David Berri
Encyclopedia
David J. Berri is a sports economist and an professor
of economics
at Southern Utah University
, known for his sometimes-controversial analysis of NBA basketball
. He is a past president of the North American Association of Sports Economists
, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics
and The International Journal of Sport Finance.
with a B.A.
in economics in 1991, and earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Colorado State University
. He taught economics at Coe College
and California State University-Bakersfield before accepting a position at Southern Utah University in 2008.
in The New Yorker
and Joe Nocera in the New York Times. In The Wages of Wins, Berri, Schmidt, & Brook look at the 4 major North America
n sports from an academic, econometric point of view, investigating issues like the relationship between payrolls and wins, quarterback
play in the NFL, and competitive balance in baseball
.
The portion of the book that has drawn the most attention—positive and negative—has been Berri's analysis of the NBA, particularly with regard to player performance. By running a series of linear regression
s, Berri has developed a model called "Wins Produced", which "explains 95% of team wins". The Wins Produced model is a refinement of an earlier model put forth in a 1999 paper published in the journal "Managerial and Decision Economics.
Berri's work is frequently viewed as a lightning rod for criticism because the Wins Produced model often runs counter to the conventional wisdom of basketball
. Berri has not discouraged such controversy, either, in his posts for The Wages of Wins accompanying blog, "The Wages of Wins Journal", which frequently criticizes NBA decision-makers (i.e., coaches and general manager
s)and members of the media.
's Player Efficiency Rating
in the past, asserting that the PER formula is not empirically sound because the weights for each event were established intuitively by Hollinger rather than through a regression à la Wins Produced though Hollinger has said regression was used as part of the basis for the weights. He has also criticized non-box score-based stats like Adjusted Plus-Minus, claiming that the basic box score numbers tell decision-makers most of what they need to know about a player's value.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
at Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University, or SUU, is located in Cedar City, Utah. It was founded in 1897 as an extension of the Agricultural College of Utah, by the citizens of Cedar City.During its history, the school has been known as:...
, known for his sometimes-controversial analysis of NBA basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. He is a past president of the North American Association of Sports Economists
North American Association of Sports Economists
The North American Association of Sports Economists is an organization that promotes and facilitates research and teaching in the economics of sports. NAASE was founded in 2007. The organization emerged from the many sessions focused on sports economics at the Western Economic Association...
, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Sports Economics
Journal of Sports Economics
The Journal of Sports Economics is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Sage Publications focusing on the economics of sports. It was founded by economist Leo "Harold" Kahane in 2000 and is considered the leading journal for research on sports economics. The JSE is published in...
and The International Journal of Sport Finance.
Academic Background
Berri graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan UniversityNebraska Wesleyan University
Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education....
with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in economics in 1991, and earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
. He taught economics at Coe College
Coe College
Coe College is a private, four-year, liberal arts college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Founded in 1851, the institution is historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church . Its current president is James R. Phifer. It is one of the smaller universities to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa...
and California State University-Bakersfield before accepting a position at Southern Utah University in 2008.
The Wages of Wins
Berri is best-known for co-authoring, along with Martin Schmidt and Stacey Brook, the 2006 book The Wages of Wins: Taking Measure of the Many Myths in Modern Sport. The book opened to favorable reviews in several major media outlets, including endorsements from Malcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell, CM is a Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He is currently based in New York City and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996...
in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and Joe Nocera in the New York Times. In The Wages of Wins, Berri, Schmidt, & Brook look at the 4 major North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n sports from an academic, econometric point of view, investigating issues like the relationship between payrolls and wins, quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
play in the NFL, and competitive balance in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
.
The portion of the book that has drawn the most attention—positive and negative—has been Berri's analysis of the NBA, particularly with regard to player performance. By running a series of linear regression
Linear regression
In statistics, linear regression is an approach to modeling the relationship between a scalar variable y and one or more explanatory variables denoted X. The case of one explanatory variable is called simple regression...
s, Berri has developed a model called "Wins Produced", which "explains 95% of team wins". The Wins Produced model is a refinement of an earlier model put forth in a 1999 paper published in the journal "Managerial and Decision Economics.
Berri's work is frequently viewed as a lightning rod for criticism because the Wins Produced model often runs counter to the conventional wisdom of basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Berri has not discouraged such controversy, either, in his posts for The Wages of Wins accompanying blog, "The Wages of Wins Journal", which frequently criticizes NBA decision-makers (i.e., coaches and general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
s)and members of the media.
Criticism
Berri has come out in opposition of traditional linear weights-style NBA evaluatory statistics like TENDEX and the NBA's official "efficiency" metric, claiming that they overvalue scoring and undervalue shooting efficiency. He has also been critical of John HollingerJohn Hollinger
John Hollinger is an analyst and writer for ESPN. He primarily covers the NBA. Hollinger grew up in Mahwah, New Jersey and is a 1993 graduate of the University of Virginia....
's Player Efficiency Rating
Player Efficiency Rating
The Player Efficiency Rating is ESPN Insider writer John Hollinger's all-in-one basketball rating, which attempts to boil down all of a player's contributions into one number. Using a detailed formula, Hollinger developed a system that rates every player's statistical performance.-Introduction:PER...
in the past, asserting that the PER formula is not empirically sound because the weights for each event were established intuitively by Hollinger rather than through a regression à la Wins Produced though Hollinger has said regression was used as part of the basis for the weights. He has also criticized non-box score-based stats like Adjusted Plus-Minus, claiming that the basic box score numbers tell decision-makers most of what they need to know about a player's value.