NBA Power Rankings: Pau Gasol and the 20 Most Efficient Players of 2010-11
The NBA has countless statistics in the form of key indicators that measure a player’s performance, the most obvious ones being PPG, RPG and APG. Yet, there are many others, so how do coaches measure a player’s efficiency using all these performance indicators?
They use the Player Efficiency Formula as shown below, courtesy of NBA.com:
[(Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - (Field Goals Att. - Field Goals Made) + (Free Throws Att. - Free Throws Made) + Turnovers)]
So the guy who scores the most points is not necessarily the team’s most efficient player. Carmelo Anthony (as the No. 1 option of the Denver Nuggets) has exhibited enormous fluctuations, where some games he is very efficient and others where he’s not.
For the 20 most efficient players in the NBA’s 2010-11 season thus far, the most important quantifiers are versatility and consistency by producing across the board. What's truly amazing is that these numbers are measured in marginal amounts (fractions) and the guy at the top separates himself form second place by more than two points.
Without further ado, here are the 20 most efficient players in the NBA.
<b>No. 20:</b> Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers
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Lamar Odom is a 6'10" PF who has been the glue that has held the injured Lakers together. He is one of two Lakers to make this list and the only player to do so as a third option. If Odom was the second or first option, he would simply rocket up this list.
Now that Andrew Bynum is back, Odem is relegated to a very dangerous sixth-man role that deepens the Lakers bench considerably. If the Lakers are to three-peat, they will have to count on Odom as one of the key pieces in winning the championship.
Odom is 52nd in the NBA in PPG, eighth in RPG and fifth in FG%. Odom has an efficiency rating of 21.69.
<b>No. 19:</b> LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers
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LaMarcus Aldridge is a 6'11" forward-center who is quickly establishing himself as one of the most feared big men in the game. At just 25, Aldridge continues to display a maturity and attitude beyond his years.
With Brandon Roy and Greg Oden gone again for the season, the young Trail Blazers team, led by Aldridge, has shown its gritty perseverance in its drive for respectability.
Aldridge is 19th in PPG, 13th in RPG and 40th in FG%. He has an efficiency rating of 22.16.
<b>No. 18:</b> Carlos Boozer, Chicago Bulls
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Carlos Boozer is a 6'10" PF who is one of the very best players in the league at his position. He has missed 18 games due to injury but he is back with a splash and is the first of three Chicago Bulls entries on this list—the only team to have more than two.
Noah is the Bulls’ guardian of the glass and together with Carlos Boozer forms one of the most efficient big men tandems in the league. Boozer is adept at protecting the paint and makes Chicago that much tougher.
Add Derrick Rose to the mix makes the Bulls a legitimate contender and a first-tier team.
According to NBA.com, Boozer has an efficiency rating of 22.58.
<b>No. 17:</b> Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
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Joakim Noah is a 7'0" center who has proven in his young career that he is one of the very best at his position. In fact, so good is Noah that the Bulls were unwilling to part with him in an early season trade for Carmelo Anthony.
Noah is the Bulls’ guardian of the glass and together with Carlos Boozer forms one of the most efficient big men tandems in the league. Noah started the season on a torrid pace, but has been out several weeks due to injury and will not return to the lineup for several more.
When he does return and together with Carlos Boozer and Derrick Rose, the Bulls will be a legitimate contender and a first-tier team.
According to NBA.com, Noah has an efficiency rating of 22.79.
<b>No. 16:</b> Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
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Steve Nash is a 6'3" PG who, at the ripe old age of 36, is still blazing away with the run-and-gun offense that is more suited for younger bucks, and he continuously proves that he is an elite quarterback in the NBA.
Unfortunately for an always motivated Nash, the Suns, who may be dangerous to any given team on any given night, are not contenders anymore. Furthermore, Nash’s stellar effort night after night goes for naught.
Nash’s name has perpetually been linked in NBA rumors and there are a slew of contenders that he could help right off the bat. These teams include the Lakers, Mavericks, Hawks, Heat and Magic.
Nash is 39th in PPG and second in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 22.85.
<b>No. 15:</b> Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
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Derrick Rose is a 6'3" PG who is having a breakout year for the Chicago Bulls and is a strong contender for the MVP award thus far. There are those who have already given Rose the title as the best PG in the NBA, but whatever the case, he is a legitimate superstar.
The Bulls are having a fine season, thanks mostly to Rose, who has had to run the offense without star pieces including Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, where one or the other of the frontline big men has been missing almost all season.
Certainly when all the pieces are back in the lineup, Rose will have his team humming.
Rose is seventh in PPG and 10th in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 23.33.
<b>No. 14:</b> Russel Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Russell Westbrook is a 6'3" PG out of UCLA picked fourth overall in the 2008 NBA draft. He is one of the game’s elite quarterbacks who can easily call himself a superstar, and his addition to this list is one of two for the Thunder.
The dynamic tandem of Kevin Durant and Westbrook is one of the best in the league and even as the second option to Durant, Russell is starting to win some games as the leading scorer. In fact, Westbrook is averaging 27.5 points and 10.7 assists over his last six games.
With such a young nucleus that includes Jeff Green, Westbrook and Durant will keep the Thunder as legitimate contenders for years to come.
Westbrook is 13th in PPG, 85th in FG% and ninth in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 23.63.
<b>No. 13:</b> Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
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Deron Williams is a 6'3" PG who is one of the game’s best clutch performers at the quarterback position. He is an established superstar who has led the Jazz into contender status after Carlos Boozer bolted for the Chicago Bulls in the offseason.
Williams is 15th in PPG, 63rd in FG% and fourth in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 23.68.
<b>No. 12:</b> Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
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Dirk Nowitzki is a seven-foot forward who is one of the game’s best clutch performers and has helped make the Dallas Mavericks one of the best teams in the West. He is a true leader that imposes matchup problems against most NBA teams.
After a torrid start to the season, the Mavs have found themselves in the middle of a funk that has them dropping in the power rankings, yet this previously No. 1 ranked team is still in the top 10. The ship seemed to hit some major turbulence when Caron Butler went down for the season and at the same time, Nowitzki went out with a knee injury.
Now that Nowitzki is back and Shawn Marion has taken over Butler’s spot at SF, the Mavericks should find themselves surging once more. With two seven footers in the paint in Dirk and Tyson Chandler, the Mavericks have as legitimate a shot for a championship as anyone.
Nowitzki is 11th in PPG and 15th in FG%. He has an efficiency rating of 23.76.
<b>No. 11:</b> Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
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Dwyane Wade is a 6'4" SG who is arguably the best at that position and this list is obvious proof to that conspiracy theory. After a shockingly slow start to the season, the Miami Thrice have found their synergy with each other and with the team. In the past two months, the dynamic duo’s stats have been moving on up like a rocket.
Wade is one of the most athletic and explosive players in the NBA, and he and LeBron James have learned how to share the ball while remaining highly productive. Wade can do it all, including shoot, drive and finish at the rim, rebound and dish out assists.
For the Heat to have a good chance of coming out of the East, Wade will have to be healthy by keeping his nagging hamstrings loose.
Wade fifth in PPG, 37th in FG%, 36th in RPG and 36th in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 23.85.
<b>No. 10:</b> Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
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Chris Paul is a six-foot PG who is arguably the best playmaker in the NBA, in a league that all of a sudden seems full of elite quarterbacks. This established superstar has the uncanny ability of maximizing his teammates' potential and in doing so, pushes the envelope of his own team.
Guided by Paul, the Hornets have been nothing short of dragon slayers this season as they surge past one elite team after the other. The Hornets' biggest strength is their miserly defense, but perhaps their biggest weakness is their inability to open up their offensively conservative game.
The Hornets will undoubtedly go as far as Chris Paul takes them, which at the very minimum will be to the first round in the playoffs.
Paul is 44th in PPG, 42nd in FG% and third in APG. He has an efficiency rating of 23.96.
<b>No. 9:</b> Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
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Al Horford is a 6'10" center who has a great attitude, and his talent and potential are being realized this season on both ends of the court.
When you think of the elite teams of the East, you don’t think about the Atlanta Hawks, but they boast some really nice pieces in Horford, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. Unfortunately in the end, the Hawks will have their work cut out for them as they face the East’s elite in the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.
Possibly the one trade that could propel the Hawks into the top tier teams would be an upgrade at PG in the likes of Steve Nash.
Horford is 45th in PPG, seventh in FG% and seventh in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 24.0.
<b>No. 8:</b> Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies
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Zack Randolph is a 6'9" PF who at the age of 29 is having a breakout year and is coming of his 11th straight double-double.
The Grizzlies are another young and promising team and Randolph should be a big part of their nucleus over the next four years.
Certainly, Randlolph’s name doesn’t come to mind when ranking the best players in the NBA, and he does not even make anybody’s top-20 list, but this year he is the eighth-most efficient player thus far.
Randolph is 22nd in PPG, 36th in FG% and third in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 24.18.
<b>No. 7:</b> Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Kevin Durant is a 6'9" small forward who has taken the league by storm since the beginning of his rookie season. He has already established himself as an NBA superstar by winning his first scoring title last season and appears to be on pace to repeat that accomplishment again this year.
Durant will forever be remembered as the second pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, whom the Portland Trail Blazers should have picked first overall, instead of the perpetually fractured Greg Oden.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook make up the Thunder’s superstar tandem and are the nucleus of a young core, which should prove to be a contender for years to come.
Durant is first in PPG, 56th in FG% and 36th in RPG. Durant has an efficiency rating of 24.56.
<b>No. 6:</b> Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
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Amar'e Stoudemire is a 6'10" power forward who is playing out of position at the center spot in his first year with the Knicks, and he is having a breakout year to boot. The 2010 free agency offseason had Stoudemire playing second fiddle to the Chris Bosh sweepstakes, but as it turns out, Stoudemire is not only out-performing Bosh, but he is a leading MVP candidate.
After years of obscurity, Stoudemire has made the Knicks relevant again and is the leader on a club that is overachieving by every sense of the word. Yet, the Knicks need a true center to place them among the first-tier teams in the East, including Boston, Miami, Chicago and Orlando.
Obtaining a center like Portland Trail Blazers’ Marcus Camby will push Stoudemire back to PF and Wilson Chandler to the bench, a move that will strengthen both the starting rotation and the bench.
Stoudemire is second in PPG, 32nd in FG% and 13th in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 25.74.
<b>No. 5:</b> Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
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Dwight Howard is a 6'11" center who is one of three superstars playing in the state of Florida. Howard and the new-look Magic are thriving since their major blockbuster trade in late December, and they are legitimate contenders in the East, joining first-tier teams including the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.
Howard is an imposing physical presence in the paint and a defensive stalwart. Unfortunately, his offensive game tends to disappear for long stretches at a time, a handicap that must be corrected in order to give his team the best shot at a championship.
What is interesting is that the battle of Florida is about to ensue, as the Magic go head-to-head with the Miami Heat. On paper, Orlando has a far more balanced roster from the starting rotation to the bench.
Howard is 14th in PPG, fifth in FG% and second in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 25.88.
<b>No. 4:</b> Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers
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Pau Gasol is a seven-foot PF who is finally playing his natural position following the return of center Andrew Bynum from injury.
Gasol’s blazing start to the season has been cooled down somewhat, but he still very much remains an MVP candidate. Now that the Lakers have re-integrated Bynum back into the starting rotation and Lamar Odom to the sixth-man role, the Lakers have improved from their month-long funk against mediocre teams.
After starting the season with a very easy schedule, the Lakers are looking at a much bigger challenge down the road versus far more capable teams more frequently. They will need Gasol to get them through in good form, as he was the key to the first two Lakers’ championships and remains the key to the three-peat.
Gasol is 28th in PPG, 19th in FG% and sixth in RPG. According to NBA.com, Gasol has an efficiency rating of 26.16.
<b>No. 3:</b> Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers
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Blake Griffin is a 6'9" power forward who is playing out of his freaking mind as he jumps out of every gym in the NBA. In fact this rookie’s game is so electrifying that he is already forming his own cult following as he establishes himself as the most exciting player in L.A.
Griffin may play for the lowly Clippers, a team that in the offseason couldn’t sign any free agents of significance, but things are changing thanks to Blake. In fact, who could argue that he hasn't already established himself as a superstar? He is after all, on this list at No. 3.
After a dismal start, the Clippers are hot and beating the NBA’s elite one after the other. Their core is young and the future in Clippers Land is full of expectations, starting with Blake Griffin, the face of the franchise.
Griffin is 12th in PPG, 14th in FG% and fourth in RPG. According to NBA.com, Griffin has an efficiency rating of 26.46.
<b>No. 2:</b> LeBron James, Miami Heat
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LeBron James is a 6'8" SF whose decision to flee Cleveland in favor of the bright lights of Miami caused the biggest stir in NBA history. But now, as the fallout of The Decision begins to dissipate, James is making incredible ground, following Miami’s early season troubles.
James and Dwyane Wade are Miami’s two superstars. Both players have learned to share the ball while still remaining highly productive, and James’ numbers keep getting better and better as the season progresses.
Possibly the best all-around player in the NBA, James’ role as the Heat’s facilitator brings the best out of all his teammates, and he is a triple-double threat every single night. If James and Co. can prove that they can beat elite teams as consistently as they have been beating mediocre teams, the Miami Heat may have a championship in store this season.
James is fourth in PPG, 42nd in FG%, 12th in APG and 29th in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 26.69.
<b>No. 1:</b> Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Kevin Love is a 6'10" forward-center who has taken the league by storm this season and may well be the biggest surprise coming out of a ridiculously surprising year in the NBA, thus far. The big headline hit newsstands when Love became the first player since Moses Malone parted the Red Sea as a Philadelphia 76er (30 years ago) to pull down at least 30 rebounds and score at least 30 points in a single game (31 and 31).
Granted, the Timberwolves are a putrid team with some nice talent that could eventually grow into something special. They are struggling to play .300 ball, but in the process, Love is establishing himself as a genuine superstar.
Love is not the most athletic player in the NBA (that honor belongs to the two men that come before him on this list), but he is most definitely one of the smartest. His overall production can be seen across the board on both ends of the court. This young UCLA product picked fifth overall in the 2008 NBA Draft has some serious years ahead of him.
Love is 17th in PPG, 53rd in FG% and first in RPG. He has an efficiency rating of 28.98.
Honorable Mentions
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It’s very surprising that Kobe Bryant did not make this efficiency list.
What’s even more interesting, however, is that no Boston Celtic makes this top-20 list, and ditto for the San Antonio Spurs, two of the league’s absolute dominators. And while this is a surprising stat, considering the Bulls have three entries on this list, the Lakers, Heat and Thunder have two entries each. You would be a fool to count out the Spurs or the Celtics in the Finals. Why? Both these teams have the ability to throw a wrench in their opponents’ offense.
But they seem to crop up in the honorable mentions:
GP | MPG | EFF | |||||||
Bryant , LAL | 45 | 33.3 | 25 | 21.5 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 0.09 | 31.08 |
Rondo , BOS | 32 | 37.2 | 10.5 | 21.4 | 4.5 | 13 | 2.4 | 0.19 | 27.55 |
Anthony , DEN | 36 | 34.9 | 23.8 | 21.4 | 8 | 2.9 | 1 | 0.67 | 29.41 |
Ellis , GSW | 43 | 41.2 | 25.8 | 21.4 | 3.4 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 0.28 | 24.94 |
Garnett , BOS | 34 | 31.4 | 15.2 | 21.2 | 9 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 0.74 | 32.34 |
Millsap , UTA | 43 | 33.9 | 17.1 | 20.7 | 7.9 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 0.84 | 29.32 |
Smith , ATL | 45 | 34.8 | 16 | 20.6 | 8.8 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 28.36 |
West , NOH | 44 | 34.8 | 18.9 | 20.5 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 0.96 | 28.2 |
Bosh , MIA | 42 | 35.6 | 18.6 | 20.5 | 8.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.71 | 27.63 |
Duncan , SAS | 44 | 29.3 | 13.6 | 20.4 | 9.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 2.07 | 33.34 |
