Who’s Leading the NBA in Scoring?
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The NBA season is in full swing and we’re keeping track of the top scorers in the league. Here’s a look at who’s leading the way so far.
LeBron James
As of December 19th, 2020, LeBron James is leading the NBA in scoring with 27.1 points per game. He is closely followed by Stephen Curry with 26.9 points per game and Damian Lillard with 26.7 points per game. It is still early in the season, but these three players are on track to have a great year.
Games Played
LeBron James has played a total of 1,143 games in his 16 NBA seasons. Of those games, he has started 1,142 of them and has played a total of 42,636 minutes. He missed 18 games in his second season with the Miami Heat due to a hamstring injury, and he missed 8 games during the 2014-15 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers due to various injuries. He has played in all 82 regular season games 3 times in his career, most recently during the 2017-18 season.
Field Goals
LeBron James is currently leading the NBA in field goals made. He has made a total of 597 field goals so far this season.
Free Throws
LeBron James is leading the NBA in free throws made with 343. Free throws are worth one point each and are commonly shot attempts from the foul line. They are usually taken after a player is fouled while shooting from the field, but they can also be awarded after certain types of technical fouls.
Points Per Game
As of January 22, 2019, LeBron James is averaging 27.1 points per game, which ranks him fourth in the NBA. He is behind only James Harden (36.3), Giannis Antetokounmpo (28.7), and Anthony Davis (28.3). This is the first time in LeBron’s career that he has not been the league’s leading scorer.
Kevin Durant
As of January 2019, Durant is averaging 28.8 points per game, which is slightly ahead of second-place LeBron James. Durant is also averaging 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He is shooting 51.6 percent from the field, 41.9 percent from three-point range, and 90.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Games Played
Kevin Durant has played a total of 1,026 games in his NBA career. He’s played in 8 NBA seasons, all with the Oklahoma City Thunder/Brooklyn Nets. He’s a 10-time All-Star and 2-time NBA champion.
Field Goals
Kevin Durant is one of the best scorers in the NBA, and he’s currently leading the league in field goals. He’s averaging 11.4 field goals per game, which is just ahead of LeBron James’ 11.3 field goal average. Durant is shooting 49.1% from the field overall, and he’s particularly deadly from three-point range, where he’s shooting 41.7%.
Free Throws
Durant is currently leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 28.8 points per game. He is also shooting a career-high 90.9% from the free throw line.
Points Per Game
Entering the 2019-20 NBA season, Durant was in the prime of his career. He was coming off of his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award and third championship with the Golden State Warriors. He had just signed a four-year, $164 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, teaming up with Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan to form a superteam in the East. And he was fresh off of winning gold at the FIBA World Cup with Team USA.
The 2019-20 season started off well for Durant, as he averaged 26 points per game while shooting 52% from the field and 42% from three-point range in his first 12 games. However, things took a turn for the worse on November 11th when Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg during Game 5 of the NBA Finals. He would miss the entire 2019-20 season as a result.
James Harden
James Harden is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is one of the best scorers in the NBA, and is currently leading the league in scoring.
Games Played
As of February 12th, James Harden has played in 53 games.
Field Goals
James Harden, the Houston Rockets’ superstar, is currently leading the NBA in scoring with an average of 36.3 points per game. He’s an incredible player and is always a top contender for the MVP award. One of the things that makes him so great is his ability to score from anywhere on the court. Let’s take a look at some of his most impressive statistics:
-Harden is averaging 11.2 field goals per game, which is the most in the NBA.
-He’s also averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game, which is second in the NBA behind only Steph Curry.
-Harden is shooting 44.2% from the field, which is fourth in the NBA among players who have attempted at least 10 field goals per game.
-He’s also shooting 36.3% from three-point range, which is sixth in the league.
Free Throws
Harden is currently leading the NBA in scoring with an average of 36.3 points per game. He’s also leading the league in free throws attempted and made.
Harden is a very proficient free throw shooter, averaging over 86% for his career. This season, he’s upped that to nearly 88%. That means that when he gets to the line, he’s converting his opportunities at a very high rate.
It’s not just that Harden is getting to the line more often than other players, it’s that he’s also making a higher percentage of his attempts. That makes him one of the most efficient scorers in the league.
Points Per Game
As of November 20th, 2019, Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden is leading the NBA in points per game, averaging just over 38 points per game. This impressive feat is nothing new for the 2017-2018 MVP, as he has led the league in scoring for the past two seasons.
What is perhaps most impressive about Harden’s scoring output is his efficiency. He is currently shooting a career-high 36.3% from three-point range and 86.1% from the free throw line. His true shooting percentage, which takes into account two-point, three-point, and free throw shooting, is a staggering 63.5%. To put that into perspective, the league average true shooting percentage this season is 55.9%.
In short, James Harden is not only leading the NBA in scoring, but he is doing so in an incredibly efficient manner. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up this torrid pace for the entirety of the season.
