Points vs Average

[Bayliss]

Which do you consider more important in a player's accomplishments?

For example:

Kareem is the all time leader in points
MJ the all time leader in average

Which would **you** rather see from Dirk. Would you rather him have one of the highest scoring averages of all time or having one of the most points of all time?

(Yeah I do know some overlap to a degree but some do not a la Rick Berry, etc)

[Chris]

I think the per game averages are going to have to slowly fade into the distance, careerwise, considering the influx of high school players. For example, Jermaine O'neal's career averages of 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds don't at all express what kind of player he is, and, no matter what kind of numbers he points up from here on out, he's going to look like a worse player than he was once he turned 22. I can see Dirk's first season working like that, to bias the numbers against his performance. So, basically, I think points overall is going to be a better indicator of player value, for the most part; plus, I'd like him to stick around for as long as possible.

[grbh]

I propose a compromise. That would be PPG over the best 8 years of a players career. i believe that marks diminance better than anything else, because the dominance must be over a sustained period. At the same time it forgives JO's performance when he was only 18.