By the time Apples & Oranges got to basketball, the system was pretty well set. Applying the lessons from the previous sports made dealing with the data a snap, and it was all smooth sailing.

Offense 1 is easy: simply dividing total points by the league average. Offense 2 was going to be assists, but that ran into a few problems. First, the definition of an assist has changed over time, giving modern players an advantage. Second, assists are, as a matter of tactics, not distributed evenly. Point guards have the ball more than other players and run the offense, so using straight assist numbers would give lopsided results — we needed a way to put them in context with overall offensive output. At the same time, I was deciding that missed field goals needed to be part of a player’s defensive record (more on that below), which meant that I needed to include made field goals somewhere to balance it out.

By making Offense 2 an average of made field goals and assists (similar to how runs and RBI were averaged in the baseball ratings), we get a full view of a player’s tactical contribution to the offense.

Defense 1 is possessions. Steals and rebounds are positive, missed field goals and turnovers are negative. Each missed shot or rebound counts as half a turnover. All rebounds, offensive and defensive, go on the defensive side of the ledger. The idea here is that by missing shots, a player is putting the team’s defense under pressure. A missed shot is up for grabs — if the defensive team rebounds it, it completes the turnover; if an offensive teammate gets it, that negates the turnover.

Defense 2 is based on points allowed by the team, distributed according to minutes played, with a bonus for blocked shots. We only have data for blocks, steals and turnovers since the 1973-74 season, so the balance between Defense 1 and Defense 2 is different before then. Players (especially centers) have higher Defense 1 and lower Defense 2 numbers before the change, but it tends to balance out.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, LeBron James passed Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain for the top spot on the basketball list. After 2019, he sits at 37.07. Things could still change, but when all is said and done, I expect him to be challenging Pelé and W.G. Grace for the overall No. 1 ranking.

Centers	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Wilt Chamberlain	1205	177.37	23.55	13.32	36.87		34.83	12.27
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1797	215.86	19.22	14.69	33.91		30.69	7.75
George Mikan	611	90.83	23.79	9.53	33.32		39.69	7.88
Shaquille O’Neal	1423	177.29	19.93	13.32	33.25		32.37	7.50
Hakeem Olajuwon	1383	160.80	18.60	12.68	31.28		28.65	8.56
David Robinson	1110	124.12	17.89	11.14	29.03		26.64	9.14
Patrick Ewing	1322	138.97	16.82	11.79	28.61		26.37	7.27
Bill Russell	1128	116.06	16.46	10.77	27.24		20.26	12.66
Artis Gilmore	1429	136.55	15.29	11.69	26.97		22.21	8.36
Walt Bellamy	1089	106.67	15.67	10.33	26.00		23.20	8.14
Bob Lanier	1026	101.44	15.82	10.07	25.89		25.21	6.43
Dave Cowens	855	84.44	15.80	9.19	24.99		23.72	8.03
Jerry Lucas	901	84.97	15.09	9.22	24.31		20.84	9.34
Robert Parish	1795	136.07	12.13	11.66	23.79		17.69	6.57
Alonzo Mourning	933	82.78	14.20	9.10	23.29		21.25	7.14
Jack Sikma	1209	99.56	13.18	9.98	23.15		19.57	6.78
Willis Reed	728	66.24	14.56	8.14	22.70		21.35	7.76
Bill Laimbeer	1181	83.86	11.36	9.16	20.52		16.21	6.51
Dikembe Mutombo	1297	88.09	10.87	9.39	20.25		12.68	9.05
Bill Walton	517	39.73	12.30	6.30	18.60		17.81	6.78
Ben Wallace	1218	68.83	9.04	8.30	17.34		9.04	9.80

The great centers, who dominated the NBA through the second half of the 20th century, are an endangered breed these days. Now understanding the full mathematical implications of the three-point shot, NBA coaches don’t have the time or patience to run the offense through a dominant big man anymore.

Wilt scores huge, of course, but maybe not as high as expected, given that he scored 100 points in a game once, and average 50 for the season. You can divide his career into three phases, roughly corresponding to his time with the Warriors, 76ers and Lakers — the eye-popping scoring numbers belong to the Warriors phase. At each stop, his shot attempts and scoring declined. By the time he got to Los Angeles, he was still great, but not the points machine he had been.

Shaq should have rated a lot higher, but lacked the intensity and dedication to the game that most of these other players had. He was still the dominant big man of his era, but he could have been the best ever.

Center-Forwards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Tim Duncan	1643	182.49	17.77	13.51	31.28		27.37	8.17
Kevin Garnett	1605	176.41	17.59	13.28	30.87		27.54	7.63
Elvin Hayes	1399	142.34	16.28	11.93	28.21		24.97	7.59
Dan Issel	1351	132.26	15.66	11.50	27.16		26.37	4.95
Moses Malone	1555	145.49	14.97	12.06	27.03		22.92	7.02
Pau Gasol	1362	131.01	15.39	11.45	26.84		24.10	6.68
Dolph Schayes	1093	109.73	16.06	10.48	26.54		25.20	6.93
Chris Bosh	982	96.60	15.74	9.83	25.57		24.83	6.65
Bob McAdoo	946	92.79	15.69	9.63	25.33		26.27	5.11
Rasheed Wallace	1286	111.83	13.91	10.57	24.49		21.00	6.83
Elton Brand	1098	99.55	14.51	9.98	24.48		22.08	6.93
Nate Thurmond	1045	88.47	13.55	9.41	22.95		18.20	8.89
Zelmo Beaty	1004	82.02	13.07	9.06	22.13		19.20	6.95
Wes Unseld	1103	86.01	12.48	9.27	21.75		15.50	9.46

These players straddled the position between center and power forward. Some were undersized centers who moved to the four spot as they slowed down and could no longer use their quickness to make up for their lack of height. Others, generally taller forwards, went the other way; as they slowed down they found centers easier to guard than forwards.

Tim Duncan always insisted he was a power forward and not a center. I think, tactically, he was a classic center and his numbers bear that out, but the Spurs generally paired him with a bigger, slower player on the front line, especially in the first half of his career, so it’s hard to argue.

Kevin Garnett, whose career paralleled Duncan’s, had an outside-in game that was more like a forward’s. They finished neck-and-neck.

Power Forwards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Karl Malone	1669	203.02	19.46	14.25	33.71		32.78	6.14
Bob Pettit	880	108.34	19.70	10.41	30.11		31.21	8.18
Dirk Nowitzki	1667	173.32	16.64	13.17	29.80		27.85	5.42
Charles Barkley	1196	135.05	18.07	11.62	29.69		28.80	7.33
Chris Webber	911	104.80	18.41	10.24	28.64		31.04	5.78
Adrian Dantley	1028	104.51	16.27	10.22	26.49		28.22	4.31
Bailey Howell	1036	95.08	14.68	9.75	24.44		20.84	8.53
Larry Nance	988	89.20	14.45	9.44	23.89		21.52	7.38
Kevin McHale	1140	98.68	13.85	9.93	23.78		21.50	6.21
Dave DeBusschere	971	82.04	13.52	9.06	22.58		19.91	7.13
Tom Chambers	1215	96.24	12.67	9.81	22.48		21.48	3.87
Otis Thorpe	1335	100.19	12.01	10.01	22.02		18.12	5.89
Tom Heinsohn	758	65.72	13.87	8.11	21.98		22.29	5.45
Horace Grant	1335	99.06	11.87	9.95	21.83		15.91	7.84
Buck Williams	1415	100.11	11.32	10.01	21.33		15.28	7.36
Dennis Rodman	1080	64.57	9.57	8.04	17.60		10.15	8.98

Malone may be a surprise at top overall forward (pending LeBron’s retirement, of course). He didn’t have the prettiest style, but he played a ton of games, scoring 2,000 points a year for a dozen years.

Dennis Rodman, as one-dimensional a player as you’ll ever see, is massively overrated. He was a great rebounder, when he tried, but averaged only 30 minutes a game for his career, gave inconsistent effort when he did play and was a total liability on offense. He knew how to get attention, though.

Power forward isn’t much of a glamour position. Nowitzki, Barkley and Webber made it sexy … the rest of these guys are bangers, better versions of the ham-and-eggers who usually fill out the roster at this spot.

Small Forwards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Larry Bird	1061	129.90	19.59	11.40	30.99		32.61	6.56
Julius Erving	1432	162.74	18.18	12.76	30.94		30.21	6.16
Elgin Baylor	980	119.92	19.58	10.95	30.53		32.28	6.88
Rick Barry	1125	125.07	17.79	11.18	28.97		31.42	4.16
Dominique Wilkins	1130	121.21	17.16	11.01	28.17		30.05	4.27
Carmelo Anthony	1343	137.70	16.41	11.73	28.14		29.32	3.49
John Havlicek	1442	143.36	15.91	11.97	27.88		27.11	4.71
Scottie Pippen	1386	134.72	15.55	11.61	27.16		24.83	6.27
Alex English	1261	120.64	15.31	10.98	26.29		27.67	2.95
Bernard King	902	88.75	15.74	9.42	25.16		27.96	3.53
Antawn Jamison	1129	104.35	14.79	10.22	25.00		24.76	4.82
Billy Cunningham	824	81.86	15.90	9.05	24.94		26.18	5.61
Grant Hill	1065	98.93	14.86	9.95	24.81		24.83	4.89
Shawn Marion	1272	112.50	14.15	10.61	24.76		21.29	7.02
Bob Dandridge	937	86.46	14.76	9.30	24.06		24.10	5.43
James Worthy	1069	94.92	14.21	9.74	23.95		23.54	4.87
Glen Rice	1055	92.08	13.96	9.60	23.56		23.79	4.14
Mark Aguirre	1025	89.26	13.93	9.45	23.38		24.70	3.17
Chris Mullin	1057	91.20	13.81	9.55	23.35		23.82	3.79
Chet Walker	1137	93.52	13.16	9.67	22.83		21.02	5.31
Cliff Hagan	934	77.61	13.30	8.81	22.10		22.19	4.40
Jack Twyman	857	72.55	13.54	8.52	22.06		22.73	4.24
Detlef Schrempf	1250	92.17	11.80	9.60	21.40		18.96	4.63
Sean Elliott	827	61.53	11.90	7.84	19.75		19.75	4.78

Bird was an amazing talent, cut down prematurely by back trouble. Three more healthy seasons and he’d be up there with anyone. LeBron is coming for his spot, though.

There’s a lot of star power at the top of this list, but the bottom half is mostly good-but-not-great guys. A half-decent NBA player can put up great numbers for a long time at the three-position.

Guard-Forwards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Clyde Drexler	1231	128.54	16.71	11.34	28.04		28.64	4.77
Paul Pierce	1506	147.59	15.68	12.15	27.83		27.02	4.34
George Gervin	1144	119.09	16.66	10.91	27.57		29.92	3.39
Tracy McGrady	988	102.66	16.63	10.13	26.76		29.26	3.99
Paul Arizin	762	82.51	17.32	9.08	26.41		28.91	5.73
Vince Carter	1629	139.43	13.69	11.81	25.50		23.62	3.77
Joe Johnson	1396	119.58	13.71	10.94	24.64		23.67	3.74
Walter Davis	1111	93.71	13.50	9.68	23.18		24.68	2.31

“Swingman” isn’t usually a star’s role in the NBA. If you’re not good enough to hold down a position and make it yours, the team’s focus is going to be elsewhere. But these players managed to do it. They were generally bigger guards who moved to the small forward spot as they aged and kept their numbers up.

Shooting Guards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Michael Jordan	1251	179.00	22.89	13.38	36.27		40.36	5.43
Kobe Bryant	1566	188.43	19.25	13.73	32.98		35.36	3.15
Allen Iverson	985	129.39	21.02	11.37	32.39		39.45	2.58
Dwyane Wade	1231	138.83	18.04	11.78	29.83		31.95	4.14
Ray Allen	1471	138.28	15.04	11.76	26.80		25.99	4.09
Reggie Miller	1533	135.53	14.15	11.64	25.79		24.04	4.25
Pete Maravich	684	72.24	16.90	8.50	25.40		31.48	2.31
Mitch Richmond	999	95.69	15.33	9.78	25.11		27.91	2.74
Hal Greer	1214	108.09	14.25	10.40	24.64		24.05	4.44
Gail Goodrich	1111	95.13	13.70	9.75	23.45		24.30	3.10
Reggie Theus	1043	89.13	13.67	9.44	23.11		24.81	2.53
Jeff Hornacek	1217	99.81	13.12	9.99	23.11		21.81	4.44
Joe Dumars	1130	94.25	13.35	9.71	23.05		22.86	3.83
Bill Sharman	789	71.82	14.56	8.47	23.04		25.46	3.67
Earl Monroe	1008	85.82	13.62	9.26	22.89		23.97	3.27
World B. Free	920	77.83	13.54	8.82	22.36		24.84	2.24
Michael Redd	645	57.14	14.17	7.56	21.73		25.41	2.94
Sam Jones	1025	80.81	12.61	8.99	21.60		21.38	3.85
Manu Ginóbili	1275	93.07	11.68	9.65	21.33		19.60	3.76
Steve Smith	1032	77.72	12.05	8.82	20.87		20.22	3.87
Sidney Moncrief	860	66.42	12.36	8.15	20.51		19.77	4.94
Paul Westphal	930	68.18	11.73	8.26	19.99		20.84	2.62

Subjectively, I’ll still take Jordan over anyone. He’s behind Chamberlain, and will end up behind LeBron James, because he took two years off in his prime to play minor-league baseball.

Allen Iverson, like Jordan, could physically dominate from the guard position. His numbers look a lot better in the context of the low-scoring era he played in.

Even more than center, shooting guard is the cradle of stars. They’re usually the team’s primary scorer and have the most freedom to take over the game. With the rise of the three-point shot, their influence is only growing.

Point Guards	Games	Total	Per 160	Sqr Rt	Sum		Off	Def
Oscar Roberston	1126	143.83	20.44	11.99	32.43		34.54	6.34
Jerry West	1085	132.70	19.57	11.52	31.09		34.09	5.05
Magic Johnson	1096	125.57	18.33	11.21	29.54		31.53	5.13
Gary Payton	1489	148.06	15.91	12.17	28.08		27.29	4.53
John Stockton	1686	158.74	15.06	12.60	27.66		25.75	4.38
Bob Cousy	1033	110.55	17.12	10.51	27.64		30.56	3.69
Isiah Thomas	1090	114.44	16.80	10.70	27.50		30.10	3.50
Jason Kidd	1549	147.22	15.21	12.13	27.34		24.83	5.58
Walt Frazier	918	93.70	16.33	9.68	26.01		26.53	6.13
Tony Parker	1480	133.52	14.43	11.56	25.99		25.65	3.22
Tim Hardaway	923	93.52	16.21	9.67	25.88		29.36	3.06
Steve Nash	1337	123.39	14.77	11.11	25.87		27.23	2.30
Kevin Johnson	840	84.58	16.11	9.20	25.31		29.28	2.94
Dave Bing	932	89.42	15.35	9.46	24.81		27.05	3.65
Tiny Archibald	923	86.88	15.06	9.32	24.38		26.77	3.35
Lenny Wilkens	1141	99.82	14.00	9.99	23.99		22.94	5.06
Chauncey Billups	1189	102.06	13.73	10.10	23.84		23.75	3.72
Jo Jo White	917	81.01	14.13	9.00	23.14		24.55	3.72
Calvin Murphy	1053	88.51	13.45	9.41	22.86		24.09	2.81
Dennis Johnson	1280	100.89	12.61	10.04	22.66		20.49	4.73
Terry Porter	1398	100.01	11.56	10.00	21.45		19.38	3.51

Magic came in a bit low. His scoring took a while to get going and, of course, his career was cut short by an HIV diagnosis. Jordan, Johnson and Bird, the three players most cited in the explosion of basketball’s popularity in the 1980s all ended up playing less than they should have, leaving us to wonder what could have been.

To do list:

Sean Elliot
Larry Foust
Mark Price
Harry Gallatin
Maurice Cheeks
Ed Macauley