WNBA to use optical tracking to enhance player analysis
The WNBA will become the first women’s professional sports league in the U.S. to have league-wide optical tracking after entering a multi-year deal with Second Spectrum, a Genius Sports technology solution
NEW YORK (AP) — The WNBA will become the first women's professional sports league in the U.S. to have league-wide optical tracking after entering a multi-year deal with Second Spectrum, a Genius Sports technology solution.
With this deal, the WNBA will have access to 3D tracking data that will allow teams to use real-time advance stats that can measure categories such as shot quality, shooter impact and paint touches. It can also gauge a player's maximum speed and total distance covered in a game.
“Technology continues to fundamentally change the sports landscape,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Deploying state-of-the-art optical tracking technology through Genius Sports will deliver rich data to our teams that they can leverage to enhance player performance while informing in-game strategy and enable a new wave of insights and media elements for fans.”
There will be an array of cameras at each of the WNBA arenas that will help collect the data. Nearly half of the WNBA teams play in NBA arenas where the technology is already installed.
