Allison Lovering

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Who's the Best?

• Allison Lovering
• Literature of Sports American Culture
• Period 8

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Kevin Garnett
Team Minnesota Timberwolves Position
Forward High School Farragut Academy HS
(IL) Height 6 11 Weight 220 lbs. Born May
19, 1976 Number 21 Drafted 1995, 1st round, 5th
pick by Timberwolves
http//sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?stat
sId3007
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Biography
Born May 19, 1976 in Mauldin, South Carolina
Played 3 years of his high school career at
Maudlin High School Forced to move after Garnett
and a group of his friends were accused of
assaulting a white student in a racially tense
town Chose to move to Chicago to play for
Farragut High School in his senior year After
failing to be accepted at a college to play
basketball, Garnett announced his eligibility for
the 1995 NBA Draft, something that hadnt been
done for 20 years He was the fifth overall pick
and signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves for a
3-year deal worth 5.6 million Awarded the J.
Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2006 for his
1.2 million donation for building homes for
Hurricane Katrina Victims
http//www.kevingarnett.com/ http//www.answers.co
m/topic/kevin-garnett
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Career Highlights
High School Highlights Named Mr. Basketball of
South Carolina in his Junior year Named Mr.
Basketball of Illinois in his Senior year USA
Todays National High School Player of the
year Member of Parade Magazines All-American
First Team Named Most Outstanding Player in the
McDonalds All-American Game Pro Playing
Highlights NBA Most Valuable Player - 2004 NBA
All Star Game MVP - 2003 7 Time All-NBA
Player First Team - 2000, 2003, 2004 Second
Team - 2001, 2002, 2005 Third Team - 1999 7 Time
All Defensive Player First Team - 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004 Second Team - 2005 NBA All
Rookie Second Team - 1996 Has been selected to
play in every NBA All Star Game since 1996 First
player in NBA history to average at least 20
points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game for 6
consecutive seasons (1999-2005) reach at least
18,000 points, 9,500 rebounds, 3,800 assists,
1,200 steals, and 1,500 blocks in his playing
career Holds Minnesota Timberwolves franchise
career records for points, 18,134 rebounds,
10,007 assists, 3,985 blocked shots, 1,518
steals, 1,233 and games played, 886 Holds
Minnesota Timberwolves franchise record for most
points in one game, 44 International
Competition Member of the Gold Medalist USA
Olympic Team - 2000
http//www.bballone.com/keving/kevingarnett.html
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NBA Regular Season Stats
http//sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/stats?statsI
d3007
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PRABST
PRABST is an acronym for a system that seeks to
measure objectively the quality of the best
players within or across eras through statistical
analysis. The letters stand for the following
per-game average statistics and order of
finish P Points R Rebounds A Assists B
Blocked Shots S Steals T Turnovers Depending
on the assessments of individual classes, any of
the above statistics may be multiplied to reflect
importance. For example, assists might be given
two points because each leads to a basket. A
steal might also count double because it both
denies possession of the ball to the opposing
team and gives possession to that players team.
A typical PRABST formula follows P R 2A B
2S 2T Applying the PRABST formula above to
Garnetts statistics, he would have an overall
score of 40.06.
Source Michael Conroy
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Player Rankings
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Critique

• The sports world has been criticized recently
  for the continuous stress that is placed upon
  being the best athlete in a given sport. This
  exceeding attention has caused some athletes to
  resort to the use of illegal substances to
  enhance their performance. We, as the fans, must
  ask ourselves if this is what we really want from
  our athletes and essentially our role models.
  However, I believe that the core of the problem
  is the emphasis that is placed on stats and
  numbers that determines who is the best. But can
  we really rely on stats to determine who the best
  athlete is, or are there other qualities that are
  important on the court? If a player doesnt
  score 40 points in a game, but helps to lead his
  team to an NBA Championship, does that mean that
  he is worse than the player who scores 40 points?
• The statistics dont show how good a player
  makes the rest of his team, especially if order
  of finish is not included in the PRABST formula.
  Part of what make a great athlete is how much of
  a team player he or she is and what kind of
  leadership they display on the court. For
  example, last year Alonso Mourning helped his
  team to win the NBA Championship but he is ranked
  23rd by the PRABST formula. While Kevin Garnett
  is ranked 4th but his team has been relatively
  unsuccessful in the playoffs as of late. It is
  clear that the PRABST formula misses certain
  aspects of the game, and these are the facets
  that make up winning teams.
• The NBA must take into account the aspects of
  the game that arent measure in numbers because
  Steve Nash, who is ranked 22nd by the PRABST
  formula, has been recognized as MVP of the league
  the past two years, and is being considered for a
  third MVP award for this season. There has to be
  something other than stats that makes Steve Nash
  better than all the players on our list that are
  above him.
• In my personal experience on numerous sports
  teams I find that the most valuable players are
  often the ones that are not only consistent but
  are also the players that bring a certain
  something to the game that cant be measured by
  statistics. They add that extra spark that makes
  your team perform well and turn heads. I guess
  you would call it the X Factor. That is the
  problem with the PRABST formula it can only
  measure the numbers that a player puts up, not
  what they add to the team, not their X Factor.