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Today Formula: "Points per Shot Attempt" (PSA)

05/23/07

Today Formula: "Points per Shot Attempt" (PSA)

09:11:29, Categories: Coach's Digest, Statistics, Formulas

Points per Shot Attempt" (PSA)
In order to measure how strictly correctly a player or team is shooting we need statistics, and if possible a creative analysis of those Basketball statistics.

Statisticians most often use the field goal percentage ( FG% ) to do it, but the added bonus of the three-point shot, for instance, isn't reflected in field goal percentage, and the ability to get to the free-throw line (where the points come much easier) is ignored as well.

"Points per Shot Attempt" (PSA): It's a stat designed to reflect the basics of good shooting: getting the greatest number of points from the fewest number of attempts. Points per shot attempt is simply points divided by shot attempts . Figuring shot attempts is like this: Add field goal attempts plus "Up to the Line" (for 2 or 3 free-throws). In case of an analysis of another team and if you can't know how many times the player or the team reached the line, use (0.4 * FTA) instead.

PSA = Points / (Up to the Line + FGA)

Last year NBA league PSA average was 1.039 points per shot attempt, so by averaging, by example, 1.133 points per attempt, an average team gains a full point with every ten shots.

PSA is just as handy for rating individual players as it is for teams. Occasionally a player will break into the top ten who shoots nothing but dunks, but mostly it's the long shooters who are at the top of an individual PSA list.

This formula, with another fields formulas, are integrated in my exposition at the Basketball Statistics eBA Course: "Statistics Formulas Revision" at eBA ONLINE CLINICS.

Other proposals and formulas your can find at the excellent Basketball Statistics Formulas Revision by Deborah Telmes, in the section Formulas of our site.