hussEyquation
Menu

Explore hussEyquation

NBA player comparison

Josh McRoberts vs. Steve Novak: Career comparison

hussEyquationShort-career comparison
Regular-season verdict

Josh McRoberts ranks higher in career impact

Impact comparison

Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Higher is better. Career ranks and average league finishes work the other way: lower is better.

#1014LeadsCareer Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#1214
+2.6Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+3.5Leads
+0.5Average box impact to dateEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+1.3Leads
#33Best league finish#22Leads
+431 ptsLeadsPoints above replacementCumulative regular-season value+257 pts
433Games467Leads

Career Impact Rank places Josh McRoberts #1014 and Steve Novak #1214. It combines league finishes across each player's best three, five, and ten regular seasons, giving the most weight to the best three. Steve Novak had the higher single-season impact estimate.

Regular season only. Impact figures are estimates; small gaps are not exact. Playoffs, awards and titles do not determine the verdict.

Short-career comparisonhusseyquation.com/compare/josh-mcroberts/steve-novak/career
Career Impact RankSee exactly how both rankings are calculatedJosh McRoberts95.960 · No. 1,014Steve Novak118.573 · No. 1,214

Only the three league-finish windows below determine Career Impact Rank. Career Value and peak impact are separate measures; neither adds points to this calculation. Lower composite scores rank higher.

Josh McRoberts

95.960 composite · No. 1,014 all-time

Josh McRoberts's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 332013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 422010–11Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 722009–10Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate49.00050%24.500
Best 5No. 332013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 422010–11Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 722009–10Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1462012–13Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1872011–12Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate96.00030%28.800
Best 10No. 332013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 422010–11Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 722009–10Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1462012–13Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1872011–12Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2552015–16Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate4 open slots × No. 349.5213.30020%42.660

24.500 + 28.800 + 42.660= 95.960

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 349.5, this player's stored replacement finish.

Steve Novak

118.573 composite · No. 1,214 all-time

Steve Novak's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 222011–12Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 552008–09Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 992013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate58.66750%29.333
Best 5No. 222011–12Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 552008–09Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 992013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1612012–13Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate1 open slot × No. 346136.60030%40.980
Best 10No. 222011–12Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 552008–09Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 992013–14Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1612012–13Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate6 open slots × No. 346241.30020%48.260

29.333 + 40.980 + 48.260= 118.573

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 346, this player's stored replacement finish.

Averages, contributions, and totals are displayed to three decimal places. The ranking calculation keeps full source precision. Read the full method →

Share this comparisonChoose a social post or link-preview image.

Full comparison · Career comparison

Understand the numbers

Start with impact, then compare playing time and skills. Team results add context. These are not categories to tally into a winner.

1 · Ranking evidence

Impact: who ranks higher, and why?

Career Impact Rank compares entire regular-season careers across NBA history. It combines average league places across the best three, five, and ten seasons, weighted 50%, 30%, and 20%. A lower rank or average place is better.

Impact: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#1014Better result for this metric.#1214
Best 3 average finishAverage league place · lower is better49.0Better result for this metric.58.7
Best 5 average finishAverage league place · lower is better96.0Better result for this metric.136.6
Best 10 average finishAverage league place · lower is better213.3Better result for this metric.241.3
Show more stats: Impact
Impact: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Points-above-replacement rankAll-time rank in estimated regular-season points above replacement#851Better result for this metric.#1086
Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+2.6+3.5Better result for this metric.
Best 3 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+2.0Better result for this metric.+1.9
Best 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+1.0Unavailable
Best 10 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterUnavailableUnavailable
Points above replacementRegular season · fixed -2.0 replacement baseline · higher is better+431 ptsBetter result for this metric.+257 pts
Seasons ranked No. 100
Top-five impact seasons00
Top-ten impact seasons00

2 · Playing time and responsibility

How much did each player take on?

Read games and minutes alongside impact. Offensive usage is the share of team plays a player ends with a shot, free throws, or a turnover while on court. More usage is not automatically better.

Playing time and workload: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Games433467
Minutes8,2715,657

3 · Individual skills

Where does each player have an advantage?

These are each player's averages across up to ten best seasons. Career Impact Rank gives the Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights, giving the most weight to the highest peak. The model accounts for position, role, pace, playing time, and team results. Green marks the better result for a metric, including lower turnover rates. Workload and shot-selection measures stay neutral. These rows are not votes toward the ranking.

Shooting

True shooting includes two-pointers, three-pointers, and free throws.

Shooting: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
True shooting percentage53.9%61.6%Better result for this metric.
True shootingAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile53.4%62.3%Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Shooting
Shooting: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Field-goal percentage46.3%Better result for this metric.43.7%
Three-point percentage34.0%43.0%Better result for this metric.
Free-throw percentage70.5%87.7%Better result for this metric.

Passing

Assist rate is the share of teammates’ made shots assisted while the player is on court. Read turnovers alongside offensive workload; lower turnover rate is generally better.

Passing: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Assist rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile15.8%Better result for this metric.3.7%
Assists per game2.1Better result for this metric.0.3
Show more stats: Passing
Passing: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Turnover rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile14.8%4.3%Better result for this metric.

Rebounding

Rebound rate is the share of available rebounds collected while on court.

Rebounding: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Rebound rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile11.9%Better result for this metric.6.0%
Rebounds per game3.9Better result for this metric.1.3

Defense

Steals and blocks describe only part of defense. They do not capture every stop, rotation, or matchup.

Defense: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Steal rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile1.4%Better result for this metric.1.0%
Show more stats: Defense
Defense: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Block rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile1.7%Better result for this metric.0.5%

Scoring

Points per game describe scoring volume, not overall impact.

Scoring: Josh McRoberts and Steve Novak
MetricJosh McRobertsSteve Novak
Points per game5.4Better result for this metric.4.7

4 · Team context, not ranking inputs

What happened with and without them?

A verified with/without comparison is unavailable for this scope. We do not substitute another season’s observations.

Four separate questions

Impact, winning, playoffs, and awards

These are different ways to understand a career. Only Regular Season Impact determines the hussEyquation verdict. The other three sections add basketball context without adding points or changing the rank.

Ranking result

Regular Season Impact

Josh McRoberts ranks higher in career impact.

Josh McRobertsMetricSteve Novak
#1014LeadsCareer Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#1214
+2.6Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+3.5Leads
+1.0Best 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterNot available
+431 ptsLeadsPoints above replacementRegular season · fixed -2.0 replacement baseline · higher is better+257 pts

This is the ranking result. It uses regular-season impact only. Team records, playoffs, and awards do not change it.

Context

Team Success

Steve Novak leads every available measure below.

Josh McRobertsMetricSteve Novak
421Listed-team regular-season wins624Leads
43.5%Listed-team winning percentage55.1%Leads
050-win team seasons6Leads
060-win team seasons1Leads
4Playoff team seasons9Leads

Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Final records for every listed team-season. A traded season can include more than one team.

Context

Playoff Résumé

The advantages are split across the available measures.

Josh McRobertsMetricSteve Novak
4Playoff appearances5Leads
25LeadsPlayoff games22
13Team playoff wins14Leads
0Finals appearances0
0Championships0

Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Team playoff results count only seasons when the player appeared in a playoff game.

Context

Awards

No recorded measure separates these careers.

Josh McRobertsMetricSteve Novak
Not availableAll-StarNot available
Not availableMVPNot available
Not availableAll-NBANot available
Not availableAll-DefenseNot available
Not availableDPOYNot available
Not availableRookie of the YearNot available

Context only. Not included in Career Impact Rank. Major regular-season honors are recognition, not inputs to the impact ranking.

How each context field is counted
Listed-team regular-season wins
The sum of each listed team's final wins in every season the player represented that team.
Listed-team winning percentage
Those team wins divided by those teams' total regular-season games.
50- and 60-win team seasons
Listed team-seasons that finished with at least 50 or 60 wins. Shortened seasons are not projected to 82 games.
Team seasons reaching playoffs
Listed team-seasons in which that team qualified for the playoffs.
Playoff appearances and games
Postseasons and games in which the player appeared.
Team playoff wins
Team wins from those postseasons. They describe team results, not individual credit.
Finals appearances and championships
Seasons when the player appeared in the playoffs for the finalist or champion.
Awards
Recorded NBA selections and major regular-season honors. A zero means the source records none; Not available means the source field is missing.

Source and scope Basketball Reference, NBA seasons 1950–51 through 2025–26, accessed 2026-10-09.

Career Shape Explorer

How the careers developed

Follow every regular season by NBA experience or age. This view describes the path; it does not create another verdict.

View
Align careers by
Josh McRobertsSteve NovakPeak seasonHistorical source qualification

Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average

S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
S10
S11

Striped bars mark seasons with fewer than 40 games. A dashed mark means that player had no season at the aligned point.

S means NBA season number; A means player age. Peak labels identify each player's accepted best season. Hover or focus any pair for season detail, or open Season timeline for the complete evidence ledger.