GGOATRANK
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Basketball · Forward · United States

Pop Gates

1938–1955 · New York Rens star and one of the first Black players in the NBL.

Retired
Ranking model

100% titles, statistics, dominance, longevity and global competition depth.

Pure sporting data
84.1
Cultural & brand footprint 58/100 · total legacy 79.0
World Professional Tournament titles
2
Seasons played
17
NBL seasons
5
Hall of Fame inductions
1
Career points per game
8

Category profile

Dominance
80
Peak
90
Longevity
86
Honours
80
Statistics
86

Career timeline · Points per game

SeasonPoints per gameShare of career
19398
194010
194112
194212
194311
194410
19459
19468
19477
19486
19495
19504

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 Pop Gates ranks #84 in Basketball

Pop Gates ranks 84th among Basketball athletes on GOAT Rank and 482nd of 2289 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 84.1 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 90, Longevity 86, Honours 80, Statistics 86. 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 1938–1955 with 12 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1941, which sets the Peak component at 90. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 90 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes world professional tournament titles 2, seasons played 17, nbl seasons 5, hall of fame inductions 1.

Immediately ahead sits Lindsay Whalen on 84.1, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Al Cervi on 84.1. 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.

Pop Gates GOAT Score explained

Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
Measures how far Gates stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full Basketball cohort.
Peak90/100 · weight 20%
Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1941. Scored 90/100.
Longevity86/100 · weight 20%
Rewards staying at that level over time: 17 years of competition and 12 recorded seasons. Scored 86/100.
Honours80/100 · weight 20%
Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 80/100.
Statistics86/100 · weight 15%
Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 86/100.

Pop Gates — frequently asked

Is Pop Gates the GOAT?
Not on the current data. Pop Gates ranks 84th in Basketball with a GOAT Score of 84.1, behind LeBron James on 95.6.
What is Pop Gates's GOAT Score?
84.1 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 90 (20%), Longevity 86 (20%), Honours 80 (20%), Statistics 86 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
Where does Pop Gates rank all time?
482nd of 2289 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 84th within Basketball.
Pop Gates vs Lindsay Whalen: who ranks higher?
Pop Gates, on 84.1 against Lindsay Whalen's 84.1 — a margin of 0.0 points.
Compare with LeBron