A turnover is any play in which a team loses possession of the ball to the defence before attempting a shot, through a steal, violation, or error.
The turnover is the possession that never becomes a shot. It collects every way an offence can fail completely: a pass stolen or thrown away, a travel or double dribble, an offensive foul, a shot clock violation, a backcourt violation, even a lob thrown over the backboard. Each is charged to a player or the team in the box score, and each hands the opponent the ball, often with a fast break attached.
Turnovers are the sport's clearest efficiency sin. Analysts measure turnover percentage, the share of possessions a player or team wastes, and assist to turnover ratio, the point guard's report card. The career turnover leaders are, by the arithmetic of longevity, some of the greatest players ever, since only stars handle the ball enough for twenty years to accumulate the totals.
Historically, turnover records are a modern luxury: the statistic was not officially tracked for players until 1977 to 1978, another of the book's era splits. Quiz questions use turnovers in tactics stems as often as record stems, the full court press exists to manufacture them, the deliberate late game foul exists because the trailing team cannot count on one, and entire Finals games have turned on a single careless pass.
In use"A careless turnover in the last minute handed the ball back with the game on the line."