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Player profile · NYK / PHW / SFW
Tom Gola
Tom Gola stats, teams and career impact
#46 all-timeCareer averages · 11.3 PPG · 8.0 RPG · 4.2 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Shooting guard
- Final NBA team
- New York Knicks
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) · 205 lb (93 kg)
- Born
- January 13, 1933
- Died
- January 26, 2014 (81 yrs old)
- College
- La Salle
- NBA seasons
- 10 seasons · 1955–56 to 1965–66
Career summaryTom Gola was a shooting guard who played 10 NBA seasons, from 1955–56 through 1965–66.
- Career PPG
- 11.3
- Career RPG
- 8.0
- Career APG
- 4.2
- #2 in 1957–58
- #46 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Tom Gola ranks #46 all time
Tom Gola ranks #46 all time. 4 top-ten finishes give him a sustained run near the top of the league. His full-career value ranks #153, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
4 top-ten finishes
698 games · Career Value Rank #153
NBA honors5× All-Star · All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Philadelphia Warriors, New York Knicks, and San Francisco Warriors
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 43.1%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 76.0%FT%
698 career games · 22,529 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
Tom Gola 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 →
| 1965–66 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 2.6 | +0.72 | NYK | 74 | 1 | 15.2 | 45.0% | — | 78.1% | #26 | 75.9 |
| 1964–65 | 7.0 | 4.1 | 2.9 | -0.38 | NYK | 77 | 41 | 22.4 | 44.8% | — | 73.9% | #43 | 66.3 |
| 1963–64 | 9.1 | 6.3 | 3.5 | -0.09 | NYK | 74 | 0 | 29.1 | 42.9% | — | 72.6% | #28 | 100.7 |
| 1962–63 | 12.3 | 7.1 | 4.1 | +0.01 | NYK/SFW | 73 | 0 | 36.6 | 45.9% | — | 77.6% | #31 | 133.3 |
| 1961–62 | 13.7 | 9.8 | 4.9 | +0.96 | PHW | 60 | 0 | 41.0 | 42.1% | — | 76.5% | #20 | 198.8 |
| 1960–61 | 14.2 | 9.4 | 3.9 | +1.70 | PHW | 74 | 0 | 36.6 | 44.7% | — | 74.7% | #12 | 276.2 |
| 1959–60 | 15.0 | 10.4 | 5.5 | +3.00 | PHW | 75 | 0 | 38.3 | 43.3% | — | 79.4% | #7 | 398.4 |
| 1958–59 | 14.1 | 11.1 | 4.2 | +3.82 | PHW | 64 | 0 | 36.5 | 40.1% | — | 78.7% | #4 | 334.9 |
| 1957–58 | 13.8 | 10.8 | 5.5 | +4.13 | PHW | 59 | 0 | 36.0 | 41.5% | — | 74.6% | #2 | 319.8 |
| 1955–56 | 10.8 | 9.1 | 5.9 | +3.44 | PHW | 68 | 0 | 34.5 | 41.2% | — | 73.3% | #4 | 288.7 |
| Career | 11.3 | 8.0 | 4.2 | — | NYK/PHW/SFW | 698 | — | 32.3 | 43.1% | — | 76.0% | — | — |
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.
6.9 composite · lower is better
5.8 average league finish
2,193 total value
Career standing
How Tom Gola 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 Score6.9
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
- 85.0
- Qualified seasons
- 10
- All-time rank
- #46
Strongest seasons
Every season
Tom Gola 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
| 1965–66Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 33 | 74 | 1,127 | +0.72 | 73.1 | #26 | 75.9 | 60th | Modeled |
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 32 | 77 | 1,727 | -0.38 | 52.8 | #43 | 66.3 | 55th | Modeled |
| 1963–64Historical Defense Estimate | NYK | 31 | 74 | 2,156 | -0.09 | 70.7 | #28 | 100.7 | 71st | Modeled |
| 1962–63Historical Defense Estimate | NYK/SFW | 30 | 73 | 2,670 | +0.01 | 67.0 | #31 | 133.3 | 75th | Modeled |
| 1961–62Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 29 | 60 | 2,462 | +0.96 | 77.9 | #20 | 198.8 | 81st | Modeled |
| 1960–61Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 28 | 74 | 2,712 | +1.70 | 86.1 | #12 | 276.2 | 86th | Modeled |
| 1959–60Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 27 | 75 | 2,870 | +3.00 | 92.3 | #7 | 398.4 | 96th | Modeled |
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 26 | 64 | 2,333 | +3.82 | 96.3 | #4 | 334.9 | 94th | Modeled |
| 1957–58Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 25 | 59 | 2,126 | +4.13 | 98.7 | #2 | 319.8 | 95th | Modeled |
| 1955–56Historical Defense Estimate | PHW | 23 | 68 | 2,346 | +3.44 | 96.0 | #4 | 288.7 | 93rd | Modeled |
Career movement
Tom Gola's career impact by season
Peak +4.13 in 1957–58 · 10 seasons · 22,529 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
—’57
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.
Tom GolaGeorge Gervin
| NBA season | Tom Gola | George Gervin |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.4 | 3.2 |
| 2 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
| 3 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| 4 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
| 5 | 1.7 | 3.0 |
| 6 | 1.0 | 4.2 |
| 7 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| 8 | -0.1 | -0.2 |
| 9 | -0.4 | -0.4 |
| 10 | 0.7 | -2.1 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Tom Gola
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.
SG · All-Time Career #148
George Gervin
94career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1957–58 ↔ 1977–78SG · All-Time Career #187Paul Pressey
92career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1957–58 ↔ 1986–87SF · All-Time Career #58Cliff Hagan
92career similarity score
91/100 closest-season score · 1957–58 ↔ 1957–58Impact 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 →