NBA rankings always stir up heated debate due to their mostly subjective nature, especially when LeBron James and Michael Jordan are involved. What if a process could sort through the chaos and churn out relatively unbiased answers though?
Action Network experts Braxton Reynolds and Andrew Norton set out to rank the best individual NBA seasons since 1977 (post-ABA merge) utilizing a detailed formula that brings as much logic and objectivity as possible.
Keep reading for the top 25 seasons ever post-merge, along with a formula breakdown and other fascinating results like 1986 Larry Bird and 1987 Magic Johnson poetically finishing next to each other.
Formula Breakdown
First, understanding what the formula does and does not do is crucial. It measures players relative to their own season, so it’s not necessarily saying that one player is better than another in a vacuum. Rather, the output represents the gap between a player and their peers during that one year, which should be the goal when arguing the best seasons of all time.
Here’s how we made the sample. Starting with the 1976-77 season, every Finals MVP and MVP made the list. Next, every player who led the league in regular season Box Plus-Minus (BPM) or playoffs points per game got the nod. Finally, we went through every year and potentially selected one “wild card” who stood out but didn’t achieve any of the feats above. Some seasons lacked a wild card candidate.
To finish the process, any player who failed to win a single playoff series got removed from the list – sorry, 1987 Michael Jordan.
In the end, 136 individual seasons from 1977 through 2024 qualified.
We excluded pre-merge candidates because stats per 100 possessions were not available and it’s difficult to compare early basketball with the 80s and beyond. Notable players who subsequently missed the cut include Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Bob Pettit, George Mikan, and some of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s best years.
As for the formula itself, there are three main categories: accolades, traditional stats, and advanced stats. They all have numerous sub-categories that contain various metrics with different weights. Overall, everything sums to 100 points – the highest score possible.
Accolades (max 40 points)
In this section, players earn points based on their accolades for the season. The two sub-categories are individual awards and team success. Here’s the checklist, and the maximum one can possibly receive based on the weighting is 40 total points.
Individual Awards (max 30 points)
- Finals MVP (10)
- MVP (6)
- DPOY (6)
- All-NBA First Team (4)
- All-Defensive First Team (4)
- All-NBA Second Team (2)
- All-Defensive Second Team (2)
- All-NBA Third Team (1)
Team Success (max 10 points)
- Championship (10)
- Finals Loss (6)
- Conference Finals Loss (2)
Traditional Stats (max 40 points)
Next, traditional stats are worth a huge chunk. How can one contrast 28 points per game in 2003 with 30 points per game in 2023? To solve the different eras issue, we used standardized stats and then compared them to the league average.
For example, Kobe Bryant scored 37.6 points per 100 possessions in 2003, and the league average for teams was 103.6 points per 100 possessions. Therefore, Bryant managed to produce 36.2% of league average scoring – known as “points share” for this article.
Devin Booker, on the other hand, averaged 39.2 points per 100 possessions in 2023. Teams scored 114.8 points per 100 possessions, so Booker checked in at 34.1%. Essentially, while Booker technically poured in more points, Bryant was more impressive relative to his time.
This standardization process took place for points, true shooting percentage, assists, and rebounds + steals + blocks.
As an example for true shooting (TS%), David Robinson had a 60.2 TS% in 1995, and league average was 54.3%. Divide those numbers, and “The Admiral” came in at 1.108, or 10.8% better.
Meanwhile, playoff stats were compared against playoff league average stats, not regular season. Postseason sub-categories received more weight because they carry larger significance. Scoring also received a premium since it's the most valuable trait.
Availability cannot be ignored either. Every missed regular season game resulted in 0.05 points being subtracted from a player’s total score, and a missed playoff game held a 0.1-point penalty.
Finally, a scale system was used to assign points. For each category, all players were ranked based on their score. The top 100 players then received points with the scale adjusted to the weighting.
For example, 2019 James Harden led the sample in regular season points share at 43.6%, while 2023 Joel Embiid and 1988 Michael Jordan came in second and third. Because the sub-category is worth five points, Harden received five, Embiid got 4.95, Jordan got 4.9…and this went all the way down to zero.
If the category was worth six points, then the gap between each place would be 0.06 points.
Regular Season (max 16 points)
- Points Share (5)
- True Shooting Share (4)
- Assists Share (4)
- Rebounds + Stocks Share (3)
Playoffs (max 24 points)
- Points Share (7)
- True Shooting Share (6)
- Assists Share (6)
- Rebounds + Stocks Share (5)
Games Missed (max 0 points)
- Regular Season (-0.05 per game)
- Playoffs (-0.1 per game)
Advanced Stats (max 20 points)
Advanced stats hand out the final 20 points. BPM and Win Shares are the two metrics used, so the category has both a rate stat and a volume stat.
Instead of using league average, players were simply ranked based on their BPM and Win Shares. The scale system once again made its appearance here like in the traditional stats section. The best regular season BPM received four points, second best obtained 3.96 points…and this continued until the 100th player got 0.04 points.
Regular Season (max 8 points)
- BPM (4)
- Win Shares (4)
Playoffs (max 12 points)
- BPM (6)
- Win Shares (6)
Top 25 NBA Seasons Post-Merge Rankings
Enough of the process explanation. It’s time for the fun part. Without further ado, here are the top 25 individual seasons since the 1976 offseason merge according to our formula.
25. 2002 Shaquille O’Neal (53.01 total points)
24. 1977 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (53.6)
23. 1989 Michael Jordan (53.99)
22. 1988 Michael Jordan (54.43)
21. 2001 Shaquille O’Neal (54.5)
20. 2015 Stephen Curry (55.63)
19. 1997 Michael Jordan (56.9)
18. 2020 LeBron James (57.24)
17. 2021 Giannis Antetokounmpo (57.79)
16. 1998 Michael Jordan (58.12)
15. 1984 Larry Bird (58.28)
14. 1986 Larry Bird (58.86)
13. 1987 Magic Johnson (59.26)
12. 2016 LeBron James (59.5)
11. 1993 Michael Jordan (62.45)
- 2003 Tim Duncan (63.55)
Known as the greatest power forward ever, Tim Duncan peaked the 2003 NBA season. Duncan helped drag a youthful Spurs backcourt, featuring Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and a 37-year-old David Robinson in his last season, to a championship over the likes of Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and the three-peat Lakers. In fact, Duncan posted a 37-point, 16-rebound outing in a closeout Game 6 win over Los Angeles to knock off one of the most decorated teams in history.
- 2009 LeBron James (64.53)
How good was LeBron James in the 2009 season? Impossibly good. James squeezed into our top ten individual seasons list due to his ridiculous regular season and playoff production. In fact, he averaged 35.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on a true shooting percentage of 61.3% across his 14 playoff games that postseason. Had James made it past Orlando and guided Cleveland to an NBA Finals win, he would have finished with the greatest season post merge per the formula.
- 1994 Hakeem Olajuwon (65)
No matter what criteria you use or don’t use for a list like this, 1994 Hakeem Olajuwon will virtually always be on it. Olajuwon and the Rockets won the NBA Finals; he also secured the MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP awards. On his way to one of the most exceptional two-way stretches in the history of the league, Olajuwon averaged 28.9 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.7 “stocks” (steals+blocks), and 4.3 assists per game.
- 1992 Michael Jordan (65.91)
Michael Jordan followed up his sensational postseason performance in 1991 with another impressive run. Jordan was an offensive force at all three levels, boasting a shooting split of 50/39/86 on substantial volume. Not known for his outside shooting, MJ hit six first-half 3-pointers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against Portland. Jordan’s “shrug” perfectly encapsulates how defenses must have felt that season while defending him: confused and helpless.
- 2000 Shaquille O’Neal (66.01)
An argument could certainly be made that 2000 Shaq was the most dominant big man of all time. Just imagine if he could have hit his free throws. For reference, Shaq took roughly 14 free throws per game in the 2000 postseason but only knocked down six of those attempts on average. Still, “Diesel” managed to average just shy of 31 points and 16 rebounds per game in that awe-inspiring postseason run that initiated a three-peat run for the Lake Show.
- 1996 Michael Jordan (66.23)
MJ was out for blood in his first full season since coming out of retirement. Chicago cruised to an 87-13 record on their way to a championship, although Jordan statistically had the worst Finals series of his career this year – Gary Payton’s defense was a primary reason. Still, Jordan’s overall superb stats and countless accolades let him barely crack the top five.
- 2023 Nikola Jokic (71.88)
The first player in NBA history to lead the postseason in total points, rebounds, and assists. Oh, and he did this on 63.1% true shooting. Defensive Player of the Year candidates Rudy Gobert, Anthony Davis, and Bam Adebayo had no answers. They could only shake their heads and laugh at Jokic’s shot-making and court vision. Denver’s sole title in franchise history was spearheaded by a truly historic all-around performance.
- 2013 LeBron James (74.6)
King James finally secured a championship the prior year and wanted more. He cleared 40% from 3-point range for the first time in his career and arguably should have won Defensive Player of the Year. Everyone rightfully remembers Ray Allen’s corner triple to tie Game 6 of the NBA Finals, but he only had that opportunity because James exploded for 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the fourth quarter.
- 2012 LeBron James (75.46)
After an utterly embarrassing Finals loss to Dallas in which Jason Terry outscored him, James hit another gear and refused to lose. Trailing 3-2 against Boston during the Eastern Conference Finals, Bron dropped 45 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists on 19-of-26 shooting in Game 6. It’s one of the greatest games ever played, and Miami used it as a springboard to eventually win the title against Oklahoma City.
- 1991 Michael Jordan (78.11)
All hail 1991 Jordan! He orchestrated a masterful season, which led to his first of six rings. It was a true changing-of-the-guard year, as MJ imposed his will on Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the Finals. During that series, Jordan averaged 31.2 points, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 stocks on 61.2% true shooting – otherworldly efficiency at the time.
Takeaways And Other Interesting Rankings
- When removing the accolades category, LeBron James accounted for five of the top ten seasons, and Michael Jordan claimed three spots. James has the edge from a stats perspective, but Jordan slightly prevails when accolades are added. Overall, they combined for 17 of the top 33 seasons!
- 2009 James is comfortably the best statistical season post merge. He led both the traditional and advanced stats categories.
- There’s an extremely strong case to be made that Shaquille O’Neal from 2000 to 2002 is the third best peak in modern basketball history. Only Jordan and James produced more top 25 seasons.
- The player who we most believe isn’t accurately captured by this formula is Stephen Curry. Whether it was Andre Iguodala winning FMVP, the 2016 playoffs injury and collapse, or Kevin Durant smothering his stats, there always seemed to be some outside force that hurt Curry’s points here.
- The biggest surprise? Kobe Bryant. The 2009 season was his best placement, and it finished just 30th best.
- Huge shoutout to Basketball Reference. All stats in the formula were pulled from there.