Combinatorics

Using game scores to assign a win-loss record to each player in a given game.

This is kind of a silly idea I came up with to assign a win-loss record to each player in a given game. I’m going to use John Hollinger’s game score to evaluate each player’s performance simply because (a) most people are familiar with it and (b) I don’t feel like spending a lot of time trying to come up with something better.

The first step is to compute the game score for each player in a given game. The game score for each player is then compared to the game score of every other player who appeared in the game. For each one-on-one comparison:

• If the focus player has the higher game score, then give them one win.

• If the focus player has the lower game score, then give them one loss.

• If the focus player has the same game score, then give them one tie.

Here’s an example using Kobe Bryant’s legendary 81-point game:

1. Kobe Bryant, 63.5

2. Mike James, 22.4

3. Jalen Rose, 13.6

4. Chris Mihm, 13.4

5. Chris Bosh, 10.4

6. Charlie Villanueva, 9.6

7. Smush Parker, 9.1

8. Lamar Odom, 7.2

9. Matt Bonner, 5.3

10. Pape Sow, 3.9

11. Kwame Brown, 3.0

12. Brian Cook, 2.7

13. Morris Peterson, 2.3

14. Jose Calderon, 1.9

15. Joey Graham, 1.6

16. Sasha Vujacic, 1.5

17. Luke Walton, 1.2

18. Devean George, 0.8

19. Devin Green, 0.0

20. Eric Williams, -0.4

Bryant has the highest game score, so his “record” is 19-0-0. Mike James has the second-highest game score, so his record is 18-1-0. And so on.

Due to data limitations, I was only able to do this for every game from the 1984-85 through 2023-24 seasons, so a total of 40 seasons. Keep that in mind as you peruse the lists below.

First, here are the top win totals in a single season:

• 1,596 — Michael Jordan, 1990-91

• 1,579 — Kevin Durant, 2012-13

• 1,577 — Russell Westbrook, 2016-17

• 1,570 — Karl Malone, 1996-97

• 1,566 — Stephen Curry, 2015-16

• 1,564 — Durant, 2013-14

• 1,564 — LeBron James, 2017-18

• 1,558 — Jordan, 1995-96

• 1,556 — Nikola Jokic, 2023-24

• 1,546 — Jordan, 1991-92

This is obviously a statistic where both productivity and reliability are rewarded, as all of the players listed above appeared in at least 79 games. Eight of these players won the MVP Award, the exceptions being Kevin Durant in 2012-13 (won by LeBron James, who played five fewer games) and James in 2017-18 (won by James Harden, who played 10 fewer games).