Battier was known his analytics knowledge as player when he helped the Heat win consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013. He would often lead discussions with teammates about player data and it was common to see him having long conversations in the locker room with writers who had an analytical background. “Analytics has a lot of the same aspects as [blackjack],” Battier said. “When you make Kobe Bryant go to his left hand, he’ll score 44 percent of the time. When he goes to his right hand, he’s gonna score 56 percent of the day. So you don’t need to be a math genius to understand that the defender should take Kobe to his left hand.”