Karl-Anthony Towns is nearing the end of a spectacular sophomore season in the NBA. His efforts won’t lead the Wolves to the playoffs, but his potential is a promising sign of things to come.
Towns is 11th in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and he’s sixth in both Value Added and Estimated Wins Added. Yes, we’re talking about the sabermetrics of basketball.
Value Added is a metric used by ESPN’s John Hollinger to explain “the estimated number of points a player adds to a team’s season total above what a replacement player would produce.” Based on the current rankings, Towns would be the sixth-hardest player to replace in the NBA, with an average replacement player scoring nearly 600 fewer points than him. The only players that would be harder to replace from a scoring standpoint are Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
Towns helps produce 20 more wins than an average replacement player (that’s the Estimated Wins Added stat).
His dominating season is highlighted further when you compare these advanced stats to other power forwards and centers.
Player Efficiency Rating (PF/C)
- Anthony Davis: 27.68
- Nikola Jokic: 26.43
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 25.8
- DeMarcus Cousins: 25.79
- Enes Kanter: 24.40
Value Added (PF/C)
- Anthony Davis: 620.2
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 598.7
- DeMarcus Cousins: 501.7
- Rudy Gobert: 470.0
- Nikola Jokic: 396.3
Estimated Wins Added (PF/C)
- Anthony Davis: 20.7
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 20.0
- DeMarcus Cousins: 16.7
- Rudy Gobert: 15.7
- Nikola Jokic: 13.2
In terms of points scored and wins added, Towns and Davis are in a league of their own when compared to other power forwards and centers.
