  This book chapter reviews some of the major principles associated with
optimal strategy in basketball. In particular, we consider the principles of
allocative efficiency (optimal allocation of shots between offensive options),
dynamic efficiency (optimal shot selection in the face of pressure from the
shot clock), and the risk/reward tradeoff (strategic manipulation of outcome
variance). For each principle, we provide a simple example of a strategic
problem and show how it can be described analytically. We then review general
analytical results and provide an overview of existing statistical studies. A
number of open challenges in basketball analysis are highlighted.
