How to Read a Basketball Box Score
When you miss the big NBA game the next best way to find out what happened is to check the box score. The NBA box score is a very complete record of the game. You can get an idea of how individuals and teams performed based on the raw data contained in a box score.
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Instructions
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Check out who is on the bottom. You can tell who the home team is by which team is listed on the bottom of the quarter by quarter recap. The quarter by quarter recap is displayed at the top of the box score and it shows how many points each team scored in every quarter. If you enjoy addition, or if you have a calculator, you can add up the quarterly results and see what the score was at the end of every quarter. This is a decent indicator of the flow of the game.
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Know the abbreviations. Next comes the individual player stats and you have to know what each column means. These columns are not always in the same order so you need to know what they each stand for. Stats included in a NBA box score are minutes ("M" or "MIN"), field goals made and field goals attempted ("FGM" and "FGA"), three point field goals made and three point field goals attempted ("3PM" and "3PA"), free throws made and free throws attempted ("FTM" and "FTA"), offensive rebounds ("OR" or "OREB"), defensive rebounds ("DR" or "DREB"), total rebounds ("R," "TR" or TREB"), assists ("A" or "AST"), steals ("S" or "STL"), blocked shots ("B" or "BS"), personal fouls ("F" or "PF") and points ("P" or "PTS").
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Pick out the starting five. The first five players listed in the NBA box score are the starters. Players who came off the bench will be listed below the five starters.
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Observe the totals. Below the individual player stats there will be team totals and sometimes percentages for the three different shooting categories. This is where you can tell if one team dominated the other in any single aspect of the game whether it be turnovers, rebounding, three point shooting or fouls.
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Look for other interesting tidbits as well. Some NBA box scores will display other stats such as largest lead, points off turnovers, technical fouls and attendance. These can also provide important insights into the game itself.
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Tips & Warnings
Find a box score format you like and check it exclusively. Some sources have different formats and if you are not sure exactly every category is, it can be confusing to read.
Some newspapers, especially smaller ones, do not take the space to print full box scores. They will provide some of the major categories, but they may only list the leader in areas such as blocked shots and steals instead of player by player totals.
