With a league-wide scoring outburst entertaining fans and terrifying defenses, what's causing the recent uptick?
This season’s offensive explosion has been fueled by superstars one-upping even their best prior seasons.
Already we’ve seen the second 70-point game within the last six years … after seeing just two such performances over nearly 40 years preceding it.
Six players are currently averaging at least 30 points per game. If that holds, it would eclipse the record of five players dropping that many buckets in the 1961-62 campaign (Wilt Chamberlain, Walt Bellamy, Bob Pettit, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson, with Richie Guerin just missing out).
Here’s a look at 10 players who are wreaking more havoc on offense than ever before:
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Ben Taylor from Thinking Basketball breaks down Luka Doncic's 60-point triple-double.
Points per game: 34.2
Previous career high: 28.8 (in 2019-20)
The current scoring leader, Doncic is blowing away any and all standards he has set in his previous three consecutive All-NBA First Team seasons. The free-throw line has been his biggest ally. The 6-foot-7 point guard is averaging a career-best 11.4 attempts per contest, more than half the average of nine teams.
His entire offensive attack is more paint and restricted-area focused than it has been since his sophomore season. His 37.7% usage rate leads the league, as big an offensive load as is possible for any one player, and he is delivering.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Points per game: 33.6
Previous career high: 30.6 (in 2021-22)
“The Process'” scoring title output last season would not rank in the top five in this absurd season. But Embiid has joined that surge by taking a career-high 85.1% of his shots inside the arc — an effective formula for a 7-foot center.
Add up the roughly 3% spike in shooting percentage from that area, and Embiid’s increased output became a forgone conclusion. The 76ers superstar is devastating from the elbow, where he scores a laughably league-leading 6.7 points per game (Nikola Jokic is second at 5.1).
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominates with a career-high 55 points as Milwaukee ends Washington's 5-game winning streak.
Points per game: 31.7
Previous career high: 29.9 (in 2021-22)
If anything, “The Greek Freak” might be underrated as a scorer after averaging better than 27 points per game in each of the previous four seasons. His 1.8-point jump this year is his biggest since the 2018-19 campaign, and he owes it all to doubling down on what he does best: attacking the rim, which he is doing more frequently since 2017-18.
Antetokounmpo has cut down his 3-point attempts by one-sixth and upped his 2-point tries by almost exactly the same rate (a bigger difference given how many twos he takes). Overall his usage is up as Milwaukee leans on him more during the prolonged absence of Khris Middleton. His efficiency has taken a slight hit, but Antetokounmpo’s raw numbers have soared rather than sunk under the added weight.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Points per game: 30.8
Previous career-high: 24.5 (in 2021-22)
The surprise member of the league’s current top five scorers, Gilgeous-Alexander has made his leap by nearly halving his 3-point attempts. It’s true. His tries from downtown are just 2.9 per game, down from a career-high 5.3 last season. The 6-foot-6 guard has forfeited those shots in favor of attacking the basket, which he does with a league-leading 24.4 drives per game.
The effect is devastating. Gilgeous-Alexander either shoots 51% on driving shot attempts or cans 91% of his 10-plus free throw attempts per game. It is tantalizing to wonder what a healthy young Thunder core (remember Chet Holmgren?) could do with its now-dominant lead guard at the helm and potentially another lottery talent in the fold after next summer.
Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Points per game: 30.8
Previous career high: 26.9 (in 2021-22)
The Kia MVP-caliber season that seemingly everyone felt was waiting for Tatum has finally arrived. The Celtics superstar boasts a true shooting percentage above 60% for the first time in his career, while his turnover rate is at its lowest since 2018-19 despite a career-high 32% usage.
A positional switch has been key to Tatum’s leap. Boston has essentially swapped his time between the forward spots. Now, Tatum logs over two-thirds of his minutes at power forward as the Celtics have (often out of necessity) played smaller lineups.
The result is a crucial removal of one-third of his mid-range shot attempts from last season. Most have gone to the paint, the remainder to the 3-point line. Tatum ranks 15th in paint points this season after placing 25th, 34th and 54th in the previous three seasons, respectively.
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Watch all 71 points of Donovan Mitchell's historic performance.
Points per game: 29.3
Previous career high: 26.4 (in 2020-21)
Many wondered whether Mitchell would enjoy the same share and attention on offense alongside established All-Star Darius Garland in Cleveland. What many missed was how much easier the offense would be alongside his new backcourt teammate.
Context: Garland has assisted on 50 of Mitchell’s 371 made field goals this season. The most assisted Mitchell shots over an entire season in Utah: 60 (Joe Ingles in 2018-19). Mitchell is Garland’s favorite target (just above Evan Mobley), and Mitchell drills 50.3% on shots directly off those passes, which are split fairly evenly between two and 3-point attempts.
As for the other 300 or so non-Garland-assisted buckets, Mitchell is usually attacking the rim more often and more efficiently. If he’s not finishing himself, he’s getting to the line and shooting a career-best 87.4%.
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Points per game: 26.8
Previous career high: 24.7 (in 2020-21)
Boston’s other high-profile wing talent has taken a seemingly common cue by slicing portions of his long-range game and donating it to the paint. Raw numbers, rate and results have leaped in the paint (and specifically the restricted area) for Brown, who joins Tatum in the league’s Top 15 in paint points after ranking 28th, 29th and 49th in the previous three seasons, respectively.
Part of that production is fed by Boston’s elite defense. Brown ranks fourth in the league in transition points, trailing only Antetokounmpo, Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James. Brown’s 58.2% shooting clip on drives ranks eighth among the 56 players with at least 300 drives this season.
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
Another night. Another huge scoring effort. Lauri Markkanen's gem helps Utah drop Houston and end a 5-game skid.
Points per game: 24.5
Previous career high: 18.7 (in 2018-19)
Perhaps the feel-good story of the season, Markkanen’s belated leap has destroyed preconceived notions of what Utah was trying to do this season. “The Finnisher” has obliterated any prior personal bests in raw opportunity as well as efficiency, culminating in an All-Star-caliber season.
There is no one thing Markkanen has improved or tweaked. Everything has skyrocketed. His shot attempts are up to 16.1 per game compared to just 11.5 last season. He is shooting 52.4% overall, just the second time he has ever eclipsed 45% in his career. The long-tantalizing aspect of his long-distance shooting is in full force, a 41.1% clip on over seven attempts from deep per game. His free throw attempts (5.5 per game) are doubled compared to last year, and nearly a third better than his sophomore season’s career best.
Perhaps most impressive is the way Markkanen has dominated the floor without dominating the ball. Of the 22 players averaging at least 24 points per game, the Jazz forward’s 24.8% usage rate is far and away the lowest, and ranks just 75th overall in the entire league.
Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers
Points per game: 22.2
Previous career high: 17.3 (in 2021-22)
Simons has come a long way from averaging 7.8 ppg two seasons ago. Portland’s sky-high opinion of the former 24th overall pick’s talent was spot on. Now, with a full starting role and a healthy Damian Lillard to guide him, Simons is the latest backcourt talent to blossom with the Blazers.
Sheer volume and opportunity have been the fuel to Simons’ rise. His shot attempts have nearly tripled from two seasons ago, and his 3-point tries have more than tripled from his sophomore season. The latter has been aided by a solid 37.5% shooting clip from beyond the arc, from where Simons ranks sixth in the league in makes per game.
The 23-year-old is also a fast-growing option in the pick-and-roll game. Simons ranks 22nd in pick-and-roll possessions, which yield just over one point each — more than other young guards such as Ja Morant, Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, De’Aaron Fox and Dejounte Murray.
Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
Points per game: 21.6
Previous career high: 16.3 (in 2021-22)
It turns out Brunson was right to bet on himself as a lead guard. The former Mavericks guard has entrenched himself as the floor general of a Knicks team that is once again in the playoff mix since his arrival as an unrestricted free agent last summer.
Brunson remains the second-leading scorer on his team, but Julius Randle (28.2% usage) has allowed Brunson to burn far more often than Doncic (37.8% usage) did in Dallas. Indeed, Randle has ceded much of his point-forward role to make room for Brunson’s own playmaking. Randle’s assists are significantly down, while Brunson is dropping a career-best 6.5 assists per game.
This has forced opponents to account for two playmakers, and New York has enjoyed great success in staggering Brunson and Randle’s minutes. Brunson’s interior finishing has taken a hit, but his efficiency from beyond the arc (38.1%) and at the free-throw line (84.5% on a career-high 5.1 attempts per game) has softened the overall blow. Between that and the sheer increase in Brunson’s role, his career year was never in question.
