Sports & GM6 min read
How to Read a Basketball Box Score, Column by Column
A column-by-column guide to the basketball box score using the league's own stat definitions, a worked example line, and what a box score cannot tell you.
Basketball · Calculator
Four factors calculator, with possessions, pace and offensive, defensive and net rating
Dean Oliver identified four things a basketball team has to do well: shoot efficiently, avoid turnovers, rebound its misses and get to the free-throw line. Each can be measured from a box score, for a team’s offence and — by measuring its opponent — for its defence.
Enter both teams’ totals for a game or a season to see which factors decided it, along with possessions, pace and the per-100-possession ratings estimated from the same numbers.
By Reign Creative LLCPublished More in the Basketball hub
Calculate the four factors and ratings
Use one game or a whole season, the same span for both teams. Points are worked out from the field goals, threes and free throws.
Net rating+7.4per 100 possessions
- Offensive rating
- 114.5
- Defensive rating
- 107.1
- Possessions (estimated)
- 7905.3
- Pace (per 48 minutes)
- 95.9
- Points
- 9,054–8,470
| Factor | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting (eFG%) | 53.4% (better) | 47.8% |
| Turnovers (TOV%) | 12.4% | 12.0% (better) |
| Rebounding (ORB%) | 27.5% | 31.7% (better) |
| Free throws (FT/FGA) | .222 (better) | .176 |
The better figure in each row is in bold: higher is better for eFG%, ORB% and FT/FGA, lower for TOV%. The opponent’s ORB% and the team’s defensive rebound percentage add up to 100%: the team’s DRB% is 68.3%.
The formulas
Shooting
eFG% = (FG + 0.5 × 3P) ÷ FGA
Turnovers
TOV% = TOV ÷ (FGA + 0.44 × FTA + TOV)
Rebounding
ORB% = ORB ÷ (ORB + opponent DRB)
Free throws
FT/FGA = FT ÷ FGA
Each factor is measured for both teams, so a team’s defence is its opponent’s numbers. Basketball-Reference reports the approximate weight Oliver assigned each one:
| Factor | Weight |
|---|---|
| Shooting | 40% |
| Turnovers | 25% |
| Rebounding | 20% |
| Free throws | 15% |
The weights are his estimates of how much each factor matters, not a formula for combining them, so the calculator shows the factors side by side instead of adding them up.
Possessions (estimated)
½ × [(FGA + 0.4 × FTA − 1.07 × ORB ÷ (ORB + opp. DRB) × (FGA − FG) + TOV) + the same for the opponent]
Pace
pace = 48 × possessions ÷ (team minutes ÷ 5)
Ratings
ORtg = 100 × points ÷ possessions · DRtg = 100 × opponent points ÷ possessions · net = ORtg − DRtg
The possession formula is Basketball-Reference’s. It estimates possessions from each side’s box score and averages the two, so both teams get the same number; the ratings follow the NBA glossary’s definitions. Pace uses 48 minutes, or 40 for the WNBA, as Basketball-Reference does.
Worked example: Basketball-Reference’s own
Basketball-Reference works the four factors through for one NBA team’s 2004-05 regular season. The same totals, run through the calculator’s code, give its published figures:
| Factor | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive eFG% | (3,351 + 0.5 × 796) ÷ 7,018 | .534 |
| Defensive eFG% | (3,328 + 0.5 × 494) ÷ 7,485 | .478 |
| Offensive TOV% | 1,125 ÷ (7,018 + 0.44 × 2,080 + 1,125) | .124 |
| Defensive TOV% | 1,131 ÷ (7,485 + 0.44 × 1,775 + 1,131) | .120 |
| ORB% | 967 ÷ (967 + 2,550) | .275 |
| DRB% | 2,652 ÷ (1,233 + 2,652) | .683 |
| Offensive FT/FGA | 1,556 ÷ 7,018 | .222 |
| Defensive FT/FGA | 1,320 ÷ 7,485 | .176 |
The team out-shot its opponents and got to the line more often, while committing turnovers at a slightly higher rate and rebounding fewer of its own misses than they did. The biggest gap was in shooting, the factor Oliver weighted most.
Over 19,780 team minutes, the possession estimate comes to 7905.3. The team scored 9,054 points and allowed 8,470. That reproduces the offensive rating, defensive rating and pace Basketball-Reference prints on the same team’s season page:
| Measure | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive rating | 100 × 9,054 ÷ 7905.3 | 114.5 |
| Defensive rating | 100 × 8,470 ÷ 7905.3 | 107.1 |
| Net rating | ORtg − DRtg | 7.4 |
| Pace | 48 × 7905.3 ÷ (19,780 ÷ 5) | 95.9 |
What the four factors leave out
- Possessions are estimated. Different formulas give slightly different counts, and every rating inherits the difference.
- The weights are approximate. Oliver’s 40/25/20/15 split says shooting matters most, not exactly how much a point of eFG% is worth against a point of TOV%.
- Why, not just what. The factors show where a game was won — they do not show whether the shots were open, which player turned it over, or how the rebounds were lost.
- One game is a small sample. A handful of possessions can swing any factor; a season settles them.
The basketball advanced stats explainer covers the per-possession view at player level, and the guide to building a balanced roster looks at the team-building side of the same factors.
Pro Basketball GM Franchise has you draft a roster, set rotations and handle trades and contracts across a full 82-game season, where balance and depth carry more weight than any single pick.
Reign Creative LLC makes Pro Basketball GM Franchise, so we have a commercial interest in it. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any league, team, players’ association or athlete.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What are the four factors in basketball?
Shooting (effective field-goal percentage), turnovers (turnover percentage), rebounding (offensive rebound percentage) and free throws (free throws made per field-goal attempt). Basketball-Reference reports the approximate weights Dean Oliver gave them as 40%, 25%, 20% and 15%.
How are possessions calculated?
They are estimated, not counted. This calculator uses Basketball-Reference’s formula, which estimates each team’s possessions from its shots, free-throw attempts, offensive rebounds and turnovers, then averages the two estimates.
What is pace in basketball?
An estimate of possessions per 48 minutes. Basketball-Reference divides possessions by the game minutes played — team minutes divided by five — and multiplies by 48, or by 40 for the WNBA.
What is net rating?
Offensive rating minus defensive rating — points scored minus points allowed per 100 possessions, as the NBA’s stat glossary defines it. A positive number means the team outscored its opponents per possession.
Why do my ratings differ from other sites?
Possessions can be estimated in more than one way, so ratings from different sources rarely match exactly. This page uses Basketball-Reference’s published estimate, and its code reproduces Basketball-Reference’s own figures for one season.
Sources
- Four Factors (opens in a new tab)Basketball-Reference.com (Sports Reference) — accessed
- Glossary — Poss, Pace, ORtg and DRtg (opens in a new tab)Basketball-Reference.com (Sports Reference) — accessed
- Stat Glossary — OffRtg, DefRtg and NetRtg (opens in a new tab)NBA.com — accessed
League, governing-body and team names appear here only to identify the formulas and rules being used. Reign Creative LLC's sports games and calculators are not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any league, team, players' association or athlete, and all names and marks belong to their owners.
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