Scoring duel highlights Sixers-Mavericks matchup on TNT Thursday
The 76ers are heading to Dallas in a showdown between two of the league’s most unstoppable forces: Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic.
The top two scorers in the NBA this season — Dallas’ Luka Doncic (33.2 points per game) and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (33.0 ppg) — will meet for the first time this season when the Mavericks host the Sixers on Thursday night (7:30 ET, TNT).
Here’s a closer look at what each player is doing this season as a scorer.
Joel Embiid
Embiid is pursuing his second straight scoring title after edging out Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James in a three-player race that came down to the final week last season. Embiid averaged a career-best 30.6 ppg to become the first center since Shaquille O’Neal (in 1999-2000) to win the NBA scoring title.
As great as the Sixers’ big man was last season, Embiid has elevated his scoring to a new level in 2022-23, averaging 33.0 points while shooting a career-best 53.2% from the field to go with 10.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game.
Here are the players to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block since steals and blocks became official stats in 1976-77:
• Embiid last season (and so far this season)
• Bob McAdoo in 1975-76
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1974-75.
Embiid finished last season as the only player to average at least 30 ppg, but that won’t be the case this season as the league is on pace to see a record number of 30-point scorers in 2022-23.
Joel Embiid runs wild with 41 points and 12 rebounds against Boston.
Over the NBA’s first 76 seasons, there were a total of 75 instances in which a player averaged at least 30 points per game and met the minimum games played to qualify as a season leader (70% of team’s games, which is 58 in an 82-game season).
Those 75 30+ ppg seasons were accumulated by a total of 31 players, a list led by Michael Jordan (eight times), Wilt Chamberlain (seven times) and Oscar Robertson (six times). No one else has more than four 30+ ppg seasons in their career.
Players with multiple 30+ PPG seasons, NBA history
| Player | # 30+ PPG Seasons |
Seasons |
| Michael Jordan | 8 | 1986-87 (37.1), 1987-88 (35.0), 1988-89 (32.5), 1989-90 (33.6), 1990-91 (31.5), 1991-92 (30.1), 1992-93 (32.6), 1995-96 (30.4) |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 7 | 1959-60 (37.6), 1960-61 (38.4), 1961-62 (50.4), 1962-63 (44.8), 1963-64 (36.9), 1964-65 (34.7), 1965-66 (33.5) |
| Oscar Robertson | 6 | 1960-61 (30.5), 1961-62 (30.8), 1963-64 (31.4), 1964-65 (30.4), 1965-66 (31.3), 1966-67 (30.5) |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 4 | 1970-71 (31.7), 1971-72 (34.8), 1972-73 (30.2), 1974-75 (30.0) |
| Allen Iverson | 4 | 2000-01 (31.1), 2001-02 (31.4), 2004-05 (30.7), 2005-06 (33.0) |
| Jerry West | 4 | 1961-62 (30.8), 1964-65 (31.0), 1965-66 (31.3), 1969-70 (31.2) |
| Bob McAdoo | 3 | 1973-74 (30.6), 1974-75 (34.5), 1975-76 (31.1) |
| Adrian Dantley | 3 | 1980-81 (30.7), 1981-82 (30.3), 1983-84 (30.6) |
| James Harden | 3 | 2017-18 (30.4), 2018-19 (36.1), 2019-20 (34.3) |
| Dominique Wilkins | 2 | 1985-86 (30.3), 1987-88 (30.7) |
| Kevin Durant | 2 | 2009-10 (30.1), 2013-14 (32.0) |
| Stephen Curry | 2 | 2015-16 (30.1), 2020-21 (32.0) |
| George Gervin | 2 | 1979-80 (33.1), 1981-82 (32.3) |
| Elgin Baylor | 2 | 1960-61 (34.8), 1962-63 (34.0) |
| Rick Barry | 2 | 1966-67 (35.6), 1974-75 (30.6) |
| LeBron James | 2 | 2005-06 (31.4), 2007-08 (30.0) |
| Bradley Beal | 2 | 2019-20 (30.5), 2020-21 (31.3) |
The 2022-23 season is on pace to add six more 30+ ppg seasons to the 75 that already exist and add four new players to reach the benchmark. While Embiid (last season) and Damian Lillard (2019-20) are already on the 30 ppg list, these four players have a chance to join that exclusive club this season: Jayson Tatum (30.3 ppg), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.0 ppg), Antetokounmpo (31.3 ppg) and Doncic (the current league leader at 33.2 ppg).
Scoring leaders, 2022-23 season, through games played on March 1
| Rank | Player | Team | PPG | GP | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 1 | Luka Doncic | DAL | 33.2 | 53 | 50.6 | 34.9 | 73.1 |
| 2 | Joel Embiid | PHI | 33.0 | 48 | 53.2 | 33.8 | 86.0 |
| 3 | Damian Lillard | POR | 32.3 | 49 | 47.2 | 37.7 | 92.1 |
| 4 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | 31.3 | 50 | 54.1 | 28.6 | 64.5 |
| 5 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | OKC | 31.0 | 54 | 50.7 | 33.8 | 90.8 |
| 6 | Jayson Tatum | BOS | 30.3 | 59 | 46.2 | 35.5 | 86.2 |
Luka Doncic
Similar to Embiid, Doncic is not only averaging a career best in points per game (33.2) but is also having his most efficient shooting season as well, shooting 50.6% from the field with a true shooting percentage of 61.4%. Doncic ranks second in the league in usage rate (37.2%) behind Antetokounmpo (37.7%) and just slightly ahead of Embiid (36.9%).
For much of the season, Doncic’s offensive load was similar to what we saw from James Harden during his run in Houston. Luka dominated the ball — averaging 9.6 minutes of possession per game, 1.1 more minutes than second-ranked Harden — as he created shots for himself and his teammates.
Luka Doncic finishes with 39 points against the Pacers.
At the trade deadline, the Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn to pair with Doncic and take some of the offensive creation burden off Doncic. Three weeks into the experiment, the numbers show the goal of that trade is taking place.
In 47 games prior to the trade, Doncic averaged 33.4 points on 22.3 shots per game, with a usage rate of 37.6% and 9.6 minutes of possession. In his six games since the trade, Doncic is averaging 31.7 points on 20.8 shots per game, with a usage rate of 33.8% and his time of possession has dropped to 8.1 minutes (5th in the NBA).
The one thing missing from the formula has been the wins the Mavericks expected by creating this All-Star backcourt. Dallas is 3-5 overall since Irving debuted on Feb. 8 and Doncic missed the first two games with Irving on the roster (which were both wins). The Mavericks are 1-4 in the five games that Irving and Doncic have played together, with all four losses decided by five points or less. As Irving and Doncic continue to build on-court chemistry and try to improve Dallas’ playoff positioning down the stretch, what effect will that have on Doncic’s pursuit of the scoring title?
With the debut of Kyrie Irving on the Mavericks on Feb. 8, the team looks to bounce back from it’s 3-5 record since then.
More NBA scoring history looms
Already, the 2022-23 season is on pace to become one of the greatest offensive campaigns ever. This season has already seen a pair of 71-point games (Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard became the seventh and eighth members, respectively, of the 70-point club), more 40-plus point games than any season in league history (153 and counting) and the highest league average in team scoring (114.3 ppg) in more than 50 seasons (1969-70). As the final quarter of the season begins, this season has a chance to set a record with six 30-point scorers in the same season.
We have to travel back six decades to find a season that comes close to matching this level of scoring from so many superstar players. The famous 1961-62 season featured five players that averaged at least 30 points per game while meeting the current statistical minimums: Wilt Chamberlain (50.4 ppg), Walt Bellamy (31.6 ppg), Bob Pettit (31.1 ppg), Jerry West (30.8 ppg), Oscar Robertson (30.8 ppg). No other season in league history has seen more than three 30+ ppg scorers.
Most 30+ ppg scorers in a single season, NBA history
| 30+ PPG Scorers | Season | Players |
| 5 | 1961-62 | Wilt Chamberlain (50.4), Walt Bellamy (31.6), Bob Pettit (31.1), Jerry West (30.8), Oscar Robertson (30.8) |
| 3 | 2019-20 | James Harden (34.3), Bradley Beal (30.5), Damian Lillard (30.0) |
| 3 | 2005-06 | Kobe Bryant (35.4), Allen Iverson (33.0), LeBron James (31.4) |
| 3 | 1981-82 | George Gervin (32.3), Moses Malone (31.1), Adrian Dantley (30.3) |
| 3 | 1974-75 | Bob McAdoo (34.5), Rick Barry (30.6), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (30.0) |
| 3 | 1965-66 | Wilt Chamberlain (33.5), Jerry West (31.3), Oscar Robertson (31.3) |
| 3 | 1964-65 | Wilt Chamberlain (34.7), Jerry West (31.0), Oscar Robertson (30.4) |
| 3 | 1960-61 | Wilt Chamberlain (38.4), Elgin Baylor (34.8), Oscar Robertson (30.5) |
While Tatum at 30.1 ppg is most in danger of falling below the 30 ppg benchmark, there are other players within striking distance that can get possibly there.
LeBron James has a good chance to join the group of players averaging 30 ppg or more this season.
Kevin Durant, who scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting in his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday, is averaging 29.5 ppg for the season. Tuesday’s game was his 40th of the season and the Suns have 19 games remaining on their schedule. Thus, Durant would need to play all but one of Phoenix’s remaining games to qualify as a scoring leader.
And he would need to maintain a 30 ppg average while getting accustomed to new teammates and a new offense. But as Durant has shown us over the past 15 seasons, he’s a professional scorer and should be able to get buckets anywhere with anyone. But he may not need to average 30 ppg for the Suns to be successful during the stretch run as Devin Booker showed by posting a game-high 37 points in Durant’s debut.
LeBron James is at 29.5 ppg in 47 games played, but is expected to miss at least two weeks with a foot injury. He would need to return by March 19 against Orlando and play the final 11 games of the Lakers’ schedule in order to qualify. If he is able to return by then, we would also get the long-awaited LeBron vs. Durant matchup, which we have not seen since June 8, 2018 in final game of the 2018 NBA Finals. Durant (27.3 ppg) and LeBron (27.2 ppg) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, for the highest career scoring averages in league history.
Stephen Curry is the only other player averaging over 29 points this season, but with only 38 games played, he will fall short of the 58 games needed to qualify. The Warriors have just 20 games remaining on their schedule and Curry is not expected to return from a left leg injury until next week.
