Points
The points a player scores, per game across a season. The most visible number in basketball, and the most misread.
The pack lands around 7.5. This season's leaders are out on their own:
- 1 Nadir Hifi Paris 18.9
- 2 Sasha Vezenkov Olympiacos 18.8
- 3 Kendrick Nunn Panathinaikos 18.3
What Points measures
Points answer the first question anyone asks: did this player help us score? But the raw number is shaped by minutes, pace and how many shots a player takes. Eighteen points in 22 minutes is not the same as eighteen in 35. The total means the most when you know how efficiently it came.
How Points is calculated
PTS = (2PM × 2) + (3PM × 3) + (FTM × 1)
Every made two is worth 2 points, every three worth 3, every free throw 1. Points is the sum of the three.
PTS: Points / 2PM: Two-Pointers Made / 3PM: Three-Pointers Made / FTM: Free Throws Made
The catch
More points does not mean a better scorer
A player who takes 20 shots to score 18 is less efficient than one who takes 12 for the same total. Points tell you the output. They hide the cost.
The scoring leader is not always the best offensive player
The player who draws the double team, sets the screen that frees the shooter, or makes the pass that creates the open look does not show up in the scoring column. He can cause a point without taking it.
Garbage time inflates totals
Eight points in the last two minutes of a blowout pad a number without changing a game. When the points came matters as much as how many.
Seen in a game
Two players scored almost the same in 2025–26, and the number meant very different things. Nadir Hifi led the league at 18.9 a game, for a Paris side that finished 15-23. Sasha Vezenkov scored 18.8, but on a 30-12 Olympiacos and with a 22.0 PIR, the kind of all-around value the raw scoring number never shows. Same unit, different worth.
Common questions
- What does PTS mean in basketball?
PTS is the abbreviation for points, the total a player or team scores. It is the most basic measure of scoring.
- How are points scored in basketball?
A basket inside the three-point line is worth two points, a basket beyond it three points, and a made free throw one point. Add them up and you get PTS.
- Are points the best way to judge a scorer?
Not alone. Points reward volume, so a player taking many shots can score a lot inefficiently. Pair points with true shooting percentage to see whether the scoring is actually efficient.
