By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Clutch Data, a specialized basketball analytics consultancy, has been selected to present its latest research paper, “Scouting Anyone: Probabilistic Player Archetypes for Any League” at the 2026 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC), widely regarded as the most influential sports analytics event in the world. The selection places Clutch Data’s methodology at the center of the global conversation on how data can refine high-level decision-making in professional basketball.
The research addresses a core limitation of traditional scouting models, which often rely on rigid positional labels or hard clustering methods that fail to capture the fluid nature of the modern game. At Clutch Data, basketball is understood as a continuum of hybrid roles rather than fixed positions.
“Basketball has evolved into a positionless, hybrid sport, yet much of talent evaluation still relies on rigid labels,” said Marlin Myrte, Data Scientist in Clutch Data. “Our research challenges that paradigm by modeling players as dynamic stylistic profiles rather than static positions. This allows decision-makers to understand not just what a player is, but how he fits within a specific tactical ecosystem.”
By utilizing probabilistic archetype modeling, the framework represents each player as a blend of stylistic extremes, a mathematical “DNA” that reflects their true tactical impact. Instead of defining someone simply as a “Guard” or a “Forward,” the model might describe a player as a 60% Three-Point Specialist and 25% Primary Ball Handler, offering a far more precise evaluation of role and fit.
Crucially, the methodology identifies “archetypoids”, real-world players who represent the purest expression of a given style, making advanced analytics immediately interpretable for coaching staffs and front offices. Now, we are capable of saying that “this player is 60% similar to Player X and 25% to Player Y”.
“Instead of forcing players into hard clusters, we apply probabilistic archetype modeling to reflect the fluidity of modern basketball,” explained Thierry Aymerich, co-founder of Clutch Data. “By anchoring our analysis to real-world stylistic reference points, we bridge the gap between complex mathematics and practical basketball decision-making.”
For European clubs, where financial constraints heighten the cost of recruitment errors, reducing uncertainty is paramount. The framework enables organizations to diagnose stylistic redundancies within a roster, uncover undervalued talent across domestic and international leagues, and project how a player’s role may evolve when transitioning between tactical systems.
“For clubs operating in competitive markets like Spain or Greece and across Europe, minimizing recruitment risk can define a season,” said Sebastian Buzzalino co-founder of Clutch Data. “Our framework helps organizations build more coherent rosters, identify hidden complementarities between players, and make data-informed decisions that translate directly to on-court efficiency.”
In an increasingly globalized basketball ecosystem, where talent moves fluidly between leagues and competitive margins are razor-thin, probabilistic stylistic modeling offers a scalable way to implement elite-level analytical insights using widely available data. By reframing players as dynamic stylistic profiles rather than categorical positions, Clutch Data contributes to a broader structural shift in how modern basketball organizations evaluate and construct teams.
About Clutch Data
Clutch Data is a basketball consultancy dedicated to empowering sports organizations through customized, data-driven insights. The company was founded in 2022 by two co-founders who, after a Master’s in Basketball Analytics in Spain, identified the opportunity to bridge high-level data science with practical decision-making in European professional basketball.
Today, Clutch Data is present across Spain, Germany, France, Greece, and Argentina, reflecting its international footprint and global mindset. The team brings together French, Greek, and Argentinian backgrounds, combining diverse perspectives with a shared passion for the game.
The company specializes in the application of advanced analytics to uncover the underlying factors behind on-court performance. By integrating proprietary metrics with existing data tools, Clutch Data provides strategic support and high-value reporting designed to streamline scouting workflows, optimize roster construction and facilitate decision-making for professional teams and organizations globally.
Contact
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