Developing WNBA and NBA Archetypes and Playstyle Comparisons

Even though interest in women’s sports has skyrocketed with the growing influence of social media and the heightened popularity of global stars, it has nevertheless been difficult to cultivate an audience and build a market for women’s sports when they receive minimal media coverage compared to their male counterparts. The lack of nationally televised games and limited marketing budgets to showcase the players throughout the year has been a persistent barrier for sports fans — especially established NBA fans — to consistently engage with the WNBA even when they are interested. Our project aims to bridge this gap through a public-facing Shiny app that allows fans to compare WNBA players to archetypes and similar NBA players. By assigning each WNBA player a clear archetype and identifying their NBA analogues, we hope to foster year-round engagement and elevate visibility for the league and its athletes.