NBA Advanced Stats Explained: PER, True Shooting, Win Shares, and More
Basketball analytics have transformed how we understand the game. But the alphabet soup of advanced stats — PER, TS%, BPM, RAPTOR, EPM — can be overwhelming. Here is a plain-English guide to the most important advanced stats in basketball.
True Shooting Percentage (TS%)
TS% is the single most important shooting stat. Unlike field-goal percentage, it accounts for three-pointers (which are worth more) and free throws. The formula weights all scoring attempts to give you one number that tells you how efficiently a player scores.
League average TS% is about 57%. Elite scorers like Jokic (65.1%) and SGA (63.4%) are well above average. A player with a high TS% is getting more points per shot attempt, which means they're helping their team's offense more efficiently.
Player Efficiency Rating (PER)
PER was created by John Hollinger and attempts to boil a player's entire statistical contribution into one number. It accounts for positive stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and negative stats (missed shots, turnovers, fouls). League average PER is 15. An All-Star is typically 20+. An MVP candidate is 25+.
PER's biggest weakness: it overvalues volume scorers and undervalues defensive specialists. A player who takes a lot of shots will have a higher PER than a player who focuses on defense, even if the defensive player is more valuable to his team.
Box Plus/Minus (BPM)
BPM estimates how many points per 100 possessions a player contributes above a league-average player. A BPM of 0 is average. +5 is All-Star level. +10 is MVP level. BPM is split into offensive BPM (OBPM) and defensive BPM (DBPM), so you can see where a player's value comes from.
Win Shares
Win Shares estimates how many wins a player contributes to his team. It's a counting stat, so players who play more minutes accumulate more win shares. A player with 10+ win shares in a season is having an All-Star caliber year. 15+ is MVP territory.
Net Rating
Net rating is the simplest advanced stat: it's the difference between how many points per 100 possessions a team scores when a player is on the court vs. off the court. A positive net rating means the team is better with the player on the court. The best players in the league have net ratings of +10 or higher.
Which stats matter most?
No single stat tells the whole story. The best approach is to use multiple stats together. TS% for scoring efficiency, BPM for overall impact, net rating for on-court effect, and the eye test for context. Advanced stats are tools, not answers — they help you ask better questions about player performance.