Abstract

Some states or metropolitan statistical areas produce more professional athletes when compared to their representation in the population whereas some areas produce less than their represented population. Figure 1 shows the geographical distribution during the 2014-15 season for the number of active NBA players born in each state compared to the number of active NBA players who went to high school in each state in the United States. Figure 3 also supports my assumption that the parents of the athletes move or send their children to schools in favorable locations during one’s formative years to help their child accomplish higher levels in professional sports. In this study, I assess whether factors related to where an athlete went to high school and the characteristics of the city where they went to high school influence their likelihood of playing professional basketball. I am going to test for a high-school-location bias towards income, education, and poverty levels for a particular metropolitan area. The findings of this paper will help me determine that location of a high school has a positive effect on the likelihood of making it to the NBA due to the environmental factors of the metropolitan area that set an athlete up for success during their formative years.