If you want to be a better sports fan, you need to start thinking like one. One way to think like a sports fan is by understanding the statistics that cover all levels of professional, college, and youth sports. There are so many statistics out there. So, it is often overwhelming for people who don’t have a background in math or don’t use a sports statistics platform. The good news is the four sports statistics below provide insights into the game’s important players, teams, and scores.
Field Goal Percentage
When studying odds and stats widgets, pay attention to goal percentage statistics. Goal percentage is a statistic that measures the success rate of an athlete in making a field goal. This calculates dividing the amount of successful field goals from the total amount of attempted field goals.
Field goal percentage is important in many sports which use field goals, such as basketball, football, and soccer. It is also important for other sports where players throw or kick objects at goals.
Field goal percentage is one of the most important statistics for athletes in sports using field goals. Many teams and coaches try to improve their team’s field goal percentage by practicing more or getting better players.
Free Throw Percentage
The free throw percentage is a simple statistic to understand. It is the number of free throws that a player makes divided by the total number of free throws he attempts. For example, if a player takes 100 free throws and makes 60 of them, his free throw percentage is 60%. This means that he makes 60% of his total shots while shooting from the line.
The statistic goes up or down depending on how many free throws the player makes. If a player misses two shots out of three attempts, the free throw percentage goes down by one point/ This is because one out of three missed shots are not made.
In most cases, a player’s free throw percentage is higher than his field goal percentage. This is because there are fewer defensive players on the court during free throws. The only person defending during free throws is the opposing team’s center (or sometimes power forward).
Since centers tend to be taller than other players, it is more difficult for them to block shots from smaller guards and forwards taking the shot.
Rebounds
Rebounds in basketball are somewhat unique among sports statistics. They are not necessarily a measure of how good a player is at any one thing, like assists or points. Instead, they are a measure of how much a player is involved in the game.
A player’s ability to grab rebounds does not necessarily say anything about his skillset or athleticism. It just indicates that he uses those attributes to stay engaged with the game.
Rebounds are awarded when a player on either team successfully prevents the ball from hitting the ground after a missed shot. The ball then hands off to that player’s team where they try shooting again.
It is also possible to get offensive rebounds. These occur when one scores a basket right after getting the rebound without passing it to another teammate first. The related statistic is called offensive rebounds per game.
Assists
Assists, or “dishes,” are statistics awarded to players that directly contribute to a goal. Much like hockey, where an assist is awarded for a pass that leads to a goal, the same goes for soccer. The player who passes the ball which leads to a goal is credited with an assist only if the player receiving the pass, then shoots the ball into the goal.
If the player receiving said pass proceeds to score after more than two touches, no assist is awarded. Lastly, if there is any doubt about whether a pass leads directly to a goal, there is no assist credited.
Sports statistics are extremely informative and entertaining. There are dozens of different kinds to learn about, and they all paint a picture of what happened in a particular game or tournament.
