Talk:Steal (basketball)

Jerry West
I went ahead and deleted a rather ridiculous sentence that stated that 'it is widely known' that Jerry West would be the all time steal leader with a potential average of up to 5 steals per game for some seasons. Yes this 'fact' is apparently so widely known that no source was actually given to verify such a claim. The fact is that yes West was very good at steals, but since the statistic was not recorded and footage of many of those games are not around, there is no way to know how many steals he got. Any number thrown out or suggestions that he would have been the all time steal leader is purely speculative. And seriously 5 per game? I suppose it's possible but such incredibly high numbers should not be put into an encyclopedia without some means of verifying that data. Frankly I highly doubt he recorded 5 per game, but whatever, it doesn't belong there. It's the same problem with Wilt Chamberlain and blocks. Yeah he probably did have a ridiculous number of blocks but it is still pointless and silly to use wild speculation simply because statistics don't exist. I went ahead and replaced it with a sentence that I feel probably captures what the person should have said. Feel free to make it sound better if you want. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.166.23.62 (talk) 06:30, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

jump balls
I'd like to see some clarification on the definition of a steal relative to forcing a jump ball. If aggressive defensive play leads to a jump ball and a possession change, that's considered a turnover, isn't it? Shouldn't it also be considered a steal? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.119.204.197 (talk) 04:25, 20 December 2012 (UTC)


 * No, it would not be a steal on the stat sheet. Feel free to add whatever source-able content you feel warranted, including similar changes of possession that aren't "steals". There are many kinds of turnovers in a basketball game. Look up any box score and you'll see that a team's TOs are usually more than twice the other team's steals. Good defensive play that results in a jump ball which gets your team the ball is no more of a steal than good defensive play that results in a travel, charge, or a three-second violation - you wouldn't call those steals, right? Cheers! JesseRafe (talk) 07:00, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

blocks, out-of-bounds
It seems that possession changes caused by blocked shots would not count as steals because shooters relinquish possession. The article could say if this is the case. Also, would a ball poked by a defensive player that touches but is not possessed by an offensive player right before going out of bounds count as a steal? The article could explain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.196.214.176 (talk) 00:58, 16 October 2021 (UTC)


 * @68.196.214.176
 * that is not true 166.181.88.158 (talk) 23:14, 20 July 2022 (UTC)