Stats explained · PER
Player Efficiency Rating (PER)
PER adds up a player's positive box score numbers, subtracts the negative ones and turns the result into a per-minute rating, so players with different minutes can be compared.
The formula
The full formula is long: it starts from a value per minute, adjusts it for the team's pace and then scales everything so that the league average is 15.00.1
What it tells you
A quick summary of a player's box score production per minute, compared with the league average of 15.
What it does not
Defence, by Hollinger's own account: blocks and steals give a distorted picture of it. For seasons before 1977–78 PER cannot be worked out the usual way, because turnovers were not yet recorded.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Player efficiency rating (version of 8 September 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0 checked 21 October 2026
Checked on 20 October 2026, unless a source has its own date. Wikipedia content is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; we take single numbers and facts from the versions linked above and say where a number is our own calculation. Spotted a mistake or a record that fell? Write to hello@boxscorestories.com.
Independent channel · not affiliated with the NBA or any team · no betting tips · YouTube @boxscorestories