Historical comps
Comps & futures
The ten most similar player-seasons since 1996-97 at the same age, and what happened to them next.
| Comp | Age | DPM then | Next 5 seasons | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesley Matthews 2016-17 | 30 | -0.3 | -1.4, -1.2, -0.5, -1.0, -1.3 | 88 |
| Nicolas Batum 2018-19 | 30 | -0.3 | -0.3, +1.9, +0.5, +0.1, -0.6 | 87 |
| Reggie Jackson 2019-20 | 30 | -0.1 | +0.9, -0.4, -2.3, -2.8, -2.9 | 87 |
| Jae Crowder 2019-20 | 30 | 0.0 | +0.7, +1.1, +0.4, -1.8, under 10 games | 86 |
| Eddie House 2007-08 | 30 | -0.6 | +0.1, -0.8, -0.9, under 10 games, under 10 games | 86 |
| Will Barton 2020-21 | 30 | 0.0 | -0.2, -2.4, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 85 |
| Mike Miller 2009-10 | 30 | -0.2 | -1.4, -0.2, -0.3, -0.7, -2.4 | 85 |
| Damon Jones 2006-07 | 30 | -0.6 | -0.6, -1.1, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 85 |
| Wilson Chandler 2017-18 | 30 | -0.5 | -0.7, -2.7, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 85 |
| James Ennis III 2019-20 | 30 | -0.8 | -0.1, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games, under 10 games | 85 |
The 25 player-seasons since 1996-97 closest to Max's 2026-27 at the same age: DPM and its offense/defense split, the two seasons before, box-score profile, height, experience and age. Each comp counts once, at his closest season, weighted by the match. Hover or focus a comp to trace his next five seasons. A website presentation, not a DARKO model output.
Around the league
Top 10 comps today
Current players closest to Max Strus's current profile, by DARKO ratings, age and projected box-score style.
- -0.7DPMDPM Offense +0.1 Defense -0.7 Per 100 possessions:20.5points8.9rebounds6.1assistsP/R/A100.0
- -0.3DPMDPM Offense 0.0 Defense -0.3 Per 100 possessions:21.4points8.0rebounds3.1assistsP/R/A87.9
- -1.1DPMDPM Offense -0.3 Defense -0.8 Per 100 possessions:18.4points5.7rebounds3.6assistsP/R/A87.3
- 0.0DPMDPM Offense +1.0 Defense -0.9 Per 100 possessions:21.3points5.4rebounds6.0assistsP/R/A86.0
- -0.4DPMDPM Offense +0.5 Defense -0.9 Per 100 possessions:25.5points10.2rebounds5.2assistsP/R/A85.6
- -1.1DPMDPM Offense -0.9 Defense -0.2 Per 100 possessions:17.3points5.0rebounds6.0assistsP/R/A85.3
- 0.0DPMDPM Offense +0.4 Defense -0.4 Per 100 possessions:18.7points5.5rebounds4.0assistsP/R/A85.3
- -0.5DPMDPM Offense -0.3 Defense -0.3 Per 100 possessions:21.2points6.1rebounds4.8assistsP/R/A85.3
- -0.8DPMDPM Offense -0.2 Defense -0.6 Per 100 possessions:21.3points7.3rebounds2.9assistsP/R/A84.8
- -1.2DPMDPM Offense -0.8 Defense -0.4 Per 100 possessions:18.2points6.4rebounds3.2assistsP/R/A84.2
How these matches work
Each player's latest published profile is compared with today's league. The score uses standardized differences in DPM, offense, defense, age, scoring, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, three-point shot share and free-throw rate. DPM and age carry the most weight. Historical trajectory and a same-age cutoff are not used here.
100 is an identical profile, so a current player is his own first match. Scores fall by 8 points per unit of weighted distance, down to zero. This is a similarity index, not a probability. Box-score figures are projections per 100 possessions, so playing time does not distort the comparison.
Value
Contract & longevity
DARKO's fair salary from projected wins against Max Strus's salary, and the odds of still being on an NBA roster in each coming season.
- Fair value
- $7.9M
- DARKO's market estimate
- Salary
- $16.7M
- Actual
- Surplus
- -$8.8M
- Value minus salary
- WARP
- 1.6
- Wins above replacement
- Seasons left
- 3.1
- Projected, within 15
- Retires at
- 34.1
- Projected age
Career
Season by season
DPM going into each season's last game, since 1996-97.
| Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | DPM | Off | Def | For his age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 so far | LAC | 30 | 4 | 22.0 | -0.62 | -0.04 | -0.58 | — |
| 2025-26 | CLE | 30 | 12 +18 | 24.0 | -0.15 | +0.27 | -0.42 | — |
| 2024-25 | CLE | 29 | 50 +9 | 25.5 | +0.15 | +0.17 | -0.01 | 323rd of 774 |
| 2023-24 | CLE | 28 | 70 +12 | 32.0 | -0.17 | -0.27 | +0.09 | 413th of 858 |
| 2022-23 | MIA | 27 | 80 +23 | 28.4 | -0.96 | -0.37 | -0.58 | 607th of 924 |
| 2021-22 | MIA | 26 | 68 +18 | 23.3 | +0.50 | +0.80 | -0.30 | 307th of 1010 |
| 2020-21 | MIA | 25 | 39 +2 | 13.0 | -1.17 | +0.39 | -1.55 | 707th of 1077 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 23 | 2 | 3.1 | -2.08 | -1.48 | -0.60 | — |
Games are regular season; +n are playoff games. "For his age" ranks the season's DPM among every season at the same age since 1996-97 with 20 or more games. A season's DPM opens the leaderboard on its last game day.
Projections
Projected box score
DARKO's rest-of-season projections per 100 possessions, and per game at 18.4 projected minutes when he plays and a pace of 98.3.
| Stat | Per 100 | Per game |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 20.5 | 7.7 |
| Rebounds | 8.9 | 3.4 |
| Offensive | 2.3 | 0.9 |
| Defensive | 6.6 | 2.5 |
| Assists | 6.1 | 2.3 |
| Steals | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Blocks | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Turnovers | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| 3-pt attempts | 12.9 | 4.9 |
| FG attempts | 17.4 | 6.6 |
| FT attempts | 2.1 | 0.8 |
| FG% · 3P% · FT% | 41.0% · 37.1% · 82.5% | |









