Reference

BASKETBALL ANALYTICS
GLOSSARY

Basketball analytics has produced dozens of player evaluation metrics over the past three decades, ranging from simple efficiency ratios to complex Bayesian impact estimators. Not all of them are created equal. This glossary covers 66 major metrics — what each measures, how it works, where it breaks down, and whether APEX uses it, displays it for reference, or excludes it (and why).

Adjusted Player Efficiency Rating (APER) NOT USED
Legacy Composite
APER is a modified version of PER that attempts to correct for position-based scoring bias by adjusting a player's raw P…
Adjusted Plus-Minus (APM) NOT USED
Impact / Plus-Minus
APM was the first generation of plus-minus metrics that attempted to isolate individual player contributions from teamma…
Approximate Value (AV) NOT USED
Legacy Composite
Approximate Value is a metric created by Pro Football Reference's Doug Drinen, primarily used in football but occasional…
Assist Percentage (AST%) SCORED
Playmaking Efficiency
Assist Percentage estimates the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while on the floor.
Box Plus-Minus (BPM) SCORED
Impact / Box Score Composite
BPM estimates a player's net contribution in points per 100 possessions above a league-average player, derived entirely…
CARMELO NOT USED
Projection / Aging Curve
CARMELO (Career-Arc Regression Model Estimating Player Outcomes) was a player projection system developed by FiveThirtyE…
Daily Updated Ranking of Individual Performance (DRIP) NOT USED
Impact / All-in-One
DRIP is an all-in-one player impact metric published by The Athletic and developed by analysts Austin Nguyen and Sam Ill…
DARKO DPM SCORED
Impact / Bayesian Estimator
DARKO (Daily Adjusted and Regressed Kalman Optimized) DPM is a Bayesian player impact metric developed by Kostya Medvedo…
Defensive Plus-Minus (DPLUS or DPM) NOT USED
Impact / Defensive
Defensive Plus-Minus refers generically to the defensive component of any plus-minus estimator — the portion of a player…
Defensive Rating NOT USED
Efficiency / Defensive
Defensive Rating (DRtg) measures the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions while a specific player is on th…
Defensive Stop NOT USED
Counting / Defensive
Defensive Stop is a composite metric that estimates the number of defensive possessions a player was individually respon…
Diamond Rating NOT USED
Legacy Composite
Diamond Rating is a composite player evaluation metric published on NBAstuffer that synthesizes multiple advanced metric…
Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) NOT USED
Efficiency / Scoring
eFG% adjusts standard field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals are worth 50% more poin…
Estimated Plus-Minus (EPM) SCORED
Impact / RAPM-Family
EPM is an all-in-one player impact metric published by DunksAndThrees.
Fantasy Points Scored for DraftKings (DK FPTS) NOT USED
Fantasy / Derived
DK FPTS is a composite score derived from a player's statistical performance, weighted according to DraftKings' daily fa…
Fantasy Points Scored for FanDuel (FD FPTS) NOT USED
Fantasy / Derived
FD FPTS is the equivalent of DK FPTS but using FanDuel's daily fantasy scoring system.
Floor Impact Counter (FIC) NOT USED
Legacy Composite / Box Score
FIC is a composite box score metric that combines points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks while subtracting field…
Game Score NOT USED
Single-Game / Box Score
Game Score is a metric developed by John Hollinger (the same creator as PER) to provide a quick single-number assessment…
Gravity in the NBA NOT USED
Tracking / Contextual
Gravity refers to the degree to which a player's presence on the court draws defensive attention, creating opportunities…
Individual Floor Percentage NOT USED
Legacy / Possession-Based
Individual Floor Percentage measures the fraction of a player's individual offensive possessions (shots, free throws, as…
Individual Player Value (IPV) NOT USED
Composite / Legacy
IPV is a composite metric developed by NBAstuffer that attempts to capture overall player value using a combination of t…
LEBRON SCORED
Impact / RAPM-Family
LEBRON (Luck-adjusted player Estimate using a Box prior Regularized ON-off) is an all-in-one player impact metric publis…
NBA Efficiency NOT USED
Legacy / Box Score Composite
NBA Efficiency is an official NBA metric published on NBA.com.
NBA Plus-Minus and Player Impact Metrics: The Complete Guide NOT USED
Reference / Guide
The plus-minus family is the most important category of NBA advanced metrics.
Net Plus-Minus (Roland Rating) NOT USED
Plus-Minus / Basic
Net Plus-Minus (also called the Roland Rating) is the simplest version of plus-minus: the raw point differential per gam…
Net Points NOT USED
Counting / Legacy
Net Points is a simple metric, originally associated with ESPN's tracking systems, that estimates the net point impact o…
Non-Scoring Player Possessions NOT USED
Possession-Based / Tracking
Non-Scoring Player Possessions tracks the number of possessions a player uses that do not directly result in scoring — d…
Offensive Conversion Rate NOT USED
Efficiency / Offensive
Offensive Conversion Rate measures the fraction of offensive possessions a player is involved in that result in points.
Offensive Rating NOT USED
Efficiency / Team-Level
Offensive Rating measures points scored per 100 possessions. At the team level, it is one of the Four Factors identified…
Per-Minute Ratings NOT USED
Context Adjustment
Per-Minute Ratings refers to normalizing any counting statistic to a per-minute basis (e.g.
Personal Foul Efficiency NOT USED
Efficiency / Penalty
Personal Foul Efficiency attempts to measure how well a player manages their foul situation — are their fouls drawn in h…
Player Efficiency Rating (PER) NOT USED
Legacy Composite / Box Score
PER is a per-minute box score composite developed by John Hollinger and published by Basketball-Reference and ESPN.
Player Impact Estimate (PIE) NOT USED
Official / Box Score Composite
PIE is the NBA's official all-in-one player impact metric published on NBA.com.
Player Tracking Plus-Minus (PT-PM) NOT USED
Tracking / Defunct
PT-PM was an early attempt to use NBA player tracking data (player position, movement, speed) as inputs to a plus-minus…
Points Created NOT USED
Offensive / Legacy
Points Created estimates the total points a player generates for their team through both direct scoring and assists.
Points Per Possession (PPP) NOT USED
Efficiency / Offensive
PPP measures the average points scored per offensive possession.
Points Per Shot Attempt (PTS/FGA) NOT USED
Efficiency / Scoring
Points Per Shot Attempt divides a player's total points by their total field goal attempts.
Points Produced NOT USED
Offensive / Possession-Based
Points Produced is a component of Dean Oliver's possession-based framework.
Position Adjusted Win Score (PAWS) NOT USED
Legacy Composite
PAWS takes Win Score (a simplified per-minute composite developed by David Berri) and adjusts it by subtracting the aver…
Potential Assists NOT USED
Tracking / Playmaking
Potential Assists tracks passes that directly led to a shot attempt — a pass qualifies as a Potential Assist if the reci…
Quantified Shooter Impact (qSI) NOT USED
Tracking / Shooting
qSI measures the impact a player has on their own shooting — specifically, how much better or worse they shoot relative…
Quantified Shot Quality (qSQ) NOT USED
Tracking / Shooting
qSQ measures the quality of shots a player generates — given the locations and defensive contests on their shot attempts…
RAPTOR NOT USED
Impact / Tracking-Informed (Defunct)
RAPTOR (Robust Algorithm using Player Tracking and On/off Ratings) was FiveThirtyEight's all-in-one player impact metric…
Real Plus-Minus (RPM) NOT USED
Impact / RAPM-Family (Discontinued for public access)
RPM was ESPN's proprietary plus-minus metric, developed by Jeremias Engelmann and later Steve Ilardi.
Rebound Percentage (REB%) SCORED
Efficiency / Rebounding
Rebound Percentage (REB%) estimates the fraction of available rebounds a player grabs while on the floor, combining offe…
Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus (xRAPM) NOT USED
Impact / RAPM-Family
xRAPM (also written RAPM) is the foundational methodology underlying all modern impact metrics.
Scoring Player Possessions NOT USED
Possession-Based / Offensive
Scoring Player Possessions counts the total offensive possessions a player uses that end in a scoring event — made field…
Seasons Left NOT USED
Projection / Aging
Seasons Left is a projection metric that estimates how many more productive NBA seasons a player has remaining, based on…
Simple Projection System (SPS) NOT USED
Projection / Legacy
SPS is a straightforward projection methodology that uses a weighted average of recent seasons' performance to project f…
Simple Rating System (SRS) NOT USED
Team-Level / Rating
SRS is a team-level metric that combines a team's average point differential with strength of schedule to produce an adj…
Statistical Player Value (SPV) NOT USED
Composite / Proprietary
SPV is a composite player evaluation metric that synthesizes multiple statistical categories.
Statistical Plus-Minus (SPM) NOT USED
Impact / Box Score Composite
Statistical Plus-Minus is a generic term for any plus-minus estimate derived primarily from box score statistics rather…
Steal Percentage (STL%) NOT USED
Defensive / Box Score
Steal Percentage estimates the percentage of opponent possessions that ended in a steal by a given player while on the f…
Tendex NOT USED
Legacy Composite / Historical
Tendex is one of the oldest box score composite metrics in basketball, developed by Dave Heeren in the 1950s.
Total Player Possessions NOT USED
Possession-Based / Counting
Total Player Possessions is the sum of all individual offensive possessions a player is involved in: field goal attempts…
Touches NOT USED
Tracking / Usage
Touches counts the total number of times a player handles the ball during the season, including all possessions where th…
Trade Value NOT USED
Composite / Market
Trade Value attempts to combine on-court performance with contract value to estimate what a player would be worth in a t…
True Shooting Percentage (TS%) SCORED
Efficiency / Scoring
True Shooting Percentage is the gold standard for single-number scoring efficiency.
Turnover Ratio / Turnover Percentage (TOV%) SCORED
Efficiency / Playmaking
Turnover Percentage estimates turnovers per 100 individual possessions used.
Usage Rate (USG%) SCORED
Context / Workload
Usage Rate estimates the percentage of team plays a player uses while on the floor — through field goal attempts, free t…
Versatility Index NOT USED
Profile / Composite
Versatility Index attempts to quantify how many facets of the game a player contributes to — scoring, rebounding, assist…
VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) DISPLAY ONLY
Box Score / Accumulation
VORP estimates the number of points per 100 team possessions a player contributed above a replacement-level player (defi…
Win Probability Added (WPA) NOT USED
Contextual / Clutch
WPA measures the change in a team's win probability attributable to each player action across a season.
Win Score NOT USED
Legacy Composite / Box Score
Win Score is a simplified composite developed by economist David Berri as the foundation for his Wins Produced metric.
Win Share (WS/48) DISPLAY ONLY
Box Score / Accumulation
Win Shares estimates the number of wins a player contributes based on their offensive and defensive productivity relativ…
Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP) NOT USED
Impact / Accumulation
WARP measures the number of wins a player contributes above what a replacement-level player would provide in the same ro…
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