StealsSTL
STL stands for steals in basketball. Taking the ball away from the offense — a picked pass or a strip — so your team gets the possession.
How STL is calculated
Counted. One steal is credited to the defender who caused the turnover.
A steal is the most valuable single defensive event in the box score: it ends a possession and starts one going the other way, usually against an unset defense.
What counts as a good STL?
Half of the 423 qualified NBA players in 2025-26 were at or below 0.7 per game. Clearing 1.3 put a season in the top tenth of the league.
- Median
- 0.7
- Top 10%
- 1.3
- Leader
- 2.2
By position, the median was 0.8 for G, 0.7 for F and 0.6 for C.
Qualified: 20+ games, non-zero, 2025-26 regular season.