The player efficiency rating (PER) is John Hollinger's all-in-one basketball rating, which attempts to collect or boil down all of a player's contributions into one number. Using a detailed formula, Hollinger developed a system that rates every player's statistical performance.
Overview
PER strives to measure a player's per-minute performance, while adjusting for pace. A league-average PER is always 15.00, which permits comparisons of player performance across seasons. PER takes into account positive results, including field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals and negative results, including missed shots, turnovers and personal fouls. The formula adds positive stats and subtracts negative ones through a statistical point value system. The rating for each player is then adjusted to a per-minute basis so that, for example, substitutes can be compared with starters in playing time debates. It is also adjusted for the team's pace. In the end, one number sums up the players' statistical accomplishments for that season.
Relationship to baseball sabermetrics Hollinger's work has benefited from the observations of sabermetric baseball analysts, such as Bill James. The initial observations is that traditional counting statistics in baseball, like runs batted in and wins, are not reliable indicators of a player's value. For example, runs batted in is highly dependent upon opportunities created by a player's teammates. PER extends this critique of counting statistics to basketball, noting that a player's opportunities to accumulate statistics are dependent upon the number of minutes played as well as the pace of the game.
Problems PER largely measures offensive performance. Hollinger freely admits that two of the defensive statistics it incorporates—blocks and steals (which was not tracked as an official stat until 1973)—can produce a distorted picture of a player's value and that PER is not a reliable measure of a player's defensive acumen. For example, Bruce Bowen, widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the NBA through the 2006–07 season, routinely posted single-digit PERs.
Bear in mind that this rating is not the final, once-and-for-all answer for a player's accomplishments during the season. This is especially true for players such as Bruce Bowen and Trenton Hassell who are defensive specialists but don't get many blocks or steals.
Some have argued that PER gives undue weight to a player's contribution in limited minutes, or against a team's second unit, and it undervalues players who have enough diversity in their game to play starter's minutes. PER has been said to reward inefficient shooting. To quote Dave Berri, the author of The Wages of Wins:
Hollinger argues that each two point field goal made is worth about 1.65 points. A three point field goal made is worth 2.65 points. A missed field goal, though, costs a team 0.72 points. Given these values, with a bit of math we can show that a player will break even on his two point field goal attempts if he hits on 30.4% of these shots. On three pointers the break-even point is 21.4%. If a player exceeds these thresholds, and virtually every NBA player does so with respect to two-point shots, the more he shoots the higher his value in PERs. So a player can be an inefficient scorer and simply inflate his value by taking a large number of shots.
Hollinger responded via a post on ESPN's TrueHoop blog:
Berri leads off with a huge misunderstanding of PER—that the credits and debits it gives for making and missing shots equate to a “break-even” shooting mark of 30.4% on 2-point shots. He made this assumption because he forgot that PER is calibrated against the rest of the league at the end of the formula.
Actually, if we took a player that was completely average in every other respect for the 2006–07 season—rebounds, free throws, assists, turnovers, etc.—and gave him a league-average rate of shots, and all of them were 2-pointers, and he shot 30.4%, he'd end up with a PER of 7.18. As long-time PER fans know, that would make him considerably worse than nearly every player in the league.
To end up with a league-average PER of 15.00, the actual break-even mark in this case is 48.5%, which is exactly what the league average is on 2-point shots this season.
Reference guide Hollinger established PER such that the league average is 15.00 each season, creating a standardized reference point for comparison: All-time great season35.0+Runaway MVP candidate30.0–35.0Strong MVP candidate27.5–30.0Weak MVP candidate25.0–27.5Definite All-Star 22.5–25.0Borderline All-Star20.0–22.5Second offensive option18.0–20.0Third offensive option16.5–18.0Slightly above-average player15.0–16.5Rotation player13.0–15.0Non-rotation player11.0–13.0Fringe roster player9.0–11.0Player who won't stick in the league0–9.0 A player posted a season efficiency rating over 30.0 just 37 times, with the highest score being 32.85 (Nikola Jokić). Nikola Jokić leads with five 30+ seasons, with Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo having four each, Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain and Joel Embiid having three each, Anthony Davis having two, and David Robinson, Tracy McGrady, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each with one.
Career NBA PER leaders Regular season Statistics accurate as of the 2025–26 NBA season. ^Active NBA player*Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame RankPlayerPosTeam(s) played for (years)PER1^C Denver Nuggets (–present) 28.852^CPhiladelphia 76ers (–present)27.983*SGChicago Bulls (–, –)Washington Wizards (–) 27.914^SFCleveland Cavaliers (–, –)Miami Heat (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–present)26.695^PF/CNew Orleans Hornets/Pelicans (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)Dallas Mavericks (–)26.686*COrlando Magic (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)Miami Heat (–)Phoenix Suns (–)Cleveland Cavaliers ()Boston Celtics ()26.437*CSan Antonio Spurs (–)26.188*CPhiladelphia/San Francisco Warriors (–)Philadelphia 76ers (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)26.169^PFMilwaukee Bucks (–present)26.0710^PGDallas Mavericks (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–present)25.8511*PF/CMilwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (–)25.4512*CPhiladelphia Warriors (–)24.8613*PFPhiladelphia 76ers (–)Phoenix Suns (–)Houston Rockets (–)24.6314*CMilwaukee Bucks (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)24.5815^SF/PFSeattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (–)Golden State Warriors (–)Brooklyn Nets (–)Phoenix Suns (–)Houston Rockets (–present)24.5516^PG/SGLos Angeles Clippers ()Oklahoma City Thunder (–present)24.3917*PF/CSan Antonio Spurs (–)24.2218*PGLos Angeles Lakers (–, )24.1119*PFUtah Jazz (–)Los Angeles Lakers ()23.9020^SFSan Antonio Spurs (–)Toronto Raptors ()Los Angeles Clippers (–present)23.6321^CMinnesota Timberwolves (–)New York Knicks (–present)23.6222*CHouston Rockets (–)Toronto Raptors ()23.5923^SG/PGOklahoma City Thunder (–)Houston Rockets (–)Brooklyn Nets (–)Philadelphia 76ers (–)Los Angeles Clippers (–)Cleveland Cavaliers (–present)23.5124*SF/PFBoston Celtics (–)23.5025*SGMiami Heat (–, –)Chicago Bulls () Cleveland Cavaliers ()23.48
Playoff Statistics accurate as of the 2026 NBA playoffs. ^Active NBA player*Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame RankPlayerPosPlayoff team(s) played for (years)PER1*SGChicago Bulls (–, –)28.602*CMinneapolis Lakers (1949–, )28.513^CDenver Nuggets (–)28.124^SFCleveland Cavaliers (–, –)Miami Heat (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–, –)27.585^PF/CNew Orleans Pelicans (, )Los Angeles Lakers (–, –)26.596*COrlando Magic (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)Miami Heat (–)Phoenix Suns ()Cleveland Cavaliers ()Boston Celtics ()26.137^PFMilwaukee Bucks (, –)26.088*CHouston Rockets (–, –)Toronto Raptors ()25.699^PGDallas Mavericks (–, )Los Angeles Lakers ()25.0410*PF/CSan Antonio Spurs (–, –)24.2811^SFSan Antonio Spurs (–)Toronto Raptors ()Los Angeles Clippers (–, –)24.1812*PFPhiladelphia 76ers (–, –)Phoenix Suns (–)Houston Rockets (–)24.1813^SF/PFOklahoma City Thunder (–, )Golden State Warriors (–)Brooklyn Nets (–)Phoenix Suns (–)Houston Rockets ()23.9514*PFDallas Mavericks (–, –)23.8215*SG/SFToronto Raptors ()Orlando Magic (–)Houston Rockets (, –)Atlanta Hawks ()San Antonio Spurs ()23.4016*PF/CSyracuse Nationals (–)23.2917PGNew Orleans Hornets (–, )Los Angeles Clippers (–)Houston Rockets (–)Oklahoma City Thunder ()Phoenix Suns (–)23.1818*PG/SGLos Angeles Lakers (–, –)23.0619^PG/SGLos Angeles Clippers ()Oklahoma City Thunder (, –)23.0520*CSan Antonio Spurs (–, –)23.0221*CMilwaukee Bucks (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)23.0122*PGLos Angeles Lakers (–, )22.9523^PGGolden State Warriors (–, –, )22.8324*CPhiladelphia/San Francisco Warriors (–, )Philadelphia 76ers (–)Los Angeles Lakers (–)22.7525*PF/CSt. Louis Hawks (–, –)22.59
Finals Statistics accurate as of the 2026 NBA Finals (minimum 10 games played). ^Active NBA player*Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame RankPlayerPosFinals team(s) played for (years)PER1^SF/PFOklahoma City Thunder ()Golden State Warriors (–)30.82*COrlando Magic ()Los Angeles Lakers (–, )Miami Heat ()29.13*SGChicago Bulls (–, –)29.14^SFCleveland Cavaliers (, –)Miami Heat (–)Los Angeles Lakers ()28.15*PGLos Angeles Lakers (, –, –, )27.36*PGDetroit Pistons (–)26.47^SFMiami Heat (, )25.88*PF/CSan Antonio Spurs (, , , , –)25.39^SFSan Antonio Spurs (–)Toronto Raptors ()25.210*SGMiami Heat (, –)24.9
Analysis Career PER – Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James Prior to the 2013–14 season, LeBron James was on the verge of surpassing Michael Jordan's career PER to take the number one spot.ESPN.com - "2012-13 Hollinger NBA Player Statistics - All Players " - Retrieved October 6, 2013.Basketball Reference, "LeBron James ". Retrieved October 6, 2013. As the metric is averaged over the length of a player's entire career a decrease in efficiency later in his career means a player can move down in the ranking; Jordan's PER took a big hit in the final two years of his career when he returned to the game with the Washington Wizards, posting 20.7 in his penultimate season and 19.3 in his final season, compared to his career high of 31.7 (Jordan's PER was 29.1 without accounting for his Wizards years).Basketball Reference, "Michael Jordan " - Retrieved October 6, 2013.
The debate was intensified on October 1, 2013, with Jordan stating that he would have liked to have played against LeBron, and believes he would have won a one-on-one encounter.NBA.com - "Jordan proclaims he could beat LeBron in prime ". Retrieved October 6, 2013. Several news features focus on comparing the two players by using the PER metric.Busfield, Steve. The Guardian, Michael Jordan vs LeBron James: who is better?" Retrieved October 6, 2013.Helin, Kurt. NBCsports.com "LeBron says he wants to be greatest of all time, still "far away from it ". Retrieved October 6, 2013.Lariviere, David. Forbes, "LeBron James Will Eventually Top Michael Jordan As Basketball's Greatest Player". Retrieved October 6, 2013. At the conclusion of the 2012–13 NBA season Miami Heat head coach, Erik Spoelstra, stated that comparing players from different generations is the equivalent to comparing apples and oranges, explaining: "You'll never be able to tell [how James stacks up to Jordan or Magic Johnson] because they didn't play against each other. The game is different now than when it was played in the 1980s or even before that."Golliver, Ben. Sports Illustrated, "Spoelstra: Comparing LeBron to Jordan is impossible because 'game is different now' " - Retrieved October 6, 2013.
Players from different NBA generations and career PER