Basketball analytics company ShotTracker announced it had raised $10.4 million in Series A funding on Wednesday. This round of funding brings the total investment in the five-year-old startup to $21 million.
The ShotTracker system monitors the location of the players and the ball on a basketball court using a sensor installed in a Spalding basketball and sensors worn by the athletes. Those devices communicate back to other sensors installed high above in the rafters of a stadium.
It has been used by the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship for the past two years. Through the ShotTracker app, fans watching that tournament could view real-time shooting statistics, and even see maps of where all the players were on the court. The system is also being used by major college programs including Kansas and Oklahoma, giving coaches access to detailed player statistics.
“ShotTracker is destined to revolutionize our game by delivering real-time stats and meaningful analytics in arenas and practice facilities across the globe,” said former NBA commissioner David Stern, and ShotTracker investor, in a statement. “Accessing rich content and insights provides players and coaches with necessary tools to differentiate their game, elevates the level of competition and ultimately heightens the entertainment experience for broadcasters and fans alike.”
The group of investors that put up capital in the most recent round includes Stern, Ward.Ventures, and 2006 National League MVP Ryan Howard. Hall of Famer and five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson has previously invested in ShotTracker.
“This additional funding allows ShotTracker to execute on its vision and accelerate the proliferation of our product across the market,” said Davyeon Ross, co-founder and COO of ShotTracker, in a statement. “There are significant changes happening in sports and ShotTracker is poised to capitalize on those industry changes with its real-time data.”
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SportTechie Takeaway
This round of funding almost doubles ShotTracker’s existing investment, and could help position the company to dominate the basketball analytics ecosystem below the pros. There are thousands of college and youth teams across the U.S., and those levels represent a far bigger consumer base than the NBA.
Instead of ShotTracker, the NBA currently uses Second Spectrum’s player tracking technology during games. That uses cameras placed high up above the court, and crunches the images into data using computer vision to determine the locations of players. Prior to last season, the NBA used STATS’s similar SportVU system. Sports equipment manufacturer Wilson also makes a consumer product, the Wilson X, to compete with ShotTracker, but that only tracks the ball, and not the players.