Helena Frye
Basketball statistics are an essential part of the game, providing clues for objective analyses and helping to determine a player's strengths and weaknesses. They are used to assess player performance, guide training decisions, and strategise for games. While some statistics are basic and widely known, such as points per game and rebounds, others are more complex, like efficiency rating and win shares. This article will discuss the calculation methods for various basketball statistics and their applications in evaluating player and team performance.
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What You'll Learn
Player Efficiency Rating (PER)
PER is a useful tool for coaches, players, and analysts to assess player performance, guide training decisions, and strategize for games. It provides a per-minute evaluation of a player's skills that other statistics may not capture. For example, traditional counting statistics in baseball, like runs batted in and wins, are not reliable indicators of a player's value as they are highly dependent on the opportunities created by teammates. Similarly, in basketball, a player's opportunities to accumulate statistics depend on the number of minutes played and the pace of the game.
PER largely measures offensive performance, and Hollinger acknowledges that the two defensive statistics it incorporates (blocks and steals) may not accurately reflect a player's defensive value. Despite this limitation, PER is still considered one of the best basketball statistics available due to its ability to provide a nuanced evaluation of a player's overall performance.
The league-average PER is always 15.00, which allows for comparisons of player performance across seasons. For example, Michael Jordan boasts the highest career PER in NBA history at 27.91, demonstrating his all-round skill and effectiveness. Other players with high PERs include LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Nikola Jokić.
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Rebounds
One commonly used metric is the Rebounds Per Game (RPG) statistic, which measures the average number of rebounds a player secures in a single game over a season or career. The formula for calculating RPG is straightforward: Total Rebounds / Number of Games Played. This statistic is particularly important for frontcourt players like power forwards and centers, who are expected to control the area near the basket. RPG can indicate a player's ability to end defensive possessions and create second-chance opportunities on offense. However, it does not differentiate between offensive and defensive rebounds and does not account for factors like team pace, missed shots, or a player's position and minutes played.
To address these limitations, coaches and analysts often look at rebounding percentages, such as Offensive Rebound Percentage (OR%), Defensive Rebound Percentage (DR%), and Total Rebound Percentage (TRB% or TR%). These percentages provide insight into the number of rebounds grabbed by a player or team relative to the total number of rebounding opportunities. To calculate an individual player's rebounding percentage, one must first determine the number of rebounds that were actually "grabbable" by that player. This can be done through video tagging or by correlating the number of total catches with the player's presence on the court.
For Total Rebound Percentage, the formula is as follows: Total Rebounds x Team Minutes / (Player Minutes x (Team Total Rebounds + Opponent Total Rebounds)). This formula calculates the proportion of total rebounds secured by a player or team relative to the total number of rebounds available during their time on the floor. A higher TRB% indicates a greater ability to capture rebounds, which can be a significant advantage during a game.
Another useful rebounding statistic is the Percentage of Available Rebounds (REB%), which is calculated by adding up all the missed shots that didn't go out of bounds or result in a foul, and then determining the percentage of those shots that were rebounded by a particular player. REB% provides a more accurate representation of a player's rebounding skill compared to simply looking at the total number of rebounds.
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Assists
Different basketball leagues define and calculate assists differently. For instance, in the NBA, an assist occurs when a player passes the ball to another player, who then makes a basket directly. On the other hand, the NCAA defines an assist at the college level as any pass that contributes to a field goal, regardless of how many players touch the ball before the basket is made.
Assist ratio is a statistic that shows how often a player or team helps another player score by passing the ball. It is calculated by dividing the number of assists by the total number of possessions, and then multiplying by 100. For example, if a team has made 200 assists and has had 4000 possessions, the assist ratio would be 5%. This indicates that the team is passing well and creating opportunities for each other.
Assist rate is another valuable statistic, indicating a player's efficiency in creating scoring chances for their team. The formula for calculating assist rate is given as:
> Assist Rate (%) = (Total Assists / (Minutes Played x Team Possessions)) x 100
For instance, if a player has made 200 assists in a season, playing a total of 2000 minutes, and their team has had 4000 possessions, their assist rate would be:
> Assist Rate (%) = (200 / (2000 x 4000)) x 100 = 2.5%
This indicates that the player is directly responsible for 2.5% of their team's scoring opportunities when they are on the court.
Assist percentage is a further statistic used to estimate the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor. The formula for this is:
> Assist Percentage = 100 x AST / (((MP / (Team MP / 5)) x Team FG) - FG)
These statistics are valuable tools for coaches and team managers, helping them make strategic decisions about gameplay, roster selection, and player contracts.
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Points per game
PPG is often used to rank players' offensive contributions and is a key factor in determining scoring champions. For example, Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the highest single-season PPG in NBA history with 50.4 in the 1961-62 season. Michael Jordan has the highest career PPG in NBA history with 30.12. Generally, a PPG of 20+ is considered excellent, 15-20 is very good, and 10-15 is solid for a starter or key reserve.
While PPG is a useful measure of scoring, it doesn't account for efficiency, playing time, or other contributions such as rebounds or assists. It also fails to distinguish between an ineffective player and a player assuming a primarily defensive role. Therefore, it is important to consider PPG in context with other statistics like field goal percentage and minutes played to gain a more complete picture of a player's offensive impact.
Understanding a team's or player's PPG can help in formulating strategies to enhance performance. For instance, a team with a low PPG compared to their competitors might focus on improving their offensive plays. Similarly, knowing the opponent's PPG can aid in devising defensive strategies.
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Steals
Steal percentage is a valuable statistic that quantifies a player's skill in stealing the ball. It is the percentage of opponent team possessions that end with a steal by a specific player. The steal percentage formula is as follows:
Steal% = (Player's Steals x Team's Total Minutes) / (Player's Minutes Played x Opponent's Possessions)
For example, a player who made 120 steals in a season where their team played a total of 19,680 minutes (assuming 82 games x 48 minutes per game). If this player played 2,340 minutes and the opponents had 7,500 possessions while the player was on the court, their steal percentage would be:
Steal% = (120 x 19,680) / (2,340 x 7,500) = 0.0336 or 3.36%
Another way to calculate steal percentage is:
Steal Percentage = 100 x (Steals x (Team Minutes Played / 5)) / (Minutes Played x Opponent's Possessions)
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Frequently asked questions
PER is calculated using the following formula:
> PER = [(Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - (Field Goal Attempts - Field Goals Made) - (Free Throw Attempts - Free Throws Made) - Turnovers] / Games Played
Basic basketball statistics include points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and shooting percentages.
The percentage of rebounds can be calculated using the following formulae:
> Offensive Rebound Percentage (OReb%) = Offensive Rebounds / (Offensive Rebounds + Opponent Defensive Rebounds)
>
> Defensive Rebound Percentage (DReb%) = Defensive Rebounds / (Defensive Rebounds + Opponent Offensive Rebounds)
Advanced basketball statistics include Player Impact Estimate (PIE), which is a rating of a player's overall performance, and various calculations related to possessions, scoring offense, and defensive metrics.
Basketball statistics can be tracked manually or using specialised software and applications. Basic statistics are typically recorded in a box score, which includes information such as points, rebounds, assists, and shooting percentages.
