ESPN's All-Time NBA Ranks

10/24/2016 Matt Chambers 0 Comments

I recently came across ESPN's All-Time NBA Ranks list, and it made me curious about how the players in the list compare.  I wanted to be able to view all of their ranks across the five major statistical categories.  I built this visualization using parallel coordinates so that I could click on a player and easily see how they compare amongst their peers.  One caveat I must mention is that I had to remove players where all five stats weren't tracked.  That's why you don't see Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell in this list.

Using parallel coordinates, we are able to see "player profiles."  What I mean by this, is you can visualize the type of player by seeing their ranks across all five stats.

For example, John Stockton is last in points and rebounds but second in assists and steals.  His profile looks like a defensive point guard.



Whereas Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 3rd in rebounds and 3rd in blocks and 6th in scoring.  His profile looks like scoring Center.



I also wanted to be able to see the actual statistics, so I created a drill-down when clicking on any of the squares.  If you click on one of the points per game ranks, you have the option to drill down to the detailed stats view.