STEAL TO TURNOVER RATIO TO: When a player loses possession of the basketball to the opposing team. STL: When a player forces a turnover from an opposing player. BREAKDOWN In this month’s Thunder StatLab activity, we are going to explore the steal-to-turnover ratio. This ratio is one of many that is used to evaluate a player’s ball control and handling skills. Let’s breakdown the difference between a steal and a turnover.

A steal occurs when a player on defense takes possession of the basketball from an opposing player. A turnover is created when a player with the possession of the basketball loses possession as a result of their own error (throwing the basketball out-of-bounds) or an opposing player’s error.

Why do we care about the steal-to-turnover ratio? This ratio measures the true effectiveness of steals. If a player steals the basketball a lot, but also turns it over a lot, the steals become insignificant because the player and therefore the team, cannot keep possession of the basketball. The ratio is found by dividing the number of steals by the number of turnovers. Below is the variables and equation used to calculate the steal-to-turnover ratio.

STEALS TURNOVERS

TO: When a player loses possession of the basketball to the opposing team STL: When a player forces a turnover from an opposing player

Below are the numbers of steals and turnovers, from four players for the Thunder from their win over the Houston Rockets on Nov. 8, 2018.

PLAYER STL TO A 4 1 B 1 3 C 1 1 D 2 4

In this game, their STL/TO ratios were: Player A – 4.0 Player B - .33 Player C – 1.0 Player D - .50 1 okcthunder.com/statlab STEAL TO TURNOVER RATIO

LET’S PRACTICE Let’s practice calculating steal-to-turnover ratio on our own. Complete the table below by calculating each player’s steal-to-turnover ratio, when simplifying, don’t forget to round to the nearest tenth, or the first number to the right of the decimal. Once you’ve completed the table, answer the questions below.

STL TO STEAL-TO-TURNOVER RATIO Player A 2 1 Player B 4 6 Player C 0 2 Player D 6 3 Player E 1 3

1. Rank the players in order based on their steal-to-turnover from greatest to least, don’t forget to include any necessary symbols, <, >, =, <\, >\

2 okcthunder.com/statlab STEAL TO TURNOVER RATIO

2. According to the box score, player D had the most steals, does this mean they had the highest steal-to-turnover ratio? Explain your answer.

3. According to the box score, player B had the most turnovers, does this mean they had the lowest steal-to-turnover ratio? Explain your answer.

4. Put on your coaching hat, based on only the box score above, which player would you want to be your point guard, or the player that would have the basketball in their hands to start every offensive possession?

3 okcthunder.com/statlab