Basketball fans felt a sigh of relief on Thursday as ESPN changed their NBA box score format after a month of complaints.
Fans who were checking box scores early in the season were subjected to a jarring experience as ESPN changed the order of the statistics in their box scores this season without any warning. People hated it and were vocal about it.
The complaints finally reached a fever pitch earlier this week when ESPN’s Tim Legler litterally yelled about the box score changes on a podcast appearance.
A true man of the people, @LegsESPN is going to go to war over ESPN's boxscore changes pic.twitter.com/hcHf8bUn5K
— ALL NBA Podcast (@ALLCITY_NBA) November 12, 2025
“Thank you! Thank you! That's the point. I can't stand it. Why did they do it? Why do I have to go all the way across the page to see what guys shot from the field? Why? I’m telling you, the box score was perfect the way it was. Anyway, I’ll take this up with my people. This is ESPN. I will take this up with them and see if I can get this thing reverted to what it used to be. And I bet you 90% of the people out there agree with us.”
Two days later and the box scores have been changed again, though it is difficult to remember whether this is how they have always looked or if there are still different changes as some people are arguing on Reddit.
One of the more prominent theories for the change is that ESPN was putting the counting stats like points, rebounds and assists on the left so that it was easier to track player props. If true, ESPN’s relationship with gambling continues to make things worse for everyone.
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