Get in the Game

A mathematician, who has advised the US Olympic Committee, NFL, and NBA, offers sports fans a new way to understand truly improbable feats in their favourite games. In 2013, NBA shooter Steph Curry wowed crowds when he sunk eleven out of thirteen three-pointers—only seven other players, including the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, had scored more in the history of games at Madison Square Garden. Four years later, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team won their one-hundredth straight game, defeating South Carolina 66–55. And in 2010, one sports forecaster—an octopus named Paul—correctly predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s matches in the FIFA World Cup. These are surprising events—but are they truly improbable? In Get in the Game, mathematician and sports analytics expert Tim Chartier helps us answer that question—condensing complex data modelling down to coin tosses and dice throws to give readers both an introduction to statistics and a new way to enjoy sporting events. With these accessible tools, Chartier leads us through modelling experiments that develop our intuitive sense of the improbable. For example, to see how likely you are to beat Curry’s three-pointer feat, consider his 45.3 percent three-point shooting average in 2012–13. Take a coin and assume heads is making the shot (slightly better than Curry at a fifty percent chance). Can you imagine getting heads eleven out of thirteen times? With engaging exercises and fun, comic book–style illustrations by Ansley Earle, Chartier’s book encourages all readers—including those who have never encountered formal statistics, data simulations, or even heard of sports analytics, but enjoy watching sports—to get in the game.