 Hypoglycemia, or low-blood glucose, is an important risk factor for people with type 2 diabetes receiving blood glucose lowering therapies, such as insulin. It can lead to symptoms that interfere with activities of daily living and can sometimes, though rarely, result in debilitating events, including loss of consciousness. Basal insulins are designed to help maintain stable blood glucose levels throughout the day. Data from randomized clinical trials show that newer, second-generation basal insulin analogs, such as insulin-glargene 300 units per milliliter, and insulin-deglutec have lower hypoglycemia risk than first-generation basal insulin analogs, such as insulin-glargene 100 units per milliliter, and insulin-detamir, while providing comparable glycemic control. However, these randomized controlled trials may not truly reflect clinical practice, as they applied strict inclusion and exclusion criteria and were conducted under strict oversight dictated by very specific protocols. Real-world studies look at what happens in day-to-day clinical practice. The lightning study analyzed real-life data from electronic health records to predict rates of severe hypoglycemia for different basal insulins for adults with type 2 diabetes. The researchers accounted for confounders in this loosely structured dataset by performing two different analyses. Propensity score matching, which compares cohorts matched according to clinical characteristics, and a more advanced predictive modeling approach based on machine learning, which is detailed in an accompanying article. Predictive modeling results suggest that, among first-time insulin users, Glargene 300 would lead to 50% lower rates of severe hypoglycemia compared with the first-generation basal insulin analogs, one event every 14 years versus one every 7 years. Meanwhile, compared with those switching to insulin-detamir from another basal insulin analog, patient switching to Glargene 300 could expect 30% lower rates of severe hypoglycemia, one event every 5 years, instead of one every 3 years. Similar rates of severe hypoglycemia were predicted for both second-generation basal insulins, Glargene 300, and the GLUDEC, regardless of whether patients had previously used basal insulin. These predictive modeling findings agree with the propensity score matching results and are generally consistent with those of randomized controlled trials and other real-world studies. More work is needed to explore the predicted effects as the models used simplify the complex factors that determine the real-life risk of hypoglycemia. But these results, based on real data from patients in clinical practice, are encouraging and could help patients and healthcare providers make more informed decisions about basal insulin treatment options for people with type 2 diabetes.