Prospect Model Update

Over the last two weeks or so I've spent a lot of time updating my Prospect Model, adding some features that I think are going to be really helpful going forward. Here is what I've added and a short explanation for each feature:

Non-Graded Prospects: There are some prospects that cannot receive a prospect grades because their pre-draft metrics are not readily available. This is usually because they came to the NBA straight from high school or a lower-level international league. Previously, those prospects were not included in the model at all, but I added them and designated their Prospect Grade as "N/A". This allows for us to still look at a player's Sophomore Profile, fantasy finishes, and breakout age even without an available Prospect Grade. Notable players added include LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Dwight Howard.

Updated Sophomore Profile: Because I added a significant number of non-graded prospects, the Sophomore Profile numbers needed to be updated. In addition to the added players, I went back and properly accounted for international players who were stashed for multiple years before coming over to the NBA. These new numbers are reflected in the Sophomore Profile post that I recently updated.

Player Heights: Not much explanation is needed here, but I had some people suggest I add height, and I agreed that it would be a cool comparison tool for looking at prospects. Because of that, player height can be found for all 600 players as a part of the Prospect Model.

Breakout Age: In a recent article, I explored the importance of Breakout Age and how it can be looked at as a determinant of how much potential a player has. Subsequently, I have added the Breakout Age (the age of a player's first top 50 season) for all relevant players as a section of the Prospect Model.

Fantasy Finish for First 3 Years: Probably my favorite addition to the Prospect Model (and definitely the most time-consuming to add) is the individual fantasy finish for every player's first three years. This will allow users to see how a player is developing over time, as well as for comparisons of how different players are performing at similar points in their careers.

Position Changes: Instead of the traditional PG/SG/SF/PF/C positions, I decided to group players as Guards/Wings/Bigs. This makes it easier to sort and compare, in my opinion.

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you find this update useful!