The four factors are the four box-score rates that explain most of why a basketball team wins or loses: shooting (effective field goal percentage), turnovers (turnover rate), rebounding (offensive rebound rate) and free throws (free throws per field goal attempt). The idea is Dean Oliver's.
HoopSim calculates all four for every team and uses them in the analytics assistant's briefing, which compares your team to the league on each factor. In the sim they map onto real levers: shot quality comes from how open each look is, turnovers from handlers, passers, pressure defenses and tired legs, offensive rebounds from Crash the boards and your bigs, and free throws from fouls and the bonus.
| Factor | Formula |
|---|---|
| Shooting | eFG% = (FGM + 0.5 x 3PM) / FGA |
| Turnovers | TOV% = TOV / (FGA + 0.44 x FTA + TOV) |
| Rebounding | ORB% = ORB / (ORB + opponent DRB) |
| Free throws | FTM / FGA |
Rulebook: Who shoots, and how open. Related: effective field goal percentage, offensive rating.