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A players efficiency rating is calculated by a simple equation. It basically gives the player 1 point for their good stats and takes away a point for their bad stats. The equations looks like the following:

EFF = (PTS + REB + STL + BLK + AST ) – (TO- FG_MISSED - FT_MISSED)

 If you take a little while to examine it you can get an appreciation for how it can level the playing field for players. Iverson doesn’t rebound but he gets massive pts and assists. Tim Duncan doesn’t get as many points, but he gets rebounds to make up for it and Iverson misses more shots. In the end, you would love to have either of them on your team because they are very efficient overall. Of course only one of them believes in practice, but that’s another story.

Below is an example from NBA.com (http://www.nba.com/statistics/efficiency.html):

Compare the following stat lines:

		MIN		FGM-A		FTM-A		REB		AST		STL		BS		TO		PTS
Player A		43		5-22		7-9		8		6		3		0		4		17
Player B		29		5-8		3-4		4		7		0		0		2		15

Player A had a better game, right? Not exactly. Player B, who shot 5-8 from the field and committed two turnovers, registered a +20 efficiency total while Player A, who shot 5-22 from the field and committed four turnovers, posted a +11.