Nikola Jokic surpasses Michael Jordan and LeBron James in NBA’s most infamous stat
Nikola Jokic has continued to do what many previously thought to be impossible. After breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record for most triple-doubles on 100% field goal shooting in December, Jokic has now toppled another all-time great in another category. When he and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics on Friday, Nikola Jokic moved into first place all-time for the best player efficiency rating.
The win over the Celtics saw Jokic post a 35-point stat line that included 12 rebounds and nine assists. With the impressive performance, and his season PER of 31.4, he now has surpassed Michael Jordan in the NBA's most infamous stat.
Nikola Jokic sits with a 27.92 PER over his career, leading Michael Jordan who has a PER of 27.91. Sitting just behind Jordan on the all-time list is LeBron James, in third place with a PER of 27.11, and Anthony Davis in fourth with a PER of 26.89.
To quickly summarize for those who may be unfamiliar, the PER stat is an attempt to calculate the positives of a player. The result is a players efficiency rating per minute. However, it's important to note that Hollinger's database of player efficiency ratings only goes back to the 1988-89 season.
Michael Jordan, of course, was drafted in 1984, a number of years before PER became a statistic. In addition, the league notably didn't begin to record minutes played until the 1951-52 season, meaning the numbers don't include every player in NBA history.
Looking at why PER is a controversial stat on the heels of Nikola Jokic making NBA history
Player efficiency ratings, at first glance, appear to be a useful metric to calculate how efficient a player is on a minute by minute basis. However, with that in mind, the figure has been criticzed by many fans and analysts alike.
According to Hollinger himself, who created the formula used to calculate PER:
"The PER sums up all a player's positive accomplishments, subtracts the negative accomplishments, and returns a per-minute rating of a player's performance."
Despite that, many have criticzed the statistic, arguing that it doesn't accurately reflect a player's full body of work. Specifically, the weight of rebounding in the formulaic equation has been a point of contention, with questions of whether PER overvalues rebounding.
Given that, there have been questions and arguments surrounding whether the formula caters to big men over guards. In addition, many have also argued that the formula doesn't take into account intangibles on defense such as deflections and shot contests given that it only factors in steals and blocks.
While player efficiency ratings will likely continue to be a major source for debate among fans and analysts, it's clear that Nikola Jokic's place in NBA history can't be argued.