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NBA player comparison

Alexander Johnson vs. Ralph Polson: Career comparison

hussEyquationShort-career comparison
Regular-season verdict

Ralph Polson 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.

#2812Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#959Leads
-3.0Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.9Leads
-4.2Average box impact to dateEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.9Leads
#294Best league finish#77Leads
-49 ptsPoints above replacementCumulative regular-season value+1 ptsLeads
102LeadsGames49

Career Impact Rank places Ralph Polson #959 and Alexander Johnson #2812. It combines league finishes across each player's best three, five, and ten regular seasons, giving the most weight to the best three.

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/alexander-johnson/ralph-polson/career
Career Impact RankSee exactly how both rankings are calculatedAlexander Johnson320.687 · No. 2,812Ralph Polson91.313 · No. 959

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.

Alexander Johnson

320.687 composite · No. 2,812 all-time

Alexander Johnson's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 2942006–07Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 3192007–08Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate1 open slot × No. 334.5315.83350%157.917
Best 5No. 2942006–07Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 3192007–08Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate3 open slots × No. 334.5323.30030%96.990
Best 10No. 2942006–07Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 3192007–08Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate8 open slots × No. 334.5328.90020%65.780

157.917 + 96.990 + 65.780= 320.687

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 334.5, this player's stored replacement finish.

Ralph Polson

91.313 composite · No. 959 all-time

Ralph Polson's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 771952–53Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate2 open slots × No. 9689.66750%44.833
Best 5No. 771952–53Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate4 open slots × No. 9692.20030%27.660
Best 10No. 771952–53Reconstructed historical estimateIncludes bounded historical defense estimate9 open slots × No. 9694.10020%18.820

44.833 + 27.660 + 18.820= 91.313

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 96, 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: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#2812#959Better result for this metric.
Best 3 average finishAverage league place · lower is better315.889.7Better result for this metric.
Best 5 average finishAverage league place · lower is better323.392.2Better result for this metric.
Best 10 average finishAverage league place · lower is better328.994.1Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Impact
Impact: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Points-above-replacement rankAll-time rank in estimated regular-season points above replacement#4121#2005Better result for this metric.
Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-3.0-1.9Better result for this metric.
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-49 pts+1 ptsBetter result for this metric.
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: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Games10249
Minutes1,302810

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: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
True shooting percentage57.4%Better result for this metric.43.2%
True shootingAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile57.1%Unavailable
Show more stats: Shooting
Shooting: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Field-goal percentage51.7%Better result for this metric.36.3%
Three-point percentageUnavailableUnavailable
Free-throw percentage67.2%Better result for this metric.63.5%

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: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Assist rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile3.8%Unavailable
Assists per game0.30.5Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Passing
Passing: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Turnover rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile19.1%Unavailable

Rebounding

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

Rebounding: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Rebound rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile12.4%Unavailable
Rebounds per game2.74.3Better result for this metric.

Defense

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

Defense: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Steal rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile1.5%Unavailable
Show more stats: Defense
Defense: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Block rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile2.5%Unavailable

Scoring

Points per game describe scoring volume, not overall impact.

Scoring: Alexander Johnson and Ralph Polson
MetricAlexander JohnsonRalph Polson
Points per game4.3Better result for this metric.3.9

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 Polson ranks higher in career impact.

Alexander JohnsonMetricRalph Polson
#2812Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#959Leads
-3.0Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.9Leads
Not availableBest 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterNot available
-49 ptsPoints above replacementRegular season · fixed -2.0 replacement baseline · higher is better+1 ptsLeads

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

Context

Team Success

Ralph Polson leads every available measure below.

Alexander JohnsonMetricRalph Polson
37Listed-team regular-season wins59Leads
22.6%Listed-team winning percentage42.4%Leads
050-win team seasons0
060-win team seasons0
0Playoff team seasons1Leads

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.

Alexander JohnsonMetricRalph Polson
Not availablePlayoff appearancesNot available
Not availablePlayoff gamesNot available
Not availableTeam playoff winsNot available
Not availableFinals appearancesNot available
Not availableChampionshipsNot available

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.

Alexander JohnsonMetricRalph Polson
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
Alexander JohnsonRalph PolsonPeak seasonHistorical source qualification

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

S1
S2
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.