Box score 101
How to read a box score
A box score packs a whole game into one table. Here is every column, a practice box score to tap through, and what the numbers leave out.
Illustration (AI)
Try it
Tap a column
The table scrolls sideways on a phone. Tap a heading for its meaning, or a number to see how it was calculated.
Practice box score. One team, made-up numbers that add up: the team won 117–110. Tap or hover over any column.
| Player | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Guard | 36 | 9 | 19 | 47.4 | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 6 | 7 | 85.7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 28 | +10 |
| #2 Guard | 35 | 7 | 15 | 46.7 | 3 | 8 | 37.5 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 | +8 |
| #3 Forward | 33 | 6 | 12 | 50.0 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 3 | 4 | 75.0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 17 | +5 |
| #4 Forward | 34 | 5 | 11 | 45.5 | 1 | 4 | 25.0 | 4 | 5 | 80.0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 15 | +9 |
| #5 Center | 30 | 6 | 9 | 66.7 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 | +4 |
| #6 Bench | 26 | 4 | 9 | 44.4 | 2 | 5 | 40.0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | +2 |
| #7 Bench | 24 | 3 | 7 | 42.9 | 1 | 3 | 33.3 | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | -1 |
| #8 Bench | 22 | 2 | 4 | 50.0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 50.0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Team | 240 | 42 | 86 | 48.8 | 13 | 35 | 37.1 | 20 | 26 | 76.9 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 117 |
Definitions in our own words; the abbreviations are the usual ones, as in Wikipedia's overview of basketball statistics1.
Five steps
Read one line
- Find the minutesMIN tells you how big the role was. A big total in few minutes says more than the same total in many.
- Read the shootingFGM-FGA, then 3PM-3PA and FTM-FTA. The percentages show the efficiency; TS% puts all three together.
- Check the glass and the passesREB = OREB + DREB. Offensive rebounds give a team extra chances; assists show who set up the scoring.
- Look at the mistakesTO and PF: turnovers end possessions, fouls can send a player to the bench.
- Finish with +/-The score difference while he played. Useful, but it depends on his teammates too.
The math
Check the points
Points always add up: two points for each made two, three for each made three, one for each free throw.
#1 Guard in the practice box score: 2 × (9 − 4) + 3 × 4 + 6 = 28.
The whole team: 2 × (42 − 13) + 3 × 13 + 20 = 117, the team total in the last row.
Team: 12 + 35 = 47. If a line does not add up, look for a typo or a missing player.
The last row
Seven quick checks on the team line
The team row of the practice box score holds more than the final score. Each check below is one division away, and each links to the stat behind it.
Minutes
240 = 5 × 48
Five players on the floor for a 48-minute game.
Plus-minus
+35 = 5 × 7
The players' plus-minus adds up to five times the 7-point margin (117–110). More →
Notation
Reading the shorthand
- 9-19 Made and attempted: 9 of 19. The same for threes (4-9) and free throws (6-7).
- – No attempts, so no percentage: you cannot divide by zero.
- Starters first Box scores list the starting five first, then the bench; the last row is the team total.
- DNP Did not play: the player was listed but got no minutes.
- Team line The team row adds up the players, and official team totals can also hold rebounds and turnovers charged to the team, not to a player. In Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game the Warriors had 3 team rebounds and the Knicks 42.
From games to a season
Per game is a season divided by games
Wilt Chamberlain, 1961–62: 4,029 points in 80 games3, so 4,029 ÷ 80 = 50.4 a game. John Stockton, 1990–91: 1,164 assists in 82 games4, so 14.2 a game.
Russell Westbrook averaged 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists in 81 games in 2016–17: a triple-double on average, in the season he set the record with 42 triple-doubles5.
The same division works for a team or a whole league: the three-point charts on our eras page show league averages per team and game.
A real box score line
Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points, quarter by quarter
2 March 1962, Warriors 169, Knicks 1472. Look at what the line has, and what it could not have yet.
| Quarter | MIN | FGM | FGA | FTM | FTA | REB | AST | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 12 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 23 |
| 2nd | 12 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 18 |
| 3rd | 12 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 28 |
| 4th | 12 | 12 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 31 |
| Game | 48 | 36 | 63 | 28 | 32 | 25 | 2 | 100 |
Line by quarter, from the box score in Wikipedia's article on the game2. His 25 rebounds are not split into offensive and defensive: that came only in 1973–74.
Not in a 1962 box score
What a box score leaves out
- Defence without a steal or a block: staying in front of a player, a contested shot, a deflection.
- Screens and the pass before the assist.
- Spacing: a shooter who pulls a defender away from the basket.
- When it happened: ten points in a close fourth quarter look the same as ten in a blowout.
That is why we pair the box score with the play-by-play and the video.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Basketball statistics (version of 17 March 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game (version of 13 August 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: List of NBA single-season scoring leaders (version of 15 April 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: List of NBA annual assists leaders (version of 14 October 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Russell Westbrook (version of 3 October 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Three-point field goal (version of 30 August 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Rebound (basketball) (version of 20 September 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Steal (basketball) (version of 19 March 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Block (basketball) (version of 3 August 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
- Wikipedia: Turnover (basketball) (version of 9 September 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.
With the newsletter
The box score cheat sheet
Every column of a box score on one printable page, the shooting formulas with a worked example, and the stats the old box scores never counted.
- All abbreviations, from MIN to +/-
- FG%, 3P%, FT%, eFG% and TS% with examples
- One email a week with the new video and its article
Get the cheat sheet (PDF)
Enter your email and we will send the cheat sheet as a PDF.
Sign-up opens in a few days. Until then, subscribe on YouTube and you will hear about the cheat sheet first.
By signing up you confirm that you are at least 16. You will get an email to confirm your address (double opt-in) and can unsubscribe at any time. Details in our privacy policy.
Independent channel · not affiliated with the NBA or any team · no betting tips · YouTube @boxscorestories