Plus/minus statistic gaining acceptance

Updated: April 28, 2004, 11:23 AM ET
By Roland Beech | Special to ESPN Insider
While conventional statistics do a decent job of measuring some of what an NBA player does on the court, they don't reflect the full scope of everyone's contributions (or lack thereof), especially their influence on the team's overall performance.

A nice-looking line in the boxscore is great, but it doesn't necessarily indicate how the team fared when that player was on the court.

In recent years, there has been an increased acceptance of sabermetrics and unconventional statistics in baseball. And now NBA teams such as the Mavericks, Pacers, 76ers and SuperSonics are beginning to delve into innovative statistics for basketball, as well.

Among the statistics beginning to gain some traction in NBA circles is plus/minus.


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