Player Efficiency Rating PER
PER stands for player efficiency rating in basketball. One number for everything a player did in the box score per minute on the floor, scaled so the league average is exactly 15.
How PER is calculated
PER = unadjusted PER × (15 ÷ league-average unadjusted PER), after a pace adjustment. The unadjusted figure adds made shots, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks and takes away misses, turnovers and fouls, each weighted by what it is worth in that season’s league.
John Hollinger built it, and it rewards volume scoring far more than defense: a stopper who rarely steals or blocks the ball rates near 15 however good he is. Above 25 is an MVP-level season.
What counts as a good PER?
Half of the 424 qualified NBA players in 2025-26 were at or below 13.7. Clearing 20.2 put a season in the top tenth of the league.
- Median
- 13.7
- Top 10%
- 20.2
- Leader
- 32.7
By position, the median was 17.7 for C, 13.5 for F and 13.0 for G.
Qualified: 20+ GP, non-zero, 2025-26 regular season.