The debate over the NBA’s GOAT seems to go on forever. Depending on the criteria used, there may be several players considered the greatest of all time.
When talking about longevity and consistency, many point to LeBron James, who has made the most of his time in the league. On the other hand, many give the title of “Greatest of All Time” to Michael Jordan because he won three consecutive championships with the Chicago Bulls and maintained a perfect record in the Finals.
One Reddit user has now created an algorithm to determine who is your NBA GOAT? The algorithm takes into account many factors, the importance of which in the calculation is entirely determined by the person using the website.
For example, one person might place more emphasis on points per game than rebounds per game when measuring NBA GOAT, while someone else might emphasize efficiency.
In addition, the NBA GOAT algorithm can also consider playoff success rate, championship success rate, longevity, durability, etc.
Based on the number of combinations and the importance of different factors, the program seems to generate a list that is essentially unique to most users.
While some end up placing LeBron James or Michael Jordan at No. 1, others end up placing legends of the game like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain at the top.
Take a look at the criteria used to determine NBA GOATs
Considering there are countless combinations of NBA GOATs, and the algorithm generates a list of 50 players, let’s look at the different criteria used to determine NBA GOATs.
The algorithm starts with traditional statistics, looking at points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game, and then transitions to efficiency.
There, algorithms let users rank various scoring percentage statistics, including true shooting percentage.
The GOAT algorithm will then take the playoff boost into account, which will give the user a slight boost to their playoff performance.
Therefore, a player who performs well in the playoffs may get a boost in rating, while a player who misses consecutive playoff games will have his ranking dropped.
The algorithm then takes awards and honors into account, meaning players who win awards like MVP or Defensive Player of the Year may get a boost.
The Honors section is segmented so users can prioritize everything from championships to All-Star and All-NBA appearances.
Last but not least, the algorithm can take longevity and durability into account, which would add to the case for players like LeBron James. Those interested in using the algorithm are sure to create plenty of discussion threads on the site as they discover who their GOAT should be.