In basketball, a turnover occurs when a team loses possession of the ball to the opposing team before a player takes a shot at their team's basket. This can result from a player getting the ball stolen, stepping out of bounds, having a pass intercepted, committing a violation (such as double dribble, traveling, shot clock violation, three-second violation or five-second violation), or committing an offensive foul (including personal, flagrant, and technical fouls).
Turnovers can be classified into two categories: dead-ball turnovers and live-ball turnovers. Dead-ball turnovers are those which result in dead balls (e.g. rules violations) and live-ball turnovers are those which do not require play to be stopped (e.g. an intercepted pass or recovered loose ball). [1]
According to Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, the concept of the turnover was first formulated by his colleague Jack Barry. [2] Turnovers were first officially recorded in the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the 1967–68 season. The NBA began tracking team turnovers during the 1973-74 season and started tracking turnovers for individual players during the 1977–78 season subsequent to the NBA-ABA merger. The WNBA has recorded turnovers since its inaugural season in 1997.
The record for the most turnovers in an NBA game is shared by Jason Kidd and John Drew. Kidd committed 14 turnovers against the New York Knicks on November 17, 2000 while playing for the Phoenix Suns. Drew committed 14 turnovers against the New Jersey Nets on March 1, 1978 while playing for the Atlanta Hawks. The record for most turnovers in an NBA playoff game was 13, set by James Harden on May 27, 2015 while playing for the Houston Rockets against the Golden State Warriors. [3]
LeBron James holds the regular season and playoff records for most career turnovers with 4,966 in the regular season and 1,015 in the playoffs. [4] [5] Russell Westbrook holds the record for highest career turnover average in the regular season with 4.1 turnovers per game. [6]
The record for the most turnovers by a WNBA team in one game is 33. The record for the most turnovers by a WNBA player per season is held by Ticha Penicheiro, who committed 135 turnovers in 1999. [7] The career record for the most turnovers by a WNBA player is held by Sue Bird has the most turnovers in the WNBA with 1,370. [8]
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
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Jason Frederick Kidd is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, Kidd was a 10-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He won an NBA championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks and was a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics with the U.S. national team in 2000 and 2008. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, Kidd was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
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In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line, a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team, analogous to penalty shots in other team sports. Free throws are also awarded in other situations, including technical fouls, and when the fouling team has entered the bonus/penalty situation. Also, depending on the situation, a player may be awarded between one and three free throws. Each successful free throw is worth one point.
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand or a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot is traveling upward or at its apex. A deflected field goal that is made does not count as a blocked shot and simply counts as a successful field goal attempt for shooter plus the points awarded to the shooting team. For the shooter, a blocked shot is counted as a missed field goal attempt. Also, on a shooting foul, a blocked shot cannot be awarded or counted, even if the player who deflected the field goal attempt is different from the player who committed the foul. If the ball is heading downward when the defender hits it, it is ruled as goaltending and counts as a made basket. Goaltending is also called if the block is made after the ball bounces on the backboard.
In basketball, a steal occurs when a defensive player legally causes a turnover by their positive, aggressive action(s). This can be done by deflecting and controlling, or by catching the opponent's pass or dribble of an offensive player. The defender must not touch the offensive player's hands or otherwise a foul is called.
In basketball, a rebound, sometimes colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a member of the Northwest Division of the NBA's Western Conference. In order to persuade the NBA to give Minnesota a team, Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner, the future owners of the organization, conducted a "name the team" contest and eventually selected two finalists, the "Timberwolves" and the "Polars", in December 1986. The team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner, as the "Timberwolves" prevailed. Minnesota was given a team, and took part in the 1989 NBA expansion draft with the Orlando Magic. The Timberwolves have since made eight playoff appearances, advancing to the Western Conference finals once during the 2003–04 NBA season, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. Since the franchise's inception, 198 players have made an appearance in a competitive game for the team.
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