From the Box Score to Artificial Intelligence: A Historical and Analytical Journey Through Basketball Statistics (1891–Present)

A historiographical perspective is employed to trace the evolution of the epistemological foundations of basketball performance measurement, from manual notation to algorithmic modelling. Through a rigorous review, key milestones, figures, and transformations marking the transition from early manual records, modelled after baseball’s box score, are identified to advanced metrics, predictive models, and real-time simulation environments. Particular attention is given to the contributions of pioneers such as Henry Chadwick, Harvey Pollack, and Dean Oliver, as well as to the growing impact of digital platforms, algorithms, and tracking technologies on decision-making in sport. This evolution has not only reshaped basketball’s tactical and strategic practices but has also transformed its cultural, technological, institutional, and epistemological dimensions. In this context, statistical analysis emerges as a central tool for understanding how basketball is played, interpreted, and narrated in the twenty-first century.