Turnover (basketball)

In basketball, a turnover occurs when a team loses possession of the ball to the opposing team before a player takes a shot at his team's basket. This can result from the ball being stolen, the player making mistakes such as stepping out of bounds, illegal screen, a double dribble, having a pass intercepted, throwing the ball out of bounds, three-second violaton a five-second violation, or committing an error such as traveling, a shot clock violation, palming, a backcourt violation, or committing an offensive foul. A technical foul against a team that is in possession of the ball is a blatant example of a turnover, because the opponent is awarded two free throws in addition to possession of the ball.

Some players are prone to turnovers because of having poor court vision or making mental mistakes. Also, many superstars average more turnovers than anybody on their team as they will often be handling the ball. It is unusual for the best player of a team to have zero turnovers. Also, a point guard may often have the most turnovers because they are usually the player that possesses the ball most for their respective team.

Turnovers were first officially recorded in the NBA during the 1977–78 season and ABA during the 1967–68 season.

Records

The WNBA has recorded turnovers since it's inaugural season in 1997. The record for the most turnovers by a WNBA team in one game is 33. The record for the most turnovers by a WNBA player per season is held by Ticha Penicheiro, who committed 135 turnovers in 1999.^[1] The career record for the most turnovers by a WNBA player is held by Becky Hammon, who committed 1224 turnovers.^[2] The record for the most turnovers in an NBA game is held by Jason Kidd, who committed 14 turnovers against the New York Knicks on November 17, 2000 while playing for the Phoenix Suns.

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of WNBA career scoring leaders

References