If you, like me, have watched the Knicks this year, I very much question your decision making. It’s been a dismal season for Knicks fans. Ironically, it’s the first in my 20+ years of fandom they’ve actually 100% embraced a rebuild. The past has seen Tim Hardaway Jr or Maurice NDour hit game-winning shots last day of the season. Both resulted in dropping 2 spots in the draft order. Not this year. The Madison Avenue residents have done something incredible — they’re the worst team in the league, giving them the best odds to snag the next young superstar.

How does a team successfully become the worst in the league? Well, you let the young and inexperienced players show you what they’ve got on the court. The Knicks have taken a Price is Right approach to player rotations this season. Has Mario Hezona shot 20 % from 3 the last 4 games? Harry Ellenson, come on down! In tandem to the Knicks embracing player development, I too have done the same with my professional skills. One lonely night after another Knicks 20+ point loss, I downloaded Tableau Public and took a deep dive into data visualization. After some experimentation, this led to some profound insights about one player in particular. Knicks rookie center Mitchell Robinson is in some elite company.

NBA Centers have evolved into 2 archetypes: Stretch 5s and Rim Runners. A reason behind this is the growing trend of ball handler focused offenses. Most teams employ a skilled guard to filter the entire offense through (think Steph Curry or James Harden). The big man position has morphed around these players. The first dramatic change is to move your center to the 3 point line. If he can make a 3 pointer at a decent %, his defender will move with him to prevent the wide open shot. This opens up space in the lane for the primary ball handler to attack the rim. The desire for spacing birthed the Stretch 5, with 7 footers now commonly shooting from behind the arc.

The other option for these guard heavy offenses is to have the center set a screen for the primary ball handler. The setting of the pick forces the defense to make a decision to either switch defenders, or have one fight through the screen. If the center has some athleticism, he can then role to the rim to become a threat for a lob pass and dunk. By being a threat, someone has to defend the center close to prevent an easy bucket, again creating space for the primary ball handler to either pull up for a jump shot or drive to the basket. The centers who can do this and potential block any shot in the paint on the defensive, also known as“protecting the rim” have become quite valuable in the modern NBA as two-way players. The ability to protect the rim defense and dunk on the rim on offense birthed the name “Rim Runner”. Players like this nature, like Rudy Gobert or Clint Capella, are featured on some of the most successful teams in the league.

It was with this in mind I plotted a graph of Blocks Per Game versus True Shooting % to account for the 2 attributes of a Rim Runner. I chose True Shooting Percentage because centers who dunk often make the highest percentage of shots in the league, drawing many fouls in the process, both of which TS% accounts for. (You can read the exact calculation here)

I created the graph below and wouldn’t you know it, Mitchell Robinson is in the company of some the league’s premiere Rim Runners.

True Shooting plus Blocks Per Game Puts Mitch in Elite Company

Taking a more in-depth look, I isolated who I believe to be the leagues best Rim Runners by filtering the above graph to players who average >1.5 blocks per game. Now, with a dramatically reduced data-set, I decided to add Win Shares per 48 minutes to see how said players impact winning games.

Ever the more curious, I created a chart in tandem to the above to display the salary of every one of these types of players as a counterpoint to their on-court production. The result — Mitchell Robinson is the best Priced Rim Runner the NBA has to offer.

According to the chart, Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis are the closest statistical comparisons to, Mitchel Robinson. Gobert was the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year and the anchor of the perennial playoff contender Jazz. Davis is an MVP caliber play who, trade demand fiasco aside, some consider the most talented player in the NBA. Gobert’s $22.7 million and Davis $25.4 million dollar salaries make Robinsons $1.4 million dollar salary look like the change found on the floor public fountain. For a player 1/20th the value, Robinson projects to produce at a level equal to some of the most talented players the NBA has to offer.

The past, present, and future fates of Mitchel Robinson and Anthony Davis are almost preternaturally intertwined. Robinson, a New Orleans native, forwent college last season to privately prepare for the draft with his trainer. The other notable client of said trainer, Anthony Davis, often joined Robison in work-out st. It’s no secret that Anthony Davis wants out of New Orleans, and one of his preferred destinations this summer is Robinson’s very own New York Knicks. Is there a world where the Pelicans trade Davis for a package including the home town Robinson, with a hope that he can replace some of the production lost with the departure of an MVP candidate? The charts above suggest they absolutely should.