Race for MVP | A season of all scoring records?
Basket USA has been serving you for over a decade Top 5 Candidates for the “Most Valuable Player” trophy (MVP)”. This week, of course, it was impossible not to mention the various stat cards that have happened since the start of the season, especially for a few days.
between 60 points (with 21 rebounds and 10 assists) from Luka Doncic (who also recently posted rebounds of 51 and 50 points); 47 points (with 10 rebounds and 9 assists), 43 points from LeBron James (with 20 rebounds and 5 assists), 42 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo (with 10 rebounds and 5 assists) DeMar DeRozan or now 71 points (with 8 rebounds and 11 assists) Donovan Mitchell as well 54 points By Klay Thompson, XXL performances rained down on the NBA in one week.
The back of the boxes
Let’s not forget the benefits 58 points Devin Booker, one 55 points (and 17 rebounds) Anthony Davis, one 53 points (and 12 rebounds) from Joel Embiid, one 52 points (with 9 rebounds and 7 assists) from Pascal Siakam, 43/14/8/5, 41/15/15 and 40/27/10 from Nikola Jokic or 44, then 41 points from Jayson Tatum, also all in December !
With these different heat strokes, we almost forgot 49 points (and 8 assists) Ja Morant and The 82 points duet Donovan Mitchell – Caris LeVert in October as well 47 points (with 8 rebounds and 8 assists) Stephen Curry, the 59 points (with 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks) Joel Embiid or 45 points By Kevin Durant in November…
Suffice it to say that NBA forwards have had a very, very hot hand since the start of this 2022/23 season and haven’t let up since early November.
Here’s the proof: it’s just the date month of December 2022, just this time 45 matches with 40+ points were considered That’s no less than the new record for any month set in December 1961, which topped just 37 games with 40+ points.
Attacks at the party
Mark it too 12 players had at least two games with 40+ points In December 2022, that’s a new record for a month since February 1962 (with “only” 7 players with multiple 40+ point games).
In general, we are currently determining 87 games with 40+ points In the 2022/23 season (divided into 33 players), while we haven’t reached the halfway point yet. The record of 142 games with 40+ points, set in 1961/62 (and shared between 13 players) is therefore largely within reach, as the halfway mark is already over…
On the other hand, the record of 57 games with 50+ points in a season dating back to the 1961/62 financial year will probably still have to wait as there are currently only 13 games in 2022/23. . On the other hand, the “modern era” record (since the ABA/NBA merger in 1976) will be broken as he has 23 games with 50+ points since the 2019/20 campaign.
Moreover, we see this when looking at individual score averages 54 players scored 20+ points per gamethat 20 players scored 25+ points per game and 6 players score 30+ points per game. That’s a record each time, beating 2020/21’s 43+ 20+ point average and 2020/21’s 17 25+ point average (again), but equaling the 6 30+ point average from 1961/62.
Additionally, two players (Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid) are currently on tour 33+ points per game and if they continue their momentum, it would be only the fifth time since 1960/61, 1961/62, 1962/63 and 2005/06 that two players have averaged such points in the same season. .
Defenseless… or more effective attacks?
To confirm that we are witnessing a historic goal-scoring exercise, we also note that there has never been a higher average “attack rating” than in 2022/23: 113.5 points were collected for 100 balls112.3 in the 2020/21 campaign and ahead of 112.0 in the 2021/22 campaign.
Teams’ overall address (or “effective field goal percentage,” which takes into account that 3-pointers are worth 1.5 times more points than 2-pointers) has also never been more important this season. : 54.1% eFG%53.8% in 2020/21 and 53.2% in 2021/22.
Of course, the evolution of a league in which offense dominates more easily than defense certainly irritates fans of the physical, gritty, and defensive NBA of a few decades ago.
But aren’t we also faced with players who are technically, tactically and physically better equipped than they were 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or even 70 years ago, with everything they now benefit from, a logical evolution in the end? to improve their games and work?
Race for MVP 2023: Our Top 5
1 – Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Assessment: 24 wins, 13 losses – 1st in the West.
Matches: 34 out of a possible 37 are controversial.
Statistics: 25.6 pt, 10.8 reb, 9.5 ft, 1.4 int, 0.6 ctr and 3.4 ft in 34 min.
Percentages: 62% shooting, 35% 3-pointers and 81% shooting.
2 – Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Assessment: 26 wins, 11 losses – 1st in the East.
Matches: 35 out of a possible 37 are controversial.
Statistics: 30.9 pts, 8.1 reb, 4.1 pds, 1.2 int, 0.9 ctr and 2.7 pdb in 37 minutes.
Percentages: 47% on field goals, 35% on 3-pointers and 86% on field goals.
3 – Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
Assessment: 22 wins, 16 losses – 4th in the West.
Matches: 35 out of a possible 38 are controversial.
Statistics: 34.3 pts, 8.8 reb, 8.9 pds, 1.7 int, 0.6 ctr and 3.6 pdb in 37 minutes.
Percentages: 51% on field goals, 36% on 3-pointers and 74% on field goals.
4 – Kevin Durant (Nets)
Assessment: 25 wins, 12 losses – 2nd in the East.
Matches: 36 out of a possible 37 are controversial.
Statistics: 29.6 pts, 6.8 reb, 5.5 pds, 0.8 int, 1.5 ctr and 3.5 pdb in 36 minutes.
Percentages: 56% shooting, 36% 3-pointers and 93% shooting.
5 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Assessment: 23 wins, 13 losses – 3rd in the East.
Matches: 30 out of a possible 36 are controversial.
Statistics: 32.1 ppg, 11.8 reb, 5.2 ft, 0.9 int, 0.9 ktr and 3.8 ft in 34 minutes.
Percentages: 53% shooting, 25% 3-pt and 65% shooting.
Notes : Joel Embiid (Sixers), Ja Morant (Grizzlies), Zion Williamson (Pelicans), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers)…
