Inside the Numbers: 24-Second Shot Clock
August 3 - As the tenth season in WNBA history winds down, and the playoffs are just around the corner, it is time to look at what defined the regular season. The implementation of a :24-second shot clock and the impact of the young talent injected into the WNBA has had a profound effect on league wide scoring numbers. WNBA.com takes you Inside the Numbers to explain the development.
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Mercury teammates Pondexter and Taurasi are both averaging 20-plus points. Andrew D. Bernstein//NBAE/Getty Images |
This season there are currently four players averaging over 20 points per game -- Taurasi, Augustus, Lisa Leslie and Cappie Pondexter -- despite the fact that no season in WNBA history has featured more than two 20-point per game scorers.
4 In 2000, the Houston Comets set the record for highest points per game average in a season at 77.3 per game. In 2006, four teams are on pace or in contention to break that record: Phoenix (84.3), Connecticut (80.4), Washington (80.0), and Seattle (77.7).
8 This season, teams are averaging 8.0 points per game more than last season. The league scoring average of 75.3 points per game is expected to break a record.
14 The highest scoring average in league history was 70.3 points per game, set during the 1998 campaign, and that was the only season that the league averaged more than 70 points per game. This year, all 14 WNBA teams are averaging more than 70 points per game.
16 With the 24-second shot clock in place for the first time after a change from 30 seconds, teams are shooting their first shot 16 seconds into their possession as opposed to 17.5 seconds last season. The number of possessions per game have increased from 70 per team to 77 -- a difference of 10 percent.
42.5 Though overall field goal percentage remains the same as last season (42.5 percent), the increased number of possessions and scoring attempts have resulted in one more made three-pointer and almost two more baskets for each team in a game. This year, the average number of two-point field goal attempts per team in a game has increased by 3.4 from last season, while three-point attempts have increased by 3.0 per game.
80 In 2005, WNBA teams scored 80-plus points in a game at a frequency of 9.3 percent. In 2006, teams have exceeded 80-plus points at a frequency of 35 percent. Three teams average more than 80 points per game -- Phoenix, Connecticut and Washington.
90 After 192 games, the league has registered 46 point totals of 90-plus points, while last season featured only five scores of 90 points or greater.