It is a well-known phenomenon that teams generally perform better during home games than during away games. However, some teams benefit from home court advantage much more than other teams.
Using the NBA games dataset for the 2015 season, I put together the following table and plot to see which teams benefit the most from playing games at home than at away.
| Team | Record @Home | Record @Away | Win Perc. @Home | Win Perc. @Away | Win Perc. Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucks | 23-18 | 10-31 | 56.1% | 24.4% | 31.7% |
| Spurs | 40-1 | 27-14 | 97.6% | 65.9% | 31.7% |
| Trailblazers | 28-13 | 16-25 | 68.3% | 39% | 29.3% |
| Hornets | 30-11 | 18-23 | 73.2% | 43.9% | 29.3% |
| Pelicans | 21-20 | 9-32 | 51.2% | 22% | 29.2% |
| Magic | 23-18 | 12-29 | 56.1% | 29.3% | 26.8% |
| Bulls | 26-15 | 16-25 | 63.4% | 39% | 24.4% |
| Grizzlies | 26-15 | 16-25 | 63.4% | 39% | 24.4% |
| Cavaliers | 33-8 | 24-17 | 80.5% | 58.5% | 22% |
| Thunder | 32-9 | 23-18 | 78% | 56.1% | 21.9% |
| Celtics | 28-13 | 20-21 | 68.3% | 48.8% | 19.5% |
| Heat | 28-13 | 20-21 | 68.3% | 48.8% | 19.5% |
| Raptors | 32-9 | 24-17 | 78% | 58.5% | 19.5% |
| Pistons | 26-15 | 18-23 | 63.4% | 43.9% | 19.5% |
| Jazz | 24-17 | 16-25 | 58.5% | 39% | 19.5% |
| Lakers | 12-29 | 5-36 | 29.3% | 12.2% | 17.1% |
| Pacers | 26-15 | 19-22 | 63.4% | 46.3% | 17.1% |
| Nets | 14-27 | 7-34 | 34.1% | 17.1% | 17% |
| Hawks | 27-14 | 21-20 | 65.9% | 51.2% | 14.7% |
| Rockets | 23-18 | 18-23 | 56.1% | 43.9% | 12.2% |
| Clippers | 29-12 | 24-17 | 70.7% | 58.5% | 12.2% |
| Warriors | 39-2 | 34-7 | 95.1% | 82.9% | 12.2% |
| Suns | 14-27 | 9-32 | 34.1% | 22% | 12.1% |
| Mavericks | 23-18 | 19-22 | 56.1% | 46.3% | 9.8% |
| Seventysixers | 7-34 | 3-38 | 17.1% | 7.3% | 9.8% |
| Knicks | 18-23 | 14-27 | 43.9% | 34.1% | 9.8% |
| Wizards | 22-19 | 19-22 | 53.7% | 46.3% | 7.4% |
| Kings | 18-23 | 15-26 | 43.9% | 36.6% | 7.3% |
| Nuggets | 18-23 | 15-26 | 43.9% | 36.6% | 7.3% |
| Timberwolves | 14-27 | 15-26 | 34.1% | 36.6% | -2.5% |
For Bucks and Spurs, we can see that the chance of winning at home was over 30% greater than the chance of winning while away.
For Minnesota Timberwolves, we can see that the chance of winning at home is actually smaller than the chance of winning at away.
This could be a useful information when estimating the likelihood of a team’s win (or loss).
