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When it comes to NBA efficiency, there are many ways to measure it. The most common statistic used to measure a player’s efficiency is the stat known as PER. Developed by John Hollinger, PER was a popular statistic in the 2010s and was hailed as a major advance in NBA player statistics.
PER considers positive outcomes such as field goals, free throws, three-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals. It also takes into account negative outcomes like turnovers, missed shots and fouls. Using this formula, a player’s performance can be scored. In a season, a PER of 15.0 is considered average, anything between 22.5 and 25.0 is considered an All-Star, and anything 35.0 or above is considered an all-time great season.
With that in mind, we decided to review the highest PER of the top five players at each position. We’ll then highlight the efficiency of these players and discuss their highest PER seasons and grade them accordingly. From point guard to center, there will be surprises and a perfect mix of current players and legends in NBA history. Get ready to dive into what basketball, numbers and statistics are all about.
Here are the five most efficient players at each position in NBA history.
point guard
1. Chris Paul – 24.34 PER
2. “Magic” Johnson – 24.11 PER
3. Stephen Curry – 23.84 PER
4. Oscar Robertson – 23.19 PER
5. Jerry West – 22.91 PER
The beauty of PER is that we can go back in time and rate players from the past. Still, with this formula, we’re off to a surprising start in the point guard category, where the all-time leader is Chris Paul. I can hear the comments claiming this is a flawed statistic because it puts Paul, a zero-time NBA champion, ahead of multiple rings. Well, no one said being the most efficient player would guarantee an NBA title, but it certainly helps.
Paul’s career PER is 24.34, ranking 16th in NBA history and the first among point guards. Although he never led the NBA in PER, he had a PER of 20.0 or better in 16 of his 18 seasons. A 20.0 measurement puts him close to being an All-Star. His most efficient season was with the New Orleans Hornets in 2008-09, when he posted a PER of 30.0 and averaged 22.8 points while leading the NBA in assists with 11.0 and steals with 2.8. He finished fifth in MVP voting that season, so maybe there’s some truth to the PER thing, huh?
Magic Johnson is a five-time NBA champion, three-time MVP and three-time Finals MVP. Magic was recently voted by us as the most efficient point guard of all time, and his stellar career tells us why. Johnson has never had a season with a PER lower than 20.0, which means that even at his worst, he’s close to being an All-Star. Johnson’s career-best PER season came in 1987, when he won the MVP award, NBA championship and Finals MVP award with a PER of 26.2.
When it comes to shooting efficiency and volume, no one in league history has done it better than Stephen Curry. As a performer as a whole, the situation is basically the same. Stephen Curry’s career PER ranks 20th in NBA history and has remained above 21.0 every year since 2011-12. In his historic unanimous MVP season, he once led the NBA with a PER of 31.5, ranking among the greatest individual seasons of all time. He also has four seasons with a PER over 25.0, which would make him a solid MVP candidate for those years.
According to PER, the last two point guards with the most efficient seasons were rivals in the 1960s. Oscar Robertson has never been a league leader in PER, but he has eight seasons worthy of MVP consideration based on size. Jerry West’s PER ranks 28th in NBA history. West led the NBA in PER in 1969 and 1970, posting two consecutive seasons with a PER of 22.0 or higher. He also had multiple seasons below the MVP threshold, but 12 seasons with a rating above 22.0, according to the rating sheet.
shooting guard
1. Michael Jordan – 27.91 PER
2. James Harden – 24.35 PER
3. Dwyane Wade – 23.48 PER
4. Kobe Bryant – 22.90 PER
5. Tracy McGrady – 22.13 PER
As you can see, the shooting guard roster is also full of talent. First off, Michael Jordan holds the NBA career PER record with a 27.91 rating, but what else can you expect from the GOAT? From 1987 to 1993, Jordan led every season in PER, years that included his first three-peat NBA title. In his career, Jordan had 10 MVP-worthy seasons and had four seasons with a 31.0-plus rating, meaning they were among the greatest seasons of all time.
James Harden was another shooting guard who was extremely efficient during the prime of his career with the Houston Rockets. Apparently, his scoring spree helped him rank 15th in NBA history in terms of PER. Harden led the league in PER during the 2018 MVP season and had four consecutive seasons with a PER above 27.0 from 2017-202. Not surprisingly, Harden’s peak PER season came when he averaged more than 30 points per game and won three scoring titles.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Dwyane Wade is ranked as the third most efficient shooting guard of all time. Wade has been an efficient scorer and playmaker throughout his career, and his every move is methodical. Wade never won an MVP, but he did lead the Heat to three NBA titles during his career, so let’s see what his PER is. In the 2006-07 season, a year after his first NBA title, he led the NBA with a PER of 28.9. He also had MVP-level seasons in 2009 and 2010 with a PER over 28.0.
The final two players on this list are two of the all-time greats who had different reputations as players but were generally regarded as ineffective players. Kobe Bryant ranks 28th in NBA history with a PER of 22.90. He’s never led the NBA in metrics and had three MVP-worthy seasons, including 2006, the MVP award that should have been his. Tracy McGrady was a scoring leader and MVP candidate with a PER over 30.0 at his peak. McGrady’s greatest season in history came in 2003 with the Magic, when he averaged 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.
small forward
1. LeBron James – 27.22 PER
2. Kevin Durant – 25.29 PER
3. Larry Bird – 23.50 PER
4. Kawhi Leonard – 23.42 PER
5. Elgin Baylor – 22.72 PER
Who else could lead the small forward category other than LeBron James, arguably the greatest player in NBA history? James’ IQ and superior efficiency have long been on display as a scorer, playmaker and overall impact on his team’s success. James’ PER has led the league six times and has had four total seasons above 30.0, putting them near an all-time best. James’ efficiency has earned him four NBA championships, four Finals MVP awards, four MVP awards, an all-time NBA scoring record, and many other personal milestones that we may never see again in our 20 years in the NBA.
Right after James, the ninth-ranked PER in NBA history is Kevin Durant, one of the most efficient scorers in NBA history. As Durant, who has won multiple 50/40/90 seasons and the first 55-40-90 season in NBA history, it’s no surprise that he’s in the top 10. In 2014, Durant led the league with a PER of 29.8 in his only MVP season, but he had four other seasons with a PER above 27.0 and was considered MVP-worthy. Durant’s four scoring titles also help him rank No. 1 here, making him one of the most efficient players in NBA history.
Larry Bird is in the same field as Durant in terms of scoring efficiency and 50/40/90 season scoring efficiency. Bird may rank 23rd in NBA history in PER, but in his prime, he was untouchable. Bird led the league in PER in 1985 and 1986, two seasons in which he won his second and third consecutive MVP awards and led the Celtics to the NBA Finals. He also had MVP-worthy seasons in 1987 and 1988 before back problems started to crop up.
As mentioned earlier, using PER on defense is difficult because blocks and steals don’t tell the whole story. Kawhi Leonard enters as Evidence A. Leonard never won an MVP, but did win two championships and two Finals MVPs. He also has five seasons with a PER of 26.0 or better since 2016, worthy of being considered an MVP-caliber season. Given his competition, Elgin Baylor was almost never really in MVP contention, but he did lead the NBA with a 28.1 rating in 1961 and was third in 1962 and 1963 with a PER over 26.0, finishing in the top five in both seasons.
Power Forward
1. Anthony Davis – 26.96 PER
2. Bob Pettit – 25.45 PER
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 24.92 PER
4. Charles Barkley – 24.63 PER
5. Tim Duncan – 24.22 PER
This roster might look very different if PER had done a slightly better job of taking defense into account, but the power forward position is stacked in terms of efficiency. No. 1 right now is Anthony Davis, who despite his injury woes is as efficient on the court as anyone in the NBA. Davis ranks fourth in NBA history with a PER of 26.96. He had two seasons with a PER above 30.0: 2015, when he led the NBA, and 2019, his final season in New Orleans. He had three other seasons with a PER above 27.0 and was considered MVP-worthy, including 2020, when he helped the Lakers win the NBA title.
Bob Pettit played for the Hawks nearly 60 seasons ago and remains one of the most efficient power forwards on the court. Pettit is a two-time MVP and the only player to beat Bill Russell’s Celtics in the NBA Finals. Pettit led the NBA in PER every year from 1956 to 1959, including his MVP season and championship season. He has never had a PER below 22.0 in any season of his career, and has two seasons in which he has surpassed 28.0.
Over the past five seasons, it’s hard to argue that any player has been more productive than Giannis Antetokounmpo. Well, except for one player who has caught up to him in honors. Giannis is a two-time MVP, an NBA champion and a Finals MVP, all since 2019 with the Bucks. In each of his two MVP seasons in 2019 and 2020, he topped the NBA with a PER of over 30.5 in each of those seasons, and in each of the three seasons since then he has posted a PER of 29.0 or better. If he keeps shooting like this, we’ll definitely see Giannis take his career No. 1 spot.
The last two power forward players on our list had completely opposite careers. Charles Barkley (Charles Barkley) is a former league MVP, but never won the NBA championship. Not only is Tim Duncan a former two-time MVP, but as one of the most efficient players in NBA history, he has also won 5 NBA titles and 3 Finals MVP awards. The gap between Duncan and Barkley is small, but again, when Charles Barkley is ahead of Tim Duncan in some ways, I can see how people would say that statistic is flawed, but one could also argue that Barkley is the better offensive player.
center
1. Nikola Jokic – 27.65 PER
2. Shaquille O’Neal – 26.43 PER
3. David Robinson – 26.18 PER
4. Wilt Chamberlain – 26.16 PER
5. Neil Johnston – 24.86 PER
The five most efficient centers in NBA history are all ranked in the top 11 in NBA history in career PER, which makes centers the most efficient group of players by position, and it’s not even close. Nikola Jokic holds the second-highest PER in NBA history after winning two MVPs, a championship and a Finals MVP over the past three years. Jokic has led the NBA in PER over the past three seasons, with a PER of 31.0 or better in each of those seasons. As Jokic continues to dominate at center and tear apart defenses as a scorer and playmaker, his PER will only rise and he will challenge Michael Jordan for the No. 1 spot.
Shaquille O’Neal is no surprise…
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