Heroes of the Hardcourt

About the Book

Finally there is a scientific way to answer these and other questions. The author, a former economics professor, business consultant and sports enthusiast, has accurately accomplished that feat using a methodology – known as the Performance Efficiency Rating (PER) system – which he developed in 1996. This methodology has accurately determined the regular season MVP in three of the last four NBA seasons, and which team is most likely to win the NBA championship (predicted the eventual champion in seven of the last ten years). In addition, between November 1, 1946, when the first NBA game was played, and game seven of the 2005 NBA Finals in which the San Antonio Spurs out-muscled the Detroit Pistons for the championship, precisely 3,572 players have suited up for a basketball game in the long and storied histories of the NBA and American Basketball Association (ABA). All of these players were evaluated using this PER methodology. In the end however, only the stories of the top 100 are presented here. The top 100 will surprise many, and will cause you to rethink your own top 50 greatest players (or at least the NBA’s top 50 from 1996). As to the overall greatest player in pro basketball history why don’t we let you read it to find out.

About the Author

Keith Thompson is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, and also lectured economics to college students in New York. He is currently President of PER Sports, Inc., a sports analytics consulting firm that advises on player draft and free agency acquisition strategies. He lives with his family in New Jersey.