POS#
Position
posThe player's listed position: G guard, F forward, C center, or a mix like G-F or F-C. PG, SG, SF and PF split guards and forwards further.
Hoops Nightly · stats glossary · 2026-27
What every stat column means
Every abbreviation you will meet in a box score, a stats table or a downloaded dataset: what it counts, how it is calculated and where it can mislead. The numbers are live, from the same data as our league leaders.
35terms explained
11formulas written out
17live league leaders
The box score, decodedLuka DoncicLAL · league's top scorer · 2026-27 per game · 8 GP
True shooting percentage Points per shooting possession, counting threes and free throws. The best single number for scoring efficiency.
Who and how much
The columns that say who the row is about and how much that player was on the floor.
GP#
Games played
GgGames in which the player appeared, even for a minute. Season averages divide by this number, and leaderboards require a minimum share of the team's games.
GS#
Games started
gsGames in which the player was one of the five on the floor at tip-off.
MIN#
Minutes
MPmpMinutes played. An NBA game has 48 minutes before overtime, shared by five players at a time, so a team has 240 player-minutes to hand out.
Shooting
M is made, A is attempted. A field goal is any shot from the floor, twos and threes together; free throws are counted apart.
FGM#
Field goals made
FGfgShots from the floor that went in, twos and threes together.
FGA#
Field goals attempted
fgaShots from the floor taken, made or missed. A shot on which the shooter is fouled and misses does not count as an attempt.
FG%#
Field-goal percentage
FG_PCTfg.The share of shots from the floor that went in. It treats a three like a two, which is why eFG% and TS% exist.
FG% = FGM / FGA
3PM#
Three-pointers made
3PFG3Mx3pShots made from behind the arc.
3PA#
Three-pointers attempted
FG3Ax3paShots taken from behind the arc, made or missed.
3P%#
Three-point percentage
FG3_PCTx3p.The share of threes that went in.
3P% = 3PM / 3PA
2PM#
Two-pointers made and attempted
2P2PAx2px2paShots from inside the arc. Many tables leave them out because they can be worked out from the other columns.
2PM = FGM − 3PM 2PA = FGA − 3PA
2P%#
Two-point percentage
x2p.The share of twos that went in.
2P% = 2PM / 2PA
FTM#
Free throws made and attempted
FTFTAftftaUnguarded shots from the line after a foul, worth one point each.
FT%#
Free-throw percentage
FT_PCTft.The share of free throws that went in.
FT% = FTM / FTA
The rest of the box score
Everything that is not a shot, plus the points those shots add up to.
PTS#
Points
ptsPoints scored: two for a two, three for a three, one for a free throw.
PTS = 2 × 2PM + 3 × 3PM + FTM
OREB#
Offensive rebounds
ORBorbMissed shots recovered by the team that took them. Each one extends the possession.
DREB#
Defensive rebounds
DRBdrbMissed shots recovered by the defense. Each one ends the opponent's possession.
REB#
Total rebounds
TRBtrbOffensive and defensive rebounds together.
REB = OREB + DREB
AST#
Assists
astA pass that leads directly to a made field goal. Scorekeepers decide what counts, so the number carries a little judgment.
STL#
Steals
stlA defensive play that takes the ball away and ends the opponent's possession.
BLK#
Blocks
blkA defender deflects a shot attempt so it does not go in. The shooter is still charged with a missed shot.
TOV#
Turnovers
TOtovA possession lost before a shot: a bad pass, a travel, an offensive foul, a steal by the defense.
PF#
Personal fouls
pfFouls charged to the player. Six in an NBA game and the player is out for the rest of it.
+/-#
Plus-minus
PLUS_MINUSThe team's scoring margin while the player was on the floor. It says what happened, not who caused it, so a bench player next to four stars can post a big number.
DD#
Double-double
DD2A game with double figures in two of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
TD#
Triple-double
TD3A game with double figures in three of those categories.
Advanced numbers
Built from the box score to answer what the raw columns cannot: how efficient, how involved, how good per possession.
eFG%#
Effective field-goal percentage
EFG_PCTefg.Field-goal percentage with a three worth half again as much as a two, because it is.
eFG% = (FGM + 0.5 × 3PM) / FGA
TS%#
True shooting percentage
TS_PCTPoints per shooting possession, counting threes and free throws. The best single number for scoring efficiency.
TS% = PTS / (2 × (FGA + 0.44 × FTA))
The 0.44 estimates how many free throws make up one possession: and-ones and technicals mean two free throws are not always one trip.
USG%#
Usage rate
USG_PCTThe share of the team's possessions the player ends with a shot, free throws or a turnover while on the floor. Five players split 100%, so 20% is the even share.
POSS#
Possessions
One team's turn with the ball. Box scores do not count them directly, so they are usually estimated.
POSS ≈ FGA + 0.44 × FTA − OREB + TOV
PACE#
Pace
Possessions per 48 minutes. It is why per-game numbers from a fast team and a slow team are not the same thing.
ORtg#
Offensive rating
OFF_RATINGPoints scored per 100 possessions.
DRtg#
Defensive rating
DEF_RATINGPoints allowed per 100 possessions. Lower is better.
NET#
Net rating
NET_RATINGPoints scored minus points allowed per 100 possessions. For a player it is the team's margin with that player on the floor.
NET = ORtg − DRtg
PIE#
Player impact estimate
The league's share-of-the-game number: the part of all the events in a game that belong to the player. 10% is average, 15% and up is a star.
No term matches that search. Try an abbreviation like TS or a word like rebound.
A worked example
One shooter, three answers
Field-goal percentage treats every make the same. The other two give back what it leaves out. Here is the difference on the 2026-27 per-game averages of Luka Doncic.
eFG% = (11.6 + 0.5 × 5.9) / 23.5 = 61.9% TS% = 38.5 / (2 × (23.5 + 0.44 × 10.5)) = 68.5%
Worked from rounded averages, so the last digit can differ from the official figures in the chart.
Reading a dataset
One stat, three spellings
The same number goes by different names depending on where it comes from. Files exported for R or Python often rewrite the names a programming language will not accept: a column cannot start with a digit in R, and a percent sign is not allowed either.
Totals or averages? Before using any file, check which one it holds:
pts can mean either. Divide by games played and see which result looks like a real scoring average. Tables on this site show per-game averages unless they say otherwise.