Need another statistic to follow in sports?

Are acronyms like PER, PPG and RPGs dominant in your daily vocabulary? Do you often times find yourself boasting the merits of a certain team, who, even if they don’t have the top record, you believe have the type of play that shouldn't be overlooked? Are you a die-hard stats fan whose hunger for sports news is completely insatiable? If so, you need to become familiar with ESPN’s Power Rankings.

Though there are power rankings for each sport, being a basketball fan, I’ll focus on the ones that always pop up in my browser. With the NBA, the two leaders in Power Rankings are Marc Stein’s Weekly Rankings and John Hollinger’s Daily Rankings.

With Stein’s weekly rankings, die-hard fans are able to keep up with the teams on runs. Stein uses his own personal stats, as well as those comprised by ESPN experts, and the good people at Elias Sports Bureau, who are renowned for their current sports stats, as well as their historical data. With Stein’s rankings, though it is only updated weekly, you get dialogue on why teams have moved to where they are, as well as a brief introduction to the happenings of the week, including large jumps and falls in the list. The Stein rankings show records, as well as the previous rankings from the week before. For those more intrigued by words than numbers, Stein’s rankings are your power ranking's go-to.

If you are ready to make the jump from casual sports fan to stats genius, Hollinger’s daily rankings are a fantastic place to start. The rankings use stats like pace factors, rebound ratios, effective field goal percentage and overall offensive and defensive efficiency, among many more. For all the numerical data, there is a lack of words, so don’t look for much verbal explanation.

Enjoy your new addiction, and make sure to spread the knowledge to all your friends at the sports bar. 

Photo courtesy of ESPN