January's Top Performers

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

Here are some quick hitters on the NBA’s top performers in the month of January. 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, and blocks were:

  • PTS — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 536

  • REB — Domantas Sabonis, 218

  • AST — James Harden, 144

  • STL — Kawhi Leonard, 31

  • BLK — Victor Wembanyama, 46

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

  • PPG — Luka Doncic, 37.1

  • RPG — Domantas Sabonis, 14.5

  • APG — Luka Doncic, 10.4

  • SPG — Donovan Mitchell, 2.08

  • BPG — Victor Webbanyama, 3.29

• The shooting percentage leaders were:

  • FG% — Trayce Jackson-Davis, 74.6

  • 3P% — Grayson Allen, 56.6

  • FT% — Tre Jones, 96.4

• The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis led all players in double-doubles with 15 and triple-doubles with seven. He averaged 20.8 PPG, 14.5 RPG, and 9.0 APG in 16 games, shooting 66.5% from the field. The only other player in NBA history to record at least 300 points, 200 rebounds, and 100 assists with a field goal percentage of 65% in a month is Wilt Chamberlain (five times).

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• The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic averaged 37.1 PPG and 10.4 APG, the second straight month in which he’s averaged at least 35 PPG and 10 APG. The only other player in NBA history to record two such months in a row is Nate Archibald (January & February, 1973). In fact, Doncic, Archibald, and Oscar Robertson are the only players to average 35 PPG and 10 APG in a month.

• The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 30 points in 14 games, five more than any other player. He broke the franchise record of 13 such games in a month set by Kevin Durant in January 2014. Only one guard in NBA history has recorded more such games in a month: Oscar Robertson with 15 in February 1962.

• Gilgeous-Alexander also set a franchise record by attempting 184 free throws, making 158 of them (85.9%). He attempted at least 10 free throws in 10 games, tying the franchise mark for most such games in a month.

• The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 30.8 PPG, 12.6 RPG, and 7.3 APG in 15 games, shooting 60.8% from the floor. It’s the fourth time Antetokounmpo has averaged at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG with a field goal percentage of 60% in a month. The only other player in NBA history to produce even one such month is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (January 1971).

• Antetokounmpo set a franchise record with five triple-doubles, breaking his previous mark of three triple-doubles set in March 2021. Antetokounmpo is the only player in franchise history to record more than two triple-doubles in a month.

• The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic averaged 26.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 8.6 APG, making 66.5% of his field goals and 80.8% of his free throws. He’s the first player in NBA history to average 25 or more PPG in a month in which he shot at least 65% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.

• Jokic and Sabonis each averaged at least 20 PPG on 65% shooting from the field. The only other month in NBA history to feature two such players is March 1983, when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Artis Gilmore accomplished the feat.

• The Washington Wizards’ Tyus Jones dished out 121 assists in 15 games, committing just 15 turnovers and 11 personal fouls. Since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78, no player has recorded more assists in a month in which they averaged at most one turnover and one personal foul per game. In fact, seven of the top eight assist totals for players who meet these criteria belong to Tyus Jones (Damon Jones ranks fifth with 81 assists in December 2003).

• The Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen shot 47-83 (56.6%) from 3-point range. Only three players in NBA history have made more 3-pointers in a month in which they shot at least 55% from long range: Kyle Korver (55, January 2015), Hersey Hawkins (49, March 1997), and Steve Nash (48, December 2006). Hawkins did so with the benefit of a shorter 3-point line (uniform 22 feet).

• The Milwaukee Bucks’ Damian Lillard averaged 23.6 PPG, but made just 27.8% of his franchise-record 126 attempts from 3-point range. It’s the 223rd time in NBA history a player has attempted 125 or more 3-pointers in a month. Only two of those players — Baron Davis (December 2003) and James Harden (January 2020) — recorded a lower 3-point field goal percentage than Lillard.

• San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama averaged 24.0 PPG and a league-leading 3.3 BPG. The last rookie to average at least 20 PPG and 3 BPG in a month was Tim Duncan in February 1998. Wembanyama is the first player in NBA history — veterans included — to reach those marks in a month while averaging at least one 3-pointer made per game.

• Wembanyama had five games in which recorded at least 20 points and five blocks. Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, only two other rookies have produced at least five such games in a month: David Robinson (nine in March 1990, seven in February 1990) and Shaquille O’Neal (six in January 1993).

• Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren made 24 3-pointers and blocked 42 shots. He became the first player in NBA history — rookie or otherwise — to record at least 20 3-pointers made and 40 blocks in back-to-back months. Holmgren is the first rookie to record at least 200 points and 40 blocks in consecutive months since Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning in 1992-93.

• The New York Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo connected on 56 shots from 3-point range, breaking the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a month. The previous mark of 55 was held by John Starks (January 1995). DiVincenzo also broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers attempted in a month with 140.

• The Los Angeles Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell made 51 shots from 3-point range, the most in a month in franchise history. The previous record of 48 was set by LeBron James in January 2021.

• The Detroit Pistons’ Alec Burks set a franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a month, going 50-108 (46.3%) from long range. Allan Houston owned the previous mark with 49 in March 1995.

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• The New York Knicks went 14-2, leading all teams in wins and winning percentage. It’s just the fourth time the Knicks have won at least 14 games in a month. They also did so in December 1968 (15-3), November 1969 (14-1), and March 1994 (14-0).

• The Knicks won 11 of those games by at least 10 points, the most such wins in a month in franchise history. Only seven teams in NBA history have recorded more double-digit wins in a month.

• The Utah Jazz set a franchise record by averaging 126.0 PPG, easily surpassing the previous mark of 120.5 PPG set in December 1983. They scored at least 120 points in a game 13 times, four more such games than any other month in franchise history.

• The Cleveland Cavaliers posted a scoring average of 120.2 PPG, breaking the franchise record of 117.4 PPG set in February 2017. They had a record of 11-2, the franchise’s best winning percentage in a month since March 2010 (13-2).

• The Phoenix Suns led all teams with an effective field goal percentage of 60.0%, the highest such figure in a month in franchise history. They shot 52.8% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range.

• The LA Clippers averaged 121.2 PPG, shooting 51.5% from the field, 42.3% from 3-point range, and 82.8% from the free throw line. It’s just the sixth time in NBA history a team has averaged at least 120 PPG on 50/40/80 shooting splits in a month.

• The Portland Trail Blazers lost seven games by 20 or more points. Only three teams in NBA history have recorded more such losses in a month: Charlotte Bobcats (nine, April 2012), Los Angeles Clippers (eight, January 1989), and Oklahoma City Thunder (eight, April 2021).