Top 100 scoring seasons since 1980

AceofSpades69 · Post #1 » by **AceofSpades69** » Sun May 15, 2016 9:54 pm

I don't know if someone came up with this yet, but anyway, It occured to me the idea of a "formula" to help rate with a better degree of precision some of the best scoring seasons of all-time. (PPG*TS%)/MPG is the formula I used to create this list with the following restrictions: Only +=25PPG and +65 GP seasons post-1980. This is the outcome.
What do you say? Any suggestions?

Spoiler:

Post #2 » by **trex_8063** » Sun May 15, 2016 10:58 pm

Moonbeam made a formula he calls "Score+", which is: 2*((TSA/100 poss)*rTS)

Glossary:
"TSA/100 poss" is True Shot Attempts per 100 possessions
"rTS" is relative [to league avg] TS%

Basically it determines how many more made TSA they give you [over league average efficiency] per 100 possessions......multiplied by 2 because a FG is 2 pts, thus arriving at pts added [above league avg] per 100 possessions.

As per 100 poss is a rate stat, I modified his model to make some considerations for mpg (reasoning that it's more difficult to maintain a certain level of volume and efficiency if playing 38 mpg compared to 24 mpg, for example). And I also wanted to include greater representation of role (reasoning it's harder to maintain efficiency if you're being asked to produce, for example, 30 ppg vs 20 ppg), but I didn't want to use ppg specifically, because it's too heavily influenced by pace (which has fluctuated wildly over the course of league history). So I used Pts/100 possessions instead.

I admit the way I incorporated mpg and Pts/100 possessions was sort of arbitrary (I weighted them with rather arbitrary variables); so in that sense the formula was sort of "massaged". But anyway, that's my formula (I called it "Modified Score+", as it was based on Moonbeam's blueprint).

I included years pre-1980 (have years of Wilt, Arizin, Bellamy, etc included), but I have not run near enough player seasons thru my formula to confidently state who the top 100 are. Some of the top results by my formula are similar to yours (I used rs numbers only, btw):

1. '16 Stephen Curry - 12.00
2. '88 Charles Barkley - 9.66
3. '14 Kevin Durant - 9.56
*4. '83 Adrian Dantley - 9.47 (*22-game sample, but I'm inclined to think it legit, as he did similar in other years)
*5. '69 Rick Barry - 9.46 (*ABA, also only 35-game sample; he doesn't even approach this in any other year, so it's more sketchy to me)
6. '14 Lebron James - 9.23

AceofSpades69 · Post #3 » by **AceofSpades69** » Thu May 26, 2016 1:46 pm

Been trying PPG*TS%/MPG+USG% instead and had similar results but with some key ranking changes. So far:
1. '84 Dantley
2. '16 Curry
3. '84 Vandeweghe
4. '88 Jordan
5. '14 Durant
6. '88 Barkley

Winsome Gerbil · Post #4 » by **Winsome Gerbil** » Thu May 26, 2016 6:28 pm

I don't think you can/should include both usage AND TS%. The efficiency element is already accounted for by TS%, and usage percentage brings in TOs that might or might not be involved in scoring. In fact it actually punishes guys who create for others as well as score.

A 30ppg catch and shoot scorer on 55% TS% who did absolutely nothing else, averaged 1 assist a game, with 1 TO, would be bumped up over a 30ppg scorer on 55% who also averaged 10 assists with 3 TOs.