The NBA and various other professional sports seem to give us more data and stats about the game each year.
Sometimes we don’t even know that certain data is collected.
One data category that has been tracked over the years, that some might not know about, is the distance a player covers in a game.
Let’s dive into some of the numbers of how much certain players move on the court in games.
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How far do NBA players travel on the court in a game?
In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tyrese Haliburton ran just under a 5k on the court, traveling 3.06 miles.
Thunder forward Jalen Williams was second that game with 2.92 miles traveled.
What was said to be one of the fastest-paced NBA Finals in history, is already having players run up and down the court at a high volume, leading to some of these above-average mileage totals.
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It’s interesting to look at the distance traveled margin differences for certain players, when they are on defense vs. on offense.
More defensive-minded players like Lu Dort and Cason Wallace actually traveled more on the defensive end in Game 1.
Who were some of the leaders for distance traveled this postseason & regular season?
The Knicks had many of the top players on the list for the postseason leaders in distance traveled.
In 18 games this postseason, Mikal Bridges leads the NBA with 54.66 miles traveled on the court (3.04 miles per game).
Tyrese Maxey was the 2024-25 regular season leader, with an average of 2.89 miles per game.
Mikal Bridges, who played all 82 NBA games in 2024-25, traveled 231.06 miles in the season, which is about 8.81 marathons (by far the most in a season in the last 12 years of data).
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Distance on-court leaders in NBA (last 12 regular seasons)
*Data collected through NBA
*Minimum 15 games played
| Year | Player | Avg. Miles Per Game | Player | Total Miles For Season |
| 24-25 | Tyrese Maxey | 2.89 | Mikal Bridges | 231.06 |
| 23-24 | Tyrese Maxey | 2.91 | Domantas Sabonis | 219.27 |
| 22-23 | LaMelo Ball | 2.77 | Mikal Bridges | 223.97 |
| 21-22 | Fred Vanvleet | 2.82 | Mikal Bridges | 212.48 |
| 20-21 (Shortened season) | Fred Vanvleet | 2.76 | RJ Barrett | 192.35* |
| 19-20 (Shortened season) | CJ McCollum | 2.78 | CJ McCollum | 192.08* |
| 18-19 | Jrue Holiday | 2.76 | Bradley Beal | 222.71 |
| 17-18 | CJ McCollum | 2.70 | CJ McCollum | 218.44 |
| 16-17 | Zach Lavine | 2.71 | CJ McCollum | 208.39 |
| 15-16 | Jimmy Butler | 2.66 | CJ McCollum | 207.35 |
| 14-15 | Jimmy Butler | 2.77 | Damian Lillard | 207.09 |
| 13-14 | Chandler Parsons | 2.71 | Nicolas Batum | 217.92 |
A glance at the difference between recent years vs. seasons from a decade ago will show you how much faster the game is being played now.
Teams are taking shots earlier in the shot clock and are getting more possessions per game, leading to more player movement on the court.
For the most part, we also are seeing more guards/shorter forwards on the list, and players that move with the ball a lot/ run off-ball to get open.
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Distance per game leaders in NBA (last 12 postseasons)
Since there are higher minute totals/loads for players in the postseason, let’s see the miles per game leaders for postseason players (minimum 4 games played).
| Year | Player | Avg. Miles Per Game | Games Played |
| 24-25 | Mikal Bridges | 3.04 | 18 |
| 23-24 | Tyrese Maxey | 3.29 | 6 |
| 22-23 | De’Aaron Fox | 2.92 | 7 |
| 21-22 | Tyrese Maxey | 3.07 | 12 |
| 20-21 | Ja Morant | 2.94 | 5 |
| 19-20 | Jamal Murray | 2.99 | 19 |
| 18-19 | CJ McCollum | 2.97 | 16 |
| 17-18 | CJ McCollum | 2.94 | 4 |
| 16-17 | Paul George | 2.77 | 4 |
| 15-16 | CJ McCollum | 3.07 | 11 |
| 14-15 | Bradley Beal | 3.02 | 10 |
| 13-14 | Jimmy Butler | 3.13 | 5 |
With fewer restrictions on minutes in the postseason, it appears the free range in the playoffs gives the players more opportunities.
The data from these two charts do still validate what Haliburton did in Game 1, with his miles up next to the leaders from current and past seasons.
There’s a lot of overlap on both lists with certain players, which makes their longevity and their volume in the long term more impressive.
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