December's Top Performers

Highlighting some of the NBA's top performers in the month of December.

Here are some quick hitters on the NBA’s top performers in the month of December. Please note that all references to a “month” mean a calendar month, all per-game factoids are based on a minimum of 10 games played, and all shooting-percentage factoids are based on a minimum of 10 games played with a pro-rated number of makes that would qualify for league leadership using the current guidelines.

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

  • PTS — Jalen Brunson and Nikola Jokic, 398

  • REB — Rudy Gobert, 171

  • AST — Nikola Jokic, 143

  • STL — Kevin Porter Jr., 32

  • BLK — Jay Huff, 33

  • DD2 — Jalen Johnson, 12

  • TD3 — Nikola Jokic, 6

• The leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG were:

  • PPG — Jaylen Brown, 31.7

  • RPG — Rudy Gobert, 12.2

  • APG — Nikola Jokic, 11.0

  • SPG — Kevin Porter Jr., 2.5

  • BPG — Jay Huff, 2.4

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

  • FG% — Deandre Ayton, 69.8%

  • 3P% — Kel’el Ware, 54.8%

  • FT% — Paul George, 96.8%

• There were three 50-point performances: Nikola Jokic (56 on Dec. 25), Kawhi Leonard (55 on Dec. 28), and Jamal Murray (52 points on Dec. 3).

• Anthony Edwards led all players with three 40-point games, while Jaylen Brown was the leader in 30-point games with nine.

• Two players recorded a 20-rebound game: Scottie Barnes (25 on Dec. 28) and Nikola Jokic (21 on Dec. 27 and 20 on Dec. 1)

• Rudy Gobert was the leader in double-digit rebound games with 11.

• Nikola Jokic recorded nine games with 10 or more assists, leading all players.

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• Jalen Johnson posted figures of 25.8 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 10.1 APG in 12 games, becoming the first player in Atlanta Hawks history to average a triple-double for a month.

• Jalen Johnson set an Atlanta Hawks record for most triple-doubles in a month with four. The previous mark of two was shared by Bill Bridges (Feb. 1970), Toni Kukoc (March 2001), Bob Sura (April 2004), and Johnson himself (Nov. 2025).

• Jalen Johnson had five games in which he missed a triple-double by either one rebound or one assist. The only other player since the ABA-NBA merger to record five such games in a month is Russell Westbrook in Feb. 2021.

• Nikola Jokic also averaged a triple-double, recording figures of 30.6 PPG, 11.8 RPG, and 11.0 APG in 13 games. It’s the fifth time he’s accomplished the feat.

• Nikola Jokic recorded six triple-doubles, the 14th time he’s produced at least five triple-doubles in a month. The only player in NBA history with more such months is Russell Westbrook with 16.

• Kon Knueppel averaged 20.8 PPG in 12 games, shooting 50.0% from the field, 46.2% from 3-point range, and 90.3% from the free throw line. He’s the first rookie in NBA history to average at least 15 PPG with 50/40/90 shooting splits in a month.

• Jamal Murray set a Denver Nuggets record for most 3-pointers made in a month with 56. The previous record of 50 makes was held by Michael Porter Jr. (Nov. 2023).

• The New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise record for highest scoring average in a month, averaging 122.2 PPG. The previous mark of 121.9 PPG was set in January 2020.

• Three teams set a franchise record for most 3-pointers made per game in a month: the Charlotte Hornets (16.5), the New York Knicks (15.7), and the Denver Nuggets (14.6).