PER is one of the earliest modern composite basketball metrics. It aggregates everything a player produces (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and everything they cost (turnovers, missed shots, fouls) into a single per-minute metric, normalized to league pace.
The league average is fixed at 15 by construction. Between 20 and 22, you're an All-Star. Above 25, MVP candidate. Record seasons have cleared 31 (Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Giannis).
PER has fair critics: it overvalues offensive volume and undervalues defense (which the box score captures poorly). That's why modern metrics like BPM, RAPTOR, or EPM have taken over.
But as a quick first read, PER remains useful and well-documented, available on Basketball-Reference for every NBA season.
Real example
A player with a season PER of 24 is considered a near-certain All-Star level.
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