It’s a slam dunk app!
A pair of Brooklyn brothers have created a platform that collects and archives basketball statistics for the sport’s data enthusiasts. East Flatbush siblings and basketball players, Nigel and Vaughn Caldon, innovated the idea for Ballstar — an online medium that documents all basketball figures from the NBA to even local school teams. Inspiration for the application spawned from conversions the two would hear at sidecourt neighborhood games, said Nigel Caldon.
“It really started with an argument that I was listening to with friends and they were talking about how good they used to be and it occurred to me that there was no evidence of how good they were or have digital resume that says who they played,” he said.
At Wingate Park in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, where the brothers often go to shoot hoops, they frequently encounter these debates and saw a chance to equip those discussions with accessible facts to reference. Hence the creation of Ballstar — a comprehensive platform for all of the sport’s recorded game’s information. Users can search the program for basketball games from the founding of the sport, to the current with national and international teams.
With the database, users can search the numbers for their favorite teams and players, seeing their scores and wins. And if one cannot remember a team or league name or who they played, people can search courts too, according to Caldon.
As lovers of the game, the duo figured that an app would be a great way to put an end to debates and have a go-to guide to book that track scores. It took some time to execute but the brothers knew their idea would pull through in the end.
“This didn’t exist and it was a challenge to build and put this together — we made a lot of connections all over the world before coming up with a plan,” said Vaughn Caldon. “It was sloppy at first but this was our huge first step, and once it was on paper it was a viable product.”
Ballstar is used by a select few leagues and coaches and as it grows, it will be a vital source for recruiters, added Caldon.
“We have over 70 partners who are using the app now as a data reference source and now we have the opportunity to amplify what they’re doing.
The Caldon brothers say the platform will give hoop fanatics a chance to catch up on players overseas, including Stephon Marbury, who left the NBA to play in the Chinese Basketball Association. As a database, they will be able to stay on top of favorite players without relying on U.S.-centric sports networks for that information.
“We’re giving people a new way to access these players without being tied to ESPN,” said Nigel Caldon. “We have no priorities to a player, so when Marbury goes to China people should be able to see what he’s doing because we think not being able to is unreal.”
And it is not just Marbury either. From the rookies to the veterans, Ballstar will be a one-stop shop to access the numbers on anyone playing the sport professionally and it is a new type of technology sharing platform.
“We want every player to count — the same way Twitter gave people a voice, you too can have a voice on an international platform,” said Vaughn Caldon. “We want to give open data a try by kicking down the door for this tech thing.”
