Home / Metrics

The metrics

Each one explains who's good and why teams win: a sentence, a formula and the numbers behind it. More are added through the season. For every acronym and framework in one place, see the glossary, and for every player's numbers, the player table.

PlayersAQI: Anchor Quality IndexNet rating × usage × shooting. Every champion's best player since 2001-02 cleared 1.73.TeamsThe four contender testsFour preseason checks that found 16 of the last 25 champions.ShotsShot value: what every NBA shot is worthTwo free throws are worth more than every shot in basketball except a dunk. Here is the full price list, from 219,527 attempts.TeamsWEV: Winning Expected ValueA defense-weighted grade of how much winning a team's profile is worth. It has put 25 of the last 26 champions in its top ten.DefenseRim protection is contest, not deterrenceIn the team data, rim protection didn't keep opponents away from the basket. It made the shots at the basket worse.TeamsPayroll FragilityTeams lose when the players they pay most don't play. The link has run the same direction in every one of 16 seasons.DefenseLineup hardness: when to hold and when to shootWho is on the floor on defense changes what a good possession is. Against hard lineups the right shot comes sooner.