Joel Embiid scores 70 points on 24-for-41 shooting to break Philadelphia's team record.
With a career-high and franchise-record 70 points in less than 37 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, Joel Embiid is now having, on a per-minute basis, the best scoring season in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for per-game scoring, having averaged an amazing 50.4 points in the 1961-62 season. But thanks to overtimes, Chamberlain played 48.5 minutes per game that season. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 37.4 points, also the highest mark in NBA history … until now (so far).
With his career high on Monday, Embiid is averaging 36.1 points in just 34.3 minutes, a rate of 38.0 per 36.
Here are the top 10 marks for points per 36 minutes in NBA history through Monday:
Most points per 36 minutes, NBA history
| Player | Season | GP | MIN | MIN/G | PTS | PTS/G | PTS/36 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Joel Embiid | 2023-2024 | 32 | 1,096 | 34.3 | 1,156 | 36.1 | 38.0 |
| 2. | Wilt Chamberlain | 1961-1962 | 80 | 3,882 | 48.5 | 4,029 | 50.4 | 37.4 |
| 3. | James Harden | 2018-2019 | 78 | 2,867 | 36.8 | 2,818 | 36.1 | 35.4 |
| 4. | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2019-2020 | 63 | 1,917 | 30.4 | 1,857 | 29.5 | 34.9 |
| 5. | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2022-2023 | 63 | 2,024 | 32.1 | 1,959 | 31.1 | 34.8 |
| 6. | Joel Embiid | 2022-2023 | 66 | 2,284 | 34.6 | 2,183 | 33.1 | 34.4 |
| 7. | Wilt Chamberlain | 1962-1963 | 80 | 3,806 | 47.6 | 3,586 | 44.8 | 33.9 |
| 8. | James Harden | 2019-2020 | 68 | 2,483 | 36.5 | 2,335 | 34.3 | 33.9 |
| 9. | Stephen Curry | 2020-2021 | 63 | 2,152 | 34.2 | 2,015 | 32.0 | 33.7 |
| 10. | Michael Jordan | 1986-1987 | 82 | 3,281 | 40.0 | 3,041 | 37.1 | 33.4 |
Minimum 500 minutes
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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