Stats explained · PACE

Pace and team ratings

A fast team scores more points simply because it has more possessions. Ratings per 100 possessions take speed out of the comparison.

All stats

The formula

OffRtg = 100 × points ÷ possessions · DefRtg = 100 × opponent points ÷ opponent possessions · NetRtg = OffRtg − DefRtg

Pace counts a team's possessions, per game1 or, as NBA.com gives it, per 48 minutes. Offensive rating, points per 100 possessions, comes from Dean Oliver2.

Worked example

Example (made-up numbers)

115 points on 100 possessions, 110 points allowed on 100 possessions.

OffRtg 115.0, DefRtg 110.0, NetRtg +5.0

An example for practice, not a real game.

What it tells you

How efficient an offence or defence is, whatever its speed.

What it does not

Possessions are counted from the box score or play-by-play, so small differences between sources are normal.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Basketball statistics (version of 17 March 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
  2. Wikipedia: Offensive rating (version of 4 May 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026

Checked on 20 October 2026, unless a source has its own date. Wikipedia content is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; we take single numbers and facts from the versions linked above and say where a number is our own calculation. Spotted a mistake or a record that fell? Write to hello@boxscorestories.com.

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