5 NBA players with surprisingly good +/- ratings this season
Earlier in the week, I wrote an article that detailed five NBA players who had surprisingly bad +/- ratings on the NBA season. This article is going to take a look at five surprising NBA players who are near the top of the league in the +/- category, meaning when they're on the floor, the team almost always increases their lead over their opponents.
Also read: Top 10 Rebounding Leaders in NBA History
The +/- phenomenon is new to the NBA but is a staple of statistics for the NHL. In the NHL, players on the ice when their team scores a shorthanded or even-strength goal would earn a +1 while those who gave up the goal would earn a -1. It works pretty much the same way in the NBA.
The stat works similarly in the NBA where if you're on the court for a made basket, the stat would increase by +2 or +3 and vice versa.
It is no surprise that there are superstars at the top of the +/- list through games played on Friday, December 1st. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors leads the league with an average of +11.7, Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets is second with a +10.8, and three more of his Rocket teammates make up ranks three through five in Chris Paul, James Harden, and Trevor Ariza.
Continue on to see which players have surprisingly great +/- stats as of Friday, December 1st. The only qualifier I have put on this list is that they have had to play in at least 15 games on the season.
Stat source: NBA.com
#5 Langston Galloway - Detroit Pistons (+4.1, ranked #38)
The Detroit Pistons are on a major resurgence this season after a 14-7 start, which currently sees them in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Someone that may not be a household name though, is back-up shooting guard Langston Galloway; who came to Detroit this year from Sacramento.
While he's only playing 14.1 minutes per game on average, his +4.1 is ranked near the likes of Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and even ahead of Russell Westbrook (+4.0). This is the first example of a few on this list, where solid play from the bench is resulting in a great record.