Print Statements

What It Is

The print() function displays output to the screen. Whatever you put inside the parentheses will appear in the terminal when you run your code.

Why We Use It

Print statements let you:

• See results of your code
• Display information to users
• Debug problems by showing what's happening at each step
• Create formatted output like stat cards, reports, or leaderboards

Every sports graphic you see on TV — scores, player stats, standings — is essentially printed output, just with fancier styling.

How to Use It

Basic Print

print("Hello, sports fans!")

Output:

Hello, sports fans!

Printing Variables

player = "Simone Biles"
medals = 37

print(player)
print(medals)

Output:

Simone Biles
37

Combining Text and Variables with F-Strings

F-strings (formatted strings) let you mix text and variables easily. Put an f before the quotes, and wrap variable names in curly braces {}:

player = "Simone Biles"
medals = 37

print(f"{player} has won {medals} World and Olympic medals!")

Output:

Simone Biles has won 37 World and Olympic medals!

Multiple Print Statements

Each print() creates a new line:

print("=== STAT CARD ===")
print("Player: Wilt Chamberlain")
print("Points: 100")
print("Date: March 2, 1962")
print("=================")

Output:

=== STAT CARD ===
Player: Wilt Chamberlain
Points: 100
Date: March 2, 1962
=================

Blank Lines

Use print() with nothing inside to create a blank line:

print("First section")
print()
print("Second section (with space above)")

Output:

First section

Second section (with space above)

Formatting Tips

Building a Stat Card

player = "Joe DiMaggio"
achievement = "56-game hitting streak"
year = 1941
team = "New York Yankees"

print("╔══════════════════════════════════════╗")
print(f"  {player}")
print(f"  {team}")
print("──────────────────────────────────────")
print(f"  Achievement: {achievement}")
print(f"  Year: {year}")
print("╚══════════════════════════════════════╝")

Output:

╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
  Joe DiMaggio
  New York Yankees
──────────────────────────────────────
  Achievement: 56-game hitting streak
  Year: 1941
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝

Using Special Characters

You can use symbols to make your output look better:

print("★ MVP Season Stats ★")
print("━" * 30)  # Prints the ━ character 30 times
print("Points: 2,818")

Output:

★ MVP Season Stats ★
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Points: 2,818

Common Patterns

Print with calculation

You can do math right inside the curly braces {} of an f-string. Python calculates the result and shows it in your output. Here are the basic math operators you can use:

• + for addition
• - for subtraction
• * for multiplication
• / for division

Calculating points per game:

points = 100
games = 1

print(f"Points per game: {points / games}")

Output:

Points per game: 100.0

Calculating win percentage:

wins = 12
total_games = 16

print(f"Win percentage: {wins / total_games * 100}%")

Output:

Win percentage: 75.0%

Adding up total points:

touchdowns = 3
field_goals = 2

print(f"Total points: {touchdowns * 6 + field_goals * 3}")

Output:

Total points: 24

Calculating batting average:

hits = 45
at_bats = 150

print(f"Batting average: {hits / at_bats:.3f}") #.3f formats the number with 3 digits after the decimal points

Output:

Batting average: 0.300

Print multiple values

player = "Lionel Messi"
goals = 8
tournament = "2022 World Cup"

print(player, "-", goals, "goals at", tournament)

Output:

Lionel Messi - 8 goals at 2022 World Cup

Common Pitfalls

Quick Reference

# Basic print
print("Hello!")

# Print a variable
print(player_name)

# F-string (text + variables)
print(f"{player} scored {points} points")

# Multiple values with commas
print("Score:", home, "-", away)

# Blank line
print()

# Repeat a character
print("=" * 20)  # Prints: ====================