Data Sources and Glossary

Author

Matt Tabet

Last updated

May 6, 2025

Glossary

Abbreviation Name Definition
PTS Points Points scored by adding all made 1s, 2s, and 3s.
FG Field Goals Made Total made field goals (excluding free throws).
2P 2 Point Field Goals 2-point field goals made.
3P 3 Point Field Goals 3-point field goals made.
FT Free Throws Made Free throws made.
FGA Field Goals Attempted Total field goals attempted.
2PA 2 Pointers Attempted 2-point shots attempted.
3PA Three Pointers Attempted 3-point shots attempted.
FGX Field Goals Missed Missed field goals.
AST Assists Passes leading to made baskets.
TRB Total Rebounds Total offensive and defensive rebounds.
STL Steals Steals (excluding deflections).
BLK Blocks Blocks on field goal attempts.
TOV Turnovers Turnovers committed.
G Games Played Games played.
MP Minutes Played Total minutes played.
FG% Field Goal Percentage FGM / FGA.
2P% 2 Point Percentage 2PM / 2PA.
3P% Three Point Percentage 3PM / 3PA.
FT% Free Throw Percentage FTM / FTA.
PPG Points Per Game Points per game.
MPG Minutes Per Game Minutes per game.
APG Assists Per Game Assists per game.
RPG Rebounds Per Game Rebounds per game.
SPG Steals Per Game Steals per game.
FTA Free Throws Attempted Free throws attempted.
DRB Defensive Rebounds Defensive rebounds.
ORB Offensive Rebounds Offensive rebounds.
PF Personal Fouls Personal fouls.
TRIP Triple Doubles Double digits in 3 stats in one game.

Annotated Half Court Diagram

Data Sources

  • NBA Stats API via nba_api (Python)
    • Shot location data for LeBron James, including X/Y court coordinates (LOC_X, LOC_Y) and shot outcomes.
    • Used to generate shot charts for the 2003–04 and 2023–24 seasons.
    • Enabled spatial comparison of LeBron’s shot profile over time.
  • RealGM
    • Comprehensive individual game logs for LeBron James from 2003–04 through 2024–25.
    • Included date, opponent, home/away designation, and points scored.
    • Formed the backbone of the state-by-state scoring maps.
  • Basketball Reference
    • Provided season-level statistics for LeBron’s teammates, including points per game (PTS) and assists per game (AST).
    • Data were used in the k-means clustering analysis to classify players as superstars, average contributors, or bench players.
    • Also consulted for cross-referencing team rosters and player affiliations by season.
  • Wikipedia
    • Used to determine the U.S. states associated with each NBA team, enabling geographic scoring analysis.
    • Helped resolve ambiguities between teams with name changes or relocations (e.g., New Jersey vs. Brooklyn Nets).
    • Informed the manual construction of the team-to-state mapping CSV file.