Basketball PER Calculator

About the Basketball PER Calculator

Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is basketball's most widely cited per-minute productivity metric. Created by John Hollinger when he was a basketball writer (before joining the Memphis Grizzlies front office), PER distils a player's box-score contributions into a single number calibrated so the league average is always 15.0. It rewards positive box-score stats (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and penalises negative ones (turnovers, missed shots, fouls).

Our Basketball PER Calculator uses a simplified version of Hollinger's formula to estimate PER from standard box-score inputs. Enter a player's per-game or total-season stats and see their estimated PER, plus a breakdown of positive and negative contributions. The calculator classifies results against historical NBA benchmarks so you can see how a PER of 22 compares to past performances.

While PER has well-known limitations — it overvalues volume scoring, undervalues defence, and favours high-usage players — it remains a staple of basketball analysis and a great starting point for deeper statistical exploration.

When This Page Helps

PER provides a quick snapshot of a player's per-minute box-score impact in a single number. It is useful for rough comparisons across different minute loads, for checking how a player's line looks once pace and role are condensed into one estimate, and for putting a result next to the league-average 15 baseline.

How to Use the Inputs

1. Enter minutes played (MP) for the period you're evaluating.
2. Enter field goals made (FGM) and field goal attempts (FGA).
3. Enter free throws made (FTM) and free throw attempts (FTA).
4. Enter three-pointers made (3PM).
5. Enter offensive rebounds (ORB), defensive rebounds (DRB), assists (AST), steals (STL), blocks (BLK).
6. Enter turnovers (TO) and personal fouls (PF).
7. View estimated PER with a full positive/negative contribution breakdown.

Example Calculation

Tips & Best Practices

• League-average PER is always 15.0 by definition — this is how the formula is calibrated.
• PER overvalues volume scoring: a high-usage player with poor efficiency can still post decent PER.
• PER does not capture defensive impact beyond steals and blocks. Elite defenders with low box-score stats get underrated.
• Minutes threshold matters: players with very low minutes often have inflated or volatile PER. A 500+ minute sample is more reliable.
• Compare PER within similar positions: a 20 PER centre may be more valuable than a 20 PER point guard due to positional scarcity.
• Career PER leaders include Michael Jordan (27.9), LeBron James (27.3), and Nikola Jokić.

The History of PER

John Hollinger introduced PER in the early 2000s in his book "Pro Basketball Forecast." The metric quickly gained popularity because it condensed a player's box-score output into a single, intuitive number. ESPN adopted it as a standard stat, and Hollinger eventually joined the Memphis Grizzlies' front office. Despite its limitations, PER remains the most widely recognised basketball efficiency metric.

PER vs Modern Alternatives

The analytics revolution has produced several metrics that improve on PER. Box Plus/Minus (BPM) uses a regression model that better values defence and adjusts for team quality. Win Shares allocates team wins to individuals based on offensive and defensive contributions. RAPTOR and EPM use tracking data and regularised adjusted plus-minus. However, PER's simplicity and decades of data make it a useful historical comparison tool.

Using PER in Fantasy Basketball

PER correlates well with fantasy basketball value in standard scoring systems since both primarily reward box-score statistics. High-PER players typically deliver strong per-game fantasy output. However, PER doesn't account for games played, injury risk, or schedule, which are critical fantasy factors. Use PER alongside per-game projections and availability estimates.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a good PER in the NBA?

  A PER of 15 is exactly league average by design. A PER of 20+ is very good (borderline All-Star), 25+ is All-NBA calibre, and 30+ is an all-time great season. Only a handful of seasons in NBA history have featured PERs above 30 (Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo).

• Who has the highest career PER?

  Michael Jordan holds the all-time career PER record at 27.91. LeBron James is second at approximately 27.3. Nikola Jokić has one of the highest among active players. Among historical players, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal are in the top 10.

• What are PER's main limitations?

  PER is box-score dependent, so it misses defensive positioning, screen-setting, off-ball movement, and hockey assists. It overvalues high-usage players (a player who shoots 50 times and makes 25 gets credit for 25 makes but penalty for 25 misses, which can net positive). It also doesn't account for quality of competition or teammates.

• Is PER pace-adjusted?

  Yes, the full PER formula adjusts for team pace so that players on fast-paced teams aren't automatically rewarded for having more possessions. The pace adjustment factor is applied after the raw per-minute calculation so that the final league average equals exactly 15.0. Our calculator uses a simplified pace proxy.

• What modern metrics are better than PER?

  Many analysts prefer Box Plus/Minus (BPM), Win Shares, RAPTOR, EPM, or LEBRON over PER. These metrics either better incorporate defensive impact, use play-by-play data, or employ regularised adjusted plus-minus. BPM in particular is freely available and captures more defensive value than PER.

• How does this calculator compare to official PER?

  This calculator uses the Hollinger unadjusted PER coefficients with a simplified pace normalisation. Official PER calculations use season-specific league totals for pace adjustment, resulting in slightly different values. For exact PER, consult Basketball-Reference or ESPN.