2023-24's Top Performers
Highlighting some of the NBA's top performers this season.
Here is my mega recap of 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), and all shooting-percentage factoids are based on a minimum number of makes that would qualify for league leadership using the current guidelines.
The leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks were:
PTS — Luka Doncic, 2,370
REB — Domantas Sabonis, 1,120
AST — Tyrese Haliburton, 752
STL — De’Aaron Fox & Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 150
BLK — Victor Wembanyama, 254
The leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG were:
PPG — Luka Doncic, 33.9
RPG — Domantas Sabonis, 13.7
APG — Tyrese Haliburton, 10.9
SPG — De’Aaron Fox, 2.03
BPG — Victor Wembanyama, 3.6
The shooting percentage leaders were:
FG% — Daniel Gafford, 72.5%
3P% — Grayson Allen, 46.1%
FT% — Klay Thompson, 92.7%
The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis led all players in double-doubles with 77. He’s just the seventh different player in NBA history to record at least 77 double-doubles in a season, and the first to do so since Moses Malone in 1978-79.
Domantas Sabonis also led the league in triple-doubles with 26. He joined Wilt Chamberlain (1967-68) as the only players in NBA history to record at least 75 double-doubles and 25 triple-doubles in a season.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 30 points in a league-leading 51 games (also a franchise single-season record). He shot at least 50% from the field in 39 of those games. The only other guard in NBA history to record at least 39 such games in a season is Michael Jordan (three times).
Damontas Sabonis grabbed at least 10 rebounds in a league-high 76 games, 12 more such games than any other player. That’s the most double-digit rebound games in a season since Dennis Rodman recorded 77 in 1991-92.
The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton had 47 games with at least 10 assists, 10 more such games than any other player. Haliburton easily eclipsed the franchise single-season record of 34 such games he set last season.
The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic produced at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 47 games. He tied the NBA record for most such games in a season set by Oscar Robertson in 1961-62.
Luka Doncic averaged 33.9 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 9.8 APG in 70 games. He became just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 9 RPG, and 9 APG in a season, joining Oscar Robertson (four times) and Russell Westbrook (2016-17).
The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic finished second in the league in assists (708), third in rebounds (976), and fifth in points (2,085). The only other players in NBA history to rank in the top five in all three categories in a season are Wilt Chamberlain (three times) and Elgin Baylor (1962-63). This is the second time Jokic has accomplished the feat, the first coming in 2020-21.
Nikola Jokic also finished eighth in the league in steals with 108. Since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74, only two players have ranked in the top 10 in points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the same season: Russell Westbrook and Jokic, each of whom has done so twice.
Domantas Sabonis compiled 1,593 points, 1,120 rebounds, and 673 assists. He’s just the third player in NBA history to record at least 1,500 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 500 assists in a season, joining Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Nikola Jokic (2021-22).
Domantas Sabonis (26 triple-doubles) and Nikola Jokic (25) are the first pair of players in NBA history to each record at least 25 triple-doubles in the same season. Sabonis and Jokic along with Luka Doncic (21) form the first trio in league history to each produce 20 or more triple-doubles in the same season.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 PPG on 61.1% shooting from the floor. He’s the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG with a field goal percentage of 60%. Previously, the highest field goal percentage by a player who averaged 30 or more PPG in a season was 57.7% by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970-71.
Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 6.5 APG in 73 games. He joined Oscar Robertson (1960-61 and 1961-62) as the only players in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG in back-to-back seasons.
The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry made 357 3-pointers, the third-highest single-season total in NBA history. It’s the fifth time Curry has made at least 300 3-pointers in a season. The only other players to record even one such season are James Harden (2018-19) and Klay Thompson (2022-23).
The San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama recorded 254 blocks, becoming just the second rookie to lead the NBA in that category (blocks have been tracked since 1973-74). He joined Manute Bol, who rejected a rookie-record 397 shots in 1985-86.
Victor Wembanyama averaged 21.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 3.6 BPG in 71 games. He’s just the fourth rookie to average at least 20 PPG, 10 RPG, and 3 BPG since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, joining David Robinson (1989-90), Alonzo Mourning (1992-93), and Shaquille O’Neal (1992-93).
Victor Wembanyama averaged 29.7 MPG. He became just the second player in NBA history, rookie or otherwise, to average at least 20 PPG and 10 RPG in a season while playing less than 30 minutes per game. He joins Clyde Lovellette, who did so in 1959-60.
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren averaged 16.5 PPG with an effective field goal percentage of 59.8%. The latter is the highest such figure in NBA history by a rookie who averaged at least 15 PPG.
Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren became the first rookies in NBA history to record at least 125 3-pointers made and 125 blocks in a season. Those marks have only been reached by four other players: Brook Lopez (three times), Rasheed Wallace (2005-06), Karl-Anthony Towns (2018-19), and Jaren Jackson Jr. (2021-22).
The Dallas Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford shot 72.5% from the floor. The only players in NBA history to record a higher field goal percentage in a season are Mitchell Robinson (74.2%, 2019-20) and Wilt Chamberlain (72.7%, 1972-73).
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid scored 1,353 points in 1,309 minutes played. The only player in NBA history to score more points while averaging at least one point per minute was Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62 (4,029 points in 3,882 minutes). Darrell Armstrong ranks a distant third with 42 points in 41 minutes in 1995-96.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (25.9 PPG, 6.2 APG) and the Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving (25.6 PPG, 5.2 APG) each averaged at least 25 PPG and 5 APG while committing less than two turnovers per game. They became the first players to achieve that feat since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78.
The Washington Wizards’ Tyus Jones recorded 485 assists versus just 66 turnovers. That rate of 7.3 assists per turnover is the highest such single-season figure since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ Matisse Thybulle averaged 2.8 steals per turnover, the league’s highest such figure. It’s the fourth time Thybulle has posted a rate of 2.5 or higher in a season, the most such seasons since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78.
The Orlando Magic’s Moritz Wagner made 60.1% of his field goal attempts and 81.4% of his free throw attempts. He’s just the third player in NBA history to shoot at least 60% from the field and 80% from the free throw line in a season, joining Kevin McHale (1986-87) and Nikola Jokic (2022-23).
The Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond averaged 9.0 RPG despite logging just 17.1 MPG. His rate of 25.2 rebounds per 48 minutes is the highest such figure since Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67 (25.5). In fact, the only players in NBA history to average more rebounds per 48 minutes in a season are Bill Russell (eight times) and Chamberlain (four).
Seven players scored at least 2,000 points this season: Luka Doncic (2,370), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2,254), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2,222), Jalen Brunson (2,212), Nikola Jokic (2,085), Anthony Edwards (2,049), and Kevin Durant (2,032).
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career points on March 2, 2024 versus the Denver Nuggets. Three more players reached significant career scoring milestones: the LA Clippers’ James Harden (25,000), the Clippers’ Russell Westbrook (25,000), and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard (20,000).
Andre Drummond became the 43rd player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career rebounds. Drummond is one of only 17 players to record at least 10,000 rebounds, 1,000 steals, and 1,000 blocks since the NBA began tracking the latter two categories in 1973-74.
James Harden became the 15th player in NBA history to reach 7,500 career assists. He’s one of four player with career totals of at least 25,000 points and 7,500 assists. The others are Oscar Robertson, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook.
The Phoenix Suns’ Eric Gordon and teammate Kevin Durant became the 15th and 16th players in NBA history, respectively, to reach 2,000 career 3-pointers made.
Nikola Jokic became just the fourth player in NBA history to reach 125 career triple-doubles, joining Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and Russell Westbrook. He ended the season with 130 career triple-doubles, eight shy of tying Magic Johnson for third place on the all-time list.
James Harden and Luka Doncic became the eighth and ninth players in NBA history, respectively, to reach 75 career triple-doubles. Doncic is both the second-fastest player (392 games) and the second-youngest player (25 years and 26 days) to attain that milestone.
Domantas Sabonis became the 11th player in NBA history to reach 50 career triple-doubles. Forty of Sabonis’ 58 career triple-doubles have been recorded in the last two seasons.
Luka Doncic broke the Dallas Mavericks’ single-season scoring record with 2,370 points. Mark Aguirre set the previous mark of 2,330 points in 1983-84.
Tyrese Haliburton broke the Indiana Pacers’ franchise record for most assists in a season with 752. The previous mark of 713 assists was set by Mark Jackson in 1997-98.
Domantas Sabonis recorded 294 offensive rebounds, breaking the Sacramento Kings’ franchise single-season record of 293 set by Sam Lacey in 1973-74 (the first season the NBA tracked the statistic).
The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic set franchise single-season records for double-doubles with 68 and 49, respectively.
Three players set a franchise record for most triple-doubles in a season: the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (21), the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (10), and the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes (four).
Eight players set a franchise single-season record for 3-pointers made: the Atlanta Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (240), the Chicago Bulls’ Coby White (209), the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (284), the Denver Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. (220), the LA Clippers’ Paul George (243), the Los Angeles Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell (226), the New Orleans Pelicans’ CJ McCollum (239), and the New York Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo (283).
The Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young increased his career total to 3,868 assists, surpassing Doc Rivers’ previous franchise record of 3,866.
The Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner broke Jermaine O’Neal’s franchise career record for blocks, ending the season with 1,268.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo set franchise career records for field goals made (6,732) and rebounds (7,732). The previous marks were held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (5,902 and 7,161, respectively).
Two players set franchise career records for 3-pointers made: the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young (1,059) and the LA Clippers’ Paul George (820).
Four players set franchise single-game scoring records: the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (73), the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (64), the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns (62), and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (70).
The Phoenix Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic broke the franchise single-game rebounding record with 31 boards on March 3, 2024.
The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton tied Jamal Tinsley’s franchise record for most assists in a game with 23 on Dec. 30, 2023.
Four players set or tied a franchise record for most field goals made in a game: the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (25), the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns (21), the New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (25), and the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker (22, tied).
Five players set or tied a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a game: the Atlanta Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (10, tied), the Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet (10, tied), the New York Knick’s Donte DiVincenzo (11), the Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen (nine, tied), and the Sacramento Kings’ Keegan Murray (12).
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo set franchise single-game records with 24 free throws made and 32 free throws attempted on Dec. 13, 2023.
Luka Doncic (73 points) and Joel Embiid (70) each recorded a 70-point game. It’s just the second time in NBA history two players have produced a 70-point game in the same season, the first such occurrence coming last season (Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard).
Seven players recorded a 60-point game: Luka Doncic (73), Joel Embiid (70), Giannis Antetokounmpo (64), Karl-Anthony Towns (62), Devin Booker (62), Jalen Brunson (61), and Stephen Curry (60). No other season in NBA history has produced more than three such players.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey produced three 50-point games apiece. They became the first teammates in NBA history to each record at least three 50-point games in the same season.
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The Denver Nuggets won 57 games, matching the franchise’s highest such total since joining the NBA in 1976. They were the only franchise to set or tie a franchise record for wins this season.
The Detroit Pistons (68 losses) and the Washington Wizards (67) each set a franchise single-season record for losses. The Pistons also matched the longest losing streak in NBA history, dropping 28 games in a row from October 30 to December 28.
Seven teams set a franchise single-season record for points: the Boston Celtics (9,887), the Dallas Mavericks (9,664), the Indiana Pacers (10,110), the LA Clippers (9,481), the Miami Heat (9,032), the Milwaukee Bucks (9,756), and the Oklahoma City Thunder (9,847).
Three of the teams above also recorded the highest scoring average in franchise history: the Dallas Mavericks (117.9), the Indiana Pacers (123.3), and the Oklahoma City Thunder (120.1).
The Indiana Pacers became just the seventh team in league history to score at least 10,000 points in a season, and the first team to do so since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets. They rank fourth on the NBA’s single-season list for points scored.
The Indiana Pacers scored at least 140 points in a game 11 times, breaking the previous NBA single-season record of 10 such games held by the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets.
On the flip side, seven teams gave up the most points in a season in franchise history: the Atlanta Hawks (9,882), the Dallas Mavericks (9,483), the Indiana Pacers (9,860), the Milwaukee Bucks (9,541), the Toronto Raptors (9,741), the Utah Jazz (9,885), and the Washington Wizards (10,089).
Six of the teams above also recorded the worst opponent scoring average in franchise history: the Dallas Mavericks (115.6), the Indiana Pacers (120.2), the Milwaukee Bucks (116.4), the Toronto Raptors (118.8), the Utah Jazz (120.5), and the Washington Wizards (123.0).
The Washington Wizards became just the eighth team in NBA history to allow at least 10,000 points in a season. Only five teams have surrendered more points in a season.
The Washington Wizards gave up at least 130 points in a game 31 times. The only team in NBA history to allow more 130-point games in a season is the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets with 37.
The Indiana Pacers are the 10th team in NBA history to both score and allow at least 120 PPG. They are the first team to do so since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets and the 1983-84 San Antonio Spurs.
Lots of scoring meant lots of assists. Six teams recorded the most assists in a season in franchise history: the Atlanta Hawks (2,180), the Indiana Pacers (2,522), the Miami Heat (2,116), the San Antonio Spurs (2,449), the Toronto Raptors (2,335), and the Washington Wizards (2,288).
Four of the teams above also set a franchise single-season record for assists per game: the Indiana Pacers (30.8), the San Antonio Spurs (29.9), the Toronto Raptors (28.5), and the Washington Wizards (27.9).
The Indiana Pacers became just the fifth team in NBA history to record at least 2,500 assists in a season. The only teams to record more assists in a season are the 1984-85 Los Angeles Lakers (2,575) and the 1978-79 Milwaukee Bucks (2,562).
A whopping 13 teams broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a season: the Atlanta Hawks (1,125), the Boston Celtics (1,351), the Brooklyn Nets (1,089), the Chicago Bulls (941), the Cleveland Cavaliers (1,108), the Memphis Grizzlies (1,071), the New Orleans Pelicans (1,023), the New York Knicks (1,083), the Oklahoma City Thunder (1,090), the Phoenix Suns (1,020), the Sacramento Kings (1,178), the San Antonio Spurs (1,036), and the Washington Wizards (1,015).
The Boston Celtics posted an average point differential of +11.3 PPG, the fifth-highest such figure in NBA history. The four teams ahead of them are the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (+12.28), the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (+12.26), the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls (+12.2), and the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors (+11.6). All four of those teams went on to win the NBA Finals.
In addition to the Boston Celtics, two other teams recorded the highest average point differential in franchise history: the Denver Nuggets (+5.3 PPG) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (+6.5).
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons (–9.1 PPG) and the Washington Wizards (–9.3) each posted the worst average point differential in franchise history.
Three teams set or tied a franchise single-game scoring record: the Indiana Pacers (157, twice), the New Orleans Pelicans (153), and the Utah Jazz (154, tied).
Four teams broke the franchise record for most assists in a game: the Indiana Pacers (50), the Miami Heat (41), the New Orleans Pelicans (41), and the Toronto Raptors (44).
The Indiana Pacers and the New Orleans Pelicans set franchise single-game records for field goals made with 65 and 60, respectively.
Eight teams set or matched the franchise mark for most 3-pointers made in a game: the Indiana Pacers (23, tied), the Los Angeles Lakers (22, tied), the New Orleans Pelicans (25), the Oklahoma City Thunder (23, tied), the Orlando Magic (25), the Philadelphia 76ers (24), the Sacramento Kings (25), and the Washington Wizards (21).
Two teams set a franchise record for largest margin of victory: the Miami Heat (60 points) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (62).
On the downside, the Charlotte Hornets (–53 points) and the Toronto Raptors (–48) recorded the worst losses in franchise history.
The Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers each won four games by 40 or more points. They are the first teams in NBA history to record four such wins in a season.
Nineteen teams won at least half of their games, the most such teams in a single-season in NBA history. Eighteen of those teams finished with a winning record, tying the league single-season record (previously done in 2004-05, 2017-18, and 2021-22).
Five teams lost at least 60 games, tied for the second-most such teams in a season in NBA history (this also happened in 1989-90 and 1996-97). The record of six 60-loss teams was set in 1997-98.
The average margin of victory in the NBA this season was +12.6 PPG, the highest such figure in league history. The previous mark of +12.4 PPG was set in 2021-22.
Given the above, there were obviously a low of blowouts in the NBA this season. More games were decided by 20 points (235, three more than the previous record), 25 points (140, one more), 35 points (47, 17 more), 40 points (22, seven more), 45 points (10, two more), and 50 points (seven, three more) than any other season in league history.
After losing the interconference battle two straight seasons following a 12-season winning streak, the Western Conference came back with a vengeance this season. The West posted a record of 261-191 (.577) versus the East, the highest such winning percentage since the 2014-15 season (.584).
Excellent read for true NBA fans. Great work.