Joel Embiid ushered in historic tears in the 2023-24 season.
After winning MVP honors in the 2022-23 season, Embiid has somehow taken his game to another level. The 29-year-old has the potential to score at least 30 points every night, and as Kevin Durant so perfectly described it, “all Joel needs is 3 quarters,” which reminds us, Embiid’s most productive nights tend to come when he’s playing the entire game. of the final frame.
Embiid needed to play a full four quarters on Monday, January 22, but had the most prolific night in Sixers history, scoring 70 points (24-of-41 shooting) in a win over the Spurs. With his performance, the back-to-back scoring champion increased his scoring average to 36.1 points per game in the 2023-24 season.
Including players on track to do so this season, only 83 players in NBA history have averaged more than 30 points per game. With his latest performance, Embiid has moved to the top of the list with the highest scoring average.
This is where Embiid breaks into a top 10 that features a lot of Wilt Chamberlain and some of the best perimeter scorers of all time.
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Highest points per game in NBA season
Wilt Chamberlain owns five of the top six season scoring averages in NBA history, including each of the top four. Even more impressive is that the top four came back to back between 1959 and 1963.
Michael Jordan broke Chamberlain’s spot in the top 10 by averaging 37.09 points per game in his third NBA season. Embiid is now just one hundredth behind former teammate James Harden, who averaged 36.13 points per game in 2018-19.
| rank | player | PPG | season |
| 1. | Wilt Chamberlain | 50.36 | 1961-62 |
| 2. | Wilt Chamberlain | 44.83 | 1962-63 |
| 3. | Wilt Chamberlain | 38.39 | 1960-61 |
| 4. | Wilt Chamberlain | 37.60 | 1959-60 |
| 5. | Michael Jordan | 37.09 | 1986-87 |
| 6. | Wilt Chamberlain | 36.85 | 1963-64 |
| 7. | James Harden | 36.13 | 2018-19 |
| 8. | Joel Embiid | 36.12 | 2023-24 |
| 9. | Rick Barry | 35.58 | 1966-67 |
| 10. | Kobe Bryant | 35.40 | June 2005 |
Notably, the only player to be named MVP after these seasons was Wilt Chamberlain in 1959-60. Embiid is trying to win his second consecutive MVP award, but he faces stiff competition in the MVP race and the NBA’s new rules regarding minimum games played.
None of the players mentioned above led their teams to an NBA championship in the season in which they produced their historic scoring seasons.