Playoff v Regular Season Performance: All-time G.O.A.T.S. (Hakeem) & goats (the Jazz)

the playoffs are just a week away. and when the playoffs come around, we always here talk about people "raising their games" or about guys who we know will step it up in the big games. or we hear about guys who can't bring it when the pressure goes up. but of course oftentimes perception isn't reality so i wanted to get some actual numbers to see what was real and what was legend. the other impetus for this was that i had always noticed how much hakeem's playoff stats went up compared to his regular season stats, but it wasn't until i started looking at more players that i realized how rare this was so i wanted to see just how all the legends of the game did in these terms.

to this i broke down the playoff versus regular season performance of some of the greats throughout nba history. i picked 75 players - all 50 from the 50 greatest list, dominique wilkins because he should have been on the top 50 list, and then 24 great/prominent recent players who didn't have a chance to make that list. i compared their playoff/regular seasons differentials in PER, TS%, and WS/48. for those who hate advanced stats, just realize that whatever strengths and weaknesses these numbers might have for a particular player, they should probably have those same strengths and weaknesses whether in the playoffs or the regular season. the only thing that should matter in terms of the differential should be how well you play your particular game. so that's why i feel these are good comparison points.

another reason i like this playoff versus regular season comparison is that it actually might be a pretty good "clutch" rating. most clutch ratings focus on last second shots and a) involve such small sample sizes that they are both statistically insignificant and almost overall insignificant (making 5 game winners in a 10 year career hardly means anything against the thousands of other minutes you play) and b) arguably involve moments that only seem more important but aren't (2 points in the 4th quarter is still worth 2 points).

but the playoffs actually are more important. what you do there year after year affects who wins championships. and basketball actually gives us enough meaningful playoff data to measure. in baseball you need huge sample sizes to mean much and making the playoffs is hard enough (especially for anybody playing before the wildcard) that you can have players like Ted Williams who get 25 career playoff at-bats. and in football there are so many players on the field that for anybody who isn't a qb your playoff stats hardly mean anything. but in basketball, most teams make the playoffs and great players tend to play in a lot of playoff games, sometimes 2 or 3 seasons worth. so one good or bad series isn't going to skew your body of worth. and seeing who consistently steps up or doesn't actually might be a pretty good measure of "clutch" and who really does handle pressure and better defense and who doesn't.


as a side note, the regular season numbers in the tables are actually adjusted regular season numbers that i calculated. if you would like to read about how i calculated adjusted regular season PER, TS%, and WS/48 click on the spoiler. if that sounds boring, skip ahead:

Spoiler

i could have probably just done a straight up comparison and regular season and playoff numbers, but of course not all playoff numbers are created equally. some guys play lots of playoff minutes when they're young, some guys like a david robinson or kareem get on very good teams in their later years and thus their playoff numbers tend to have a bigger contribution from their older years when they weren't as good, which makes their playoff numbers look worse. or in a lot of cases, guys are drafted to bad teams and miss the playoffs early on, then get a bunch of playoff minutes in their primes, then start missing the playoffs again as older players. for them, their playoff numbers will benefit because they mostly come from their prime years. so to account for this i decided to created adjusted regular season career numbers that were calculated with playoff minutes from each season as the weights. in other words, if a guy played 10% of his playoff minutes in 1995, then the 1994-95 regular season would be 10% of his career regular season numbers. i used playoff minutes to weight regular season numbers because of the 2 numbers, regular season numbers tend to be smoothed out thanks to the large sample size of playing 82 games, so taking a slice out of those numbers should still fairly reflect the player at that moment. so a sample calculation would work as follows:

Code:

	Reg MP	Reg PER	Play MP	Play PER	Reg PER Adj
94-95	2000	15	100	15	
95-96	2000	20	0	20	
[U]96-97	2000	25	300	25                                   [/U]	
		20		22.5	          22.5

as you can see, the player has the same playoff and regular season PER each season. but because he played 75% of his playoff minutes in the 25 PER season, his playoff numbers look much better. but if you weigh the regular season numbers by the same amount, you get an adjusted PER of:

(100*15 + 300*25)/400 = 22.5. and now the adjusted number accurately reflects that the player performed the same in the regular season and playoffs for his career. the average adjustment for all 75 players didn't end up being that large, but for certain individuals it made a big difference. so the regular season numbers in the tables are actually the adjusted regular season numbers.

so how did everybody do? well, the first thing to notice is that almost everyone's numbers go down. and of course this makes sense. in the regular season, you play everybody, including the wizards and the bobcats. in the playoffs, you play the best teams. if you plays 10 games in 2 rounds against two top 5 defenses, it makes sense that your stats would suffer. especially in stats highly correlated to wins like PER and WS/48 (WS/48 moreso than PER). with playoff teams usually having between 40 and 60 wins, you figure the average playoff team is probably around a 50 win team. and of course in the playoffs the average team plays like a 41 win team so you might expect about a 18% drop (1-41/50) in a player's win-related stats. and it turns out, the average drop in WS/48 was 16% (only 4 players avoided a drop). the drop in PER was much smaller at only about 4%, possible reflecting the fact that shooting more tends to help in PER and stars probably start shooting more in the playoffs. TS% didn't fluctuate nearly as much as the other two numbers (-2.7%) but was still decidedly negative. notice that the change is in percentage terms. so a guy with a PER/TS%/WS48 of 22/52/.22 in the playoffs and 20/50/.20 in the regular season would be +10%/+4%/+10%.

on to the data. i figured i'd put the final, total result first because it was pretty much the whole point of this exercise. the "AVERAGE" number represents the players average rank in the 3 categories. Mikan finished 6th in PER, 1st in TS%, and 5th in WS48 so his average rank is (6+1+5)/3 = 4.0. so this is pretty much the composite (and "clutch" if you want to throw that in there) rankings in terms of stepping up (or not) in the playoffs.

Code:

	Name               	AVERAGE
1	George Mikan       	4.0
2	Hakeem Olajuwon    	4.3
3	Isiah Thomas       	4.7
4	Dolph Schayes      	5.0
5	John Havlicek      	5.3
6	Paul Arizin        	7.3
7	Bill Russell       	7.7
8	Elvin Hayes        	9.3
9	Reggie Miller      	13.0
10	Walt Frazier       	13.7
11	James Worthy       	15.7
12	Tim Duncan         	16.7
13	Ray Allen          	18.0
14	Rick Barry         	18.0
15	Dwyane Wade        	18.0
16	Jerry West         	18.0
17	Michael Jordan     	18.3
18	Dwight Howard      	19.7
19	Bill Sharman       	21.3
20	George Gervin      	24.0
21	Kevin McHale       	24.3
22	Dirk Nowitzki      	24.7
23	Oscar Robertson    	24.7
24	Earl Monroe        	27.7
25	Magic Johnson      	28.0
26	Charles Barkley    	29.3
27	Chauncey Billups   	29.3
28	Tracy McGrady      	29.7
29	Manu Ginobili      	30.3
30	Elgin Baylor       	30.7
31	Chris Paul         	31.0
32	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	32.3
33	Julius Erving      	33.0
34	Nate Thurmond      	33.7
35	Scottie Pippen     	34.0
36	Sam Jones          	34.3
37	Moses Malone       	37.3
38	Pau Gasol          	38.0
39	Carmelo Anthony    	38.7
40	Kobe Bryant        	38.7
41	Jason Kidd         	40.0
42	Lebron James       	40.3
43	Shaquille O'Neal   	40.7
44	Lenny Wilkens      	41.3
45	Bill Walton        	42.7
46	Dave Cowens        	43.7
47	Wes Unseld         	44.7
48	Dave DeBusschere   	45.0
49	Pete Maravich      	50.0
50	Kevin Durant       	51.7
51	Allen Iverson      	51.7
52	Hal Greer          	52.3
53	Willis Reed        	52.3
54	Paul Pierce        	52.7
55	Larry Bird         	53.7
56	Bob Pettit         	54.0
57	Chris Webber       	54.7
58	David Robinson     	55.7
59	Clyde Drexler      	57.3
60	Wilt Chamberlain   	57.7
61	Vince Carter       	58.0
62	Bob Cousy          	58.3
63	Patrick Ewing      	60.7
64	Steve Nash         	60.7
65	Derrick Rose       	60.7
66	Dave Bing          	62.0
67	Billy Cunningham   	64.3
68	John Stockton      	65.0
69	Kevin Garnett      	66.0
70	Robert Parish      	67.7
71	Gary Payton        	67.7
72	Jerry Lucas        	69.0
73	Dominique Wilkins  	70.3
74	Karl Malone        	71.3
75	Tiny Archibald     	74.7

so what stands out?

hey look, there's that Hakeem guy right there in 2nd place. apparently he actually really did step his game up in the playoffs compared to other great players. and look who is down in almost last place at 74th, our good friend karl malone. and his good buddy john stockton is in 68th place. maybe there really was a reason 2 of the best at their positions teamed up for almost 2 decades and didn't win a title.

MJ, who already has the best regular season stats ever, is even above average (17th) in terms of how well he holds up in the playoffs, which tells you how good his playoff performance was. kobe bryant, the best big game player in the game? pretty much average at 40. lebron, the chokingest playoff player ever? pretty much average at 42.

what about wilt and russell? russell comes in 7th, wilt is way down there at 60th. maybe perception was partially reality?

magic above average (25th), larry below average (55th).

isiah thomas was really impressive in 3rd and was way in 1st in WS/48 as the breakdowns below will show. derrick rose is not off to the best playoff start to his career.




and if you want to see all of the data that went into that final ranking, here it is with everything in spoilers so the post doesn't go forever.

here are all of the data points for the 75 players.

Spoiler

Code:

	                            PER				TS%				WS/48			
Name               	Regular	Playoff	Diff	Diff%	Regular	Playoff	Diff	Diff%	Regular	Playoff	Diff	Diff%
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	23.29	23.00	-0.29	-1.24	0.597	0.571	-0.026	-4.28	0.2137	0.1930	-0.0207	-9.69
Ray Allen          	18.11	17.80	-0.31	-1.71	0.596	0.592	-0.004	-0.66	0.1717	0.1620	-0.0097	-5.66
Carmelo Anthony    	20.14	19.60	-0.54	-2.67	0.542	0.521	-0.021	-3.88	0.1226	0.1060	-0.0166	-13.53
Tiny Archibald     	15.40	12.70	-2.70	-17.51	0.561	0.505	-0.056	-9.96	0.1265	0.0710	-0.0555	-43.86
Paul Arizin        	18.31	20.30	1.99	10.84	0.501	0.497	-0.004	-0.75	0.1675	0.1830	0.0155	9.27
Charles Barkley    	24.31	24.20	-0.11	-0.45	0.602	0.584	-0.018	-2.98	0.2169	0.1930	-0.0239	-11.03
Rick Barry         	21.67	21.80	0.13	0.60	0.524	0.518	-0.006	-1.15	0.1678	0.1550	-0.0128	-7.65
Elgin Baylor       	22.91	21.80	-1.11	-4.85	0.499	0.497	-0.002	-0.30	0.1564	0.1340	-0.0224	-14.31
Chauncey Billups   	20.33	19.40	-0.93	-4.58	0.590	0.580	-0.010	-1.73	0.2093	0.1920	-0.0173	-8.26
Dave Bing          	16.90	15.60	-1.30	-7.70	0.498	0.470	-0.028	-5.62	0.0996	0.0670	-0.0326	-32.70
Larry Bird         	24.19	21.40	-2.79	-11.53	0.570	0.551	-0.019	-3.31	0.2130	0.1730	-0.0400	-18.80
Kobe Bryant        	23.36	22.30	-1.06	-4.54	0.554	0.542	-0.012	-2.09	0.1925	0.1580	-0.0345	-17.93
Vince Carter       	21.70	19.70	-2.00	-9.20	0.546	0.514	-0.032	-5.93	0.1701	0.1370	-0.0331	-19.46
Wilt Chamberlain   	24.76	22.80	-1.96	-7.93	0.573	0.524	-0.049	-8.59	0.2412	0.2000	-0.0412	-17.09
Bob Cousy          	19.29	17.40	-1.89	-9.80	0.446	0.426	-0.020	-4.56	0.1423	0.1090	-0.0333	-23.39
Dave Cowens        	17.60	16.60	-1.00	-5.70	0.493	0.480	-0.013	-2.56	0.1503	0.1190	-0.0313	-20.85
Billy Cunningham   	20.93	19.30	-1.63	-7.77	0.521	0.489	-0.032	-6.10	0.1543	0.1010	-0.0533	-34.55
Dave DeBusschere   	15.24	15.00	-0.24	-1.57	0.474	0.454	-0.020	-4.26	0.1000	0.0730	-0.0270	-27.03
Clyde Drexler      	21.55	19.70	-1.85	-8.57	0.553	0.532	-0.021	-3.81	0.1886	0.1340	-0.0546	-28.97
Tim Duncan         	25.15	25.40	0.25	0.99	0.552	0.550	-0.002	-0.30	0.2216	0.1990	-0.0226	-10.22
Kevin Durant       	24.23	22.30	-1.93	-7.97	0.593	0.560	-0.033	-5.62	0.2009	0.1780	-0.0229	-11.39
Julius Erving      	23.56	22.10	-1.46	-6.20	0.560	0.553	-0.007	-1.28	0.1968	0.1760	-0.0208	-10.59
Patrick Ewing      	21.63	19.60	-2.03	-9.37	0.551	0.517	-0.034	-6.10	0.1689	0.1300	-0.0389	-23.05
Walt Frazier       	20.11	19.80	-0.31	-1.56	0.553	0.557	0.004	0.79	0.2044	0.1930	-0.0114	-5.57
Kevin Garnett      	23.93	21.70	-2.23	-9.30	0.559	0.519	-0.040	-7.17	0.2153	0.1510	-0.0643	-29.88
Pau Gasol          	22.37	21.40	-0.97	-4.33	0.595	0.578	-0.017	-2.88	0.2051	0.1760	-0.0291	-14.18
George Gervin      	21.64	21.20	-0.44	-2.04	0.563	0.560	-0.003	-0.54	0.1647	0.1460	-0.0187	-11.38
Manu Ginobili      	21.29	20.60	-0.69	-3.23	0.590	0.585	-0.005	-0.78	0.2144	0.1810	-0.0334	-15.58
Hal Greer          	15.84	14.70	-1.14	-7.20	0.508	0.491	-0.017	-3.37	0.1295	0.0960	-0.0335	-25.87
John Havlicek      	17.19	17.50	0.31	1.78	0.485	0.498	0.013	2.71	0.1313	0.1350	0.0037	2.79
Elvin Hayes        	18.33	19.10	0.77	4.21	0.501	0.501	0.000	-0.03	0.1407	0.1350	-0.0057	-4.06
Dwight Howard      	24.37	23.70	-0.67	-2.75	0.613	0.619	0.006	0.90	0.2195	0.1980	-0.0215	-9.78
Allen Iverson      	22.10	21.20	-0.90	-4.08	0.514	0.489	-0.025	-4.83	0.1516	0.1090	-0.0426	-28.12
Lebron James       	28.12	26.30	-1.82	-6.46	0.578	0.561	-0.017	-2.92	0.2505	0.2220	-0.0285	-11.37
Magic Johnson      	23.88	22.90	-0.98	-4.12	0.610	0.595	-0.015	-2.44	0.2212	0.2080	-0.0132	-5.99
Sam Jones          	18.82	17.50	-1.32	-7.00	0.504	0.501	-0.003	-0.60	0.1811	0.1570	-0.0241	-13.32
Michael Jordan     	28.70	28.60	-0.10	-0.35	0.575	0.568	-0.007	-1.21	0.2736	0.2550	-0.0186	-6.81
Jason Kidd         	18.63	17.60	-1.03	-5.55	0.511	0.502	-0.009	-1.84	0.1455	0.1190	-0.0265	-18.21
Jerry Lucas        	18.66	16.00	-2.66	-14.23	0.541	0.511	-0.030	-5.51	0.1637	0.1000	-0.0637	-38.92
Karl Malone        	24.30	21.10	-3.20	-13.16	0.577	0.526	-0.051	-8.91	0.2142	0.1400	-0.0742	-34.65
Moses Malone       	22.99	21.60	-1.39	-6.06	0.574	0.553	-0.021	-3.59	0.1923	0.1760	-0.0163	-8.49
Pete Maravich      	17.72	17.40	-0.32	-1.81	0.504	0.479	-0.025	-5.03	0.0926	0.0650	-0.0276	-29.79
Tracy McGrady      	23.95	24.70	0.75	3.15	0.524	0.517	-0.007	-1.39	0.1812	0.1390	-0.0422	-23.31
Kevin McHale       	20.63	19.40	-1.23	-5.95	0.613	0.618	0.005	0.80	0.1920	0.1740	-0.0180	-9.36
George Mikan       	27.27	28.50	1.23	4.52	0.467	0.493	0.026	5.50	0.2571	0.2540	-0.0031	-1.22
Reggie Miller      	18.46	19.50	1.04	5.65	0.611	0.601	-0.010	-1.58	0.1828	0.1800	-0.0028	-1.55
Earl Monroe        	16.29	16.40	0.11	0.68	0.510	0.497	-0.013	-2.48	0.1224	0.1080	-0.0144	-11.77
Steve Nash         	21.94	19.90	-2.04	-9.29	0.611	0.584	-0.027	-4.41	0.1942	0.1350	-0.0592	-30.50
Dirk Nowitzki      	25.07	24.70	-0.37	-1.46	0.589	0.584	-0.005	-0.85	0.2336	0.2070	-0.0266	-11.39
Shaquille O'Neal   	27.43	26.10	-1.33	-4.85	0.582	0.565	-0.017	-2.90	0.2189	0.1840	-0.0349	-15.96
Hakeem Olajuwon    	24.46	25.70	1.24	5.05	0.559	0.569	0.010	1.80	0.1851	0.1890	0.0039	2.13
Robert Parish      	19.42	16.60	-2.82	-14.51	0.587	0.547	-0.040	-6.74	0.1678	0.1210	-0.0468	-27.88
Chris Paul         	27.44	27.10	-0.34	-1.23	0.581	0.577	-0.004	-0.77	0.2718	0.2070	-0.0648	-23.85
Gary Payton        	18.13	15.40	-2.73	-15.04	0.531	0.506	-0.025	-4.78	0.1487	0.0970	-0.0517	-34.75
Bob Pettit         	25.50	22.60	-2.90	-11.38	0.512	0.501	-0.011	-2.05	0.2192	0.1590	-0.0602	-27.46
Paul Pierce        	19.93	18.50	-1.43	-7.18	0.586	0.559	-0.027	-4.63	0.1788	0.1430	-0.0358	-20.01
Scottie Pippen     	19.23	18.40	-0.83	-4.33	0.538	0.524	-0.014	-2.58	0.1575	0.1400	-0.0175	-11.12
Willis Reed        	19.07	17.80	-1.27	-6.65	0.532	0.511	-0.021	-3.90	0.1894	0.1440	-0.0454	-23.97
Oscar Robertson    	21.48	21.00	-0.48	-2.25	0.552	0.544	-0.008	-1.37	0.1959	0.1780	-0.0179	-9.13
David Robinson     	25.37	23.00	-2.37	-9.34	0.574	0.547	-0.027	-4.77	0.2444	0.1990	-0.0454	-18.58
Derrick Rose       	20.62	19.50	-1.12	-5.41	0.538	0.504	-0.034	-6.26	0.1538	0.0980	-0.0558	-36.30
Bill Russell       	18.59	19.40	0.81	4.34	0.470	0.474	0.004	0.89	0.1870	0.1780	-0.0090	-4.84
Dolph Schayes      	22.09	23.30	1.21	5.49	0.489	0.503	0.014	2.87	0.1981	0.1890	-0.0091	-4.58
Bill Sharman       	18.22	17.10	-1.12	-6.13	0.498	0.502	0.004	0.77	0.1822	0.1740	-0.0082	-4.49
John Stockton      	21.99	19.80	-2.19	-9.96	0.614	0.568	-0.046	-7.47	0.2121	0.1600	-0.0521	-24.56
Isiah Thomas       	18.35	19.80	1.45	7.93	0.519	0.520	0.001	0.18	0.1212	0.1430	0.0218	17.95
Nate Thurmond      	15.84	15.20	-0.64	-4.03	0.463	0.457	-0.006	-1.38	0.1085	0.0900	-0.0185	-17.05
Wes Unseld         	15.96	15.00	-0.96	-6.01	0.541	0.521	-0.020	-3.64	0.1506	0.1250	-0.0256	-17.01
Dwyane Wade        	25.26	24.60	-0.66	-2.63	0.568	0.570	0.002	0.41	0.2020	0.1870	-0.0150	-7.41
Bill Walton        	20.07	18.60	-1.47	-7.32	0.562	0.547	-0.015	-2.61	0.1783	0.1550	-0.0233	-13.08
Chris Webber       	20.90	18.90	-2.00	-9.57	0.504	0.496	-0.008	-1.67	0.1360	0.0900	-0.0460	-33.80
Jerry West         	22.88	23.10	0.22	0.96	0.549	0.541	-0.008	-1.49	0.2156	0.2030	-0.0126	-5.83
Lenny Wilkens      	14.47	14.30	-0.17	-1.17	0.496	0.478	-0.018	-3.70	0.1157	0.0870	-0.0287	-24.79
Dominique Wilkins  	22.14	18.70	-3.44	-15.54	0.537	0.510	-0.027	-5.04	0.1584	0.0790	-0.0794	-50.14
James Worthy       	18.20	18.30	0.10	0.58	0.577	0.578	0.001	0.18	0.1477	0.1350	-0.0127	-8.57

here are the percentage change numbers for everybody in alphabetical order.

Spoiler

Code:

	                Playoff vs Regular % Diff		
Name               	PER	TS%	WS/48
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	-1.24	-4.28	-9.69
Ray Allen          	-1.71	-0.66	-5.66
Carmelo Anthony    	-2.67	-3.88	-13.53
Tiny Archibald     	-17.51	-9.96	-43.86
Paul Arizin        	10.84	-0.75	9.27
Charles Barkley    	-0.45	-2.98	-11.03
Rick Barry         	0.60	-1.15	-7.65
Elgin Baylor       	-4.85	-0.30	-14.31
Chauncey Billups   	-4.58	-1.73	-8.26
Dave Bing          	-7.70	-5.62	-32.70
Larry Bird         	-11.53	-3.31	-18.80
Kobe Bryant        	-4.54	-2.09	-17.93
Vince Carter       	-9.20	-5.93	-19.46
Wilt Chamberlain   	-7.93	-8.59	-17.09
Bob Cousy          	-9.80	-4.56	-23.39
Dave Cowens        	-5.70	-2.56	-20.85
Billy Cunningham   	-7.77	-6.10	-34.55
Dave DeBusschere   	-1.57	-4.26	-27.03
Clyde Drexler      	-8.57	-3.81	-28.97
Tim Duncan         	0.99	-0.30	-10.22
Kevin Durant       	-7.97	-5.62	-11.39
Julius Erving      	-6.20	-1.28	-10.59
Patrick Ewing      	-9.37	-6.10	-23.05
Walt Frazier       	-1.56	0.79	-5.57
Kevin Garnett      	-9.30	-7.17	-29.88
Pau Gasol          	-4.33	-2.88	-14.18
George Gervin      	-2.04	-0.54	-11.38
Manu Ginobili      	-3.23	-0.78	-15.58
Hal Greer          	-7.20	-3.37	-25.87
John Havlicek      	1.78	2.71	2.79
Elvin Hayes        	4.21	-0.03	-4.06
Dwight Howard      	-2.75	0.90	-9.78
Allen Iverson      	-4.08	-4.83	-28.12
Lebron James       	-6.46	-2.92	-11.37
Magic Johnson      	-4.12	-2.44	-5.99
Sam Jones          	-7.00	-0.60	-13.32
Michael Jordan     	-0.35	-1.21	-6.81
Jason Kidd         	-5.55	-1.84	-18.21
Jerry Lucas        	-14.23	-5.51	-38.92
Karl Malone        	-13.16	-8.91	-34.65
Moses Malone       	-6.06	-3.59	-8.49
Pete Maravich      	-1.81	-5.03	-29.79
Tracy McGrady      	3.15	-1.39	-23.31
Kevin McHale       	-5.95	0.80	-9.36
George Mikan       	4.52	5.50	-1.22
Reggie Miller      	5.65	-1.58	-1.55
Earl Monroe        	0.68	-2.48	-11.77
Steve Nash         	-9.29	-4.41	-30.50
Dirk Nowitzki      	-1.46	-0.85	-11.39
Shaquille O'Neal   	-4.85	-2.90	-15.96
Hakeem Olajuwon    	5.05	1.80	2.13
Robert Parish      	-14.51	-6.74	-27.88
Chris Paul         	-1.23	-0.77	-23.85
Gary Payton        	-15.04	-4.78	-34.75
Bob Pettit         	-11.38	-2.05	-27.46
Paul Pierce        	-7.18	-4.63	-20.01
Scottie Pippen     	-4.33	-2.58	-11.12
Willis Reed        	-6.65	-3.90	-23.97
Oscar Robertson    	-2.25	-1.37	-9.13
David Robinson     	-9.34	-4.77	-18.58
Derrick Rose       	-5.41	-6.26	-36.30
Bill Russell       	4.34	0.89	-4.84
Dolph Schayes      	5.49	2.87	-4.58
Bill Sharman       	-6.13	0.77	-4.49
John Stockton      	-9.96	-7.47	-24.56
Isiah Thomas       	7.93	0.18	17.95
Nate Thurmond      	-4.03	-1.38	-17.05
Wes Unseld         	-6.01	-3.64	-17.01
Dwyane Wade        	-2.63	0.41	-7.41
Bill Walton        	-7.32	-2.61	-13.08
Chris Webber       	-9.57	-1.67	-33.80
Jerry West         	0.96	-1.49	-5.83
Lenny Wilkens      	-1.17	-3.70	-24.79
Dominique Wilkins  	-15.54	-5.04	-50.14
James Worthy       	0.58	0.18	-8.57

Here are the rankings in each category:

PER percentage change

Spoiler

Code:

	Name               	PER
1	Paul Arizin        	10.84
2	Isiah Thomas       	7.93
3	Reggie Miller      	5.65
4	Dolph Schayes      	5.49
5	Hakeem Olajuwon    	5.05
6	George Mikan       	4.52
7	Bill Russell       	4.34
8	Elvin Hayes        	4.21
9	Tracy McGrady      	3.15
10	John Havlicek      	1.78
11	Tim Duncan         	0.99
12	Jerry West         	0.96
13	Earl Monroe        	0.68
14	Rick Barry         	0.60
15	James Worthy       	0.58
16	Michael Jordan     	-0.35
17	Charles Barkley    	-0.45
18	Lenny Wilkens      	-1.17
19	Chris Paul         	-1.23
20	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	-1.24
21	Dirk Nowitzki      	-1.46
22	Walt Frazier       	-1.56
23	Dave DeBusschere   	-1.57
24	Ray Allen          	-1.71
25	Pete Maravich      	-1.81
26	George Gervin      	-2.04
27	Oscar Robertson    	-2.25
28	Dwyane Wade        	-2.63
29	Carmelo Anthony    	-2.67
30	Dwight Howard      	-2.75
31	Manu Ginobili      	-3.23
32	Nate Thurmond      	-4.03
33	Allen Iverson      	-4.08
34	Magic Johnson      	-4.12
35	Scottie Pippen     	-4.33
36	Pau Gasol          	-4.33
37	Kobe Bryant        	-4.54
38	Chauncey Billups   	-4.58
39	Elgin Baylor       	-4.85
40	Shaquille O'Neal   	-4.85
41	Derrick Rose       	-5.41
42	Jason Kidd         	-5.55
43	Dave Cowens        	-5.70
44	Kevin McHale       	-5.95
45	Wes Unseld         	-6.01
46	Moses Malone       	-6.06
47	Bill Sharman       	-6.13
48	Julius Erving      	-6.20
49	Lebron James       	-6.46
50	Willis Reed        	-6.65
51	Sam Jones          	-7.00
52	Paul Pierce        	-7.18
53	Hal Greer          	-7.20
54	Bill Walton        	-7.32
55	Dave Bing          	-7.70
56	Billy Cunningham   	-7.77
57	Wilt Chamberlain   	-7.93
58	Kevin Durant       	-7.97
59	Clyde Drexler      	-8.57
60	Vince Carter       	-9.20
61	Steve Nash         	-9.29
62	Kevin Garnett      	-9.30
63	David Robinson     	-9.34
64	Patrick Ewing      	-9.37
65	Chris Webber       	-9.57
66	Bob Cousy          	-9.80
67	John Stockton      	-9.96
68	Bob Pettit         	-11.38
69	Larry Bird         	-11.53
70	Karl Malone        	-13.16
71	Jerry Lucas        	-14.23
72	Robert Parish      	-14.51
73	Gary Payton        	-15.04
74	Dominique Wilkins  	-15.54
75	Tiny Archibald     	-17.51

tiny archibald actually had one of the most favorable PER adjustments and he still finished easily in last place.


TS% percentage change

Spoiler

Code:

	Name               	TS%
1	George Mikan       	5.50
2	Dolph Schayes      	2.87
3	John Havlicek      	2.71
4	Hakeem Olajuwon    	1.80
5	Dwight Howard      	0.90
6	Bill Russell       	0.89
7	Kevin McHale       	0.80
8	Walt Frazier       	0.79
9	Bill Sharman       	0.77
10	Dwyane Wade        	0.41
11	Isiah Thomas       	0.18
12	James Worthy       	0.18
13	Elvin Hayes        	-0.03
14	Tim Duncan         	-0.30
15	Elgin Baylor       	-0.30
16	George Gervin      	-0.54
17	Sam Jones          	-0.60
18	Ray Allen          	-0.66
19	Paul Arizin        	-0.75
20	Chris Paul         	-0.77
21	Manu Ginobili      	-0.78
22	Dirk Nowitzki      	-0.85
23	Rick Barry         	-1.15
24	Michael Jordan     	-1.21
25	Julius Erving      	-1.28
26	Oscar Robertson    	-1.37
27	Nate Thurmond      	-1.38
28	Tracy McGrady      	-1.39
29	Jerry West         	-1.49
30	Reggie Miller      	-1.58
31	Chris Webber       	-1.67
32	Chauncey Billups   	-1.73
33	Jason Kidd         	-1.84
34	Bob Pettit         	-2.05
35	Kobe Bryant        	-2.09
36	Magic Johnson      	-2.44
37	Earl Monroe        	-2.48
38	Dave Cowens        	-2.56
39	Scottie Pippen     	-2.58
40	Bill Walton        	-2.61
41	Pau Gasol          	-2.88
42	Shaquille O'Neal   	-2.90
43	Lebron James       	-2.92
44	Charles Barkley    	-2.98
45	Larry Bird         	-3.31
46	Hal Greer          	-3.37
47	Moses Malone       	-3.59
48	Wes Unseld         	-3.64
49	Lenny Wilkens      	-3.70
50	Clyde Drexler      	-3.81
51	Carmelo Anthony    	-3.88
52	Willis Reed        	-3.90
53	Dave DeBusschere   	-4.26
54	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	-4.28
55	Steve Nash         	-4.41
56	Bob Cousy          	-4.56
57	Paul Pierce        	-4.63
58	David Robinson     	-4.77
59	Gary Payton        	-4.78
60	Allen Iverson      	-4.83
61	Pete Maravich      	-5.03
62	Dominique Wilkins  	-5.04
63	Jerry Lucas        	-5.51
64	Dave Bing          	-5.62
65	Kevin Durant       	-5.62
66	Vince Carter       	-5.93
67	Patrick Ewing      	-6.10
68	Billy Cunningham   	-6.10
69	Derrick Rose       	-6.26
70	Robert Parish      	-6.74
71	Kevin Garnett      	-7.17
72	John Stockton      	-7.47
73	Wilt Chamberlain   	-8.59
74	Karl Malone        	-8.91
75	Tiny Archibald     	-9.96

WS/48 percentage change (man, maybe 'Nique didn't belong in the top 50).

Spoiler

Code:

	Name               	WS/48
1	Isiah Thomas       	17.95
2	Paul Arizin        	9.27
3	John Havlicek      	2.79
4	Hakeem Olajuwon    	2.13
5	George Mikan       	-1.22
6	Reggie Miller      	-1.55
7	Elvin Hayes        	-4.06
8	Bill Sharman       	-4.49
9	Dolph Schayes      	-4.58
10	Bill Russell       	-4.84
11	Walt Frazier       	-5.57
12	Ray Allen          	-5.66
13	Jerry West         	-5.83
14	Magic Johnson      	-5.99
15	Michael Jordan     	-6.81
16	Dwyane Wade        	-7.41
17	Rick Barry         	-7.65
18	Chauncey Billups   	-8.26
19	Moses Malone       	-8.49
20	James Worthy       	-8.57
21	Oscar Robertson    	-9.13
22	Kevin McHale       	-9.36
23	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	-9.69
24	Dwight Howard      	-9.78
25	Tim Duncan         	-10.22
26	Julius Erving      	-10.59
27	Charles Barkley    	-11.03
28	Scottie Pippen     	-11.12
29	Lebron James       	-11.37
30	George Gervin      	-11.38
31	Dirk Nowitzki      	-11.39
32	Kevin Durant       	-11.39
33	Earl Monroe        	-11.77
34	Bill Walton        	-13.08
35	Sam Jones          	-13.32
36	Carmelo Anthony    	-13.53
37	Pau Gasol          	-14.18
38	Elgin Baylor       	-14.31
39	Manu Ginobili      	-15.58
40	Shaquille O'Neal   	-15.96
41	Wes Unseld         	-17.01
42	Nate Thurmond      	-17.05
43	Wilt Chamberlain   	-17.09
44	Kobe Bryant        	-17.93
45	Jason Kidd         	-18.21
46	David Robinson     	-18.58
47	Larry Bird         	-18.80
48	Vince Carter       	-19.46
49	Paul Pierce        	-20.01
50	Dave Cowens        	-20.85
51	Patrick Ewing      	-23.05
52	Tracy McGrady      	-23.31
53	Bob Cousy          	-23.39
54	Chris Paul         	-23.85
55	Willis Reed        	-23.97
56	John Stockton      	-24.56
57	Lenny Wilkens      	-24.79
58	Hal Greer          	-25.87
59	Dave DeBusschere   	-27.03
60	Bob Pettit         	-27.46
61	Robert Parish      	-27.88
62	Allen Iverson      	-28.12
63	Clyde Drexler      	-28.97
64	Pete Maravich      	-29.79
65	Kevin Garnett      	-29.88
66	Steve Nash         	-30.50
67	Dave Bing          	-32.70
68	Chris Webber       	-33.80
69	Billy Cunningham   	-34.55
70	Karl Malone        	-34.65
71	Gary Payton        	-34.75
72	Derrick Rose       	-36.30
73	Jerry Lucas        	-38.92
74	Tiny Archibald     	-43.86
75	Dominique Wilkins  	-50.14

and this is the alphabetical list showing the rankings in each category for each player along with their average ranking:

Spoiler

Code:

	Name               	PER	TS%	WS/48	AVERAGE
1	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	20	54	23	32.3
2	Ray Allen          	24	18	12	18.0
3	Carmelo Anthony    	29	51	36	38.7
4	Tiny Archibald     	75	75	74	74.7
5	Paul Arizin        	1	19	2	7.3
6	Charles Barkley    	17	44	27	29.3
7	Rick Barry         	14	23	17	18.0
8	Elgin Baylor       	39	15	38	30.7
9	Chauncey Billups   	38	32	18	29.3
10	Dave Bing          	55	64	67	62.0
11	Larry Bird         	69	45	47	53.7
12	Kobe Bryant        	37	35	44	38.7
13	Vince Carter       	60	66	48	58.0
14	Wilt Chamberlain   	57	73	43	57.7
15	Bob Cousy          	66	56	53	58.3
16	Dave Cowens        	43	38	50	43.7
17	Billy Cunningham   	56	68	69	64.3
18	Dave DeBusschere   	23	53	59	45.0
19	Clyde Drexler      	59	50	63	57.3
20	Tim Duncan         	11	14	25	16.7
21	Kevin Durant       	58	65	32	51.7
22	Julius Erving      	48	25	26	33.0
23	Patrick Ewing      	64	67	51	60.7
24	Walt Frazier       	22	8	11	13.7
25	Kevin Garnett      	62	71	65	66.0
26	Pau Gasol          	36	41	37	38.0
27	George Gervin      	26	16	30	24.0
28	Manu Ginobili      	31	21	39	30.3
29	Hal Greer          	53	46	58	52.3
30	John Havlicek      	10	3	3	5.3
31	Elvin Hayes        	8	13	7	9.3
32	Dwight Howard      	30	5	24	19.7
33	Allen Iverson      	33	60	62	51.7
34	Lebron James       	49	43	29	40.3
35	Magic Johnson      	34	36	14	28.0
36	Sam Jones          	51	17	35	34.3
37	Michael Jordan     	16	24	15	18.3
38	Jason Kidd         	42	33	45	40.0
39	Jerry Lucas        	71	63	73	69.0
40	Karl Malone        	70	74	70	71.3
41	Moses Malone       	46	47	19	37.3
42	Pete Maravich      	25	61	64	50.0
43	Tracy McGrady      	9	28	52	29.7
44	Kevin McHale       	44	7	22	24.3
45	George Mikan       	6	1	5	4.0
46	Reggie Miller      	3	30	6	13.0
47	Earl Monroe        	13	37	33	27.7
48	Steve Nash         	61	55	66	60.7
49	Dirk Nowitzki      	21	22	31	24.7
50	Shaquille O'Neal   	40	42	40	40.7
51	Hakeem Olajuwon    	5	4	4	4.3
52	Robert Parish      	72	70	61	67.7
53	Chris Paul         	19	20	54	31.0
54	Gary Payton        	73	59	71	67.7
55	Bob Pettit         	68	34	60	54.0
56	Paul Pierce        	52	57	49	52.7
57	Scottie Pippen     	35	39	28	34.0
58	Willis Reed        	50	52	55	52.3
59	Oscar Robertson    	27	26	21	24.7
60	David Robinson     	63	58	46	55.7
61	Derrick Rose       	41	69	72	60.7
62	Bill Russell       	7	6	10	7.7
63	Dolph Schayes      	4	2	9	5.0
64	Bill Sharman       	47	9	8	21.3
65	John Stockton      	67	72	56	65.0
66	Isiah Thomas       	2	11	1	4.7
67	Nate Thurmond      	32	27	42	33.7
68	Wes Unseld         	45	48	41	44.7
69	Dwyane Wade        	28	10	16	18.0
70	Bill Walton        	54	40	34	42.7
71	Chris Webber       	65	31	68	54.7
72	Jerry West         	12	29	13	18.0
73	Lenny Wilkens      	18	49	57	41.3
74	Dominique Wilkins  	74	62	75	70.3
75	James Worthy       	15	12	20	15.7

so that's pretty much it. any comments on the methodology? any results stand out?

 

shameless self-bump. no one on a rockets board thinks it's a little interesting that hakeem is one of the best playoff performers ever? or that karl malone and john stockton are some of the worst? or that bob pettit finished 56th?