2023-24 NBA PAL Rating and Value Rating: performance and contract value

Two scores from 0 to 100. PAL Rating measures the season's performance against regulars in the same group (guards, forwards, centers): 50 is the median regular. Salary never enters it. Value Rating answers a different question: for what the player costs, does the return come in more or less than expected?

WAR, in wins →Payrolls →

Top guard

100PALLuka DončićDAL · Elite Top forward

100PALGiannis AntetokounmpoMIL · Elite Top center

99PALNikola JokićDEN · Elite

Value Rating is only computed for the most recent season.

The scale — PAL Rating

90–100 Elite
80–89 Excellent
70–79 Very good
60–69 Above average
40–59 Around average
20–39 Below average
0–19 Very poor

The scale — Value Rating

90–100 Exceptional value
75–89 Very good contract
55–74 Good value
45–54 Fair value
25–44 Poor return
0–24 Very poor return

Regulars only

#	Player
1	Luka DončićDAL · PG · 24	100	—	—	21.6	99	99	99	74	95	89
2	Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL · PF · 29	100	—	—	19.4	100	100	99	1	100	94
3	Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderOKC · PG · 25	99	—	—	19.2	100	100	92	33	86	99
4	LeBron JamesLAL · PF · 39	99	—	—	14.6	99	98	100	59	70	80
5	Nikola JokićDEN · C · 28	99	—	—	28.6	99	97	99	77	79	97
6	Donovan MitchellCLE · SG · 27	98	—	—	10.5	96	95	81	83	75	92
7	Kawhi LeonardLAC · SF · 32	98	—	—	11.9	98	95	84	93	57	89
8	Tyrese HaliburtonIND · PG · 23	97	—	—	13.5	97	85	100	72	43	66
9	Jayson TatumBOS · PF · 25	97	—	—	12.7	95	97	90	89	75	66
10	Joel EmbiidPHI · C · 29	97	—	—	12.2	97	99	95	95	64	92
11	Jalen BrunsonNYK · PG · 27	96	—	—	14.6	98	97	95	80	25	32
12	Paul GeorgeLAC · PF · 33	96	—	—	8.9	96	92	81	99	29	78
13	Kyrie IrvingDAL · SG · 31	95	—	—	9.7	95	94	75	93	71	65
14	Jimmy ButlerMIA · PF · 34	95	—	—	9.2	97	91	94	71	46	73
15	Victor WembanyamaSAS · C · 20	95	—	—	10.3	79	88	82	75	75	99
16	Stephen CurryGSW · PG · 35	94	—	—	11.9	89	98	67	100	56	23
17	Kevin DurantPHX · PF · 35	94	—	—	11.6	93	99	88	88	47	70
18	Jamal MurrayDEN · PG · 26	93	—	—	7.8	92	88	91	85	58	60
19	Evan MobleyCLE · PF · 22	93	—	—	5.1	88	77	67	13	97	95
20	James HardenLAC · PG · 34	92	—	—	10.3	94	70	88	79	73	75
21	Devin BookerPHX · PG · 27	92	—	—	8.4	93	96	90	65	51	25
22	Karl-Anthony TownsMIN · PF · 28	92	—	—	6.2	86	93	56	94	89	67
23	Anthony DavisLAL · C · 30	92	—	—	13.2	95	90	84	36	77	84
24	Derrick WhiteBOS · SG · 29	91	—	—	9.5	91	66	58	92	47	96
25	Trayce Jackson-DavisGSW · PF · 23	91	—	—	3.8	91	86	48	3	95	92
26	Anthony EdwardsMIN · SG · 22	90	—	—	10.0	86	93	62	49	79	72
27	Draymond GreenGSW · PF · 33	90	—	—	4.3	85	32	89	31	88	98
28	Domantas SabonisSAC · C · 27	90	—	—	16.7	90	73	97	47	90	64
29	Scottie BarnesTOR · SG · 22	89	—	—	8.1	87	67	67	14	99	95
30	Zion WilliamsonNOP · PF · 23	89	—	—	8.9	89	96	95	6	64	82
31	De'Aaron FoxSAC · PG · 26	88	—	—	8.6	84	92	75	25	63	79
32	Jalen WilliamsOKC · PF · 22	88	—	—	6.5	88	88	91	75	14	75
33	Lauri MarkkanenUTA · PF · 26	88	—	—	7.0	94	94	53	98	87	13
34	Isaiah HartensteinNYK · C · 25	88	—	—	7.0	92	23	25	32	71	95
35	Fred VanVleetHOU · PG · 29	87	—	—	9.7	90	48	94	81	21	86
36	Amen ThompsonHOU · SF · 21	87	—	—	3.5	82	47	65	2	94	96
37	Damian LillardMIL · PG · 33	86	—	—	7.3	92	90	85	91	39	16
38	Naz ReidMIN · PF · 24	86	—	—	4.6	74	76	13	79	77	90
39	Andre DrummondCHI · C · 30	86	—	—	1.9	55	34	10	14	99	49
40	Tyrese MaxeyPHI · PG · 23	85	—	—	9.2	88	87	89	77	19	30
41	Trey Murphy IIINOP · SF · 23	85	—	—	5.1	92	69	70	90	43	55
42	Mike ConleyMIN · PG · 36	84	—	—	8.1	85	58	83	97	24	83
43	Herbert JonesNOP · SF · 25	84	—	—	4.3	75	54	46	85	13	93
44	Daniel GaffordDAL · C · 25	84	—	—	5.7	82	79	34	16	42	90
45	Desmond BaneMEM · SG · 25	83	—	—	4.6	73	89	76	87	61	52
46	T.J. McConnellIND · PG · 31	83	—	—	4.3	83	71	96	15	78	67
47	Franz WagnerORL · SF · 22	83	—	—	5.1	83	82	85	28	55	60
48	CJ McCollumNOP · PG · 32	82	—	—	7.6	80	83	65	95	58	61
49	Jalen JohnsonATL · SF · 22	82	—	—	4.1	72	55	69	22	90	85
50	Rudy GobertMIN · C · 31	82	—	—	6.8	84	51	8	18	88	68

How it's calculated

Like the NHL: within each group, the line linking latent PAL (the standard score, before the percentile) to the log of salary gives the level expected for that salary; the gap to the expected level becomes the Value Rating, 0 to 100. Our salaries start with the market season (2026-27): in the offseason, Value Rating compares the last season played with today's contract.

Data: Basketball-Reference and ESPN; salaries updated daily.