Does Player Performance Increase During the Postseason? A Look at Professional Basketball

This study examines the game logs of professional basketball players to determine whether they exhibit elevated performance during the postseason. In a survey of 10 players who were awarded the Most Valuable Player Award during the NBA Finals for the seasons 2001-02 thru 201011, performance was found to be stable throughout the entire season. Implications for why player performance remains stable and why it believed that player performance increases during the postseason are discussed. This shorter papers and communications is available in Undergraduate Economic Review: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/uer/vol9/ iss1/2