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NBA player comparison

Randy Livingston vs. Rick Brunson: Career comparison

hussEyquationShort-career comparison
Regular-season verdict

Rick Brunson 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.

#2543Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#2202Leads
-1.3Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-0.9Leads
-2.5Average box impact to dateEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.5Leads
#200Best league finish#183Leads
-59 ptsPoints above replacementCumulative regular-season value-23 ptsLeads
203Games337Leads

Career Impact Rank places Rick Brunson #2202 and Randy Livingston #2543. 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/randy-livingston/rick-brunson/career
Career Impact RankSee exactly how both rankings are calculatedRandy Livingston281.273 · No. 2,543Rick Brunson237.927 · No. 2,202

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.

Randy Livingston

281.273 composite · No. 2,543 all-time

Randy Livingston's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 2001999–00Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2831996–97Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate1 open slot × No. 320267.66750%133.833
Best 5No. 2001999–00Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2831996–97Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate3 open slots × No. 320288.60030%86.580
Best 10No. 2001999–00Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2831996–97Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate8 open slots × No. 320304.30020%60.860

133.833 + 86.580 + 60.860= 281.273

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 320, this player's stored replacement finish.

Rick Brunson

237.927 composite · No. 2,202 all-time

Rick Brunson's Career Composite windows
Window and finishes usedAverage finishWeightContribution
Best 3No. 1832004–05Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1882001–02Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2511997–98Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate207.33350%103.667
Best 5No. 1832004–05Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1882001–02Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2511997–98Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate2 open slots × No. 325254.40030%76.320
Best 10No. 1832004–05Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 1882001–02Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimateNo. 2511997–98Recorded box inputsIncludes bounded historical defense estimate7 open slots × No. 325289.70020%57.940

103.667 + 76.320 + 57.940= 237.927

Open-season rule: every unfilled slot uses No. 325, 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: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#2543#2202Better result for this metric.
Best 3 average finishAverage league place · lower is better267.7207.3Better result for this metric.
Best 5 average finishAverage league place · lower is better288.6254.4Better result for this metric.
Best 10 average finishAverage league place · lower is better304.3289.7Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Impact
Impact: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Points-above-replacement rankAll-time rank in estimated regular-season points above replacement#4249#3481Better result for this metric.
Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-1.3-0.9Better result for this metric.
Best 3 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterUnavailable-1.5
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-59 pts-23 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: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Games203337
Minutes2,6844,533

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: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
True shooting percentage46.9%Better result for this metric.46.4%
True shootingAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile48.1%Better result for this metric.47.3%
Show more stats: Shooting
Shooting: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Field-goal percentage40.6%Better result for this metric.37.8%
Three-point percentage35.1%36.2%Better result for this metric.
Free-throw percentage77.1%Better result for this metric.69.3%

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: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Assist rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile24.3%30.1%Better result for this metric.
Assists per game2.02.6Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Passing
Passing: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Turnover rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile23.5%Better result for this metric.23.6%

Rebounding

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

Rebounding: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Rebound rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile6.2%6.2%
Rebounds per game1.4Better 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: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Steal rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile2.2%2.3%Better result for this metric.
Show more stats: Defense
Defense: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Block rateAverage across the best impact seasons selected for the model input profile0.9%Better result for this metric.0.3%

Scoring

Points per game describe scoring volume, not overall impact.

Scoring: Randy Livingston and Rick Brunson
MetricRandy LivingstonRick Brunson
Points per game3.8Better result for this metric.3.2

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

Rick Brunson ranks higher in career impact.

Randy LivingstonMetricRick Brunson
#2543Career Impact RankPeak-weighted regular-season rank#2202Leads
-1.3Peak box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better-0.9Leads
Not availableBest 5 average box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is betterNot available
-59 ptsPoints above replacementRegular season · fixed -2.0 replacement baseline · higher is better-23 ptsLeads

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.

Randy LivingstonMetricRick Brunson
422Listed-team regular-season wins448Leads
48.5%LeadsListed-team winning percentage47.1%
3Leads50-win team seasons1
060-win team seasons0
7LeadsPlayoff team seasons5

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.

Randy LivingstonMetricRick Brunson
4Playoff appearances4
17LeadsPlayoff games16
15Team playoff wins23Leads
0Finals appearances1Leads
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.

Randy LivingstonMetricRick Brunson
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
Randy LivingstonRick BrunsonPeak 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.