Player Production Average (PPA) is an overall rating metric developed by me that credits players for things they do that help a team win and debits them for things that hurt the cause. PPA is similar to other linear weight rating metrics such as John Hollinger’s PER, David Berri’s Wins Produced, Kevin Pelton’s VORP, and the granddaddy of them all, Dave Heeren’s TENDEX.

PPA weighs a player’s performance per possession against that of his competitors season by season. While PPA falls into the category of a linear weight metric, the actual values for statistical categories float a bit season to season based on league performance.

PPA is pace neutral, accounts for defense, and includes a “degree of difficulty” factor based on the level of competition a player faces while on the floor. For 2019-20, I’ve introduced a position/role adjustment designed to reflect how roles and on-court positioning affects individual abilities to produce certain stats. I expect this adjustment to evolve as I continue to research it and analyze results.

Inputs include:

points

rebounds (offensive and defensive weighed differently)

assists

steals

blocks

shot attempts

turnovers

personal fouls

starts

minutes

on-court team defensive rating

All stats are per 100 possessions.

What PPA scores mean (in most seasons — understanding that the levels can fluctuate from season to season and by position):

225+ — league Most Valuable Player candidate

175+ — typically All-NBA level

150+ — usually the minimum score for All-Star level

100 — average

75 — decent reserve

45 and below — replacement level

I have not yet published full details on how PPA works. That’s being planned, and I’ll provide additional information as those plans solidify.

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Below are scores for the 2019-20 regular season through games played March 7, 2020.

Position, age information, and raw stats come from Basketball-Reference