50 Days In

Some notable performances through the first 50 days of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Dec 11, 2024

Yesterday was the 50th day of the 2024-25 NBA season, so I thought it would be a good time to examine some of the notable performances and trends we’ve seen thus far.

Leaders & Best

The leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, double-doubles, and triple-doubles are:

PTS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 725
REB — Ivica Zubac, 304
AST — Trae Young, 293
STL — Dyson Daniels, 73
BLK — Victor Wembanyama, 64
DD2 — Domantas Sabonis, 21
TD3 — Nikola Jokic, 9

The leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG are:

PPG — Giannis Antetokounmpo, 32.7
RPG — Nikola Jokic, 13.6
APG — Trae Young, 12.2
SPG — Dyson Daniels, 3.2
BPG — Victor Wembanyama, 3.4

The leaders in field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, and free throw percentage are:

FG% — Daniel Gafford, 73.8%
3P% — Taurean Prince, 53.6%
FT% — Joel Embiid, 97.4%

The single-game bests for points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and game score are:

PTS — De’Aaron Fox, 60 (Nov. 15, 2024)
REB — Jalen Duren, 22 (Nov. 18, 2024)
AST — Trae Young, 22 (Nov. 27, 2024)
STL — Dyson Daniels, 7 (Nov. 8, 2024)
BLK — Victor Wembanyama, 9 (Nov. 4, 2024)
Game Score — Giannis Antetokounmpo, 54.2 (Nov. 13, 2024)

Joker and the Freak

Nikola Jokic leads the league with nine triple-doubles this season. The only players in NBA history with more triple-doubles through the first 50 days of a season are Oscar Robertson (15, 1961-62) and Russell Westbrook (12, 2016-17).

Jokic is averaging 32.3 PPG (second in the league), 13.6 RPG (first), and 10.2 APG (second) in 19 games this season. The only other players in NBA history to average a 30-point triple-double through the first 50 days of a season are Robertson (1961-62) and Westbrook (2016-17).

Giannis Antetokounmpo has scored at least 20 points with 50% shooting from the floor in each of his 22 games this season. That’s the longest such streak to open a season in NBA history (by nine games) and the third-longest such streak overall, trailing only Shaquille O’Neal and Zion Williamson (25 games each).

Antetokounmpo is averaging 32.7 PPG, 11.4 RPG, and 6.0 APG with a field goal percentage of 61.2% in 22 games. It’s the second straight season he’s averaged at least 30 PPG on 60% shooting from the field through 50 days. The only other player in NBA history to do this even once is Adrian Dantley in 1979-80.

From Way Downtown…Bang

Anthony Edwards has made a league-leading 103 threes this season. He’s just the third player in NBA history to reach the century mark through a season’s first 50 days, joining Stephen Curry (five times) and James Harden.

The Boston Celtics are making an average of 19.0 threes on 51.4 attempts per game. Both are easily the highest such figures in NBA history by a team through the first 50 days of a season. The Celtics have made 15 or more 3-pointers in 21 of their 24 games.

So far this season, 3-pointers account for 42.3% of all field goals attempted in the NBA, the highest such figure in history through a season’s first 50 days. The previous mark of 40.2% was set in 2021-22.

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Leastern Conference

Western Conference teams have a record of 56-41 (.577) versus Eastern Conference teams this season, with an average differential of plus-3.2 points per game. Coming into this season, the West had won the interconference battle in 22 of the previous 25 seasons.

Seven of the NBA’s bottom 10 teams by average point differential reside in the East. The East’s Washington Wizards rank dead last with an average point differential of minus-16.2, the worst such figure in NBA history by a team through the first 50 days of a season. Washington has lost 18 games by 10 or more points, tying the 1970-71 Cleveland Cavaliers (an expansion team) and the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks for the most double-digit losses by a team through the first 50 days of a season.

Hardware

Here are my picks for the NBA’s major awards at the 50-day mark.

Most Valuable Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Jokic has been phenomenal, but Gilgeous-Alexander has been almost as productive leading the team with the West’s best record. A factor: Jokic has missed three games (which doesn’t sound like much, but accounts for almost 14% of Denver’s season), while Gilgeous-Alexander hasn’t missed any.

Defensive Player of the Year: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

An All-Defensive First Team selection as a rookie, Wembanyama has been even better in his sophomore season. He leads the league in blocks (64) and blocks per game (3.4), and has recorded multiple blocks in 17 of his 19 contests. The Spurs have a defensive rating of 110.8 with Wembanyama on the court (which would rank eighth in the NBA) versus 119.7 with him off (which would rank 28th), a difference of 8.9 points per 100 possessions.

Rookie of the Year: Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

The 16th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, McCain has been one of the few bright spots in the Sixers’ disappointing season. He’s averaging 15.8 PPG in 22 games with 46.3/38.2/87.5 shooting splits. He’s recorded eight 20-point games, double that of any other rookie this season.

Most Improved Player: Tari Eason, Houston Rockets

Eason has been a big reason why the Rockets’ have the NBA’s second-best defensive rating, ranking third in the league in steals (46) and second in steals per game (2.1) despite playing just 22.9 minutes per game. Per 100 defensive possessions, he has the best steal rate in the league (4.4). He’s also averaging 11.3 PPG (on a career-high 1.11 points per scoring attempt), 6.5 RPG, and 1.0 BPG in 22 games.

Sixth Man of the Year: Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics

Pritchard has come off the bench in all 24 of his games, averaging 16.1 PPG with 48.7/43.0/84.1 shooting splits. He leads the NBA in 20-point games off the bench with nine. Pritchard has made five or more 3-pointers in a game 11 times this season, already the most such games in franchise history by a bench player.

Coach of the Year: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers were good last season under J.B. Bickertsaff (48-34), but Atkinson has taken them to another level, posting 21 wins in their first 25 games. After ranking 18th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 115.2 last season, Cleveland now boasts the league’s second-most potent offense (121.2). There’s been little slippage defensively, as the Cavaliers ranked sixth in defensive rating last season and are eighth this season.