Hey y’all, so here’s the deal. My buddies and I kept yelling about who’s actually better between certain NBA players – you know how those bar arguments go, right? “Player X is a beast!” “Nah man, Player Y dominates!” Got real tired of just shouting names without some solid numbers to back it up. So I figured, heck, let’s actually compare their stats properly. Here’s what I did.
First Mess: Finding the Right Stats
Started off thinking points per game is king, obviously. But my buddy Chuck, who actually knows ball, laughed at me. Said it’s like judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. So I got lost online. Rebounds? Assists? Blocks? Steals? Field goal percentage? Numbers swimming before my eyes. Way too much stuff.
The Brainstorm Breakthrough
Sat down with coffee, feeling annoyed. Scribbled on a napkin: “What really matters? What changes who wins games?” Finally landed on these five:
- Points Per Game (PPG): Gotta put the ball in the bucket. Simple.
- Rebounds Per Game (RPG): You miss, you gotta grab it. Boards win games.
- Assists Per Game (APG): Making your teammates better? That’s big.
- Steals Per Game (SPG): Snatching the ball? Instant defense bonus.
- Blocks Per Game (BPG): Swatting shots away? Just demoralizing.
Kept it at five ’cause honestly, any more and my head would explode.
The Grunt Work: Digging Up the Numbers
Alright, action time. Pulled up the official NBA stats page. Searched for the players causing all the ruckus – let’s say Giannis and Embiid this time. For each guy, I manually typed out those five stats:
- Giannis last season: 31.1 PPG 11.8 RPG 5.7 APG 0.8 SPG 0.8 BPG
- Embiid last season: 33.1 PPG 10.2 RPG 4.2 APG 1.0 SPG 1.7 BPG
Typed this junk into a Google Sheet, ’cause keeping it all straight in my head is impossible. Labeled columns: Player, PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, BPG.
Making Sense of the Chaos
Now I got numbers, but they were just… sitting there. Needed to see who had the edge where. Made a little note next to each stat for who had the bigger number. Embiid got PPG and BPG? Sweet. Giannis took RPG and APG? Okay, okay. SPG was a wash.
But wait – putting it side-by-side like that made it crystal clear what kind of player each dude actually is. Embiid? Scoring machine and rim protector. Giannis? All-over wrecking ball grabbing boards and dishing. Looking just at points? You miss the whole picture.
The Final Face-Off
So, who’s “better”? Didn’t get a magic answer! But here’s the thing: I finally knew exactly what I was comparing. Instead of just screaming “Giannis! No, Embiid!”, I could say: “Giannis rebounds and dishes way better, but Embiid scores more and protects the rim harder.” Way more satisfying argument now, way less yelling. Just facts on the table.
Turns out, knowing these five core stats cuts through the noise big time. You gotta pick which ones matter for your argument – maybe steals matter less for a center discussion. But having that top 5 comparison framework? Priceless for actually understanding the game. Definitely my new go-to for those late-night NBA debates.
