2025-26

Understanding Archetypes

NetStats uses a unified 11-archetype system to describe NBA players throughout the app. Here's how it works and where you'll see it.

The 11 Unified Archetypes

Each player is assigned one archetype based on two things: how much they have the ball (usage tier) and where they score (rim, perimeter, or mixed). The result is a 3×3 grid. Two additional Playmaker archetypes override the grid for the league's highest-volume distributors.

Primary Creator
The team's #1 ball-handler and playmaker. High usage, creates shots for self and others. Gets this label regardless of where they score — distributing is their primary job. Think Luka, Trae, Haliburton.
Secondary Creator
The second ball-handler. Mid-usage facilitator who runs the offense when the #1 sits, or shares duties. Gets this label regardless of scoring zone. Think Brunson alongside Luka, or White alongside Tatum.
← Lower Usage — Higher Usage →
Interior Focus Balanced / Mixed Perimeter Focus
Ball-Dominant Big
High-usage interior scorer. Commands the post or roll game. Dominant in the paint. Think Embiid, AD, Giannis.
Versatile Star
High-usage, balanced scorer. Does everything — creates, scores inside and out, facilitates. Think KD, Tatum, SGA.
Iso Wing
High-usage perimeter creator. Iso-heavy, shot-creating wing who lives on pull-ups and step-backs. Think Booker, Mitchell.
Athletic Wing
Mid-usage athletic scorer. Thrives in transition, on cuts, and off penetration. Think Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby.
Combo Forward
Mid-usage forward with balanced or interior scoring. Solid two-way contributor who doesn't need plays run for them. Think Mikal Bridges.
Volume Shooter
Mid-usage perimeter scorer. High-volume three-point shooter or pull-up threat. Think CJ McCollum, Buddy Hield.
Off-Ball Finisher
Low-usage rim finisher. Catches lobs, cuts to the basket, and scores near the rim. Think Clint Capela, Dereck Lively.
Connector
Low-usage all-rounder. Glue guy with no dominant scoring zone — does a little of everything. Think Draymond Green, Kyle Anderson.
Spot-Up Wing
Low-usage perimeter player. Corner and wing shooter who spaces the floor for everyone else. Think Joe Harris, Cam Johnson.

How it works: We look at every player's shot chart data (where they score) and usage rate (how often they have the ball) to place them in the 3×3 grid. Players who are also elite passers — top of the league in pass volume — get bumped to Primary Creator or Secondary Creator instead, because playmaking is their defining trait.

Where Archetypes Appear

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League Landscape
Toggle between Scoring Style (shot chart clusters) and Archetype mode. In Archetype mode every dot is colored by unified archetype and the filter pills match the 11 types.
Open League →
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Team Explorer
The sidebar shows an Archetype Distribution bar for the active roster. Each player in the metrics table has an archetype badge. The dot color on each row matches their archetype.
Open Teams →
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Synergy Matrix
The 11×11 matrix shows compatibility scores between every pair of archetypes. Click any cell to see the skill profile overlay, coverage by dimension, and real NBA teammates who share those two archetypes.
Open Synergy →
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Player Fit
The team's archetype makeup is shown as a distribution bar. Each player in the fit table has their archetype badge, so you can see instantly what the roster is missing and what a prospective player would add.
Open Player Fit →

Scoring Styles (shot chart clusters)

Separate from unified archetypes, Scoring Styles are 9 shot-chart-based groups. We analyze where every player takes their shots — rim, mid-range, three-point line — and group players with similar shooting patterns together. They power the Scoring Style color mode in the League Landscape and the trends on the League Dynamics page.

Ball-Dominant Creator
High dribble rate, self-creation. Pull-up heavy.
Interior Scorer
Paint-dominant. High rim attempt rate.
Perimeter Playmaker
Perimeter focus + high assist rate. Passes to create.
Post Scorer
Mid-range + paint. Classic post footwork.
Rim Runner
Almost exclusively at-rim attempts. Roll man or cutter.
Corner Specialist
Corner 3 heavy. Floor spacer.
Spot-Up Shooter
High 3PA rate from multiple zones.
3-and-D Wing
Perimeter shooting + defensive value.
Pull-Up Creator
Mid-range and 3-point pull-ups off the dribble.

Scoring Style clusters are re-fitted each season. The unified archetype system simplifies these into a stable 11-category vocabulary used across all pages.

Passing Roles (network topology)

The passing network graph produces two broad topology roles based on pass volume and distribution patterns. These appear in the League Dynamics trends and inform the passing dimension of unified archetypes.

Lead Distributor
High pass volume and out-degree. Initiates ball movement — strongly associated with Primary Creator and Secondary Creator archetypes.
Role Passer
Lower pass volume. Receives and finishes more than distributes. Encompasses most finishers, wings, and big men.

The finer-grained passing cluster breakdown (7 clusters) is used internally to compute Court Centrality and Playmaking dimensions in the synergy matrix — but simplified to these two roles for display.

Usage Patterns

Usage Patterns describe how much of a team's offense a player controls — not how they score, but how central they are to the offensive structure. Each player is grouped into one of 7 usage tiers based on minutes, touches, time of possession, and dribble rate. You'll see this on the Player page in the Archetypes panel and the Career Arc.

Ball-Dominant Creator
Primary ball-handler who dominates possession. Highest usage load — everything runs through them.
Iso Creator
High-usage isolation scorer. Commands one-on-one situations with a green light to operate.
Sixth Man Creator
Bench-unit leader who carries the offensive load when starters sit.
Scoring Big
High-usage big man who controls interior touches and demands the ball in the post or on the roll.
Spot-Up Finisher
Low-usage role player who scores within the flow — catch-and-shoot and cut-and-finish.
Role Player
Moderate-usage rotation contributor. Does a bit of everything without dominating the ball.
Bench Role Player
Reserve with limited touches. Fills specific gaps off the bench in spot minutes.

Usage Patterns are re-fitted each season from raw touches, time of possession, and dribble data. The probability bar on a player's page shows how cleanly they fit their assigned usage tier versus adjacent ones.

Full Glossary with metric formulas → Explore the Synergy Matrix →