How machine learning is unlocking the secrets of human movement – and reshaping pro sports Transform

Twelve of the best basketball players on the planet are each a blur of action and a bundle of hope. As hip-hop beats fill the lab, the group trains without touching a single basketball, individually bouncing side to side on an indoor track, soaring over a three-foot-tall box, and slinging weighted balls against a wall. One athlete, however, is producing both sweat and data – jumping, lifting and sprinting as cloud-connected cameras record his every movement at Peak Performance Project (P3) in Santa Barbara, California. All 12 of these college athletes expect to enjoy a long NBA career. And far away from P3, many sports analysts are equally certain they already know which of these NBA Draft hopefuls will become a legend, a valuable starter or a key contributor off the bench.