Basketball Data Scientist, Phoenix Suns

About the role

The Basketball Analytics team at Player 15 Group partners across Basketball Operations to transform data, research, and technology into actionable insights for various stakeholders. This role focuses on translating ambiguous basketball questions into clear analytical plans, research designs, models, tools, and recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Own high-impact basketball data science and analysis initiatives.
• Translate ambiguous basketball questions into clear analytical plans, research designs, models, tools, and recommendations.
• Conduct basketball research using statistical modeling, machine learning, exploratory analysis, and domain expertise to uncover actionable insights.
• Build, validate, and maintain models that help evaluate players, teams, lineups, tactics, and basketball decision-making questions.
• Work with large and complex basketball datasets, including tracking/spatiotemporal data, play-by-play, event data, lineup/personnel data, scouting information, and other internal sources.
• Develop tools, workflows, and data products that turn research into decisions.
• Write clean, reproducible code in Python or R for analysis, modeling, reporting, and internal workflows.
• Build internal tools, dashboards, visualizations, and workflows when needed to move projects forward quickly.
• Partner with the Engineering team to productionalize high-value model outputs, tools, and data products.
• Document methods, assumptions, limitations, and outputs clearly so work can be reused, reviewed, and extended by the broader analytics team.
• Support basketball stakeholders with clear analysis and communication.
• Collaborate with front office, coaching, scouting, player development, and basketball strategy groups to ensure analysis is connected to real basketball decisions.
• Communicate complex technical findings through clear recommendations, written reports, visualizations, and presentations.
• Help scope problems, prioritize work, and determine when analysis is rigorous enough to inform decisions.
• Use basketball judgment to interpret model outputs, identify limitations, and translate findings into practical next steps.
• Drive innovation and special projects within Basketball Analytics.
• Stay current with relevant research, modeling approaches, and basketball analytics methods.
• Identify opportunities to bring new ideas, methods, and data sources into the organization.
• Create models and insights that are difficult to replicate externally.

Requirements

• Basketball Curiosity and Judgment - A strong desire to understand the game, ask better questions, and connect analysis to basketball decision-making.
• Technical Rigor - Strong statistical, machine learning, and research fundamentals with the ability to validate work and communicate uncertainty.
• Practical Builder - Ability to move from idea to prototype quickly, while writing clean and reproducible Python or R code.
• Clear Communicator - Ability to translate complex technical work into clear, concise recommendations for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ownership Mindset - Comfortable taking responsibility for ambiguous problems and driving work from question to insight.
• Collaborative Teammate - Ability to work effectively across Analytics, Engineering, and basketball departments with a service-oriented approach.
• Data Science Foundation - Professional experience in data science, applied science, research science, or a similar analytical field; expertise in Python or R for data science and proficient SQL skills.
• Basketball Analytics Experience - Prior sports analytics experience with a college, professional, or NBA team is a plus.

Qualifications

• Professional experience in data science, applied science, research science, or a similar analytical field.
• Expertise in Python or R for data science.
• Proficient SQL skills.

Skills

• Statistical modeling
• Machine learning
• Exploratory analysis
• Domain expertise
• Python or R programming
• SQL

Benefits

Player 15 Group offers a competitive benefits package, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off.

Pay

Competitive salary commensurate with experience.

Schedule

Full-time position with flexible hours to accommodate the demands of the role.