SportsChord guide

How to read a chord print

A chord print packs a team's history into one circle. Here's how to read one, step by step, using our Los Angeles Lakers Legends print.

10,14117,7076,5596,30633,6437,0473,65023,14911,4633,65224,17610,2796,23825,1925,3662,79116,3204,7081,59313,8956,0902,86313,0442,0812,36512,7802,5341,47410,6013,119M. JohnsonK. BryantE. BaylorK. Abdul-JabbarJ. WestJ. WorthyS. O'NealG. GoodrichB. ScottJ. WilkesAssistsPointsReboundsNBA · LAKERS CAREER RECORDSLOS ANGELES LAKERSLEGENDSBASKETBALL-REFERENCE · SPORTSCHORD

  1. The records sit on top. Assists, Points and Rebounds each get their own arc across the top of the circle.

  2. The players sit around the base. Ten Lakers legends, ranked by their combined share of all three records, biggest first.

  3. Follow one ribbon. Magic Johnson dished 10,141 assists for the Lakers, so a ribbon runs from the Assists arc down to his name.

  4. He also scored 17,707 points: a second ribbon, from the Points arc.

  5. And he grabbed 6,559 rebounds: a third ribbon, from the Rebounds arc.

  6. Width is share. Every legend links to all three records the same way. A wider ribbon means a bigger share of the ten players' combined total, and the numbers in each player's coloured band are their actual figures.

  7. The finished print. The chart sits above the title, made to order in sizes from A4 to A1, unframed or framed.

Lakers regular-season career totals from Basketball-Reference. All ten players are retired, so these figures are final.

Shop the printles Lakers de Los Angeles · from £24.99

What is a chord print?

A chord print is our take on the chord diagram, a circular chart that shows how things connect. On a SportsChord print, the top of the circle holds a team's biggest records and the base holds the players who set them. Ribbons join every player to every record, so a whole franchise's history fits into a single picture.

How to read one in four steps

  1. Find the records. The coloured arcs across the top are the statistics. On the Lakers print they are Assists, Points and Rebounds.
  2. Find the players. The names around the base are the players, ranked by their overall share of all the records, biggest first.
  3. Follow a ribbon. Each ribbon runs from one record to one player. Its width is that player's share of the group's total for that record.
  4. Read the numbers. Widths are for comparing at a glance. The figures printed in each player's coloured band are their exact totals.

What the widths tell you

Because every ribbon is a share, the standout careers jump out. On the Lakers print, Kobe Bryant's Points ribbon is the widest on the Points arc (33,643 points), Magic Johnson's dominates Assists (10,141) and Elgin Baylor's leads Rebounds (11,463). Players whose three ribbons are similar in width were all-rounders; one very wide ribbon marks a specialist.

Where the numbers come from

We build each print from published career statistics for that team. The Lakers figures are regular-season career totals with the Lakers, taken from Basketball-Reference. All ten players are retired, so the numbers won't change.

Choosing your print

Every chord print is made to order in A4, A3, A2 or A1, unframed or in a black, white or natural frame. Browse all chord prints to find your team, or read where chord diagrams come from and how to get the most out of them.

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