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Player profile · MLH / MNL / PHW / ROC
Lew Hitch
Lew Hitch stats, teams and career impact
#242 all-timeCareer averages · 5.0 PPG · 5.3 RPG · 1.2 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Power forward
- Teams in final NBA season
- Philadelphia Warriors and Rochester Royals
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) · 200 lb (91 kg)
- Born
- July 16, 1929
- Died
- February 8, 2012 (82 yrs old)
- College
- Kansas State
- NBA seasons
- 6 seasons · 1951–52 to 1956–57
Career summaryLew Hitch was a power forward who played 6 NBA seasons, from 1951–52 through 1956–57.
- Career PPG
- 5.0
- Career RPG
- 5.3
- Career APG
- 1.2
- #18 in 1953–54
- #242 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Lew Hitch ranks #242 all time
Lew Hitch ranks #242 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #22.3. His full-career value ranks #922, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
414 games · Career Value Rank #922
Head to head
Compare Lew Hitch with…
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- Lew Hitch vs. Jack Nichols Same-era comparison
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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Minneapolis Lakers, Milwaukee Hawks, Philadelphia Warriors, and Rochester Royals
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 37.6%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 67.4%FT%
414 career games · 8,364 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
Lew Hitch 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.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| 1956–57 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 0.6 | -1.66 | PHW/ROC | 68 | 0 | 16.7 | 37.5% | — | 71.6% | #64 | 8.8 |
| 1955–56 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 1.1 | +0.02 | MNL | 69 | 0 | 16.4 | 40.0% | — | 75.8% | #29 | 51.4 |
| 1954–55 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 1.7 | +0.77 | MLH/MNL | 74 | 0 | 24.0 | 40.0% | — | 68.0% | #20 | 103.7 |
| 1953–54 | 8.0 | 9.6 | 2.0 | +1.31 | MLH | 72 | 0 | 34.1 | 36.7% | — | 63.9% | #18 | 142.2 |
| 1952–53 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 0.9 | -0.77 | MNL | 70 | 0 | 14.7 | 34.9% | — | 61.0% | #54 | 24.6 |
| 1951–52 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 0.8 | +0.30 | MNL | 61 | 0 | 13.9 | 35.8% | — | 67.0% | #34 | 39.5 |
| Career | 5.0 | 5.3 | 1.2 | — | MLH/MNL/PHW/ROC | 414 | — | 20.2 | 37.6% | — | 67.4% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
What these measures mean
- Era-centered box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average.
- Impact Rate Rank
- The player's place among qualified players in one season.
- 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.
31.4 composite · lower is better
31.0 average league finish
370 total value
Career standing
How Lew Hitch 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 Score31.4
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
- 82.5
- Qualified seasons
- 6
- All-time rank
- #242
Strongest seasons
Every season
Lew Hitch 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
| 1956–57Historical Defense Estimate | PHW/ROC | 27 | 68 | 1,133 | -1.66 | 20.3 | #64 | 8.8 | 19th | Modeled |
| 1955–56Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 26 | 69 | 1,129 | +0.02 | 62.7 | #29 | 51.4 | 49th | Modeled |
| 1954–55Historical Defense Estimate | MLH/MNL | 25 | 74 | 1,774 | +0.77 | 75.0 | #20 | 103.7 | 67th | Modeled |
| 1953–54Historical Defense Estimate | MLH | 24 | 72 | 2,452 | +1.31 | 79.3 | #18 | 142.2 | 79th | Modeled |
| 1952–53Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 23 | 70 | 1,027 | -0.77 | 43.6 | #54 | 24.6 | 40th | Modeled |
| 1951–52Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 22 | 61 | 849 | +0.30 | 65.3 | #34 | 39.5 | 46th | Modeled |
Career movement
Lew Hitch's career impact by season
Peak +1.31 in 1953–54 · 6 seasons · 8,364 minutes
The same historical box-score model is used for every season, making the career shape comparable through time. The vertical scale adapts to this player's range and always includes zero.
Era-centered box impactMinutesModeled 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.
Lew HitchPaul Griffin
| NBA season | Lew Hitch | Paul Griffin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| 2 | -0.8 | 0.1 |
| 3 | 1.3 | -0.8 |
| 4 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
| 5 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| 6 | -1.7 | -1.5 |
| 7 | Did not play | -1.5 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Lew Hitch
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.
PF · All-Time Career #883
Paul Griffin
94career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1953–54 ↔ 1977–78PF · All-Time Career #1198Michael Smith
93career similarity score
95/100 closest-season score · 1953–54 ↔ 1996–97PF · All-Time Career #1317Nemanja Bjelica
93career similarity score
82/100 closest-season score · 1953–54 ↔ 2018–19Impact 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 →