Now that all 30 NBA teams have played at least 41 games, I thought it might be interesting to put together some midseason observations from around the league. Any references to totals, past or present, are through 41 team games (even if a team has played more than 41 games this season). All per-game statistics are also through 41 team games and require a minimum of 29 player games played. Player shooting percentages require a minimum number of makes: 150 field goals, 41 3-pointers, or 63 free throws.
The leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks:
1,258 PTS — Luka Doncic
499 REB — Domantas Sabonis
402 AST — Tyrese Haliburton
82 STL — O.G. Anunoby
103 BLK — Brook Lopez
The leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG:
34.0 PPG — Luka Doncic
12.5 RPG — Domantas Sabonis
10.3 APG — Tyrese Haliburton
2.22 SPG — O.G. Anunoby
2.63 BPG — Nic Claxton
Ten players scored at least 1,000 points, tying the NBA record for the most such players through 41 team games set in 2020-21.
Five players averaged at least 30 PPG, the most such players in NBA history through 41 team games. The previous mark of four such players was established in 1961-62, when there were only nine teams in the league.
Seventeen players averaged at least 25 PPG, matching the 2020-21 season for the most such players through 41 team games in NBA history. No other season has produced more than 12 such players through 41 team games.
Forty-five players averaged at least 20 PPG, seven more such players than any other season in NBA history through 41 team games.
There were 93 40-point games, 23 more such games than any other season in NBA history through 41 team games. Thirty-five different players recorded a 40-point game, the second-highest such figure in NBA history through 41 team games (39, 2020-21).
There were 15 50-point games, the most such games through 41 team games since the 1962-63 season. Eleven different players accounted for those games, three more such players than any other season in NBA history through 41 team games.
The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic had a scoring average of 24.9 PPG with a true shooting percentage of 69.0%, the latter the highest such figure in NBA history by a player who averaged at least 20 PPG through his team’s first 41 games.
Jokic had an effective field goal percentage of 64.6%. The only player in NBA history to average at least 20 PPG through 41 team games with a higher effective field goal percentage is Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67 (69.1%).
Jokic recorded an NBA-leading 11 triple-doubles, the second time he’s had at least 10 triple-doubles through 41 team games (2020-21, 10). He’s the only non-guard in NBA history to produce at least 10 triple-doubles through his team’s first 41 games of a season.
Jokic missed a triple-double by exactly one point, one rebound, or one assist eight times, five more such games than any other player this season. Only one other player since the ABA-NBA merger has recorded at least eight such games through 41 team games: Jokic in 2020-21 (8).
The Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic is just the seventh player in NBA history with a scoring average of at least 34.0 PPG through 41 team games (a total of 17 instances):
Wilt Chamberlain (7 times)
Elgin Baylor (3 times)
Michael Jordan (2 times)
James Harden (2 times)
Rick Barry
Kobe Bryant
Luka Doncic
Doncic is just the third player in NBA history to record at least 1,200 points, 300 rebounds, and 300 assists through his team’s first 41 games of a season (a total of five instances):
Oscar Robertson, 1961-62
Robertson, 1962-63
Robertson, 1965-66
Russell Westbrook, 2016-17
Luka Doncic, 2022-23
Doncic recorded nine 30-point triple-doubles, tied for the third-most such games in NBA history through 41 team games:
11 — Oscar Robertson, 1961-62
10 — Russell Westbrook, 2016-17
9 — Luka Doncic, 2022-23
9 — Robertson, 1964-65
Doncic had four 40-point triple-doubles, tying James Harden (2018-19) for the most such games in NBA history through 41 team games. Only five players in NBA history have recorded more 40-point triple-doubles in their entire career.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded seven 40-point, 10-rebound games. The last player to produce at least seven such games through his team’s first 41 games of a season was Bob McAdoo in 1974-75 (9).
Antetokounmpo recorded six 40-point, 10-rebound games in which he shot at least 60% from the field. The only player in NBA history to produce more such games through 41 team games is Wilt Chamberlain in 1962-63 (10).
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid recorded five 30-point, 10-rebound games in which he made at least 10 free throws without a miss. That’s the most such games in NBA history by a player through his team’s first 41 games of a season.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James averaged 29.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 6.7 APG. He’s one of only three players in NBA history age 35 years or older to average at least 25 PPG through 41 team games, and he’s the only one to do so multiple times:
29.1 — LeBron James, 2022-23
28.9 — James, 2021-22
25.8 — James, 2020-21
25.4 — Karl Malone, 1999-00
25.0 — Michael Jordan, 2001-02
The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis averaged 18.9 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 7.1 APG while shooting 61.3% from the field. The only other player in NBA history to average at least 18 PPG, 12 RPG, and 6 APG through 41 team games with a field goal percentage of 60% is Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67.
The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton made 117 3-pointers and dished out 402 assists. Only two other players in NBA history have recorded at least 100 3-pointers made and 400 assists through their team’s first 41 games of a season: Steve Nash (2006-07) and James Harden (2016-17).
The Brooklyn Nets’ Nic Claxton had a league-leading field goal percentage of 73.4%. The only player in NBA history with a higher such figure through 41 team games is Wilt Chamberlain in 1972-73 (76.6%).
Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin recorded 15 20-point games coming off the bench. Since the NBA began tracking starters in 1970-71, no other rookie has recorded more than 11 such games through his team’s first 41 games of a season (Jeff Ruland, 1981-82).
The Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored at least 25 points in the same game 23 times, the most such games in NBA history by a duo through 41 team games:
23 — Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown, 2022-23
22 — Elgin Baylor & Jerry West, 1962-63
22 — Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant, 2000-01
21 — Baylor & West, 1961-62
21 — Baylor & West, 1963-64
The Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving each scored at least 35 points in the same game three times. They are one of only five duos in NBA history to record at least three such games through their team’s first 41 games of a season:
4 — Elgin Baylor & Jerry West, 1961-62
3 — Oscar Robertson & Jack Twyman, 1960-61
3 — Jerry West & Wilt Chamberlain, 1969-70
3 — Shaquille O'Neal & Anfernee Hardaway, 1994-95
3 — Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving, 2022-23
The Sacramento Kings recorded nine games in which they scored at least 130 points. The only other team over the last 30 seasons with at least nine such games through their first 41 games of a season is the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets (9).
The Kings had a record of 23-18, ending a streak of 17 consecutive seasons with a losing record through 41 games, the longest such streak in NBA history.
The Golden State Warriors are just the seventh defending champion in NBA history to have a losing record through their first 41 games of a season:
1955-56 Syracuse Nationals (19-22)
1969-70 Boston Celtics (17-24)
1976-77 Boston Celtics (20-21)
1998-99 Chicago Bulls (11-30)
2002-03 Los Angeles Lakers (19-22)
2006-07 Miami Heat (19-22)
2022-23 Golden State Warriors (20-21)
The Miami Heat averaged 108.7 PPG, the lowest scoring average in the NBA. Just 10 years ago, in the 2012-13 season, that would have been the highest scoring average in the NBA through 41 team games.
Only four teams have posted a winning record through 41 games in each of the last six seasons: Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Philadelphia 76ers. No team has done so in each of the last seven seasons.
The league average of 113.9 PPG is the highest scoring average through 41 team games since the 1969-70 NBA season (115.5 PPG).
The league field goal percentage of 47.1% is the highest such figure through 41 team games since the 1992-93 NBA season (47.2%). The league effective field goal percentage of 54.1% is the highest such figure through 41 team games in NBA history.
The league free throw percentage of 78.1% is the highest such figure through 41 team games in NBA history.