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Proprietary stats

R1 reference

The baseline DRBL compares players against: a role-aware expected-points bar, not a classic “replacement-level fringe player.”

What it teaches

  • What “above R1” means: better than the expectation DRBL set for that role and context.
  • Why DRBL value is measured against a fixed baseline instead of a loose league average.
  • How WAR1 and R1 Points get their meaning from this reference.

What it doesn't

  • The same thing as conventional fringe-player “replacement level.”
  • A public leaderboard column by itself.
  • Proof that DRBL’s baseline beats other models’ baselines.

Upsides

  • Role-matching keeps bigs and guards from sharing one naive bar.
  • A fixed baseline keeps numbers comparable through the season.
  • Clear language for “relative to R1” without classic WAR baggage.

Downsides

  • The name still invites “replacement” misreads.
  • You can’t recompute it casually from a box score.
  • Cross-era baseline meaning still has open questions.

How to apply it

  • Read every DRBL total as “versus R1,” not “versus a free-agent-minimum archetype.”
  • When someone says replacement, translate back to role-matched R1.
  • Use R1 Points / WAR1 for accumulated value above this baseline.