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NBA player comparison

Pete Cross vs. Ralph Johnson: Career comparison

hussEyquationShort-career comparison
Regular-season verdict

Ralph Johnson 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.

#1232Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#866Leads
+0.2LeadsPeak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.2
-0.4LeadsAverage box impact to dateEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.3
#55LeadsBest league finish#65
+128 ptsLeadsPoints above replacementCumulative regular-season value+60 pts
182LeadsGames137

Career Impact Rank places Ralph Johnson #866 and Pete Cross #1232. It combines league finishes across each player's best three, five, and ten regular seasons, giving the most weight to the best three. Pete Cross had the higher single-season impact estimate and more total career value.

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/pete-cross/ralph-johnson/career
Career Impact RankSee exactly how both rankings are calculatedPete Cross120.140 · No. 1,232Ralph Johnson83.493 · No. 866

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.

Pete Cross

120.140 composite · No. 1,232 all-time

Pete Cross's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 551970–71Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 881971–72Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate1 open slot × No. 167.5103.50050%51.750
Best 5No. 551970–71Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 881971–72Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate3 open slots × No. 167.5129.10030%38.730
Best 10No. 551970–71Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 881971–72Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate8 open slots × No. 167.5148.30020%29.660

51.750 + 38.730 + 29.660= 120.140

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 167.5, this player's stored replacement finish.

Ralph Johnson

83.493 composite · No. 866 all-time

Ralph Johnson's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 651950–51Reconstructed historical estimateNo. 651951–52Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate1 open slot × No. 101.577.16750%38.583
Best 5No. 651950–51Reconstructed historical estimateNo. 651951–52Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate3 open slots × No. 101.586.90030%26.070
Best 10No. 651950–51Reconstructed historical estimateNo. 651951–52Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate8 open slots × No. 101.594.20020%18.840

38.583 + 26.070 + 18.840= 83.493

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 101.5, 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 →

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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: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#1232#866Better result for this metric.
Best 3 average finishAverage league place · lower is better103.577.2Better result for this metric.
Best 5 average finishAverage league place · lower is better129.186.9Better result for this metric.
Best 10 average finishAverage league place · lower is better148.394.2Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Impact
Impact: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Points-above-replacement rankAll-time rank in estimated regular-season points above replacement#1350Better result for this metric.#1584
Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better+0.2Better result for this metric.-1.2
Best 3 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterUnavailableUnavailable
Best 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterUnavailableUnavailable
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+128 ptsBetter result for this metric.+60 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: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Games182137
Minutes3,7754,345

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. Statistics that were not recorded in earlier eras are left out. 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: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
True shooting percentage48.4%Better result for this metric.37.9%
True shootingAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile48.9%Unavailable
Show more stats: Shooting
Shooting: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Field-goal percentage43.1%Better result for this metric.33.6%
Three-point percentageUnavailableUnavailable
Free-throw percentage69.5%71.1%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: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Assist rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile6.0%Unavailable
Assists per game1.02.9Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Passing
Passing: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Turnover rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile15.8%Unavailable

Rebounding

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

Rebounding: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Rebound rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile18.4%Unavailable
Rebounds per game8.3Better result for this metric.3.6

Scoring

Points per game describe scoring volume, not overall impact.

Scoring: Pete Cross and Ralph Johnson
MetricPete CrossRalph Johnson
Points per game5.88.1Better result for this metric.

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

Ralph Johnson ranks higher in career impact.

Pete CrossMetricRalph Johnson
#1232Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#866Leads
+0.2LeadsPeak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.2
Not availableBest 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterNot available
+128 ptsLeadsPoints above replacementRegular season · fixed -2.0 replacement baseline · higher is better+60 pts

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

Context

Team Success

The advantages are split across the available measures.

Pete CrossMetricRalph Johnson
328LeadsListed-team regular-season wins97
0.4%Listed-team winning percentage47.8%Leads
4Leads50-win team seasons0
4Leads60-win team seasons0
0Playoff team seasons3Leads

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

No recorded measure separates these careers.

Pete CrossMetricRalph Johnson
Not availablePlayoff appearances2
Not availablePlayoff games5
Not availableTeam playoff wins1
Not availableFinals appearances0
Not availableChampionships0

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.

Pete CrossMetricRalph Johnson
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
Pete CrossRalph JohnsonPeak seasonHistorical source qualification

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

S1
S2
S3

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.