WNBA Statistics Project

Introduction

This project was done to learn and perform data modeling calculations for WNBA statistics and to understand excel parsing and data management.

Research Questions

Data Source

The WNBA and other sports statistics websites collect comprehensive data regarding WNBA players and their performance metrics.

import csv

with open('../data/raw/wnba-player-stats.csv', 'r') as f:
    reader = csv.reader(f, delimiter=",", quotechar='"')
    next(reader, None)
    data_read = [row for row in reader]
    for i in range(0,3):
        print(data_read[i])

Data Processing

Process for extracting, transforming, and cleaning data:

The key columns used were Player Name, Year, Age, and Player Efficiency Rating. Data type conversions were performed to ensure proper analysis, with empty numerical cells filled with 0 values to represent missing statistics.

def get_player_name():
    with open('../data/raw/wnba-player-stats.csv', 'r') as f:
        reader = csv.reader(f, delimiter=",", quotechar='"')
        next(reader, None)
        data_read = [row for row in reader]
        for i in range(len(data_read)):
            yield data_read[i][1]

def get_age():
    with open('../data/raw/wnba-player-stats.csv', 'r') as f:
        reader = csv.reader(f, delimiter=",", quotechar='"')
        next(reader, None)
        data_read = [row for row in reader]
        for i in range(len(data_read)):
            if data_read[i][3] == '':
                data_read[i][3] = 0
            yield int(data_read[i][3])

Visualizations

This visualization shows the number of players per year in the WNBA from 1997-2019. The number of players typically ranges from 150-250 per year, with the highest being 219 active players in 2002.

This visualization shows the average age of players per year in the WNBA. The average age remains relatively stable, ranging from 25-30 years old each season, with a peak average age of 27 in 2003.

Conclusion

The analysis successfully answered all three research questions:

• Average Player Efficiency Rating (1997-2019): 11.90
• Average Age of Players (1997-2019): 26.3 years
• Highest Player Efficiency Rating: 78.9

The additional analysis revealed that the average age of players per year consistently hovers around 26 years old throughout the dataset timeframe, providing insights into the demographic stability of the WNBA.