How to read NBA box scores and advanced stats: plus-minus, TS%, usage, PER basics

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A box score looks like a wall of abbreviations, but it is the quickest way to understand what happened in a game you missed. Advanced statistics then help you judge players beyond points per game. This guide walks through the standard columns and the most quoted advanced numbers, with the limits of each.

The standard box score columns

MIN: minutes played. Always read other numbers against minutes.
FGM-FGA and FG%: field goals made and attempted, and the percentage.
3PM-3PA and 3P%: the same for three-pointers.
FTM-FTA and FT%: free throws made and attempted.
OREB, DREB, REB: offensive, defensive and total rebounds.
AST: assists, passes that lead directly to a basket.
STL and BLK: steals and blocked shots.
TO or TOV: turnovers, possessions lost.
PF: personal fouls; six means disqualification.
PTS: points.
+/-: plus-minus, explained below.

A good habit is to check attempts before percentages. A player who shot 3 of 4 is not the same story as one who shot 9 of 12.

Plus-minus

Plus-minus is the team's scoring margin while that player was on the court. If the team outscored opponents by six during his minutes, he is plus six.

Strength: it captures things that do not show up elsewhere, such as spacing, screens and defensive positioning.
Weakness: it is very noisy in a single game. A bench player can be minus ten because he shared the floor with a poor line-up, through no fault of his own.

Treat one-game plus-minus as a hint. Over a whole season it means more, and adjusted versions try to account for team-mates and opponents, though those models vary.

True shooting percentage (TS%)

Field goal percentage ignores that threes are worth more and that free throws are efficient points. True shooting puts all scoring into one number. The usual formula is points divided by twice the sum of field goal attempts plus 0.44 times free throw attempts. The 0.44 is an estimate of how many free throw attempts use up a possession.

It lets you compare a big man who scores near the basket with a guard who shoots threes and draws fouls.
Compare a player with the league average for that season, because average efficiency has changed over time.

Usage rate

Usage estimates the share of a team's possessions a player finishes while he is on the court, through a shot, free throws or a turnover.

Five players share the court, so an even split would be about 20 per cent.
Stars usually sit well above that.

Usage and efficiency should be read together. Keeping a good true shooting figure on high usage is much harder than on low usage, because defences focus on you and you take more difficult shots.

Player Efficiency Rating (PER)

PER, created by analyst John Hollinger, rolls box-score production into one per-minute number adjusted for pace, and scales it so that the league average is 15 each season.

It is useful for a quick sense of how productive a player is when he is on the floor.
It rewards scoring volume and rebounds heavily and sees little of defence beyond steals and blocks.

Use PER as a starting point, not a verdict.

Other numbers you will see

Assist to turnover ratio: a simple measure of a ball-handler's care.
Offensive and defensive rating: points scored or allowed per 100 possessions, for a team or while a player is on court.
Pace: possessions per 48 minutes, which explains why some teams post bigger raw numbers.
Net rating: offensive minus defensive rating.
Composite metrics such as box plus-minus and estimated impact models. Different sites calculate these differently, so compare like with like.

A simple routine for reading a game

Check the final score and the team totals for shooting, rebounds and turnovers.
Look at each starter's minutes, attempts and points.
Scan plus-minus for surprises, then read the play-by-play to see why.
Over a season, use per-100-possession figures and true shooting rather than raw totals.

Numbers never replace watching the game, but they tell you where to look. Which stat do you rely on most, and which do you find misleading? Share your views and questions in the comments.