Biggest Differences Between a Player’s Best & Second-Best Seasons
Posted by Neil Paine on October 5, 2010
This is a quick hit-n-run/data dump post, but I was listening to Mike Pesca's trivia question on the Hang Up & Listen podcast, and I was curious about the NBA equivalent...
The question was: "Among NFL receivers with more than 12 TDs in a season, who has the biggest difference between their best seasonal TD total and their 2nd-best seasonal TD total?" The NFL answers are, according to the Hang Up Facebook page, Elroy Hirsch, Braylon Edwards (for now), and Patrick Jeffers.
My NBA equivalent would be: "Among NBA players with 10 Win Shares in a season, who has the biggest difference between their best season and their 2nd-best season?" The answer, after the jump...
| Player | #1Season | MP | WS | #2Season | MP | WS | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant | 2010 | 3239 | 16.1 | 2009 | 2885 | 7.9 | 8.2 |
| Dana Barros | 1995 | 3318 | 12.7 | 1998 | 1686 | 5.6 | 7.0 |
| Luol Deng | 2007 | 3071 | 11.3 | 2006 | 2604 | 6.5 | 4.8 |
| Kenny Anderson | 1997 | 3081 | 12.4 | 1996 | 2344 | 7.7 | 4.6 |
| Brent Barry | 2002 | 3041 | 12.1 | 2000 | 2726 | 7.5 | 4.6 |
| Brandon Roy | 2009 | 2903 | 13.5 | 2010 | 2419 | 9.1 | 4.4 |
| James Donaldson | 1987 | 3028 | 10.4 | 1988 | 2523 | 6.2 | 4.2 |
| Gail Goodrich | 1972 | 3040 | 12.3 | 1973 | 2697 | 8.1 | 4.1 |
| Al Horford | 2010 | 2845 | 10.9 | 2009 | 2242 | 6.8 | 4.1 |
| Mike Riordan | 1973 | 3466 | 11.1 | 1974 | 3230 | 7.0 | 4.1 |
| Christian Laettner | 1997 | 3140 | 11.6 | 1998 | 2282 | 7.5 | 4.0 |
| Tracy McGrady | 2003 | 2954 | 16.1 | 2001 | 3087 | 12.2 | 4.0 |
| Horace Grant | 1992 | 2859 | 14.1 | 1991 | 2641 | 10.3 | 3.8 |
| Kevin McHale | 1987 | 3060 | 14.8 | 1990 | 2722 | 11.1 | 3.7 |
| James Posey | 2004 | 2451 | 10.0 | 2008 | 1821 | 6.2 | 3.7 |
| Richie Guerin | 1962 | 3346 | 12.1 | 1959 | 2558 | 8.4 | 3.7 |
| Anfernee Hardaway | 1996 | 3015 | 14.4 | 1995 | 2901 | 10.7 | 3.7 |
| Chet Walker | 1972 | 2588 | 14.5 | 1973 | 2455 | 10.9 | 3.6 |
| Tom Owens | 1979 | 2791 | 10.4 | 1980 | 2337 | 6.9 | 3.5 |
| Wesley Person | 1998 | 3198 | 10.3 | 2002 | 2793 | 6.9 | 3.4 |
| Kenny Sears | 1959 | 2498 | 13.3 | 1958 | 2685 | 10.0 | 3.3 |
| Peja Stojakovic | 2004 | 3264 | 13.5 | 2003 | 2450 | 10.1 | 3.3 |
| Dennis Rodman | 1992 | 3301 | 12.6 | 1990 | 2377 | 9.3 | 3.2 |
| Oscar Robertson | 1964 | 3559 | 20.6 | 1967 | 3468 | 17.4 | 3.2 |
| Stu Lantz | 1971 | 3102 | 10.5 | 1972 | 3097 | 7.4 | 3.1 |
| Dave Bing | 1971 | 3065 | 11.7 | 1973 | 3361 | 8.6 | 3.1 |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1972 | 3583 | 25.4 | 1971 | 3288 | 22.3 | 3.1 |
| Paul Arizin | 1952 | 2939 | 16.0 | 1959 | 2799 | 13.0 | 3.0 |
| Alonzo Mourning | 2000 | 2748 | 12.9 | 1996 | 2671 | 9.9 | 3.0 |
| Ron Harper | 1989 | 2851 | 10.2 | 1998 | 2284 | 7.2 | 3.0 |
| Bernard King | 1984 | 2667 | 12.1 | 1981 | 2914 | 9.1 | 3.0 |
| Grant Hill | 1997 | 3147 | 14.6 | 1996 | 3260 | 11.7 | 3.0 |
| Byron Scott | 1988 | 3048 | 10.7 | 1987 | 2729 | 7.7 | 2.9 |
| Neil Johnston | 1954 | 3296 | 18.3 | 1955 | 2917 | 15.4 | 2.9 |
| Jack Sikma | 1982 | 3049 | 12.6 | 1983 | 2564 | 9.8 | 2.9 |
| Sam Jones | 1965 | 2885 | 12.8 | 1966 | 2155 | 10.0 | 2.8 |
| Jose Calderon | 2008 | 2484 | 10.2 | 2009 | 2333 | 7.5 | 2.7 |
| Frank Ramsey | 1958 | 2047 | 10.0 | 1962 | 1913 | 7.3 | 2.7 |
| Ray Allen | 2001 | 3129 | 13.7 | 2009 | 2876 | 11.1 | 2.6 |
| Bob McAdoo | 1975 | 3539 | 17.8 | 1974 | 3185 | 15.3 | 2.5 |
| Detlef Schrempf | 1995 | 2886 | 12.9 | 1998 | 2742 | 10.4 | 2.5 |
| Sam Cassell | 2004 | 2838 | 12.1 | 2003 | 2700 | 9.6 | 2.5 |
| Rudy Tomjanovich | 1974 | 3227 | 12.8 | 1977 | 3130 | 10.4 | 2.5 |
| Kirk Hinrich | 2007 | 2839 | 10.1 | 2006 | 2955 | 7.6 | 2.5 |
| Andrei Kirilenko | 2004 | 2895 | 11.6 | 2003 | 2213 | 9.2 | 2.4 |
| Mookie Blaylock | 1997 | 3056 | 12.5 | 1994 | 2915 | 10.2 | 2.3 |
| Doug Collins | 1976 | 2995 | 10.0 | 1975 | 2820 | 7.7 | 2.3 |
| Sleepy Floyd | 1987 | 3064 | 10.0 | 1989 | 2788 | 7.7 | 2.3 |
| Bobby Wanzer | 1952 | 2498 | 11.4 | 1954 | 2538 | 9.1 | 2.3 |
| George Yardley | 1958 | 2843 | 12.3 | 1957 | 2691 | 10.0 | 2.3 |
The answer, as of this very moment, is Kevin Durant, your real 2010 NBA Most Improved Player... However, I don't think this is going to be true after about midseason of the 2011 campaign, which means Dana Barros' 1995 season will likely be immortalized once more as the biggest fluke season in NBA history. Check out Barros' stats in that season vs. every other season of his career:
| Year | P/36 | TS% | A/36 | R/36 | TO/36 | ST/36 | BK/36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 18.3 | 63.2 | 6.7 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| All Others | 16.1 | 56.0 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
Also note the sad presence of Tracy McGrady, who had an all-time great year in 2003 but never really put together an all-time great career.
October 5th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I'd be interested to see how many of these 1st and 2nd greatest seasons were in contract years.
October 5th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Barros's 1995 season was less of a fluke and more of an issue of playing time. If you look at his numbers per 36 min that season they are just slightly above his career averages, which is to be expected of someone hitting his prime season. The major difference that year was the fact that he played 40.5 MPG that season as opposed to a career average of 22.9 MPG, or 21.0 MPG not including that season.
October 6th, 2010 at 5:13 am
This thread reminds me of the 1991 Michael Adams seasons, where he went from 18 ppg and 6 apg to 26ppg and 10 apg. His PER also jumped from 17-ish to an impressive 22.3. But for some reason, his Win Shares stayed roughly the same. I didn't watch the Nuggets that season and I bet his lack of (defensive) Win Shares has something to do with his teammates, but whenever I think of a player that had one season that stuck out, it's Michael Adams.
October 6th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Great call, RADM. I also remember Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf doubling his rebounds and assists from 91-92 to 92-93. I believe that was the same year he came out publicly about his OCD.