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NBA: Does the East or West have more star power now?

By Josh Cornelissen

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center on January 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 16: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the first half against the Orlando Magic at Barclays Center on January 16, 2021 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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NBA, James Harden Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
NBA, James Harden Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images /

Win Shares

There are a number of metrics out there to measure a player’s cumulative impact over the course of a season. None of them are perfect, and in most cases it is best to compare a wide range of stats. For the sake of having one simple metric here, we will pick the historically solid “win shares” from basketballreference.com. It seeks to be an estimate of how many wins a player was worth in a season, trying to balance impact with availability.

Last year’s leader in win shares was James Harden, whose 13.1 mark was 1.5 wins higher than anyone else. Of the top 30 players in the league by this metric, exactly 15 play in the Eastern Conference. Slide it out to top 40, and the East adds 8 of the next 10 players. This metric is about even, but with the slight edge to the East.

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What about thus far this season? The numbers are all over the place given the small sample size and the plethora of postponed games due to contact tracing availability. That being said, Nikola Jokic leads the league with 2.6 win shares, but the Eastern Conference does have five of the top ten, including Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Vucevic. Similarly to last season, 15 of the top 30 players thus far this season are in the East.

Real Plus-Minus

ESPN has their all-in-one statistic, Real Plus-Minus (RPM). Last season Giannis Antetokounmpo was the leader in this stat, with the aforementioned Harden third. The West has seven of the top 10 players according to this metric, but just seven of the top 15. Expand out to 30 and 16 players are now in the East.

Take RPM and weight it according to minutes played, and LeBron James slides into first with 19.47 wins added. Harden, Antetokounmpo, Kyle Lowry and Jayson Tatum all appear in the top eight. To continue the trend, 15 of the top 30 players are in the East, with a mirrored number in the West.

We could continue to spin out into other metrics, but a quick glance shows that the two leagues appear to be well-balanced in this area.

Verdict: Tie