in these pages.
A small reference shelf
These sources and established entities provide context for further reading. Their inclusion is not a claim that they endorse our essays or use the same methods in every setting.
- FIBA — official rules and court specifications.
- NBA Stats and WNBA — professional basketball context and published statistics.
- NCAA and Euroleague Basketball — competition-specific context.
- Hudl, Sportradar and Genius Sports — examples of organisations working across sports video, data or technology; not recommendations.
- MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference — a wider forum for sports analytics discussion.
- Basketball on Paper, Dean Oliver — a foundation for efficiency-based basketball thinking.
- SprawlBall, Kirk Goldsberry — an accessible discussion of basketball's spatial evolution.
- The IFAB is a football rules body, not a basketball authority; sport-specific standards should never be borrowed without checking relevance.
- Information Commissioner's Office — UK data protection guidance.
Core mathematical ideas in our explanations include Euclidean distance, convex hulls, Voronoi diagrams and planar camera mapping. A familiar mathematical label does not remove uncertainty from the observations that feed it.
Corrections and questions
If a definition is unclear or a passage overstates what a method can establish, tell us which page and sentence need attention. Please avoid sending confidential team material or identifiable player footage. We welcome a well-framed basketball question more than a large attachment.
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