STATS THREAD!: A statistical deep dive into Rudy Gobert’s performance

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time on Twitter, you’re familiar with a little something I like to call the “#STATSTHREAD!”.

Lately, those threads have focused on individual players. And for the next several weeks, the concept will be adopted here, for a statistical deep dive into players who’ll be on the 2018-19 Utah Jazz.

The order was determined simply enough: sort the 2017-18 Jazz by Win Shares and work my way down the list. And that method means we’ll start with Rudy Gobert, who led Utah in Win Shares despite missing 26 games due to injury.

AMONG the 1,131 players with at least as many career minutes (9,084), Rudy Gobert ranks 22nd in NBA history in Win Shares per 48 Minutes.

Gobert’s .2034 Win Shares per 48 Minutes barely edges out No. 23 Larry Bird’s .2032.

STEPHEN Curry, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook are the only players with more Win Shares per 48 Minutes than Rudy Gobert over the last four seasons (minimum 4,000 minutes).

Harden, Paul, Leonard, Curry and Durant are the only players who top Gobert over the last two seasons (minimum 2,000 minutes).

AMONG the 1,131 players with at least as many career minutes (9,084), Rudy Gobert ranks 27th in NBA history in Box Plus-Minus.

Gobert’s 4.6 career Box Plus-Minus comes in just behind Scottie Pippen and just ahead of Tracy McGrady.

RUSSELL Westbrook, Stephen Curry, James Harden, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler are the only players who top Rudy Gobert in Box Plus-Minus over the last four seasons (minimum 4,000 minutes).

THE only players who totaled at least as many rebounds and blocks as Rudy Gobert through their first five seasons: Elton Brand, Anthony Davis, Tim Duncan, Mark Eaton, Patrick Ewing, Dwight Howard, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Parish, David Robinson and Elmore Smith.

NO player in NBA history matches Rudy Gobert’s combination of career True Shooting Percentage (.638), Rebounding Percentage (20.5) and Block Percentage (6.4).

AMONG the 1,874 players who’ve taken at least 1,000 career shots, Rudy Gobert’s True Shooting Percentage of .638 ranks third all time.

THE median No. 27 pick across NBA history: six points, 2.9 rebounds and one assist, with a 12.5 Player Efficiency Rating.

Rudy Gobert, a No. 27 pick: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1.2 assists and a 20.6 Player Efficiency Rating.

RUDY Gobert through his age-25 season: 18.6 points, 18.6 rebounds, 4.1 blocks per 100 team possessions, .638 True Shooting Percentage, 4.6 Box Plus-Minus, .203 Win Shares per 48 Minutes, 20.6 Player Efficiency Rating.

Dwight Howard though his age-25 season: 26.5 points, 18.7 rebounds, 3.2 blocks per 100 team possessions, .605 True Shooting Percentage, 3.2 Box Plus-Minus, .188 Win Shares per 48 Minutes, 22.3 Player Efficiency Rating.

RUDY Gobert’s best season (2016-17): 21.7 points, 19.8 rebounds, 4.1 blocks per 100 team possessions, .681 True Shooting Percentage, 5.8 Box Plus-Minus, .250 Win Shares per 48 Minutes, 23.3 Player Efficiency Rating.

Dwight Howard’s best season (2009-10): 27.6 points, 19.8 rebounds, 4.2 blocks per 100 team possessions, .630 True Shooting Percentage, 5.5 Box Plus-Minus, .223 Win Shares per 48 Minutes, 24 Player Efficiency Rating.

RUDY Gobert ranked 13th in Defensive Real Plus-Minus in 2014-15. He ranked eighth in 2015-16. He ranked first in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.

The distance between Gobert and No. 2 Andre Roberson in 2017-18 was about the same as the gap between Roberson and No. 8 David West.

RUDY Gobert led the NBA in screen assists per game in each of the last two seasons.

RUDY Gobert led the NBA in contested two-point shots per game this season. He was second last season.

UTAH outscored opponents by 8.6 points per 100 possessions with Rudy Gobert on the floor this season. It outscored opponents by 1.5 points per 100 possessions when he was off the floor.

Gobert has positively swung Utah’s Net Rating in all five of his NBA seasons.

THE Jazz played like a 55-win team with Rudy Gobert on the floor and a 42-win team with him off this season, per NBA Math’s FATS (Factor Adjusted Team Similarities) Calculator.

They played like a 59-win team with Gobert on the floor post-All-Star break.

MOST Win Shares in a single season among players who averaged fewer than 15 points per game:

1 - Wilt Chamberlain (1972-73)
2 - Bill Russell (1963-64)
3 - Bill Russell (1964-65)
4 - Wilt Chamberlain (1971-72)
5 - Rudy Gobert (2016-17)
6 - Horace Grant (1991-92)
7 - John Stockton (1987-88)
8 - John Stockton (1994-95)
9 - John Stockton (1996-97)
10 - John Stockton (1995-96)

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference or ESPN.

Andy Bailey covers the NBA for SLC Dunk and Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@AndrewDBailey) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by B/R’s Dan Favale.