Friday, November 16, 2012

Michael and Wilt Lead List of 17 best Statistical Players of All-Time

Players With 100 Career Win Shares, PER Over 21, and Win Shares Per 48 Over .200:

Kareem
Wilt
Karl Malone
Michael Jordan
John Stockton
Oscar Robertson
Shaq
David Robinson
Tim Duncan
Charles Barkley
Dirk
Jerry West
Magic
Bird
Bob Pettit
LeBron James
George Mikan


(Notably absent - Hakeem, Garnett and Kobe all do not have a WS/48 above .200).

If you then take these 17 guys and give them points for where they rank in the top 17 for each category of WS, PER and WS/48 (give 17 points for being first, 1 point for being 17th), the 5 best guys are:

Michael Jordan - 47 points
Wilt - 43 points
Kareem and David Robinson (tie) - 38 points
LeBron James - 31 points

Those are your 5 greatest statistical players of all time, with longevity figured in.

Guys who the stats do not support:
Bird - bottom 40% on the list in every category
Magic - everyone always assumes he is a top 5 player; he was not top 5 in any category

Was it Stockton or was it Malone?  Stats say it was Malone.  He played longer and played better.

Guys Who the Stats Favor - David Robinson (4th best overall, great in PER and WS/48)
Shaq, Duncan, Charles - all very close to LeBron for 5th

Special case - George Mikan was an unbelievable player.  #3 and #2 overall in PER and WS/48.  But he played so few years that he ranks 17th on this list in total Win Shares.  So you could ignore longevity and say he was a top 3 overall player, but then you'd have to go through and pick out the best, for example, 7 seasons for everyone and compare them to Mikan's career.  I don't feel like doing that, so we are stuck with giving Mikan a big negative grade for playing so few seasons.  Even with a "1" for longevity, he ends up just behind Shaq at 6, tied with Duncan at #7.

6-10
Shaq
Duncan and Mikan (tie)
Charles
Karl Malone

11-15
Magic
Bob Pettit
Stockton, Oscar, Dirk (3-way tie)

16 and 17
Jerry West
Larry Bird


HM

The 101 Best Win Shares Per 48 Individual NBA Seasons of All-Time

1.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.33991971-72MIL
2.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.32561970-71MIL
3.Wilt Chamberlain*.32511963-64SFW
4.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.32251972-73MIL
5.Michael Jordan*.32111990-91CHI
6.LeBron James.31832008-09CLE
7.Michael Jordan*.31741995-96CHI
8.Michael Jordan*.30771987-88CHI
9.LeBron James.29872009-10CLE
10.LeBron James.29832011-12MIA
11.David Robinson*.29601993-94SAS
12.Chris Paul.29252008-09NOH
13.Michael Jordan*.29201988-89CHI
14.David Robinson*.29031995-96SAS
15.Wilt Chamberlain*.28571961-62PHW
16.Michael Jordan*.28511989-90CHI
17.Wilt Chamberlain*.28511966-67PHI
18.Chris Paul.28402007-08NOH
19.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.28351976-77LAL
20.Shaquille O'Neal.28301999-00LAL
21.Michael Jordan*.28291996-97CHI
22.Larry Foust.28231954-55FTW
23.Oscar Robertson*.27851963-64CIN
24.Chris Paul.27852011-12LAC
25.Dirk Nowitzki.27802006-07DAL
26.Dirk Nowitzki.27532005-06DAL
27.Wilt Chamberlain*.27511965-66PHI
28.Michael Jordan*.27431991-92CHI
29.David Robinson*.27271994-95SAS
30.Kevin Garnett.27232003-04MIN
31.Magic Johnson*.27041989-90LAL
32.Michael Jordan*.26981992-93CHI
33.Vern Mikkelsen*.26961951-52MNL
34.Charles Barkley*.26911989-90PHI
35.David Robinson*.26911997-98SAS
36.Chet Walker*.26851971-72CHI
37.George Mikan*.26831951-52MNL
38.Karl Malone*.26761996-97UTA
39.Magic Johnson*.26731988-89LAL
40.Dolph Schayes*.26681953-54SYR
41.Neil Johnston*.26661953-54PHW
42.Kevin Garnett.26502007-08BOS
43.David Robinson*.26421990-91SAS
44.Wilt Chamberlain*.26411962-63SFW
45.George Mikan*.26401952-53MNL
46.Larry Foust.26391955-56FTW
47.Magic Johnson*.26271986-87LAL
48.Amare Stoudemire.26192007-08PHO
49.Tracy McGrady.26172002-03ORL
50.Shaquille O'Neal.26152001-02LAL
51.Paul Arizin*.26141951-52PHW
52.Jerry West*.26111964-65LAL
53.David Robinson*.26071998-99SAS
54.David Robinson*.25961991-92SAS
55.Neil Johnston*.25951956-57PHW
56.Karl Malone*.25911997-98UTA
57.Charles Barkley*.25791990-91PHI
58.Neil Johnston*.25761955-56PHW
59.Chauncey Billups.25742007-08DET
60.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.25711977-78LAL
61.Tim Duncan.25692001-02SAS
62.Kenny Sears.25621958-59NYK
63.Jerry West*.25551965-66LAL
64.Wilt Chamberlain*.25511967-68PHI
65.Shaquille O'Neal.25451998-99LAL
66.Chauncey Billups.25432005-06DET
67.Neil Johnston*.25321954-55PHW
68.Charles Barkley*.25311987-88PHI
69.Karl Malone*.25211998-99UTA
70.Ed Macauley*.25211951-52BOS
71.Shaquille O'Neal.25181993-94ORL
72.Ed Macauley*.25151953-54BOS
73.Magic Johnson*.25151990-91LAL
74.Shaquille O'Neal.25012002-03LAL
75.Charles Barkley*.25001988-89PHI
76.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.24951973-74MIL
77.Tim Duncan.24872003-04SAS
78.George Mikan*.24871953-54MNL
79.Karl Malone*.24851999-00UTA
80.Dirk Nowitzki.24852002-03DAL
81.Tim Duncan.24832002-03SAS
82.Moses Malone*.24801982-83PHI
83.Dirk Nowitzki.24792004-05DAL
84.Kevin Garnett.24772004-05MIN
85.Michael Jordan*.24711986-87CHI
86.Wilt Chamberlain*.24671972-73LAL
87.Bob Pettit*.24651958-59STL
88.Manu Ginobili.24592006-07SAS
89.David Robinson*.24572000-01SAS
90.Shaquille O'Neal.24532000-01LAL
91.Karl Malone*.24481989-90UTA
92.Tim Duncan.24462004-05SAS
93.Wilt Chamberlain*.24451959-60PHW
94.LeBron James.24422010-11MIA
95.Larry Bird*.24381985-86BOS
96.Larry Bird*.24341986-87BOS
97.Larry Bird*.24301987-88BOS
98.Amare Stoudemire.24272004-05PHO
99.Charles Barkley*.24231992-93PHO
100.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*.24161975-76LAL
101.Bob McAdoo*.24161974-75BUF








I went to 101 so I could get Bob McAdoo (my childhood hero) on the list.