With the NBA playoffs winding into the second round, it?s a good time to look back at the regular season.  By nearly any measure, this was Kevin Garnett?s season.  An outstanding player for most of his career, Garnett became the best player in the game this season, and led the revamped Timberwolves to the top seed in the West.

I use various statistical methods to evaluate players, founded on the basic Player Production Average formula ?points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks ? missed field goal attempts ? missed free throw attempts ? turnovers ? personal fouls.  The league average PPA is set to 10.00, which allows for comparison across seasons.

My favorite rating system is the Salary Formula, adjusts for team winning percentage and converts a player?s production into NBA cap dollars.

Salary Formula Top 25 Players

1. Kevin Garnett ? $17.79 million
2. Tim Duncan ? 14.09
3. Shaquille O?Neal ? 12.37
4. Peja Stojakovic ? 11.99
5. Dirk Nowitzki ? 11.98
6. Kobe Bryant ? 11.46
7. Brad Miller ? 11.10
8. Jermaine O?Neal ? 10.83
9. Elton Brand ? 10.50
10. Jason Kidd ? 10.24
11. Andrei Kirilenko ? 10.23
12. Sam Cassell ? 10.22
13. Ben Wallace ? 10.09
14. Tracy McGrady ?- 10.07
15. Carlos Boozer ? 9.91
16. Shawn Marion ? 9.68
17. Zach Randolph ? 9.58
18. Ray Allen ? 9.51
19. Stephon Marbury ? 9.42
20. Steve Nash ? 9.38
21. Yao Ming ? 9.28
22. Mike Bibby ? 9.21
23. Pau Gasol ? 9.20
24. Chris Webber ? 9.18
25. Karl Malone ? 9.16

All NBA First Team ? Salary Formula

G ? Kobe Bryant ? 11.46
G ? Jason Kidd ? 10.24
F ? Kevin Garnett ? 17.79
F ? Tim Duncan ? 14.09
C ? Shaquille O?Neal ? 12.37

Second Team

G ? Sam Cassell ? 10.22
G ? Tracy McGrady ? 10.07
F ? Peja Stojakovic ? 11.99
F ? Dirk Nowitzki ? 11.98
C ? Brad Miller ? 11.10

Third Team

G ? Ray Allen ? 9.51
G ? Stephon Marbury ? 9.42
F ? Jermaine O?Neal ? 10.83
F ? Elton Brand ? 10.50
C ? Ben Wallace ? 10.09

Top 10 Rookies ? Salary Formula

1. LeBron James ? 8.55
2. Carmello Anthony ? 7.51
3. Dwyane Wade ? 6.85
4. Chris Bosh ? 5.78
5. Kirk Hinrich ? 4.89
6. Josh Howard ? 4.89
7. Marquis Daniels ? 4.83
8. TJ Ford ? 4.41
9. Udonis Haslem ? 4.05
10. Keith Bogans ? 2.88

Top 5 Point Guards ? Salary Formula

1. Jason Kidd ? 10.24
2. Sam Cassell ? 10.21
3. Stephon Marbury ? 9.42
4. Steve Nash ? 9.38
5. Mike Bibby ? 9.21

Top 5 Shooting Guards

1. Kobe Bryant ? 11.46
2. Tracy McGrady ? 10.07
3. Ray Allen ? 9.51
4. Paul Pierce ? 8.95
5. Michael Finley ? 8.78

Top 5 Small Forwards

1. Peja Stojakovic ? 11.99
2. Andrei Kirilenko ? 10.23
3. Shawn Marion ? 9.68
4. Lamar Odom ? 8.99
5. Richard Jefferson ? 8.77

Top 5 Power Forwards

1. Kevin Garnett ? 17.79
2. Tim Duncan ? 14.09
3. Dirk Nowitzki ? 11.98
4. Jermaine O?Neal ? 10.83
5. Elton Brand ? 10.50

Top 5 Centers

1. Shaquille O?Neal ? 12.37
2. Brad Miller ? 11.10
3. Yao Ming ? 9.28
4. Erick Dampier ? 8.69
5. Marcus Camby ? 8.07

VORP

I also use the Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) concept developed by Kevin Pelton at Hoopsworld.  My approach is similar to Pelton?s ? I set replacement level at the per minute production of the 290th player in the league (10th man times 29 teams), subtract per minute production from the replacement level, then multiply by the player?s total minutes.  Finally, I set the league average VORP to 150, which permits for comparisons across seasons, and establishes a consistent scale.

On my scale, a player must have a VORP of 1,000 or greater to be considered ?elite? for that season.  Typically, six or seven players reach that level, but this year just four had elite seasons:

Garnett ? 1,929
Duncan ? 1,196
Nowitzki ? 1,047
Stojakovic ? 1,018

Brand, Shaq, Boozer, McGrady and Kirilenko each had VORPs higher than 900.  Rookie of the Year LeBron James had a VORP of 646, which ranks him just below the ?second star? level.  James will likely move up in future seasons, when he learns to shoot a higher percentage and reduces his turnovers.

Just How Good Was Garnett?

Good enough that I invented a stat I call the Domination Index.  In it, I set the top PPA score to 100 and scale all other scores below him.

1996-1997

Karl Malone ? 100.00
Shaquille O?Neal ? 93.58

1997-1998

Karl Malone ? 100.00
Shaquille O?Neal ? 97.34

1998-1999

Shaquille O?Neal ? 100.00
Jason Kidd ? 96.99

1999-2000

Shaquille O?Neal ? 100.00
Kevin Garnett ? 85.75

2000-2001

Shaquille O?Neal ? 100.00
Chris Webber ? 92.01

2001-2002

Tim Duncan ? 100.00
Kevin Garnett ? 90.59

2002-2003

Kevin Garnett ? 100.00
Tim Duncan ? 91.37

2003-2004

Kevin Garnett ? 100.00
Tim Duncan ? 79.62

Finally, setting the league average PPA for each season to 10.00 allows for comparison from season to season.  The ?adjusted? PPA for each season becomes an expression of how each individual player performed relative to the average performer for that season.

By this measure, Garnett?s play this season was the best since the 1996-1997 season (the first year for which I?ve run the numbers).  Here?s the list of ?adjusted? PPA champions since 1997:

2003-2004 ? Kevin Garnett 36.95
2002-2003 ? Kevin Garnett 35.17
2001-2002 ? Tim Duncan 33.08
2000-2001 ? Shaquille O?Neal 32.97
1999-2000 ? Shaquille O?Neal 36.29
1998-1999 ? Shaquille O?Neal 30.84
1997-1998 ? Karl Malone 31.39
1996-1997 ? Karl Malone 31.99

Kevin Broom is a Senior Writer with RealGM.com.  He can be reached at KevinBroom@RealGM.com