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README.md

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+NBA Player Performance Analysis (1990–2024)
+
+This project analyzes NBA player performance trends from 1990 to 2024 using season-level data. The goal was to clean, explore, visualize, and interpret long-term changes in scoring, assists, 3-point shooting, and player height. The dataset was filtered to include only NBA players, and the selected features were Season_Year, PTS, AST, 3PM, and height_cm. After cleaning, the final dataset contained 7,633 rows and 6 columns.
+
+Dataset Overview  
+Source: players_stats_by_season_full_details.csv  
+Filtered to NBA players only  
+Years included: 1990–2024  
+Final shape: 7,633 rows × 6 columns  
+Selected features: Season_Year, PTS, AST, 3PM, height_cm  
+
+Data Cleaning  
+- Removed non-NBA rows  
+- Dropped missing values  
+- Extracted numeric year from season strings  
+- Converted selected columns to numeric types  
+- Filtered dataset to valid timeline (1990–2024)  
+- Calculated yearly averages  
+- Validated summary statistics  
+
+Research Questions  
+1. How have points and assists per player changed over time?  
+2. How did 3-point shooting evolve between 1990 and 2024?  
+3. Did the average height of NBA players change over time?  
+4. What is the relationship between scoring, assists, height, and 3PM?  
+5. Does the NBA rely more on isolation scoring or on teamwork over time?
+
+Visualizations and Insights
+
+Average Points and Assists per Player (1990–2024)  
+![Average Points and Assists](img 1.png)  
+Points remained consistently high, while assists grew gradually. This indicates an increase in offensive efficiency and ball movement across the league.
+
+Average 3-Point Shots Made per Player  
+![3PM Trend](img 2.png)  
+A major increase occurred after 2010, representing the shift toward perimeter play and analytics-driven shooting strategies.
+
+Average Player Height Over Time  
+![Height Trend](img 3.png)  
+Player height remained mostly constant, showing that strategic evolution, not physical change, drove the transformation of NBA play style.
+
+Points vs Assists Over Time  
+![Points vs Assists](img 4.png)  
+There is a clear positive relationship between assists and points. Newer seasons tend to appear higher on the trendline, indicating improvements in teamwork and shot creation.
+
+Points-to-Assists Ratio  
+![PTS/AST Ratio](img 5.png)  
+The ratio shows fluctuations across eras, reflecting tactical shifts between isolation-heavy scoring and team-oriented offenses.
+
+Correlation Matrix  
+![Correlation Matrix](img 6.png)  
+Key correlations:  
+- Points and assists: strongly positive  
+- Height and 3PM: moderately negative  
+- Height and points: slightly negative  
+- 3PM and points: weakly positive  
+
+Summary of Findings  
+1. Average points per player increased slightly over time.  
+2. Assists per player grew steadily, indicating improved teamwork and spacing.  
+3. Three-point shooting exploded after 2010, marking the biggest tactical shift in modern basketball.  
+4. Player height remained stable, suggesting that versatility and spacing became more important than size.  
+5. The points-to-assists ratio shows how team dynamics evolved between eras.  
+
+Overall Result  
+The NBA evolved from slower, isolation-heavy basketball into a modern, fast-paced, perimeter-oriented, analytics-driven style of play. The transformation was driven mainly by strategic and tactical changes rather than changes in player physical profiles.
+
+Files Included  
+- Copy_of_Assignment_1.ipynb  
+- cleaned_nba_data.csv  
+- players_stats_by_season_full_details.csv  
+- Visualization files (img 1.png, img 2.png, img 3.png, img 4.png, img 5.png, img 6.png)  
+- README.md
+
+Video Presentation  
+A link to the video presentation will be added here when available.