Look how far we've come!
Posted: April 1st, 2024, 4:53 pm
Hello SLN friends. I am back to answer some more questions that no one has asked.
How has the league changed since 1996? How does the league today compare to years past?
This first chart shows that scoring increased by a TON in 2001 and has hovered/gradually crept up from there. We will dig into pace and shooting efficiency in the next chart.
Perhaps most surprisingly, SLN frontcourts are thriving with blocks increasing from 4.7 per game in 96 to 7.5 over the past 5 seasons. SLN loves them big butts.
Despite scoring being up ~15%, turnovers have decreased while steals are flat. Seems like these guys are throwing the ball out of bounds less (handling stats have improved?)
Assists have increased slightly but not in line with the increase in scoring.
Overall FG% has remained mostly flat over time. The 15% increase in scoring is attributable to pace (field goal attempts are up ~10% since 1996, better handling helps here too) and improved 3P shooting (35% more attempts and on better efficiency). Free throw attempts increasing seems to be in line with the change in pace.
Summary
The SLN 90s era, like the NBA, was a slower pace game with more turnovers and fewer 3s. This SLN era saw weak shot blocking.
In the SLN early aughts, there was a lot of change as turnovers started coming down and teams reoriented their offensive strategies to the 3P line. By 2005 we hit peak 16.9 3PA per game at all time best 40.6% efficiency.
The league has not changed much since that era, although shot blocking continues to improve little by little.
How has the league changed since 1996? How does the league today compare to years past?
This first chart shows that scoring increased by a TON in 2001 and has hovered/gradually crept up from there. We will dig into pace and shooting efficiency in the next chart.
Perhaps most surprisingly, SLN frontcourts are thriving with blocks increasing from 4.7 per game in 96 to 7.5 over the past 5 seasons. SLN loves them big butts.
Despite scoring being up ~15%, turnovers have decreased while steals are flat. Seems like these guys are throwing the ball out of bounds less (handling stats have improved?)
Assists have increased slightly but not in line with the increase in scoring.
Overall FG% has remained mostly flat over time. The 15% increase in scoring is attributable to pace (field goal attempts are up ~10% since 1996, better handling helps here too) and improved 3P shooting (35% more attempts and on better efficiency). Free throw attempts increasing seems to be in line with the change in pace.
Summary
The SLN 90s era, like the NBA, was a slower pace game with more turnovers and fewer 3s. This SLN era saw weak shot blocking.
In the SLN early aughts, there was a lot of change as turnovers started coming down and teams reoriented their offensive strategies to the 3P line. By 2005 we hit peak 16.9 3PA per game at all time best 40.6% efficiency.
The league has not changed much since that era, although shot blocking continues to improve little by little.