NBA Player Ratings 2022

Defensive Stats That Factor Into Ratings

Defensive rating is always a good summary of how a player is performing defensively, and this is something that is calculated into our rating. This takes into an account of the worth of a player that he has on defense without just looking at some steals and blocks. Of course these are going to play a smaller factor into the rating, because we still want some defensive production factored in as well. A player who is good for over two steals a game is going to carry a lot of worth for a team. The same goes for a player who blocking two shots a game, and has a big presence at the rim making it tough for opposing offenses to score close. Rebounding is a positive thing for defenses, as you do not want to give up second chance points to the opposing offense. Defensive rebounds are factored in as well.

One of the reasons for not weighting production stats too heavily is because not all positions are going to have the chance to get two steals a game or produce two blocks per game. Defensive rating gives a strong indication of what they are going on the court regardless of position. Looking at some of the top defensive players in the league right now, Rudy Gobert has been a top tier defensive player since coming into the league, and is one of the best rim protectors in the game. You also have Kawhi Leonard, who has become one of the top two-way players in the game, and makes it tough on opposing players against him. Some players are also more on the court for their defensive presence. Marcus Smart is a tenacious defender, but his worth is much higher on the defensive side in comparison to his offensive worth.

Offensive Stats That Factor Into Ratings

Much like defense, the offensive rating for players is going to be pretty telling for how a player is producing on the offensive side. Of course we want to see how efficient players are, because scoring 25 points a game on 18 shots a game isn’t necessarily that efficient. Different offensive players are also going to produce in different departments. A player that is more of a pass oriented point guard is somewhat rare these days because point guards have been primary scorers more of late. Overall playmakers like LeBron James and Luka Doncic who produce as playmakers and primary scorers are going to have a big edge in ratings because they are going to be at a high percentile in multiple stats alongside overall efficiency numbers.

True shooting has become a more advanced way of a player’s efficiency when shooting the ball. It weights a players three point, free throw, and field goal percentage individually. In an era where three pointers have become shot at a high rate, it does factor in that rate at a slightly higher weight because they are worth more as well. This helps measure players across the board, because a FG% is going to be higher for a center because the amount of close range shots they are going to take. Assists and offensive rebounds are going to be factored in, alongside overall points per game. These numbers as a whole can give us a clear view of how they are performing alongside their efficiency. We try and blend the best of both worlds, as we do with defense. To get the overall rating, we are taking both offense and defense into consideration. If a player is tremendous on the offensive side, but struggles defensively, the rating will reflect that. In an era that has become heavily offensive, we are certainly not going to forget about players playing defense.

Best NBA Players By Decade

Starting with the 1960s, we saw Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics dominate the league. Russell won 11 total championships, and nine within this time period. He also had four MVPs to his name. You also had names like Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West Chamberlain had his 100 point game in 1962, and of course his numbers are off the charts given he played 46 minutes a game. Chamberlain averaged 30 and 22 in his career. West was also one of the top players, and he shot 47% in his career. Oscar Robertson started his career in 1961 and put together a strong career, averaging 25-7-9. Of course some of these names went into the 70s for their career, but most of their numbers were during the 60s. Elgin Baylor averaged 27-13-4 in his career.

Getting into the 1970s, we really saw a lot of names come out of this era. Elvin Hayes averaged 21 and 12 over his 15 year career. He also averaged two blocks per game. Kareem Adbul Jabbar had a lengthy career, where he played basically two decades in the NBA, so toss him in with the best of the 70s and 0s. He averaged 24 and 11, with 2.6 blocks per game. Pete Maravich only played nine years, but was one of the better scorers, averaging 24.2 points per game. Names like Dave Cowens and Bill Walton are also honorable mentions, but this was more of a top heavy decade.

The 1980s were built around Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s rivalry. Both started their career in 1980, and are two of the best at their position throughout all of history. Bird averaged 24-10-6, while Johnson averaged 19-7-11. The two went back and forth all decade long. Julius Irving played most of his career in the 90s, as did Moses Malone and Robert Parish. All three posted stellar numbers and are widely considered some of the best to play the game. Kevin McHale was a big part of those Celtics teams, who were absolutely loaded. You also saw Isiah Thomas, James Worthy, and Clyde Drexler kick off their careers. A lot of names started in 1985, but you could say their careers were established in the 90s era.

The era of the 90s was dominated by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. But this overall had a lot of star talent before things dropped off a bit in the next decade. John Stockton averaged 10.5 assists and 2.2 steals per game in his career. You had Clyde Drexler dominating throughout the 90s, and averaged 20 points 6 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Hakeem Olajuwon was an exciting player to watch, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds per game. He also averaged a whopping 3.1 blocks per game. Karl Malone and Charlies Barkley were two dominant bigs, averaging a double-double throughout their careers. David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal came in the early 90s draft classes and were strong bigs. Shaq would go onto dominate really two decades.

Looking into the early 2000s, there was a lot of Kobe Bryant and Shaq domination. They won multiple titles together, before Shaq took off and played for multiple teams. Dwayne Wade was also starting off his impressive career, and won a championship before the big three was formed. Kevin Garnett was one of the most consistent players in the game during his time in Minnesota, but the move to Boston with Ray Allen made him a champion. Tim Duncan is one of the best players of all-time, and he led his Spurs to multiple championships. You also have honorable mentions like Allen Iverson in this era, as well as Steve Nash winning multiple MVP awards on a Suns team that deserved more than what they finished with. Dirk Nowitzki started his Hall of Fame career in the 2000s, and ended up leaving a champion. He will go down as one of the best walking buckets in the game today.

Hard to believe that the 2010s are already wrapped up, and LeBron James is still dominating in categories. However you had Kevin Durant establish himself as one of the best shooters, and his length makes him such a tough guard. Chris Paul continues to move up in steals and assists as far as the leaderboards go. Stephen Curry put together a strong stretch not only of winning multiple championships, but he has elevated what we think of a strong shooter. Kawhi Leonard dealt with some injury issues, but he has established himself as one of the best two-way players in the game today. Giannis Antetokounmpo has also developed into one of the better two-way players, and with his size and athleticism, there isn’t anyone like him today. James Harden, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook are also other mentions that have been at the top of the league for multiple seasons.

NBA Player Ratings Frequently Asked Questions

• What Are Lineups NBA Player Ratings?

• Who Is The Best NBA Player Right Now?

• Who Is The Best NBA Player Of All Time?

• Who Is The Best Point Guard Of All Time?

• Who Is The Best Shooting Guard Of All Time?

• Who Is The Best Small Forward Of All Time?

• Who Is The Best Power Forward Of All Time?

• Who Is The Best Center Of All Time?

• Who Is The Most Famous Basketball Player Today?

• Who Is The Highest Paid Basketball Player In 2020?

• Who Is The Highest Paid Basketball Player Of All Time?

• Which NBA Player Has Longest Career?

• Which NBA Player Has The Most NBA Titles?

• Who Is The Tallest NBA Player?

• Who Is The Shortest NBA Player?

• Who Is The Best Offensive Player In 2020?

• Who Is The Best Defensive Player In 2020?