Category profile
- Dominance
- 70
- Peak
- 86
- Longevity
- 64
- Honours
- 80
- Statistics
- 84
Career timeline · Points per game
| Season | Points per game | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 12.2 | |
| 1952 | 13.8 | |
| 1953 | 12 | |
| 1954 | 6.5 |
Data sources
- NBA.com
- Basketball Reference
- Naismith Hall of Fame
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Don Barksdale ranks #181 in Basketball
Don Barksdale ranks 181st among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 1391st of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 76.1 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 70, Peak 86, Longevity 64, Honours 80, Statistics 84. Those categories are normalised against the full Basketball reference universe of 402 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1948–1955 with 4 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1952, which sets the Peak component at 86. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 86 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes olympic golds 1, all-star selections 1, career points per game 11, career rebounds per game 8.
Immediately ahead sits Trae Young on 76.4, a gap of 0.3 points. Directly behind is Victor Wembanyama on 75.1. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Don Barksdale GOAT Score explained
- Dominance70/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Barksdale stood above the field while competing. Scored 70/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
- Peak86/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1952. Scored 86/100.
- Longevity64/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 7 years of competition and 4 recorded seasons. Scored 64/100.
- Honours80/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 80/100.
- Statistics84/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 84/100.
Top Barksdale comparisons
Don Barksdale — frequently asked
- Is Don Barksdale the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Don Barksdale ranks 181st in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 76.1, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
- What is Don Barksdale's GOAT Score?
- 76.1 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 70 (25%), Peak 86 (20%), Longevity 64 (20%), Honours 80 (20%), Statistics 84 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Don Barksdale rank all time?
- 1391st of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 181st within Basketball.
- Don Barksdale vs Trae Young: who ranks higher?
- Trae Young, on 76.4 against Don Barksdale's 76.1 — a margin of 0.3 points.