The Measure of Greatness

Pat Riley’s management style strongly emphasizes “efficiency.” He judges a player’s overall efficiency by averaging his performance ratings in as many as 15 areas, including rebounding and shooting proficiency from various distances. Subtractions are made for fouls and turnovers, so on a bad night a player may end up with a minus efficiency rating. Anything over .500 puts one among the elite players of the league.

In a recent victory over the Clippers, Kareem Abdul Jabbar earned an efficiency rating of .729, almost twice the efficiency of his Clipper counterpart that night. In the same game, Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis and James Worthy also ran up efficiencies far in excess of their respective court opponents, with Magic Johnson producing a phenomenal .964--10 times the rating of his opposing player. Collectively, according to Riley, these numbers tell the difference between a championship team and one that languishes in the cellar.