The basic columns
+/-
What does +/- mean in basketball?
正负值Plus-minus
Your team’s points minus theirs over the minutes this player was on court. It records nothing the player did, only how the score moved while they were out there.
Also writtenPM · +-Updated 20 Aug 2026
Worked through
Over his 28 minutes the team scored 71 and gave up 59, so the column reads +12. The 14–20 stretch while he sat is not his.
What it leaves out
One game of plus-minus is almost all noise, because who else was on the floor swings it more than the player did. It needs dozens of games before it starts meaning anything.
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One term down, the whole sheet to go
The numbers on a sheet lean on each other. How many free throws appear depends on the team foul count; how many rebounds exist depends on how both teams shot. Reading a whole game means reading them together.