It’s been a heck of a season for NBA statistics. We’re on track to have the best offensive season of the last 40 years, with the league averaging 106.0 points per 100 possessions. Teams are taking 3-pointers at a record rate for the fifth straight season and turnovers are at an all-time low.
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With the league-wide offensive revolution, there have been some ridiculous numbers put up by individuals. Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double. James Harden and Draymond Green have each had triple-double lines that we’ve never seen before. Stephen Curry finally broke the single-game record for threes and Isaiah Thomas is the first player (since we started tracking by-quarter stats) to average more than 10 points in a quarter. And none of those guys has the season high for points this season.
So there’s a lot to celebrate and plenty of numbers beyond those to digest as we come to New Orleans for All-Star 2017. And as we’ve done for the last few years, we’ll highlight some well and lesser-known numbers for the All-Stars on the East and West rosters.
— Clutch time = Last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with a score differential of five points or less.
— Effective field goal percentage = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
— True shooting percentage = PTS / (2 * (FGM + 0.44 * FTA)))
All stats through Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors
• Leads the league in raw plus-minus. The Warriors have outscored their opponents by 714 points with him on the floor.
• The Warriors have scored 118.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and 105.1 with him off the floor. That’s the league’s biggest on-off-court OffRtg differential (13.0) among players who have played at least 750 minutes for a single team.
• Set an NBA record with 13 3-pointers in the Warriors’ win over New Orleans on Nov. 7. He has the only two games of double-digit threes this season.
• Has an effective field goal percentage of 68.1 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers, the best mark among players who have attempted at least 200.
• Has shot just 35.9 percent on pull-up 3-pointers. That’s only the 11th best mark among players who have taken at least 100 and is down from a league-best 42.8 percent last season.
• Leads the league with 2.3 secondary assists per game.
• Leads the league in free throw percentage at 91.6 percent.
James Harden, G, Houston Rockets
• Leads the league in total minutes for the third straight season.
• Leads the league with 11.3 assists per game and 27.4 points created via assists per game. Has more than 100 assists to three different teammates (Trevor Ariza, Clint Capela and Ryan Anderson).
• Has recorded 274 assists on 3-pointers, just 10 fewer than Steve Nash’s record of 284 in 2004-05. Harden is on pace to record 387 if he plays in all 82 games.
• Leads the league in total time of possession.
• Has attempted 6.6 pull-up 3-pointers per game, most in the league.
• Eight players have scored at least 50 points in a game this season. Harden is the only one to have done it twice and he had a triple-double both times. Against the Knicks on Dec. 31, he was the first player in NBA history with at least 50 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a single game.
Anthony Davis, F, New Orleans Pelicans
• League’s leading first-quarter scorer at 8.6 points per game.
• Posting career-high marks in usage rate (32.7 percent) rebounding percentage (17.2 percent) and defensive rebounding percentage (27.6 percent). His usage rate has increased every season he’s been in the league.
• Has taken 30 percent of his shots from the restricted area, the lowest rate of his career. In fact, that number has decreased every year since his rookie season, when he took 51 percent of his shots from the restricted area.
• Leads the league with 6.6 possessions per game and 7.1 points per game as the roll man.
• Has earned an and-one on 10.9 percent of his transition possessions, the highest mark among players with at least 100.
• Has recorded an assist just on 7.7 percent of his possessions, the lowest rate among All-Stars.
Kevin Durant, F, Golden State Warriors
• His true shooting percentage of 65.2 percent is a career high and the second highest mark among non-centers who have taken at least 300 shots.
• He’s also putting up career highs in effective field goal percentage (59.5 percent), rebounding percentage (13.4 percent) and assist rate, assisting on 18.0 percent of his possessions. His turnover rate (8.6 per 100 possessions) is a career low.
• 28 percent of his shots have come from the restricted area, the highest rate of his career. Has shot 78.1 percent in the restricted area, the best mark among the 62 players who have taken at least 200 shots there.
• Has also shot 51.6 percent on non-restricted-area paint shots, the second best mark among the 56 players who have taken at least 100 of them. And he has shot 47.9 percent from mid-range, the second best mark among 35 players who have taken at least 200 mid-range shots.
• The Warriors are 29-1 when he’s had at least five assists.
Kawhi Leonard, F, San Antonio Spurs
• Ranks eighth in the league in usage rate at 31.1 percent, having seen an increase in usage rate every year.
• True shooting percentage of 61.8 percent is a career high (and 13th among players with at least 300 field-goal attempts). His effective field goal percentage is down, but his free throw rate (FTA/FGA) is up from 0.306 last season to 0.417 this season.
• Has shot 44.1 percent from outside the paint, the best mark among All-Stars, though his effective field goal percentage from outside the paint (52.8 percent) ranks sixth among All-Stars, because of his mid-range/3PA ratio (1.3).
• Has scored 1.06 points per possession as a pick-and-roll ball-handler, the best mark among players with 100 ball-handler possessions. Has turned the ball over on only 9.8 percent of those possessions, the fourth lowest rate.
• The Spurs have scored 113.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and just 103.7 with him off the floor.
DeMar DeRozan, G, Toronto Raptors
• Has scored 696 points between the restricted area and 3-point range, 106 more than any other player.
• League’s leading third-quarter scorer at 9.6 points per game.
• Has scored 1.15 points per possession on post-ups, the best mark among players with at least 100.
• Has committed turnovers on only 7.5 percent of his possessions, the lowest rate of his career and the lowest rate among All-Stars.
• One of two All-Stars (Anthony is the other) whose team has been better with him off the floor. The Raptors have outscored their opponents by 2.8 points per 100 possessions with DeRozan on the floor and by 8.7 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor.
Kyrie Irving, G, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Has a usage rate of 26.3 percent when James is on the floor and 41.6 percent when James is off the floor. James’ usage rate only jumps from 27.5 percent to 33.8 percent when Irving sits.
• Has shot 47.6 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, the second best mark among 147 players who have attempted at least 100 and an improvement from 36.0 percent last season.
• Has 75 assists to James (2.0 per 36 minutes) in their 1,349 minutes on the floor together. He had just 44 assists to James (1.4 per 36 minutes) in their 1,156 minutes on the floor together last season.
• Usage rate goes up (from 25.2 percent in the first quarter to 35.2 percent in the fourth), but assist ratio goes down (from 26.5 per 100 possessions in the first to just 12.6 in the fourth) as the game goes on.
• Has shot 4-for-23 (17 percent) on clutch 3-pointers, the worst mark among players who have attempted at least 20.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
• Tied for the league lead (with Karl-Anthony Towns) with 13.3 points in the paint per game.
• The only player in the league averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block per game.
• One of two All-Stars (DeAndre Jordan is the other) who has taken more than half of his shots from the restricted area.
• One of three players (Rudy Gobert and Robin Lopez are the others) who has blocked at least six shots in more than one game this season.
• Has an effective field goal percentage of 37.7 percent on pull-up jumpers, the lowest mark among players who have attempted at least 200.
Jimmy Butler, F, Chicago Bulls
• Has scored 1.41 points per possession in transition, the best mark among players with at least 100 transition possessions. He has gone to the line on 31.3 percent of his transition possessions, also the highest mark among players with at least 100.
• Has gone to the line 21.7 percent of his pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions, the highest mark among players with at least 100 of those.
• Made an NBA season-high 21 free throws in the Bulls’ win over Charlotte on Jan. 2.
• Has traveled 2.57 miles per game, second most in the league and most among All-Stars.
• Has shot 45-for-46 (97.8 percent) on clutch free throws, the best mark among players who have attempted at least 25.
• One of four players with at least 10 baskets in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime with the score within three points.
LeBron James, F, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Has an effective field goal percentage of 78.3 percent in transition, the best mark among 146 players with at least 50 field goal attempts in transition.
• Has taken more 3-point shots (234) than mid-range shots (202) for the first time in his career. His 3-point percentage of 38.9 percent is the second highest of his career and is up from 30.9 percent last season. He’s already made more threes this season (91) than he did last season (87).
• The Cavs have been 12.2 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor (plus-7.8) than with him off the floor (minus-4.4). That’s the 11th biggest on-off NetRtg differential among players who have logged at least 750 minutes for a single team, but is down from 16.4 last season and 16.8 the season before.
• Has 255 assists 3-pointers, the sixth highest mark for a single season. James Harden has 279, but in six more games. Both players, if they were to play the remainder of their team’s games, are on pace for 387 assists on threes, which would be 103 more than Steve Nash’s record of 284 in 2004-05.
• Has shot 59 percent (13-for-22) on clutch 3-pointers, the best mark among players who have attempted at least 20.
