What is the NBA Player Efficiency Rating and who are the top 5 on its list?
Imagine if these two were on the same teamThose who romanticize the game of basketball almost always have a certain way of understanding the utility of a player, whether he is a point guard, shooting guard or a centre. Like most ball games, basketball too isn’t just about the points scored but every piece that has to fall in the right place for the symphony to bring the roof down.Great teams like the Bulls of the 90s or the Lakers of the early 2000s or Golden State Warriors at the moment have players who do certain things beautifully in aiding the ultimate goal – score and stop the opponent from scoring. However, it helps when romanticism has a practical alternative that lets you look at the value of a player very objectively. The Player Efficiency Rating does exactly that – tries to find the most accurate points-equivalent for the value every player offers. The rating therefore tells you more than just the points scored by a player.It is an indicator of other accomplishments on the field as the calculator uses stats like rebounds, assists, blocks, free throws and steals while deducting rating points for missed shots, fouls and turnovers.Although, John Hollinger himself has admitted to certain inaccuracies with the system, the rating is still as close as it gets at the moment to identify the MVP during a season, especially for basketball lovers who don’t have the time or resources to watch every single game to understand for themselves, who the greatest impact player was.While defenders and bench players have it tough on the rating, it is still an amazing tool to know who has been in sizzling form. After all, a player who assists a lot like Rajon Rondo of the Sacramento Kings is just as important as a player who gets a lot of rebounds like Andre Drummond or a lot of 2-pt field goals like Blake Griffin.Let us look at the top 5 players currently on the Player Efficiency Rating.
#5 Kawhi Leonard
An upsurge in recent times saw Leonard push ahead of LeBron James to occupy fifth position with arating of 27.49. Playing in his fifth season, the San Antonio Spurs small forward has already won aChampionship and was adjudged NBA Finals MVP in 2014.
Leonard has to his credit 139 field goals(sixth), 31 steals (seventh) and 22 blocks (20th). With 352 points and a three point shootingpercentage of 0.492 (second behind Dirk Nowitzki), Leonard offers great offensive value while beingone of the leagues best defensive players. He is one of the few players to be in the top 10 in bothoffensive (tenth) and defensive rating (third) justifying his value to the Spurs.