All-Time NBA PER Leaders

The NBA’s player efficiency rating (PER) is a measure of a player’s per-minute statistical production. The higher the PER, the more productive a player is.

Here are the all-time leaders in PER:

1. Wilt Chamberlain – 31.82
2. Michael Jordan – 27.91
3. Lebron James – 27.54
4. Anthony Davis – 27.42
5. Russell Westbrook – 26.52
6. Kevin Durant – 26.14
7. Chris Paul – 25.59
8. Steph Curry – 25.51
9. Shaquille O’Neal – 24.56
10 Kobe Bryant – 24.30

The Top 10 PER Players of All-Time

In terms of all-time NBA PER leaders, these are the top 10 players:

1. Michael Jordan – 31.98
2. Lebron James – 27.54
3. Anthony Davis – 27.53
4. Wilt Chamberlain – 27.20
5. Shawn Kemp – 26.97
6. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 26.69
7. Shaquille O’Neal – 26.46
8. David Robinson – 26.24
9. Karl Malone – 26.13
10 Dwight Howard – 25.72

The Evolution of PER

In order to better understand how today’s NBA players measure up to their predecessors, it’s important to take a look at the history of PER. Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a metric that was created by ESPN analyst John Hollinger in order to evaluate a player’s all-around contribution to his team’s performance.

While PER does not take into account everything that contributes to a player’s value – such as intangibles, defensive contributions, and team context – it is nonetheless an excellent indicator of how productive a player is on offense. And due to its simplicity and the fact that it is widely available, PER has become one of the most commonly used advanced metrics in the NBA.

PER is calculated by taking into account a number of different statistics, including points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals; and adjusting for pace (possessions per 48 minutes). A league-average PER is always 15.0, meaning that a player with a PER of 20.0 is deemed to be five points per 100 possessions better than average.

The first step in calculating PER is to estimate how many points a player produces and how many possessions he uses while he’s on the court. This part of the equation is referred to as “raw” or “unadjusted” PER:

rawPER = points + 0.75 * offensiverebounds + 0.5 * assists + 0.25 * steals + blocks – 0.25 * turnovers – 0.5 * missedshots – missedFT * 0.4 + foult drawn * 1.5 – personal fouls

where shots=field goal attempts, missedshots=missed field goal attempts, FT=Free throws attempted, missedFT=missed Free throws attempted
Now we need to adjust for pace (number of possessions per 48 minutes). This gives us “pace-adjusted” or “standardized” PER:

stdPER = rawPER*(leaguePace/teamPace)*48 /* where leaguePace and teamPace are expressed in terms of possessions per 48 minutes */

How PER is Calculated

PER or Player Efficiency Rating is a statistic that was created by ESPN analyst John Hollinger to measure a player’s per-minute performance. PER is calculated by taking a player’s positive contributions (such as points, rebounds, assists, and blocks) and subtracting the negative ones (such as missed shots and turnovers). This number is then adjusted for pace ( Live possessions/ Minutes played), so that players who play in faster paced games or more minutes are not unfairly penalized. Finally, the league average PER is set to 15.0, so that above-average players have a PER greater than 15.0 and below-average players have a PER below 15.0.

The Benefits of PER

PER, or Player Efficiency Rating, is a stat that attempts to measure a player’s overall contribution to their team. It was created by ESPN’s John Hollinger in order to provide a more accurate way of evaluating players than traditional stats like points per game or rebounds per game

PER takes into account a wide range of statistics, including positive contributions like field goals assists, and blocks, as well as negative ones like missed shots and turnovers. It also adjusts for pace, meaning that players who play on faster-paced teams will not be rewarded for inflating their stats.

Overall, PER is a very useful stat for comparing players across different positions and eras. However, it is not perfect, and it should not be used as the sole criteria for making decisions about player worthiness.

The Flaws of PER

PER is a great way to compare players across different eras, but it does have its flaws. First and foremost, PER is a per-minute statistic, meaning that players who play more minutes will generally have higher PERs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that those players are better; they could just be playing more minutes. In addition, PER doesn’t take into account defensive performance, so some of the best Defensive Players in the league may not crack the top 50 in PER. Finally, PER can be influenced by the quality of a player’s teammates; for example, a player who plays with other All-Stars is likely to see his PER increase simply because he has better actors around him.

PER vs Other Advanced Stats

PER is a good stat, but it’s not perfect. Here’s a look at how it stacks up against some other advanced stats.

The All-Time PER Leaders by Team

The following is a list of the all-time PER leaders by team. The data is current through the end of the 2019-20 NBA season

Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry – 28.2
Kevin Durant – 27.4
Wilt Chamberlain – 26.4
Rick Barry – 24.1
Chris Mullin – 23.2

Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant – 25.5
Shaquille O’Neal – 24.3
Elgin Baylor – 23.0
Magic Johnson – 21.8
Jerry West – 21.3

The All-Time PER Leaders by Position

The all-time PER leaders by position are as follows:

Point Guards
1. Chris Paul – 28.98
2. Magic Johnson – 27.91
3. Russell Westbrook – 27.64
4. Gary Payton – 26.97
5. Oscar Robertson – 26.61

Shooting Guards
1. Michael Jordan – 27.91
2. Allen Iverson – 27.73
3. Kobe Bryant – 25.12
4. Dwyane Wade – 24.51
5. Jerry West – 24.45

The Future of PER

In recent years the PER has been criticized for a number of reasons. One of the main criticisms is that it overvalues players who score a lot of points, and doesn’t give enough credit to players who play good defense or who do the “little things” that don’t show up in the Stat Sheet

Another criticism is that PER doesn’t take into account a player’s teammates, so two players could have very different PERs even though they’re both playing with exactly the same caliber of teammates.

Despite its shortcomings, PER remains one of the most popular statistical measures in the NBA. Many analysts believe that it’s a good starting point for evaluating players, but that it should be used in conjunction with other stats (such as defensive rating) in order to get a complete picture.

All-Time NBA PER Leaders