LeBron James' 5 best seasons in the NBA based on player efficiency rating
LeBron James' career player efficiency rating, or PER, is the second-highest in NBA history, only behind six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan. The LA Lakers talisman has a career PER of 27.39, heading into his 19th season in the league.
PER is an all-in-one basketball rating created by The Athletic's John Hollinger, the former vice president of basketball operations for the Memphis Grizzlies.
PER is one number that sums up a player's performance entirely by taking into account various statistics like field goals made, three-pointers made, assists, blocks, etc. Positive and negative results are also taken into account, which increases or decreases the eventual rating.
LeBron James' overall efficiency has been key in helping him have the second-best player efficiency rating on the all-time charts.
Let's take a look at his five best seasons, ranked based on his player efficiency rating for each particular campaign.
#5 2013-14 NBA season (PER: 29.3)
LeBron James' fifth-best season based on PER was during the 2013-14 NBA season. He played his last season with the Miami Heat, during which he led the team to the NBA Finals but failed to win a third consecutive title.
James played 77 games in the regular season, averaging 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. He shot a career-best 56.7% from the field and also had 1.6 steals per game. These numbers resulted in him having such a high player efficiency rating.
LeBron James had the second-best PER that season behind Kevin Durant, who won the MVP award that year. Durant had a rating of 29.8.
#4 2011/12 NBA season (PER: 30.7)
LeBron James' second-season with the Miami Heat was one of the most dominant campaigns of his career. The first season did not go as planned as James, and the Heat, who shockingly lost the 2011 NBA Finals that year to Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks.
James' performance in that series had come under heavy scrutiny and he was under immense pressure to do well in the 2011-12 NBA season. The four-time MVP did just that as he averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game that campaign. He shot 53.1% from the field that season, which was his career-best back then. This high-efficiency production earned him a player efficiency rating of 30.7 for the season.
LeBron James was the only player that year to have a PER of more than 27 that season, with Chris Paul managing a rating of 27 to come second.