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Player profile · DET / FTW / SYR
George Yardley
George Yardley stats, teams and career impact
#86 all-timeCareer averages · 19.2 PPG · 8.9 RPG · 1.7 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Small forward
- Final NBA team
- Syracuse Nationals
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) · 190 lb (86 kg)
- Born
- November 3, 1928
- Died
- August 13, 2004 (75 yrs old)
- College
- Stanford
- NBA seasons
- 7 seasons · 1953–54 to 1959–60
Career summaryGeorge Yardley was a small forward who played 7 NBA seasons, from 1953–54 through 1959–60.
- Career PPG
- 19.2
- Career RPG
- 8.9
- Career APG
- 1.7
- #5 in 1956–57
- #86 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why George Yardley ranks #86 all time
George Yardley ranks #86 all time. 4 top-ten finishes give him a sustained run near the top of the league. His full-career value ranks #279, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
4 top-ten finishes
472 games · Career Value Rank #279
NBA honors6× All-Star · 2× All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare George Yardley with…
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- George Yardley vs. Connie Hawkins Similar career path
- George Yardley vs. Harry Gallatin Similar career path
- George Yardley vs. Jack Coleman Similar career path
- George Yardley vs. Bob Gross Similar career path
- George Yardley vs. Bobby Wanzer Similar career path
- George Yardley vs. Sonny Parker Similar career path
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Fort Wayne Pistons, Detroit Pistons, and Syracuse Nationals
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 42.2%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 78.0%FT%
472 career games · 15,767 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
George Yardley stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959–60 | 20.2 | 7.9 | 1.7 | +1.31 | SYR | 73 | 0 | 32.9 | 45.3% | — | 81.6% | #18 | 210.9 |
| 1958–59 | 19.8 | 7.1 | 1.1 | +1.59 | DET/SYR | 61 | 0 | 30.1 | 42.8% | — | 77.9% | #14 | 163.1 |
| 1957–58 | 27.8 | 10.7 | 1.3 | +2.87 | DET | 72 | 0 | 39.5 | 41.4% | — | 81.1% | #10 | 342.8 |
| 1956–57 | 21.5 | 10.5 | 2.0 | +2.75 | FTW | 72 | 0 | 37.4 | 41.0% | — | 78.7% | #5 | 286.9 |
| 1955–56 | 17.4 | 9.7 | 2.2 | +2.22 | FTW | 71 | 0 | 33.1 | 40.7% | — | 74.2% | #11 | 213.4 |
| 1954–55 | 17.3 | 9.9 | 2.1 | +1.66 | FTW | 60 | 0 | 35.8 | 41.8% | — | 74.5% | #10 | 165.0 |
| 1953–54 | 9.0 | 6.5 | 1.6 | +2.19 | FTW | 63 | 0 | 23.6 | 42.5% | — | 71.2% | #9 | 113.0 |
| Career | 19.2 | 8.9 | 1.7 | — | DET/FTW/SYR | 472 | — | 33.4 | 42.2% | — | 78.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
13.0 composite · lower is better
9.0 average league finish
1,495 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How George Yardley ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score13.0
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 80.0
- Qualified seasons
- 7
- All-time rank
- #86
Strongest seasons
Every season
George Yardley advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959–60Historical Defense Estimate | SYR | 31 | 73 | 2,402 | +1.31 | 78.2 | #18 | 210.9 | 79th | Modeled |
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | DET/SYR | 30 | 61 | 1,839 | +1.59 | 83.8 | #14 | 163.1 | 79th | Modeled |
| 1957–58Historical Defense Estimate | DET | 29 | 72 | 2,843 | +2.87 | 88.2 | #10 | 342.8 | 96th | Modeled |
| 1956–57Historical Defense Estimate | FTW | 28 | 72 | 2,691 | +2.75 | 94.9 | #5 | 286.9 | 95th | Modeled |
| 1955–56Historical Defense Estimate | FTW | 27 | 71 | 2,353 | +2.22 | 86.7 | #11 | 213.4 | 87th | Modeled |
| 1954–55Historical Defense Estimate | FTW | 26 | 60 | 2,150 | +1.66 | 88.2 | #10 | 165.0 | 84th | Modeled |
| 1953–54Historical Defense Estimate | FTW | 25 | 63 | 1,489 | +2.19 | 90.2 | #9 | 113.0 | 72nd | Modeled |
Career movement
George Yardley's box impact by season
Peak box impact +2.87 points per 100 possessions in 1957–58 · 7 seasons · 15,767 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
George YardleyConnie Hawkins
| NBA season | George Yardley | Connie Hawkins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.2 | 3.4 |
| 2 | 1.7 | 3.4 |
| 3 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| 4 | 2.8 | 2.1 |
| 5 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
| 6 | 1.6 | 0.0 |
| 7 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to George Yardley
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
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94career similarity score
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93career similarity score
90/100 closest-season score · 1957–58 ↔ 1954–55PF · All-Time Career #82Jack Coleman
93career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 1957–58 ↔ 1952–53Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →