Building the NBA's All-Efficiency Team
Kobe Bryant's sad slide into mediocrity is just the latest sign that the end is nigh—not just for the Black Mamba's Hall of Fame career, but also for the reign of the NBA's volume-shooting, isolation-heavy scorers.
To be sure, this shift began long before Bryant started posting shooting percentages that would look much more appropriate as batting averages in Major League Baseball. Once the league loosened its defensive rules and the basketball world at large accepted data science into its Spaulding-stamped heart, the sea change toward all-around skill and efficiency was underway.
Nowadays, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a big man who shoots threes, a natural wing sliding up to power forward or a point guard pacing his squad in scoring. The sport has changed, both in how it's played and how it's evaluated.
But if the name of the game is efficiency, what would the NBA's ideal team look like? Here's the two-deep roster we came up with, based on who gives their teams the best bang for their statistical (rather than financial) buck.
Point Guard
Starter: Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
There's economical, there's efficient and then there's whatever the heck Steph Curry has been so far this season.
The reigning MVP isn't just leading the league in scoring by a country mile; he's pouring in nearly a point per minute. He's been spectacular in almost every scoring situation, from isolation and spot-up situations to pick-and-rolls and shots off screens:
| Frequency | 10.5% | 21.5% | 23.1% | 10.7% | 15.4% |
| eFG% | 56.4% | 70.9% | 63.8% | 62.8% | 61.5% |
| Points/Possession | 1.16 | 1.35 | 1.13 | 1.24 | 1.21 |
| FT Frequency | 8.9% | 12% | 7.1% | 2.2% | 13.6% |
| TO% | 4.4% | 12% | 15.2% | 4.3% | 12.1% |
He's not just knocking down 43.1 percent of his threes; he's on track to join the 50-40-90 club while obliterating his own NBA record for single-season makes. Curry's knocked down a three every 7.1 minutes and has put through more treys than the entire rosters of the Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
And Curry isn't just changing the game offensively. He's also getting it done on the defensive end. In addition to snagging 2.56 steals per game (tied for the second-most in basketball), Curry's holding his marks to 39.6 percent shooting from the field and a subpar 0.77 points per play off pick-and-rolls.
What makes Curry so efficient on both ends is his sheer economy of movement. His shot is so unstoppable, even though it launches from an oddly low angle, because his release is lightning-quick and his control, of both ball and body, is beyond reproach.
That same combination of quickness and control makes him a menace on defense, despite his slight frame. In the grander scheme, it allows him to turn an increasingly scientific game into high art.
"There's a certain sense of musicality to the way his body works," Graham Lustig, the artistic director of the Oakland Ballet Company, told the New York Times' Scott Cacciola. "It looks like he's moving in a slightly different dimension as everyone else, and I think that ties into his sheer speed and power and control — incredible, unbelievable control."
Reserve: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Westbrook isn't the sharpshooter Curry is, but that's true of pretty much everyone on Earth.
Not that Russ is some shooting slouch. His current field-goal percentage (47.4 percent) would be the best of his career.
Westbrook uses a bigger share of his team's possessions (35.4 percent) than all but Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins, but he gets plenty of bang for his buck. Among scorers, he's third in the Association to Curry and Houston's James Harden with 28.1 points. Among assist men, his 10.3 helpers are second only to Rajon Rondo, as are his 7.4 rebounds—compared to other guards, that is.
The UCLA product is also in the midst of his finest defensive season yet. He's averaging a career-high 2.6 steals while spearheading an OKC defense that's allowed 99.3 points per 100 possessions whenever he's been on the floor, per NBA.com.
Keep in mind, nearly half (250-of-557) of Westbrook's minutes have come without Kevin Durant on the court. By and large, Westbrook has been a better shooter and steadier ball-handler when he's shared the floor with the former MVP.
| with Durant | 19.7 | 48.8% | 2.53 | 32.3 |
| without Durant | 22.9 | 45.9% | 1.73 | 38.3 |
No longer is Westbrook "just" a superior athlete who can use his physical gifts to make plays for others. Now, he's matured into top-notch passing point guard who's capable of taking over a game in every which way.
But, as ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote, he can and will take advantage of opportunities to attack when they arise:
"When he knows the rim is vulnerable, he's like a bank robber who sees the security guard walk away from the armored car to grab a coffee -- only Westbrook would steal the money, flip the car with his bare hands, drop the People's Elbow on it and scream before walking away past terrified bystanders.
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Shooting Guard
Starter: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
There was a time when a shooting guard of Jimmy Butler's caliber would've been icing on the cake for the Chicago Bulls. Nowadays, with Derrick Rose on the mend every other week (if not more), Butler's become essential to the Bulls' hopes for success.
"I think we each want each other to be successful," Butler told Chicago Magazine's Bryan Smith regarding his relationship with Rose. "And I think we share the goal of wanting a championship. I think if we just continue to change for the better, build off of each other, then we’ll be fine. We are fine."
So far, he's done plenty to justify Chicago's $95 million investment this past summer. He's posting career highs in points (21.1 per game), free-throw attempts (7.2 per game) and assists (3.4 per game).
This, despite a slight (but much-needed) reduction in minutes and without completely dominating the offense. In fact, Butler's usage rate ranks fourth among five Bulls regulars who've used more than 20 percent of the team's possessions while on the floor, per NBA.com.
| Derrick Rose | 32.5 | 25.5 | 10.9 |
| Aaron Brooks | 15.6 | 24.7 | 17.8 |
| Nikola Mirotic | 25.5 | 23.5 | 13.5 |
| Jimmy Butler | 36.5 | 23.8 | 22.2 |
| Pau Gasol | 29.2 | 23.3 | 19.2 |
And when it comes to shooting from outside the rim's 16-foot radius, Butler's been better than ever:
All the while, he's remained one of the most suffocating defenders around. According to NBA.com, Butler's been a drag on his opponents' shooting percentages overall, but especially within 10 feet of the rim:
| Overall | 44.9% | 42.0% | -2.9% |
| 3-Pointers | 34.3% | 37.0% | +2.7% |
| 2-Pointers | 48.4% | 43.9% | -4.5% |
| Less Than 6 Feet | 57.5% | 47.6% | -9.8% |
| Less Than 10 Feet | 52.8% | 42.6% | -10.2% |
| Greater Than 15 Feet | 38.3% | 41.4% | +3.1% |
And if you're not into more detailed analytics, Butler's 2.08 steals (sixth in the NBA) are a decent, if simplistic, proxy for his defensive dominance.
Reserve: Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks
How can a player who averages under 11 points per game be considered one of the NBA's most efficient? When that player is Kyle Korver, the answer is self-evident.
The three-time three-point percentage champion has hit 45.3 percent of his long-range looks so far. That mark, should it hold, would actually be his lowest since 2011-12.
From just about everywhere else, though, Korver has upped the ante, in terms of accuracy, over his All-Star season in 2014-15:
Those percentages merely cement Korver's status as one of the game's biggest threats—not to mention his value to the Atlanta Hawks. According to NBA.com, only one Hawks player has a bigger impact on the team's net rating when he's on the floor than Korver (plus-6.1 points per 100 possessions).
Not bad for a guy who, at 34, uses a smaller share of his squad's possessions than anyone who averages at least 30 minutes per game.
Small Forward
Starter: Paul George, Indiana Pacers
In some respects, it's sacrilegious to put anyone other than LeBron James in this spot. How can anyone in their right mind leave out a four-time MVP who's averaging darn near 26-7-7 while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and holding his marks to a measly 26.2 percent from the field?
If you want to pick nits, James' marks from three (31.5 percent) and from the free-throw line (62.7 percent) are both in decline for the third year running. Even if that doesn't matter in your mind, there's no ignoring what Paul George is doing for the Indiana Pacers.
Like James, George plays for an undermanned Central Division squad that currently owns a slice of home-court advantage in the East. Unlike his one-time rival, PG-13 is taking and making three-pointers (45.7 percent on 6.7 attempts) and free throws (84.4 percent on 6.9 attempts) at virtually career-high clips.
He's doing all this—and scoring (25.9 points), rebounding (8.4 boards) and dishing (4.8 assists) better than before—as a nominal power forward for a Pacers squad that's still adjusting to small ball.
George's ball-handling (3.6 turnovers per game) remains a concern, but as Sports Illustrated's Rob Mahoney noted, Indiana's new-age strategy has aided its superstar in that regard.
"Indiana schemes its way around that problem by getting George on the move, allowing him to play as an actual wing rather than a high-volume point forward type, and stationing ball-handlers around him," Mahoney wrote. "Within that structure comes the freedom to do anything without the pressure to do everything."
And it's not as though he's skimped on his shutdown defense for the good of his offense. According to NBA.com, he's sliced his opponents' field-goal percentage by 6 percent and turned the Pacers defense, a top-four unit overall, into a top-two outfit whenever he's on the court.
So while James is still doing his thing at 30, albeit with some age-related decline, George, 25, is just getting started in his quest to take the Pacers back to the top (and torment the NBA along the way) after bouncing back from his gruesome leg injury.
"I feel like I'm better," George said before putting 40 points on the Washington Wizards (via the Washington Post's Jorge Castillo). "I think a year away from the game, you learn, you grow, regardless if I was on the court or not."
Reserve: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
If the T-800 had been a basketball player, he probably would've looked a lot like Kawhi Leonard. Finally free of early-season injuries, the fifth-year forward out of San Diego State has emerged as a cyborg assassin on both ends of the floor for the San Antonio Spurs.
Like any reigning Defensive Player of the Year worth his salt, he's gone right back to locking up every opponent's best player. According to NBA.com, he's held his assignments to an unsightly 36 percent shooting from the field—an 8 percent drop from their usual rate. His three combined blocks and steals per game aren't too shabby either.
"Kawhi is one of those guys defensively; he gets after it," Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said after his team's recent loss to the Spurs (via the Associated Press). "When he's around the ball, you've got to be strong with it, and you've got to be able to get rid of it without getting it knocked away."
But defensive dominance is old hat for Leonard. What's new is the size and scope of his role in San Antonio's offense and the efficiency with which he's filled it.
Where many players struggle at first when afforded more responsibility, Leonard has taken it in stride. His field-goal and three-point percentages are both up significantly—the latter to a career-high 45.1 percent—even though he's taking more shots than ever. He's also using more of the Spurs' possessions than ever (25.5 percent) but turning the ball over less than ever (6.3 percent).
LaMarcus Aldridge may be the shiny, new toy in the Alamo City, but Leonard, already an NBA Finals MVP and now a likely All-Star, is the true present and future of this franchise.
Power Forward
Starter: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Year after year, Blake Griffin has sacrificed his spectacular interior game for the good of the Los Angeles Clippers and an offense that led the league in efficiency last season.
They're still a top-five team in that regard, thanks to Griffin's development into Karl Malone 2.0. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he's shooting 47.1 percent on long twos and a blistering 61.2 percent in that tricky space between three and 10 feet from the hoop.
Those shots are anathema to modern basketball dogma, wherein threes, layups and free throws are all that matter. But those in-between looks still count, and since teams all over the Association now run defensive schemes designed to surrender them, they're readily available for Griffin's feasting.
His barrage of elbow jumpers and pick-and-pop looks serves bigger purposes, too.
For one, it forces defenses to pick their poison with Griffin. If they play him close, he'll use his quickness to drive by his defender. But if his man leaves some space, Griffin can make him pay from the perimeter.
Within the Clippers' universe, Griffin's outside shooting helps to unclog the floor for Chris Paul's drives and DeAndre Jordan's dunks, be they off pick-and-rolls or offensive rebounds.
And when Jordan sits, Griffin is free to attack the rim with more reckless abandon. According to NBA.com, Griffin takes 79.3 percent more shots in the restricted area per 36 minutes when his frontcourt friend is on the pine.
The Clippers, though, are much better off when their two bigs share the stage. Per NBAWOWY.com, L.A. has been outscored by 26.1 points per 100 possessions when Griffin's played without Jordan, but has edged the opposition by 6.1 points per 100 possessions with them working in tandem.
All of which makes Griffin's emergence as a mid-range maestro that much more important to the Clippers' cause.
Reserve: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
The debate (if there ever was one) is over: There is no lineup in the NBA more lethal than the Warriors' preferred small-ball fivesome.
The grouping of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green practically won them the title last season and hasn't stopped shredding the opposition since. According to NBA.com, that quirky quintet has vaporized its foes by an astounding 71.1 points per 100 possessions—more than double the next-best margin among lineups that have played at least 50 minutes together this season.
If Golden State's collection of long-armed, wing-sized shooters is the ingredients, Green is the team's Emeril Lagasse, always ready and able to kick it up a notch. For ESPN.com's Zach Lowe, it's Green's ability to spot the open and hold his own against anyone on defense that turns the defending champions into the winning machine they've become:
"The secret to the Warriors is that they play five-out basketball with a rim-runner. Green can shoot 3s, but the lineup works because he's so dangerous screening for Stephen Curry, catching the ball in open space and carving up defenses on 4-on-3 attacks. Green is the rare wing-sized player with a center's wingspan, and a low center of gravity allows him to bang with bigger guys.
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But Green's greatness is no longer dependent on aspects of the game that escape statistical capture. He leads the Warriors in rebounds (7.8) and assists (6.6), ranks second in blocks (1.3) and is second on the team in three-point shooting (43.5 percent) behind the unconscious Andre Iguodala.
In fact, Green has been on fire from just about everywhere on the floor through the first month of the season:
Throw in his superb rim protection, and Green, a jack-of-all-trades, looks like a master of many.
Center
Starter: Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
Speaking of rim protectors, they don't get much better than Hassan Whiteside. According to NBA.com, he's held opponents to 41.6 percent shooting at the hoop on a league-high 11.5 attempts faced per game.
It helps that he's such a prolific swatsman. His NBA-best 4.8 blocks per game would be the most the Association has seen in a season from one player in 30 years, when the late Manute Bol turned away five per game for the then-Washington Bullets. With Whiteside in the middle, the Miami Heat have fashioned the league's stingiest defense, according to NBA.com.
The Marshall product checks all the other boxes for traditional big men as well. He's fourth in the league in rebounding (11.1) and second in field-goal percentage (60.8 percent) and ranks among the NBA's most efficient pick-and-roll finishers (1.32 points per possession).
Unlike some of the game's other premier centers (i.e. Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan), Whiteside hits more than half of his free throws. Lately, he's made opponents pay for sending him to the stripe intentionally.
"I'm enjoying this," he said (via the Palm Beach Post's Jason Lieser). "Foul me so I can get a double-double and we can win. It's not working, so keep fouling me."
For Miami's sake, Whiteside's ability to impact the game without the ball in his hands makes him a perfect fit alongside on-ball savants like Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Reserve: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Few things in this world are guaranteed: death, taxes...and Tim Duncan taking kids to school.
The 39-year-old is averaging career lows in points (10.6), rebounds (8.1) and minutes (27.6), but that hasn't stopped him from making the most of every moment with the San Antonio Spurs. He's converting 53.3 percent of his shots—a borderline top-10 rate—and is still one of the sharpest post-up players and pick-and-roll finishers around:
| Post-Up | 22.2% | 1.06 | 48.1% | 20.6% | 2.9% |
| Pick-and-Roll: Roll Man | 26.1% | 1.05 | 51.5% | 15% | 5% |
Defensively, few can compare to what Duncan is doing, even in Year 19. According to NBA.com, he ranks fourth in the entire league in field-goal percentage allowed at the cup.
And, as ESPN.com's Zach Lowe revealed, Duncan's rim protection leads directly to Spurs offense more often than not: "The Spurs have recovered better than 80 percent of Duncan's rejections this season, the highest rate in the league among high-volume shot-blockers, per SportVU data. Duncan is near the top of that leaderboard every season."
Father Time is undefeated, but Duncan looks like he has enough in the tank to fight a few more rounds if he so chooses.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report.
