2022-23's Top Performers
2022-23's Top Performers
Highlighting some of the NBA's top performers this season.
Here are some quick hitters on the NBA’s top performers this season. Please note that all per-game factoids are based on a minimum of 70% of team games played (58 games in an 82-game season).
The leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks were:
2,225 PTS — Jayson Tatum
973 REB — Domantas Sabonis
741 AST — Trae Young
128 STL — O.G. Anunoby
193 BLK — Brook Lopez
The leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG were:
33.1 PPG — Joel Embiid
12.3 RPG — Domantas Sabonis
10.7 APG — James Harden
1.9 SPG — O.G. Anunoby
3.0 BPG — Jaren Jackson Jr.
Six players averaged at least 30 PPG, the most such players in a single season in NBA history (using current minimum requirements):
33.1 — Joel Embiid
32.4 — Luka Doncic
32.2 — Damian Lillard
31.4 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
31.1 — Giannis Antetokounmpo
30.1 — Jayson Tatum
Joel Embiid averaged 33.1 PPG and 10.2 RPG, the second straight season in which he’s averaged at least 30 PPG and 10 RPG. The last player to reach those marks in consecutive seasons was Bob McAdoo from 1973-74 to 1975-76.
Embiid recorded 39 games in which he scored at least 30 points on 50% shooting from the field, the most such games in a season since Shaquille O’Neal in 1994-95 (40).
Embiid and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the sixth and seventh players (eighth and ninth instances) in NBA history, respectively, to average at least 30 PPG with shooting percentages of 50% from the field and 85% from the free throw line. Embiid is the only center to accomplish the feat.
Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 31.4 PPG on 51.0% shooting from the floor and 90.5% shooting from the foul line. He joined Stephen Curry (2015-16) as the only players in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG with shooting percentages of 50% from the field and 90% from the free throw line.
Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 31.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 5.7 APG, becoming the fifth player (seventh instance) in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG in a season. Antetokounmpo owns the highest field goal percentage in that group (55.3%).
Nikola Jokic led the NBA with 29 triple-doubles, 15 more than any other player. Jokic has recorded at least 10 triple-doubles in each of his last six seasons, tying Oscar Robertson for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Jokic averaged 24.5 PPG with a true shooting percentage of 70.1%. That’s by far the highest scoring average in NBA history by a player who recorded a true shooting percentage of at least 70%:
24.5 — Nikola Jokic (2022-23)
18.5 — Artis Gilmore (1981-82)
15.6 — Rudy Gobert (2021-22)
11.3 — Tyson Chandler (2011-12)
10.0 — Robert Williams III (2021-22)
Jokic posted an effective field goal percentage of 66.0%. He and Wilt Chamberlain (1966-67) are the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 PPG with an effective field goal percentage of 65%.
Domantas Sabonis recorded a league-leading 65 double-doubles, seven more than any other player. Sabonis also finished second in the NBA with 14 triple-doubles. Only two centers in NBA history have recorded more triple-doubles in a season: Nikola Jokic (three times) and Wilt Chamberlain (twice).
Sabonis averaged 19.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 7.3 APG. He’s one of only five players (six instances) in NBA history to average at least 18 PPG, 12 RPG, and 6 APG in a season. Sabonis (61.5%) and Wilt Chamberlain (68.3%) are the only players to reach those marks while shooting at least 60% from the field.
Luka Doncic averaged 32.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 8.0 APG, becoming the fourth player (seventh instance) in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 8 RPG, and 8 APG in a season. He joins Oscar Robertson (four times), Michael Jordan, and Russell Westbrook. Doncic owns the highest effective field goal percentage (56.0%) in that group.
Klay Thompson became the third player in NBA history to make at least 300 3-pointers in a season, joining Stephen Curry (four times) and James Harden. He made at least five 3-pointers in 29 games, tying Curry for the league lead.
Keegan Murray set an NBA rookie record with 206 3-pointers made. He’s the first rookie in league history to make at least 200 3-pointers in a season. Murray shot 41.1% from 3-point range. Only three of the 20 players who made at least 200 3-pointers this season had a higher 3-point field goal percentage: Stephen Curry (42.7%), Buddy Hield (42.5%), and Klay Thompson (41.2%).
Nic Claxton shot a league-leading 70.5% from the field. He’s just the fifth player (seventh instance) in NBA history to record a field goal percentage of at least 70% in a season.
Luke Kennard led the NBA with a 3-point field goal percentage of 49.4%. It’s the sixth-highest such figure in NBA history (minimum one 3-pointer made per team game), and the second-highest such figure in a season that did not use the shorter 3-point line.
Tyler Herro led the league in free throw percentage, making 93.4% of his attempts. It’s the highest such figure in NBA history by a player who averaged at least 20 PPG, surpassing Bill Sharman’s 93.2% in 1958-59. Herro also became the first player in Miami Heat history to shoot at least 90% from the free throw line.
Kevin Durant shot 56.0% from the field, 40.4% from 3-point range, and 91.9% from the free throw line, becoming the first player in NBA history to record 55/40/90 shooting splits. It’s the second time Durant has recorded 50/40/90 shooting splits in a season. He’s the third player in NBA history to record multiple such seasons, joining Steve Nash (four times) and Larry Bird (twice).
The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored at least 25 points in the same game 33 times this season, tied for the second-most such games in NBA history by a duo. The record of 37 such games is held by the Denver Nuggets’ Alex English and Kiki VanDeWeghe (1982-83).
The Golden State Warriors had three players make at least 200 3-pointers: Klay Thompson (301), Stephen Curry (273), and Jordan Poole (212). They are just the second team in NBA history to feature three such players, joining the 2016-17 Houston Rockets (James Harden, Eric Gordon, and Ryan Anderson).
Teams averaged 114.7 PPG, the highest scoring average since the 1969-70 season (116.7 PPG) and the ninth-highest such figure in NBA history. Every team averaged at least 105 PPG (the Miami Heat averaged a league-low 109.5 PPG), the first time that’s happened since 1969-70, when there were only 14 teams.
The Sacramento Kings led the NBA with a scoring average of 120.7, the highest such figure since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets (123.7 PPG). The Kings scored at least 130 points 21 times, the most such games since the 1983-84 Nuggets (26).
The San Antonio Spurs allowed an average of 123.1 PPG, the fifth-worst such figure in NBA history. The last team to allow more points per game than the Spurs was the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets, who gave up a league-record 130.8 PPG.
The Spurs suffered eight losses by 35 or more points, two more such losses than any other team in NBA history. They lost 11 games by 30 or more points, the second-highest such total in NBA history (15, 2021-22 Portland Trail Blazers).
The Golden State Warriors set an NBA single-season record with 1,363 3-pointers made. The Warriors made 20 or more 3-pointers in 19 games, breaking the NBA record for most such games by a team in a season. The previous mark of 18 such games was set by the Houston Rockets in 2018-19.
The Warriors posted records of 33-8 at home and 11-30 on the road. They are just the 12th team in NBA history to record at least 30 home wins and 30 road losses in a season, and the first to do so since the 1989-90 Seattle SuperSonics.
The league field goal percentage was 47.5%, the highest such figure since the 1989-90 season (47.6%). Factoring in the 3-pointer, the league effective field goal percentage was 54.5%, the highest such figure in NBA history. The eight highest effective field goal percentages in league history have been posted in the last eight seasons:
54.5 — 2022-23
53.8 — 2020-21
53.2 — 2021-22
52.9 — 2019-20
52.4 — 2018-19
52.1 — 2017-18
51.4 — 2016-17
50.2 — 2015-16
The Denver Nuggets recorded an effective field goal percentage of 57.3%, the second-highest such figure in NBA history. Three of the four highest effective field goal percentages ever recorded by a team were posted this season:
57.5 — Brooklyn Nets (2020-21)
57.3 — Denver Nuggets (2022-23)
57.2 — Sacramento Kings (2022-23)
57.1 — Golden State Warriors (2022-23)
The league free throw percentage was 78.2%, the highest such figure in NBA history. The four highest free throw percentages in league history have been posted in the last four seasons:
78.2 — 2022-23
77.8 — 2020-21
77.5 — 2021-22
77.3 — 2019-20
The Philadelphia 76ers led the NBA with a free throw percentage of 83.5%, the second-highest such figure in league history:
83.9 — LA Clippers (2020-21)
83.5 — Philadelphia 76ers (2022-23)
83.4 — Phoenix Suns (2020-21)
83.4 — Phoenix Suns (2019-20)
83.2 — Boston Celtics (1989-90)
Twenty-seven different teams had at least one player record a 40-point game, the most such teams in a single season in NBA history. The previous mark of 26 such teams was set in 2020-21 and tied in 2021-22.
Fifty-seven different players recorded a 40-point game, 10 more such players than any other season in NBA history (47, 2020-21).
There were a total of 203 40-point games, 61 more such games than any other season in NBA history (142, 1961-62).
Six players recorded at least 10 40-point games, the most such players in a single season in NBA history:
15 — Damian Lillard
14 — Luka Doncic
13 — Joel Embiid
13 — Donovan Mitchell
12 — Giannis Antetokounmpo
11 — Jayson Tatum
Three players recorded at least 10 triple-doubles: Nikola Jokic (29), Domantas Sabonis (14), and Luka Doncic (10). It’s the seventh straight season in which three or more players reached that mark. Prior to that, there had never been a season in NBA history in which more than two players produced at least 10 triple-doubles.