Calculate a basketball player's Game Score (GmSc) using John Hollinger's formula. Enter points, field goals, field goal attempts, free throws, free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, and personal fouls to get a single-number performance rating for any single-game box score.
Game Score (GmSc)
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Performance Rating
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Positive Contributions
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Negative Contributions
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Game Score is a single-number metric developed by ESPN analyst John Hollinger to quantify a basketball player's performance in a single game. It draws from box-score statistics — points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goals, free throws, turnovers, and fouls — and assigns each a weighted value to produce one composite rating. It's essentially a simplified version of Player Efficiency Rating (PER).
The formula is: GmSc = P + 0.4×FG − 0.7×FGA − 0.4×(FTA − FT) + 0.7×OR + 0.3×DR + A + S + 0.7×BS − 0.4×PF − TO. Each component reflects how much a given stat positively or negatively impacts a player's overall contribution in the game.
A Game Score around 10 is considered an average NBA performance. Scores above 20 represent an excellent outing, while anything above 30 is elite and rare. The all-time highest recorded Game Score is Wilt Chamberlain's 78 from his 100-point game in 1962. In more recent history, Kobe Bryant's 81-point game produced a Game Score of around 58.
Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time record with a Game Score of approximately 78, set during his legendary 100-point game on March 2, 1962. Among modern players, Kobe Bryant's 81-point game in January 2006 produced one of the highest Game Scores in recent NBA history at around 58.
Points, field goals made, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks all contribute positively to Game Score. Offensive rebounds carry more weight (0.7) than defensive rebounds (0.3), reflecting their relative scarcity and impact in a game.
Field goal attempts (missed shots), missed free throws (FTA − FT), turnovers, and personal fouls all reduce a player's Game Score. Turnovers have a full −1 weight, making them one of the most costly stats in the formula.
Both metrics try to summarize a player's impact using box-score stats, but PER is more complex — it adjusts for pace, team, and league averages, and is calculated over a full season. Game Score is designed specifically for a single game, uses a simpler formula, and doesn't require any league-wide adjustments, making it much quicker to compute.
Yes, Game Score can be negative. If a player has many missed shots, turnovers, and fouls with very little scoring, the negative contributions can outweigh the positive ones, resulting in a sub-zero Game Score. This typically indicates a very poor individual performance.