Measuring Passing Ability
The last post described a new way to summarize scoring ability with a single measurement. A similar metric can also be developed for quantifying passing ability.
Just as with scoring, passing will be broken down into two components: volume and efficiency.
Passing volume is a player’s total season assists or assists per game. Passing efficiency is the number of assists per possession, but not all possessions. Just as only “used possessions” were considered for scoring efficiency, possessions that were “not used” will be considered for passing efficiency. These are possessions where the player did not make an effort to score (i.e. take a shot or draw a foul) or turn the ball over, and will be referred to as “empty possessions” going forward.
The complete steps for quantifying passing ability are shown above. Using data going back to the 1996–97 season, players were ranked based on their ten best passing seasons using the passer rating metric outlined above.
Stephon Marbury placing so high was definitely a surprise. But check out these highlights of him below:
