Can James Harden have the highest PER of ALL TIME this season?

No.

 

Even if he did he wouldn't get credit. They (ESPN) would talk about his defense and how this is a softer NBA than the past.

smh, always the bridesmaid, never the bride

 

It's possible, but sample size is so small right now. I don't think he can sustain it at this rate. It would be great if he could though. But PER isn't that meaningful of a stat.

 

for reference, the PER leaders through November 3, 2016 below. Spoiler, Harden not the only Rocket in the top 10:


1 Kawhi Leonard, 37.44
2 James Harden, 36.13
3 DeMar DeRozan, 35.35
4 Russell Westbrook, 33.17
5 Kevin Durant, 32.71
6 Anthony Davis, 31.51
7 Montrezl Harrell, 28.22
8 Chris Paul, 28.17
9 Damian Lillard, 28.03
10 DeMarcus Cousins, 27.85

 

He can definitely have one of the highest of all time with YEAH BUT TURNOVERS appended to it by grumpy old men.

 

in 15 games we will have a better idea. Right now everyone has crazy PERs. Klay Thompson would be considered a scrub, Kawhi would be the GOAT, Montrezl is better than Lillard and LeBron, Derozan is better than Davis.

https://insider.espn.com/nba/hollinger/statistics

Also, offense overall in the NBA has picked up this season. Teams are scoring high numbers, it's fun to watch for the average fan who doesn't appreciate defense.

 

Harden can easily sustain his numbers. Leonard cannot.

 

Meh, PER is kind of a worthless stat.

 

lol still with the leonard doubters. what a shame people are still slighting this guy and aren't seeing how truly good that guy has become.

 

He can do it. Mike D'Antoni has made all the difference in the world to his numbers. It's very clear that he's not working as hard as he had to with Mchale.

 

"Historic statistics with elite efficiency is fine, I guess, but I just don't see how we can overcome Harden's 4 game-ruining turnovers a night!"

 

I know I could just look up the formula, but I'm sure its complex.

In layman's terms, Harden is scoring more, at a higher (ever so slightly) true shooting percentage, has WAY more assists, has more rebounds and is besting Kwahi in a number of other stats, including as adjusted for minutes or possessions.

Now, of course, Kwahi is besting James in steals (meaningfully), blocks and defensive rating. And Harden has more than double the turnover amount.

Since I also assumed that PER favored offense, I'm surprised Kwahi is even ahead of Harden.

Well, I went ahead and looked up the definition:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/per.html
It's not a foreign language, but not super helpful.

 

Which of these is not like the others?

{Edit: Dammit, AceOfSpades got there first WITH a pic.}

 

Amazing Wilt accomplished this with no blocks or steals

 

give trezl the max already

 

You must have missed the news about Kawhi's upgrade:

https://theringer.com/kawhi-leonard-can-smile-now-815fdef36fe8#.myr59swl3

"SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs today announced that iLeonardOS Plus, the latest update to the world’s most advanced basketball-android operating system, is now available for the 2017 season. iLeonardOS Plus provides significant upgrades to the Kawhi Leonard, offering the traditional features users know and love from the San Antonio Spurs organization, along with all-new capabilities designed for use on the basketball court, as well as nonbasketball environments."

 

He probably will do it and they still leave him off the All NBA teams.

 

I wouldn't be so sure of that. Kawhi is a legit 1st tier top 5 player. Kawhi is their franchise player now and a MVP candidate.