The model average player has been quite consistent over the last four seasons. It is interesting, however, that he is scoring in double digits for the first time, which is another piece of evidence that non-elite, role players are becoming increasingly essential to team success. The 10/4/2 guy is not necessarily a starter on your run-of-the-mill team, but he is an important contributor, either as the worst starter or an invaluable sixth man. In a typical 10 or 11 man rotation that makes him exactly what we’re looking for –
the average player.
The prototype of the 2017-18 Most Average NBA Player has thus been created, so it’s time to find out whether there is an actual player who perfectly fits that mold. The best available tool to do that is the
Player Season Finder, which enables the user to set desired ranges when searching for a specific individual season.
The model average player has been quite consistent over the last four seasons. It is interesting, however, that he is scoring in double digits for the first time, which is another piece of evidence that non-elite, role players are becoming increasingly essential to team success. The 10/4/2 guy is not necessarily a starter on your run-of-the-mill team, but he is an important contributor, either as the worst starter or an invaluable sixth man. In a typical 10 or 11 man rotation that makes him exactly what we’re looking for –
the average player.
The prototype of the 2017-18 Most Average NBA Player has thus been created, so it’s time to find out whether there is an actual player who perfectly fits that mold. The best available tool to do that is the
Player Season Finder, which enables the user to set desired ranges when searching for a specific individual season.
This season, a full roster of 12 players fits the bill pretty nicely when considering just the basic stats. This whole group deviates just a single point from the average prototype in terms of points, rebounds and assists, and at first glance, it indeed is a pretty average bunch of players.
Pts Reb Ast GM GS Mpg Stl Blk FG% 3P% TS%
Terry Rozier BOS 10.5 4.4 2.5 66 3 24.3 1.0 0.2 .404 .384 .529
Yogi Ferrell DAL 10.2 3.3 2.2 65 19 29.0 0.8 0.1 .436 .396 .560
Frank Kaminsky CHO 10.8 3.7 1.6 63 4 23.2 0.5 0.3 .413 .364 .526
Terrence Ross ORL 9.0 3.2 1.6 22 20 26.2 1.2 0.4 .407 .329 .515
Joe Harris BRK 10.5 3.4 1.5 64 9 25.1 0.5 0.2 .477 .405 .614
Dillon Brooks MEM 9.6 3.1 1.4 65 57 28.6 0.8 0.2 .443 .367 .530
Jeff Green CLE 10.5 3.3 1.3 62 0 22.1 0.5 0.3 .480 .297 .585
Jae Crowder TOT 9.4 3.3 1.2 64 47 26.0 0.7 0.3 .411 .332 .536
Mario Hezonja ORL 9.1 3.4 1.2 59 17 20.3 1.0 0.4 .457 .340 .556
Wayne Ellington MIA 11.0 3.0 1.1 61 2 26.3 0.6 0.1 .404 .389 .585
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist CHO 9.5 4.2 1.1 58 58 25.3 0.7 0.4 .511 .000 .541
Marvin Williams CHO 9.2 4.7 1.1 62 62 25.8 0.7 0.4 .458 .419 .600
Provided by
Basketball-Reference.com:
View Original Table
In order to further narrow down the selection pool, only players who were markedly close to the required numbers (just a 0.5 point difference in each category) were considered. That cut down the number of viable players to just the two top candidates – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Joe Harris.
Judging by the basic stats, awarding any of those two guys the prestigious Most Average Player title would be a legitimate decision. At this point, advanced stats and, more importantly, the eye-test, have to be utilized to make the ultimate distinction.
While their PER’s are virtually identical (13.2 for Kidd-Gilchrist and 12.9 for Harris), and notably close to the league average of 15, the box plus/minus gives a clear advantage to Harris who just a
tad worse than the estimated average player.
Furthermore, just like Brandon Bass who initially spurred this discussion, Kidd-Gilchrist has a unique flavor to his game – his unconventional shooting form. While he isn’t a household name by any means, the majority of casual NBA fans have likely stumbled upon a depiction of one of the
quirkiest shooting motions in NBA history, courtesy of MKG.
On the other hand, Joe Harris does not particularly stand out in any aspect of his game or career. The average NBA fan is likely not even 100 percent sure
what he looks like, and any talk revolving around him starts and ends with the fact that he is a shooter on an irrelevant team. To add to that, Harris even has a good case of surpassing Wesley Johnson for the most commonplace name among all the Most Average Player candidates.
The factor that tips the scale even further and makes Harris the absolute winner in this pivotal duel is him being the perfect biological specimen of an average NBA player. Harris is 6′ 6”, weights 219 pounds and is precisely 26.5 years old. That gives him almost a perfect score in all of the tests that a true MAP has to pass – the bio test, the basic and advanced stats test and the eye test.
When you think about it, Harris is actually an excellent representation of what the modern NBA is about – being at least decent in all aspects of the game, with a tendency towards perimeter shooting. While he definitely won’t be making headlines over the course of his career, he would, under the right set of circumstances, be an appreciated addition to any team.
Balanced players who are fully aware of their role within the team make up the foundation of this league, and Joe Harris or, rather, The Average Joe, has been exactly that over the course of this season.
In order to further narrow down the selection pool, only players who were markedly close to the required numbers (just a 0.5 point difference in each category) were considered. That cut down the number of viable players to just the two top candidates – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Joe Harris.
Judging by the basic stats, awarding any of those two guys the prestigious Most Average Player title would be a legitimate decision. At this point, advanced stats and, more importantly, the eye-test, have to be utilized to make the ultimate distinction.
While their PER’s are virtually identical (13.2 for Kidd-Gilchrist and 12.9 for Harris), and notably close to the league average of 15, the box plus/minus gives a clear advantage to Harris who just a
tad worse than the estimated average player.
Furthermore, just like Brandon Bass who initially spurred this discussion, Kidd-Gilchrist has a unique flavor to his game – his unconventional shooting form. While he isn’t a household name by any means, the majority of casual NBA fans have likely stumbled upon a depiction of one of the
quirkiest shooting motions in NBA history, courtesy of MKG.
On the other hand, Joe Harris does not particularly stand out in any aspect of his game or career. The average NBA fan is likely not even 100 percent sure
what he looks like, and any talk revolving around him starts and ends with the fact that he is a shooter on an irrelevant team. To add to that, Harris even has a good case of surpassing Wesley Johnson for the most commonplace name among all the Most Average Player candidates.
The factor that tips the scale even further and makes Harris the absolute winner in this pivotal duel is him being the perfect biological specimen of an average NBA player. Harris is 6′ 6”, weights 219 pounds and is precisely 26.5 years old. That gives him almost a perfect score in all of the tests that a true MAP has to pass – the bio test, the basic and advanced stats test and the eye test.
When you think about it, Harris is actually an excellent representation of what the modern NBA is about – being at least decent in all aspects of the game, with a tendency towards perimeter shooting. While he definitely won’t be making headlines over the course of his career, he would, under the right set of circumstances, be an appreciated addition to any team.
Balanced players who are fully aware of their role within the team make up the foundation of this league, and Joe Harris or, rather, The Average Joe, has been exactly that over the course of this season.
