Stats explained · +/-
Plus-minus (+/-)
If a team outscores its opponent 60–52 while a player is on the court, his plus-minus is +8, no matter who scored.
The formula
In one box score, the five players' plus-minus always adds up to five times the final margin. The stat comes from ice hockey, where the Montreal Canadiens first used it in the 1950s; in the NBA the Houston Rockets were the first to use a version of it.1
Worked example
Example (made-up numbers)
On the floor: his team scored 60, the opponent 52.
60 − 52 = +8
An example for practice, not a real game.
What it tells you
Whether good things happened while a player was out there.
What it does not
Why. Plus-minus depends a lot on teammates and opponents, and one game is a small sample.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Plus–minus (sports) (version of 26 July 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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