The NBA playoffs are down to eight teams, and only nine of the top 25 players in the league are still playing according to the anticipated “Total Value” prepared by Breitbart Sports. This rating is a per game variation of John Hollinger’s landmark Value Added ratings (which is “per season,” and not the same thing as our “Value Add” for college players). Whether you use Hollinger’s ratings or this variation, it is clear that LeBron James is by far the best player in basketball, and Kevin Durant is by far the second best player. The Top 25 is below.
Hollinger’s stat is a near perfect measurement of the value added by each player to his team over the course of the season. The adjustment we make it emphasizing the value per minute played. The main difference is that basing the rating on (PER – 10 X Minutes) played in our variation indicates that Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony were actually a little better than Kobe Bryant in the games they played (70 and 67 respectively), though Hollinger correctly calculates that Bryant had more value on the season as a whole because he did it for 78 games before his ACL injury. In separate pieces, Breitbart Sports breaks down the matchups between each team’s top eight players.
| Rk | PLAYER | Still in playoffs? | Per Game Value | Notes on Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LeBron James, MIA | YES | 821 | More than 100 points better than Durant |
| 2 | Kevin Durant, OKC | YES | 706 | More than 100 points better than Paul |
| 3 | Chris Paul, LAC | No | 549 | Best assists except for Rondo, Calderon |
| 4 | Carmelo Anthony, NY | YES | 549 | He should shoot a lot |
| 5 | Kobe Bryant, LAL | No | 506 | Injured before playoffs |
| 6 | James Harden, HOU | No | 498 | If only he were still with OKC |
| 7 | Russell Westbrook, OKC (inj) | Inj | 488 | Gone for playoffs |
| 8 | Dwyane Wade, MIA | YES | 487 | Only healthy 1-2 combo in league |
| 9 | Derrick Rose, CHI (inj) | Inj | 462 | Out-ACL, based on last year’s stats |
| 10 | Brook Lopez, BKN | No | 450 | Dominant, but outdueled by Noah in Gm 7 |
| 11 | Tim Duncan, SA | YES | 435 | Still 6th best defensive rebound |
| 12 | Stephen Curry, GS | YES | 433 | Has been even better in playoffs |
| 13 | Tony Parker, SA | YES | 431 | The 2nd best 1-2 punch left |
| 14 | Anderson Varejao, CLE | No | 422 | 14.4 Rebounds per game until inj after 25 g |
| 15 | Blake Griffin, LAC | No | 404 | Free throws only weakness |
| 16 | Kyrie Irving, CLE | No | 399 | Watch out for “Uncle Drew” |
| 17 | LaMarcus Aldridge, POR | No | 394 | Nice duo with Rookie of Year Damian Lillard |
| 18 | Deron Williams, BKN | No | 378 | Did all he could before Nets fell short |
| 19 | Al Horford, ATL | No | 366 | Great all-around |
| 20 | Al Jefferson, UTAH | No | 364 | Almost willed Jazz into playoffs by himself |
| 21 | John Wall, WSH | No | 357 | Dominant for Washington turnaround |
| 22 | Anthony Davis, NO | No | 340 | No. 1 draft pick will be best in class when healthy |
| 23 | David Lee, GS | YES | 340 | Stephen Curry not alone |
| 24 | Dwight Howard, LAL | No | 339 | Despite the free throws, awesome |
| 25 | David West, IND | YES | 339 | Marshall arts king can dominate |
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