NBA unveils “Gravity” stat to measure how much stars bend defenses

NBA
December 2025

The NBA has introduced Gravity, a new stat that quantifies how much defensive attention an offensive player draws relative to expected pressure based on floor spacing, turning previously subjective notions of off ball threat and defensive distortion into a standardized number on a minus one hundred to one hundred scale. Using optical tracking and 3D pose data captured sixty times per second, a machine learning model compares the pressure a player should face in a given position to the pressure actually applied, producing a Gravity differential that reveals who truly bends defenses, creates space, and boosts teammates even without touching the ball.