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§ BASKETBALL STATISTICS // EXPLAINED
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§ Basketball stats guide

Basketball statistics,
explained.

A plain-English guide for commissioners, coaches, and curious fans. What every box-score line means, how to read efficiency metrics, and which numbers actually predict winning.

Basketball statistics fall into five layers — from raw box-score counts to possession-aware ratings to the four factors that predict winning. This guide walks all five, with links into the full ArcStat glossary for formulas and worked examples.

Looking for a quick reference instead? See the basketball stats abbreviations cheat sheet — every box-score abbreviation in one table.

On this page

  1. The box score basics— 1
  2. Shooting efficiency— 2
  3. All-around impact— 3
  4. Possession-aware metrics— 4
  5. The four factors— 5

The box score basics

Every basketball line starts here — the raw counting stats that show up in every box score. They are simple, universal, and where every conversation about a player's game begins.

  • PPGPoints Per Game

    PPG is total points scored divided by games played — the simplest measure of a scorer’s output.

  • RPGRebounds Per Game

    RPG is total rebounds divided by games played — combining offensive and defensive boards into a single per-game number.

  • APGAssists Per Game

    APG is total assists divided by games played — how many baskets per game a player directly created for a teammate.

  • SPGSteals Per Game

    SPG is total steals divided by games played — the cleanest counting stat for on-ball defensive playmaking.

  • BPGBlocks Per Game

    BPG is total blocks divided by games played — the headline rim-protection stat for centers and forwards.

  • TOVTurnovers Per Game

    Turnovers per game is how often a player coughs up the ball — the negative twin of assists.

Shooting efficiency

Raw FG% under-credits players who shoot threes and over-credits players who never get to the line. These four metrics fix that, in increasing order of completeness.

  • FG%Field Goal Percentage

    FG% is the share of shot attempts (2s and 3s combined) that go in — the most basic shooting efficiency metric.

  • 3P%Three-Point Percentage

    3P% is the share of three-point attempts that go in — the cleanest measure of a shooter’s long-range accuracy.

  • FT%Free Throw Percentage

    FT% is the share of free throws made — the purest measure of unguarded shooting touch.

  • eFG%Effective Field Goal Percentage

    eFG% is FG% adjusted to give 3-pointers the bonus they deserve — a 3 is worth 50% more than a 2.

  • TS%True Shooting Percentage

    TS% measures shooting efficiency across 2-pointers, 3-pointers, and free throws on a single 0–100 scale.

  • FT/FGAFree Throw Rate

    Free Throw Rate is FTA divided by FGA — how often a player draws fouls relative to how often they shoot.

Quick read

Quick rule: TS% is the most honest single-number shooting metric for any scorer who shoots threes or gets to the line.

All-around impact

These metrics try to summarize an entire game (or season) in a single number — combining scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defense, and ball control.

  • PERPlayer Efficiency Rating

    PER is a per-game number summarizing everything a player does — scoring, rebounds, assists, defense, and turnovers.

  • GmScGame Score

    Game Score is John Hollinger’s single-number summary of a player’s value in one game — scaled like points.

  • +/-Plus-Minus

    Plus-minus is the team’s point differential while a player is on the floor — credits or charges every player on the court.

Quick read

No single-number metric is perfect. PER over a full season is more reliable than +/- in one game; +/- across a full season is more reliable than PER in one game. Use them as triangulation, not gospel.

Possession-aware metrics

A team that scores 100 points in 110 possessions is dramatically less efficient than one that scores 100 in 80. Pace-adjusted metrics control for that gap and let you compare teams that play different styles.

  • PacePace

    Pace is possessions per 48 minutes — how fast a team plays, independent of how well they score.

  • ORtgOffensive Rating

    Offensive Rating is points scored per 100 possessions — the standard pace-adjusted offensive efficiency metric.

  • DRtgDefensive Rating

    Defensive Rating is points allowed per 100 possessions — the standard pace-adjusted defensive efficiency metric.

  • USG%Usage Rate

    USG% measures the share of a team’s offensive plays a player is responsible for — shots, free throws, and turnovers combined.

  • TOV%Turnover Percentage

    TOV% estimates what percentage of a player’s possessions ended in a turnover — controlling for usage.

The four factors

Dean Oliver's four factors are the cleanest framework for "what predicts winning?" — shooting efficiency, ball control, offensive rebounding, and getting to the free-throw line. Master these and the rest of basketball analytics rhymes with them.

  • eFG%Effective Field Goal Percentage

    eFG% is FG% adjusted to give 3-pointers the bonus they deserve — a 3 is worth 50% more than a 2.

  • TOV%Turnover Percentage

    TOV% estimates what percentage of a player’s possessions ended in a turnover — controlling for usage.

  • ORB%Offensive Rebound Percentage

    ORB% is the share of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor.

  • DRB%Defensive Rebound Percentage

    DRB% is the share of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while on the floor.

  • FT/FGAFree Throw Rate

    Free Throw Rate is FTA divided by FGA — how often a player draws fouls relative to how often they shoot.

Frequently asked

What are the most important basketball stats?

For team strength, the four factors (eFG%, TOV%, offensive rebound rate, free-throw rate) explain most of why teams win or lose. For players, points per game gets headlines but true shooting percentage (TS%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (AST/TO) are far more honest signals of efficiency. Combine PPG with TS% to separate volume scorers from efficient stars.

What does +/- mean in basketball?

Plus-minus is the team's point differential while a player is on the floor. If your team outscored the opponent by 8 points during your minutes, you are +8 for that game. Raw plus-minus is noisy in single games — a bench player on a great team can post a high +/- without driving it — but useful in aggregate over a full season.

How is PER calculated?

Player Efficiency Rating rewards positive box-score actions (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and subtracts negative ones (missed shots, turnovers, missed free throws). The simplified per-game variant — sometimes called "Efficiency" — is: (PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − missed FGs − missed FTs − TO) / GP. The full Hollinger PER also pace-adjusts and contextualizes by team.

What is true shooting percentage?

True Shooting Percentage (TS%) measures shooting efficiency across two-pointers, three-pointers, and free throws on a single 0–100 scale. It answers "for every shot attempt, how many points did this player generate?" Formula: PTS / (2 × (FGA + 0.44 × FTA)) × 100. A TS% of 60% is elite; below 50% from a high-volume scorer is a red flag.

Where can I track these stats for my own basketball league?

ArcStat is built for exactly this. Free tier covers a typical 8-team barangay or corporate league with full NBA-grade box scores. Advanced metrics (TS%, eFG%, PER, USG%, AST/TO) ship on the Pro tier. See arcstat.app/basketball-league-software.

Track these stats for your league

ArcStat is basketball league software built for commissioners who care about getting these metrics right. The Free tier covers full NBA-grade box scores; advanced metrics (TS%, eFG%, PER, USG%, AST/TO) ship on the Pro tier with formulas and leaderboards.

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