Name a defensive juggernaut in the NBA, be it player or team, now or back in the day, and you’ll notice a few different stat lines that pop out at you: rebounds, blocks, forced turnovers and, yes, steals.
It came to me in my sleep. (Well, I had to let the dog out in the middle of the night, so I was trying to go back to sleep). And it dawned on me. After 35 years of practicing, playing, living, and loving the game…it finally dawned on me.
The “steal” has been and is still misclassified as a defensive stat.
Say what?!
I said it! The steal is misclassified as a defensive stat. Hear me out real quick.
What determines an offensive possession? According to the NBA rule book, team possession is defined as follows (mind you, there is no definition of a steal in the rulebook):
A team is in possession when a player is holding, dribbling or passing the ball. Team
possession ends when the defensive team gains possession or the ball hits the rim of the
offensive team.
So, if a possession is determined when a team is holding the ball, then why do we track steals as defensive stats? Isn’t defense when you don’t have the ball and try to get it? Yet the team who stole the ball clearly has the ball and possession the exact moment the steal occured. Having the ball in your possession is called offense.
Don’t we have other stats that more closely fit what a “steal” is supposed to represent? Take the “deflection” for instance.
The deflection, to me, represents hustle, defensive execution and poor offense all rolled into one neat stat.
The steal represents those things too, but adds an opportunity to score the basketball. That opportunity to score takes on the odor of offense to me. That’s why we call offensive rebounds “offensive rebounds.” There’s an opportunity to score there. Defensive rebounds don’t provide the same opportunity to score the ball.
Another defensive stat, “blocks,” just like deflections, don’t provide you with an opportunity to score either. After a block, the ball can go out of bounds or back to the shooting team. No chance to score.
Do you see the pattern here? When it comes to defensive stats, the only one that provides a chance to score the ball is the steal. It’s the only outlier. The only misfit. Hmmm….
Besides the technicalities, reclassifying the “steal” as an offensive stat may motivate players in different ways. Some may take the reclassification and wreak havoc on the defensive end which would make them one hell of an offensive player.
Boof!
…Mind blown.
Okay. Thanks for hearing me out. Now let me have it. I know you have something to say.
