2025-26 Season
NICOLAS BATUM
2025-26 Season
NICOLAS BATUM
Batum produces at an poor rate for a 18-minute workload.
Batum produces at an poor rate for a 18-minute workload.
PBP Credit: Every play is analyzed from play-by-play data. Scorers get difficulty-adjusted credit, assisters get creation value based on the shot opportunity they created, and turnovers are classified by type. Shot difficulty is derived from 1M+ shots across 4 seasons. Full methodology
TEAM COMPARISON
of 18 teammates (10+ games, 10+ min)
Similar Players
Same position, closest production profile this season.
SKILL DNA
Percentile rank vs 246 Guards with 10+ games
THE SEASON SO FAR
This 25-game stretch was defined by a fading veteran clinging to relevance as an offensive ghost whose minutes routinely bled value. Look no further than his brutal performance on 11/30 vs DAL, where he logged 28 minutes of empty cardio, missing all four of his shots to generate a staggering -14.6 Impact score. Even when his shot occasionally fell, the underlying metrics exposed a player struggling to keep up with the pace of the modern game. During his highest-scoring night on 11/18 vs PHI, Batum dropped 11 points but still posted a -1.1 Impact because he needed seven shot attempts to get there and offered zero disruptive defensive edge to offset his volume. He did manage a rare flash of effectiveness on 11/22 vs CHA, producing a season-best +6.4 Impact. In that matchup, he hit three of his four three-point attempts for 9 points, generating positive value through highly efficient spot-up shooting and mistake-free spacing. Ultimately, those fleeting moments of competence could not mask the reality that Batum spent the first quarter of the season as a severe rotational liability.
This stretch of the season was defined by a brutal, prolonged slump where Nicolas Batum looked every bit his age, struggling to stay relevant in a diminished bench role. He offered a fleeting glimpse of his vintage self on 01/02 vs UTA, draining four triples for 14 points and generating a +8.6 Impact score. That rare positive outing stemmed entirely from elite spot-up efficiency and active hustle plays, rather than his usual perimeter struggles. But those moments quickly evaporated into a string of offensive zeroes, bottoming out completely on 02/02 vs PHI. During that matchup, he missed both of his shots and posted a dismal -15.7 Impact, dragged down by an absolute inability to generate spacing or deter penetration. Even when handed a rare starting nod on 01/17 vs TOR, Batum lasted just six minutes, putting up zero points and a -12.4 Impact before being yanked. Aside from chucking the occasional corner three, the veteran simply lacked the foot speed and offensive gravity to justify his rotation minutes.
Nicolas Batum’s late-season stretch was defined by a stark, painful fade into irrelevance. The aging veteran routinely struggled to stay on the floor or generate any meaningful production. Even when pressed into the starting lineup on 02/26 vs MIN, he went completely scoreless across 26 minutes. His dismal -9.0 Impact score that night stemmed directly from a total lack of offensive gravity, allowing defenders to freely pack the paint and ignore him on the perimeter. The bottom fell out completely on 03/02 vs GSW, where a brief six-minute cameo yielded zeroes across the box score and a staggering -11.8 Impact. He managed exactly one positive outing during this brutal run, hitting three triples for nine points on 03/25 vs TOR to scrape together a +2.4 Impact. Aside from that fleeting spark, Batum looked entirely spent.
IMPACT TIMELINE
Game-by-game performance vs average. Green = above average, red = below.
Struggling. Batum has posted negative impact in 92% of games this season. The production rarely outweighs the cost.
Streaky shooter — only cracks 45% from the field in 28% of games. Efficiency is all over the place night-to-night.
Good defender on his best nights, but it comes and goes. Some games Batum locks in defensively, others he gets picked apart.
Small downward trend. First-half impact: -5.9, second-half: -7.6. Not alarming yet, but trending the wrong direction.
In a rough stretch — 7 straight games with negative impact. Longest cold streak this season: 34 games.
MATCHUP HISTORY ⚠ Updated 46 days ago
Based on 73 games with tracking data. Shows who guarded this player on offense and who he guarded on defense, with their shooting stats in those matchups.
ON OFFENSE: WHO GUARDED HIM
His shooting stats against each primary defender this season
ON DEFENSE: WHO HE GUARDED
How opponents shot when he was the primary defender. Lower FG% = better defense.
SEASON STATS
GAME LOG
74 games played
