Racialized opportunities? Rookie playing time allocation in the NBA

There is ongoing debate about the existence of racial discrimination in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This study uses the largest and richest dataset of its kind to re-examine racial disparities in playing time among nearly 1800 rookies drafted into the league over the course of four decades. In line with recent studies, our statistical analyses fail to unearth evidence of anti-Black discrimination on the part of NBA coaches making playing time determinations. We identify structural traits of the NBA as a labour market that are likely contributing to this meritocratic distribution of playing time and suggest fruitful areas for future research on this topic.