> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://intheno.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Introducing Team Depth Ladders: How deep is your team, really? - URL: https://intheno.net/introducing-team-depth-ladders-how-deep-is-your-team-really/ - Published: 2026-10-09T15:14:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T15:14:05.000Z - Description: Explore every NBA roster on a seven-tier talent ladder, revealing each team’s strengths, weaknesses, and the drop-off from starters to reserves - Author: Shamit Dua - Tags: League Notes, Cap & Strategy Every depth chart you have seen works the same way. People list the five positions and dutifully recite the players who slot into those spots. These are useful for knowing who is on the roster, but they don't give you a sense of actual depth. You don't actually get a read on how shallow a team is at any given position, nor do you get a snapshot of how a particular team compares to the rest of the league. Team Depth Ladders fixes that. [Explore Team Depth Ladders→](https://intheno.net/team-depth-ladders/) ## How to read it ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e2/a2/e2a2390f-5be7-44d5-89e3-6f2eb05860ea/content/images/2026/10/image-5.png) ### The depth ladder Each player in the league is assigned a tier and position based on BBALL INDEX LEBRON and Basketball-Reference data. We then combine those two items to create a depth chart that allows you to see exactly where a player falls relative to the rest of the league. For example, both Murphy and Williamson above fall in the "High-end starter" tier based on their production the last two years. The ladder also shows how many of each tier a team is composed of and compares that to the league average. The tool also provides two quick reads on a team's roster: - **Biggest drop off:** the position where losing the top player hurts the most. - **Weakest position:** the position where the best option has the lowest grade compared to what a typical team has there. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e2/a2/e2a2390f-5be7-44d5-89e3-6f2eb05860ea/content/images/2026/10/image-7.png) ### Where the drop-off comes The first chart, "Where the drop-off comes", ranks a team's 10 best players from first to tenth, and measures them against the league. It's a quick and efficient way to see if a roster is top heavy, deep, or as in the Pelicans case above, neither. You can hover over any point to get information on the player. ### Stars or depth, league-wide The second chart plots the sum of values of a team's five best players against players six through ten. This creates quadrants that illustrate where each team falls in terms of their depth and the strength of their top players. ### Go back in time The tool allows for historical roster analysis. Rosters are in their end of season state. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e2/a2/e2a2390f-5be7-44d5-89e3-6f2eb05860ea/content/images/2026/10/image-4.png) ### How it works Players are graded on their LEBRON above replacement level and then weighted for minutes. Players who are good *and* on the floor a lot score high. Players are then ranked twice against everyone with at least 500 minutes. First ranking is league wide, and the second is against all players at his position. The tier comes from the **average of those two rankings.** This balances how good a player is outright with how he stacks up at his position. So a great point guard in a stacked year with great point guards will still gets his due, and likewise, a player won't be able to ride a thin position to an inflated grade. Tiers follow league-wide proportions. - The Franchise tier is roughly the top 10-15 players - Core is the next \~35 - High-end starter next \~45 - Starter/ key reserve the next \~90 - Rotation the next \~90 - Everyone else is Roster/depth - Everyone under 500 minutes falls in Outside the rotation, which includes players who missed time to injury The current season uses rosters from Basketball-Reference as of Oct. 8\. Each player is graded on the better of last season or 90% of the season before, so one injury shortened season doesn't swing values wildly. Past season grades are based on what they did that year. ### Caveats - Current season includes training camp rosters, which feature non-guaranteed camp invites - Rookies and player without NBA data are left off the ladder until they log NBA minutes - Players are listed only at one position, borrowed from existing classifications - Tiers measure production, not potential. They are not forward looking. ### What's next I'll update rosters as the season moves, and the ladder will start reflecting the 2026-2027 production once there's enough to grade. The system is based on BBALL INDEX LEBRON data, but may change to RAPM, EPM, DARKO or other metrics. [HAVE FUN!](https://intheno.net/team-depth-ladders/)