Al Jefferson: Numbers and More

Wolves big man Al Jefferson is progressing as one of the league's most prominent forwards. Now in his fourth year, his numbers are reflecting his experience.

In nearly every statistical category, Jefferson has improved from his three-year stint in Boston. More importantly, Jefferson seems up to the challenge of filling the huge void left when Kevin Garnett departed for Boston.

Prior to this season, we looked at how Jefferson’s numbers compared to other NBA post players. We learned that Jefferson’s Class of 2004 mates (Dwight Howard and Emeka Okafor) were experiencing similar progress and that often times, it takes far longer to experience the type of success that Jefferson has shown. Jermaine O’Neal, for example, took five years to post the type of numbers that could be mentioned in the same breath as Jefferson’s (12.9 points, 9.8 rebounds) third-year numbers.

AL JEFFERSON NUMBERS, PRIOR TO THIS SEASON

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
2004-05	71	195-369	.528	85-135	.630	4.4	0.3	6.7
2005-06	59	189-379	.499	86-134	.642	5.1	0.5	7.9
2006-07	69	453-882	.514	201-295	.681	11.0	1.3	16.0
Career	199	453-882	.513	372-564	.660	6.9	0.7	10.3

Wolves fans knew that the goal was to build a franchise around Big Al, and they had seen his numbers on paper. Little did they know that Minnesota’s newest superstar would be this productive. The 6-10 forward-center is quickly cementing himself as the most consistent Wolf, and his 2007-08 numbers show it.

AL JEFFERSON NUMBERS, THIS SEASON TO DATE

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
2007-08	33	283-574	.493	114-166	.687	12.2	1.4	20.6

Jefferson scores 4.6 more points than a season ago, and is averaging 1.2 more rebounds per game. Big Al joins the company of Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, Antawn Jamison and Yao Ming, as members of the 20/10 club.

20/10 Club

YAO MING, CAREER NUMBERS

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
2002-03	82	401-805	.498	301-371	.811	8.2	1.7	13.5
2003-04	82	364-446	.522	361-446	.809	9.0	1.5	17.5
2004-05	80	538-975	.552	389-497	.783	8.4	0.8	18.3
2005-06	57	467-900	.552	337-395	.853	10.2	1.5	22.3
2006-07	48	423-819	.516	423-819	.862	9.4	2.0	25.0
2007-08	34	266-546	.487	204-236	.864	10.6	2.5	21.6
Career	383	2630-5070	.519	1948-2358	.826	9.1	1.5	18.8

ANTAWN JAMISON, CAREER NUMBERS

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
1998-99	47	178-394	.452	90-153	.588	6.4	0.7	9.6
1999-00	43	356-756	.471	127-208	.611	8.3	2.1	19.6
2000-01	82	800-1812	.442	382-534	.715	8.7	2.0	24.9
2001-02	82	614-1375	.447	323-440	.734	6.8	2.0	19.7
2002-03	82	691-1471	.516	375-475	.789	7.0	1.9	22.2
2003-04	82	488-913	.535	220-294	.748	6.3	0.9	14.8
2004-05	68	519-1189	.437	225-296	.760	7.6	0.8	22.2
2005-06	82	660-1494	.442	217-297	.731	9.3	1.9	20.5
2006-07	70	512-1139	.450	226-307	.736	8.0	1.9	19.8
2007-08	32	258-582	.443	129-169	.763	10.7	1.5	21.8
Career	670	5076-11125	.456	2314-3173	.729	7.8	1.7	19.5

DWIGHT HOWARD, CAREER NUMBERS

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
2004-05	82	352-677	.520	277-413	.671	10.0	0.9	12.0
2005-06	82	468-881	.531	356-598	.595	12.5	1.5	15.8
2006-07	82	526-873	.603	390-666	.586	12.3	1.9	17.6
2007-08	35	269-447	.602	246-418	.589	15.2	1.5	22.4
Career	281	1615-2878	.561	1269-2095	.606	12.0	1.5	16.0

CARLOS BOOZER, CAREER NUMBERS

Season	G	FGM-A	Pct.	FTM-A	Pct.	Reb	Ast	Pts
2002-03	81	331-618	.536	148-192	.771	7.5	1.3	10.0
2003-04	75	471-900	.523	219-285	.768	11.4	2.0	15.5
2004-05	51	361-693	.521	187-268	.698	9.0	2.8	17.8
2005-06	33	219-399	.549	99-137	.723	8.6	2.7	16.3
2006-07	74	647-1154	.561	255-372	.685	11.7	3.0	20.9
2007-08	34	336-610	.551	126-175	.720	11.3	3.0	23.5
Career	281	1615-2878	.561	1269-2095	.606	12.0	1.5	16.0

Other than Ming and Howard, Jefferson is the only member of this exclusive club to earn membership status as early as the fourth year on an NBA roster. Jefferson ranks second in double-doubles (25) behind Howard (30). Furthermore, Big Al ranks second in offensive rebounds (4.2 per game), fifth in rebounding (12.2 per game), 21st in scoring (20.6 points per game) and 30th in blocks (1.3 per game).

In the Wolves’ Dec. 8 home-win upset over Phoenix, Jefferson had a career-best-tying 32 points, joining Kevin Garnett as the exclusive members of the franchise’s 30/20 club.

The numbers don’t lie. Jefferson is ahead of schedule in his development as one of the NBA’s most prolific forces.