Statistics and the scoresheet

BASKETBALL TRAINING Reading time : 8 min Updated August 10, 2026
Contents
In basketball every box on the sheet has a definition written by FIBA. Here are the ones that matter to a coach, including two that almost everyone applies loosely.
Statistics

Efficiency, and the two terms people drop

The recommended formula subtracts missed shots; the common version omits them.

The efficiency formula recommended by FIBA and the two penalty terms the common version omits The efficiency formula FIBA recommends in its 2024 Statisticians’ Manual is PTS − (FGA − FGM) − (FTA − FTM) + REB + AST − TO + ST + BS. The two subtracted terms are missed shots, from the field and from the line; the widely circulated simplified version omits them and therefore overrates players who shoot a lot. FIBA itself states that multiple formulas exist: it recommends one, it mandates none. Recommended by FIBA PTS − (FGA − FGM) − (FTA − FTM) + REB + AST − TO + ST + BS the missed shots (field and free throw) The common version, not the same measure PTS + REB + AST + ST + BS − TO shoot a lot and miss a lot, you still climb The efficiency formula recommended by FIBA and the two penalty terms the common version omits The efficiency formula FIBA recommends in its 2024 Statisticians’ Manual is PTS − (FGA − FGM) − (FTA − FTM) + REB + AST − TO + ST + BS. The two subtracted terms are missed shots, from the field and from the line; the widely circulated simplified version omits them and therefore overrates players who shoot a lot. FIBA itself states that multiple formulas exist: it recommends one, it mandates none. Mobile version: the formula stacked on four lines, the two penalty terms highlighted. Recommended by FIBA PTS − (FGA − FGM) − (FTA − FTM) + REB + AST − TO + ST + BS ← missed shots:the common versiondrops them Common version, not the same measure PTS + REB + AST+ ST + BS − TO shoot a lot and miss a lot, you still climb

Source: FIBA Statisticians’ Manual 2024 (v1.0), Appendix C.K (FIBA recommends one formula, mandates none).

Who defines a statistic

Unlike many sports, basketball has a written authority for every box on the sheet: the FIBA Statisticians' Manual 2024. Rebound, assist, block, turnover: all are defined, which means a basketball statistic is not a club convention.

Offensive and defensive rebounds

The rule fits in one sentence: a rebound is the controlled recovery of a live ball after a missed shot, and it is offensive if the shooting team retains possession, defensive if the other team gains it.

The edge cases are written down too: ball out of bounds, a foul, a held ball between two team-mates, a ball lodged on the ring. A team rebound is credited, not a player. A rebound immediately followed by a turnover from that same player gives a team rebound to the opponent.

The assist

FIBA's definition, word for word: “a pass that leads directly to a team-mate scoring”. The manual then fixes the judgement with hard rules: a pass to a player inside the paint who scores from inside it is always an assist; a pass to a player outside the paint who scores without dribbling is too; free throws count if the receiver is fouled in the act of shooting and makes at least one.

Only one assist per basket, and only the last pass, even if the second-to-last created the play.

The American definition is more permissive. In the NBA and NCAA a dribble (sometimes two) before the shot does not cancel the assist. For the same play, the totals differ. Any tool that records assists should say which definition it means.

Efficiency, and a common misattribution

FIBA recommends an efficiency formula, without claiming it is the only one; the manual states plainly that several exist:

Points − (field goals attempted − made) − (free throws attempted − made) + rebounds + assists − turnovers + steals + blocks.

That is exactly the formula known elsewhere as EFF. In France the word “évaluation” refers to the index used by the LNB (professional basketball). It is not an FFBB index: no federation publication carries an “FFBB composite index”.

On the figure, the abbreviations are those of the FIBA sheet: PTS points scored · FGA − FGM field goals attempted minus made, so missed · FTA − FTM free throws attempted minus made · REB rebounds · AST assists · TO turnovers · ST steals · BS blocked shots.

  • FIBA writes that “there are multiple formulas available”: it recommends one, it mandates none. There is no official FIBA efficiency number.
  • The évaluation used in the Betclic Élite is an LNB statistic, not an FFBB one: no FFBB primary document publishes a composite index. It further subtracts blocks against and fouls committed.
  • The NBA’s current official metric is not EFF but PIE; EFF is its legacy metric.
  • Efficiency is read per game, then averaged across the season: a display convention, fixed by no rule.

Minutes and +/−: computed, not entered

The manual files playing time and +/− in an appendix of “additional data”, “typically calculated by the software, and therefore not directly relevant to the work of a statistician”. Playing time is derived from substitutions, to the second, with a rounding convention and a DNP marker for a player who never entered, and a DNP game does not count as a game played.

Sources

  • FIBA, Statisticians' Manual 2024 v1.0: ch. 4 (rebounds), ch. 6 (assists), Appendix C (additional data, efficiency, minutes, +/−).
  • FIBA, Official Basketball Rules 2024 for the playing articles.
Last updated: August 10, 2026
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