Top 5 NBA player impact estimate rankings as of January 25, 2022

NBA Player Impact Estimate (PIE) is essentially a simpler version of PER, or Player Efficiency Rating. Metrically, it incorparates almost everything a player does in the box score to calculate their all-around impact. These are the players who do it all.

If they are off in one category, an influence on the game is made otherwise, and in many ways. They are the triple-double threats nightly, or the players so far out in front of the league in another category that their numbers become glaringly legendary.

There is a passion for affecting the game in any and every way possible. These are high-usage rate players, and the rock is most likely in their hands at the end of every close game on the schedule.

For those looking for Kevin Durant on this list, his PIE of 18.1 would sit fourth and tied with another player listed. With respect to his numbers, and since the superstar is on the shelf rehabbing a knee injury, why not give another player shine?

Here's our Top 5.

# 5 LeBron James continues to show and NBA prove

LeBron James is second in NBA scoring average behind Kevin Durant.

Special is as special does, and LeBron James at age 37 continues to be special.

The NBA legend could shock the world and win his fifth MVP award in 2022. He is on a mission to prove the LA Lakers will be a major factor regardless of position entering the playoffs. How he consistently plays at this level further illuminates the greatness of James – greatness that has illuminated his excellence since the second he left Akron, Ohio. That is consistency.

Fourth in the NBA in minutes played (36.7 per), the intensity in his play combined with a priority to score the ball and lead his shorthanded team to victory is a great thing to watch. As he approaches his 20th season, James continues to astound, and through his longevity, future generations of NBA fans will learn his name sooner rather than later.

#4 Rudy Gobert is much more than a defensive juggernaut

Rudy Gobert will send everything packing if allowed.

Rudy Gobert, the defending Defensive Player of the Year, changes how offenses operate whenever they play the Utah Jazz.

His 18.1 PIE is tied with Kevin Durant, and with Gobert in particular, most of what makes up his PIE happens on the defensive end. Gobert is averaging an NBA-leading 15.1 boards per game and also the second-most blocks in the league with 2.3.

The opposition fully understands what it has to deal with nightly against the Jazz. Gobert is a defensive force who averages 16.1 points per game – which is a double blow to whoever thinks an easy night will be had guarding the game's top defensive presence.

The Utah Jazz will remain competitive as long as Gobert is healthy. He provides rim protection very few teams have. Combined with the offensive weapon that Donovan Mitchell is, Utah will be a force that will define what happens in the postseason.

#3 The NBA hunger of Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo will dominate anyone in front of him.

Sitting at third with a PIE of 20.7, Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to fill his resume with elite stats. Giannis is a complete player and will be mentioned along with the best big men to ever play the game.

The two-time MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year fills the stat sheet on both ends. He is dominant offensively and defensively. The numbers he puts up not only show his game impact, but how he stacks with the historical figures of the game. Competitors know Antetokounmpo will bring it thoroughly from anywhere and everywhere on the floor.

#2 Joel Embiid is making himself known

Right now, Joel Embiid looks like NBA's MVP.

The Philadelphia 76ers are on the threshold of either continuing an upward climb in the Eastern Conference or completely falling off the map. Their leader, All-Star center Joel Embiid, has yet to receive the postseason recognition he supremely deserves.

Much of that is contingent on how Philly finishes, yet the numbers Embiid is putting up will leave no doubt how great a player he is now and for time. His PIE is 21.0 – which is high in part because his usage rate of 36.5 is tops in the league.

Embiid is also a complete player who brings fire to his nightly competition. If you start talking back and forth with him, he will finish you on the floor mentally and physically. The game is fun for him, and he's taking advantage of his time in the league right now. Don't mistake him for some flash-in-the-pan clown focused on petty squabbles with his counterparts, for Embiid is as focused as any player.

The accolades he will gather will be proof.

#1 In defense of the MVP, Nikola Jokic

Nikola Jokic, the reigning NBA MVP, is defending the award earnestly.

Nikola Jokic barely dunks at 7-foot tall and is as unathletic a superstar as the NBA has ever seen, yet he heads this list of the league's most impactful players.

His PIE is an astounding 23.5. He is the only big man in the top 12 of assist percentage at 37.8 (5th in the league), is second with a defensive rebound percentage of 31.4 and fifth in rebound percentage overall.

The reigning MVP will go down in time as one of the most unique talents the game has seen. He is a throwback to the times when big men were also willing passers in the offense off double teams, and his triple-double numbers will rank high historically when it's all said and done.