4Faktoren

The Four Factors, or 4Faktoren, is a framework in basketball analytics used to describe the main determinants of a team’s scoring efficiency. Introduced by Dean Oliver in his work on Basketball on Paper, the concept identifies four measurable elements that together explain a large portion of offensive performance and provide a basis for comparing teams across seasons and leagues.

The four factors are defined as follows:

- Effective field goal percentage (eFG%): (FG + 0.5 × 3P) / FGA, which gives extra weight to made three-pointers.

- Turnover percentage (TO%): Turnovers / (FGA + 0.44 × FTA + Turnovers), representing how often a team turns the ball over per possession.

- Offensive rebound percentage (ORB%): ORB / (ORB + DRB), the share of available offensive rebounds secured by the team.

- Free throw rate (FTR): FTA / FGA, indicating how frequently a team earns free throws relative to field goal attempts.

In practice, these factors are used to estimate offensive efficiency, typically measured as points per possession, and to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in a team's attack. High eFG%, low TO%, strong ORB%, and a favorable FTR typically correlate with better scoring efficiency, while the interplay of these factors can reveal strategic tendencies such as shot selection, ball control, and exploiting second-chance opportunities. The framework is also applied to defense by analyzing opponents’ four factors.

Limitations include reliance on box-score data and omission of shot quality beyond the eFG adjustment, pace effects, and defensive impact outside the measured factors. Nevertheless, the 4Faktoren remain a foundational, widely used tool in basketball analytics for evaluating and comparing teams.

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