The NBA has changed in recent years, with analytics ushering in a new era of basketball. Teams have fully embraced the analytical movement, with analytics impacting roster-building, game-planning, and more. However, some individuals are pushing back against analytics and insisting that the data-led approach is ruining the sport.
This includes two-time NBA champion David West , who recently shared some harsh words about the analytics movement and those who ushered it in.
West was a former first-round pick who became a two-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion. Over the course of his 15-year NBA career, he averaged 13.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 0.8 blocks while shooting 49.5% from the field.
West was a key role player during the Golden State Warriors ' dynasty. West won back-to-back championships with Golden State in 2017 and 2018, with the Warriors adopting analytics. However, West recently took to social media to wage war against analytics and what they are doing to the sport.
In response to some harsh words against him, West fired back , "I am neither insecure nor lack the intelligence to understand data. I'm a fan of the game, a lifer if you will, but the nerd influence is too much. Style, nuance, individualism, mid-range, post play, all gone. Dweeb based basketball is predictable. 3s or 2s, nothing else."
Going a step further, he added , "Dweeb based basketball. Save the sport from these geeks," before sharing a shot chart to show how NBA basketball has evolved due to analytics.
West also pointed to the 2026 NBA Finals, arguing that the San Antonio Spurs would have fared better if they replaced Victor Wembanyama with Tim Duncan .
"Yall dont really love the game, why are you in it? Leave the game alone. Swap Tim Duncan for Wemby, and the Spurs win the finals," West wrote . "He would not have been shooting 3s rather jump hooks and post-up buckets. Yall dont know basketball."
Today, the focus on analytics has rendered some play-styles and player archetypes essentially obsolete. However, with the rise of players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson as the last two Finals MVPs, the mid-range hasn't become a lost art quite yet. Instead, the focus is on efficiency, and the elite shooters still have free rein from virtually every spot on the floor. However, West wasn't willing to engage in that nuance.
West concluded his argument by stating that "analytic guys have infected the basketball world with their bs and kids and young athletes are discouraged from ever developing that [part of] their game." He added later , "Good night dweebs. These dudes dont know basketball."
With the success that squads like the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder have had since embracing analytics, it is hard to imagine the NBA moving away them anytime soon.
