10 NBA Players Who Will Average 25-Plus Points Per Game in 2016-17
For NBA scorers, 20 points per game is a solid baseline, but itโs right around 25 per night that superstars separate themselves from the pack.
Only 11 players in league history have averaged that many points over the course of their careers. (Kobe Bryant, 12th all-time in scoring average, fell one one-hundredth of a point short.)
Last season, 20 players topped the 20-point mark on a nightly basis, but only sixโStephen Curry, James Harden, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, LeBron James and Damian Lillardโwent for 25.
Changing circumstances around the league could dictate a spike in top-shelf scoring around the Association this year. For example, the loss of reliable point-producers in Oklahoma City and New Orleans should open up opportunities for incumbent stars to step up in a big way. Some among the leagueโs next generation of studs are poised to break through, and it's always possible that a new face will come out of nowhere to tear up opposing defenses.
At this point, these 10 guys, listed in alphabetical order, look like near locks to crack the Quarter Club in 2016-17, based on individual scoring ability and the roles theyโll play for their respective squads this season.
DeMarcus Cousins, Center, Sacramento Kings
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Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive confirmed to USA Todayโs Sam Amick what everyone and their mother already knew.
โYou know, look, [former head coach] George [Karl] had tried to trade Cousins that whole summer, and there was not a lot of love between those two, and so there was tension there,โ Ranadive said.
Despite that discord, Cousins went out and averaged a career-best 26.9 points on 20.5 shots per game last season. This time around, heโll be working under the auspices of Dave Joerger in an offense that he seems to be fond of.
โI love it. I love it. I love it,โ Cousins told the Sacramento Beeโs Jason Jones.
If Joergerโs attack generates cleaner looks for Boogie, all the better; he has yet to hit more than 50 percent of his shots as a pro. Cousins may not be so lucky this season, given Sacramentoโs sordid situation at point guard, yet another 25-points-per-game campaign should be well within his reach.
Were he to sniff that dividing line in 2016-17, Cousins could become the first traditional center to challenge for the scoring title since Shaquille OโNeal paced the Association in 1999-2000.
Stephen Curry, Point Guard, Golden State Warriors
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Back in September, Stephen Curry insisted to ESPNโs Darren Rovell that he and the Golden State Warriorsโ holdovers wonโt have to give up anything to get the best out of Kevin Durant:
"It won't change at all. That's the reason KD joined -- knowing we weren't going to sacrifice anything, that we all have to be ourselves to make things work. There will be some adjustments when it comes to the in-game flow and how we work together, but for us to be who we're supposed to be, we all have to kind of elevate ourselves.
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In broad strokes, Curry was right. The Warriors have already established a highly effective style of play, one thatโs yielded an NBA title and 140 regular-season wins during head coach Steve Kerr's first two years in charge. Durant should slip seamlessly into that fast-paced, pass-happy, three-point-heavy framework.
But Durant isnโt Harrison Barnes, the player whose place he essentially usurped. Golden State wonโt be getting nearly what it should out of its prize free-agent catch if Durant simply settles for the 9.6 shots per game and minimal on-ball duties that came with Barnesโ old role.
For Durant to be a next-level difference-maker in Golden State, heโll need something closer to the 19.1 shots and 30.5 percent usage percentage heโs averaged over his nine previous NBA seasons. Curry wonโt be the only one who has to sacrifice then, but as the reigning scoring champion (30.1 points per game) and the Warriorsโ leader in usage and assists, he may be the first.
Still, getting to 25 points per game shouldnโt be a stretch for Curry, even if he is regularly rested for chunks of the fourth quarter again. He may surrender some of the 30.1 points on 20.2 shots he averaged last season, but with Durant around, the looks he gets should be cleaner and yield plenty of points.
Anthony Davis, Power Forward, New Orleans Pelicans
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Anthony Davis has flirted with the 25-points-per-game mark the past two seasons. In 2014-15, he finished with an average of 24.4. Last year, he tacked on 24.3 for the New Orleans Pelicans.
With Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson off to Houston and Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter all sidelined by injuries, the Pelicans will lean more heavily than ever on their three-time All-Star to carry the scoring load.
To his credit, Davis intends to do much more than that in 2016-17, making a concerted effort during the preseason to be more of a leader for New Orleans both on and off the court.
โHe has taken on more of a verbal leadership role already,โ head coach Alvin Gentry told Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding. "The guys respect him, and I think the great thing about him is that he respects his teammates. He wants to be one of the guys, but I think he has realized that: 'I'm one of the guys, but I'm the leader. So there are certain things I've got to step up and do.'"
First and foremost to the Pelicansโ postseason hopes: put the ball in the basket.
With his size, length, athleticism and burgeoning skill set, Davis should do plenty of that, especially while he awaits the return of New Orleansโ other core players.
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Kevin Durant, Small Forward, Golden State Warriors
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How will Kevin Durant so much as sniff 25 points per game, let alone reach his career average of 27.4, while playing on a ridiculously loaded Golden State Warriors squad?
Simple: Because heโs Kevin Durant.
Heโll get his touches and his shots because itโs in Golden Stateโs best interest for him to do so. Durant is already up to 15.0 points on 10.0 shots per game in 23.1 preseason minutes. So, assuming he creeps closer to his career average of 19.1 shots, cracking 25 points a night shouldnโt be a problem.ย As NBA.comโs John Schuhmann noted, the Warriors can trust Durant to take matters into his own hands when it comes to scoring:
"Now, the league's two best shooters off the dribble are on the same team...Durant, meanwhile, takes most of his (65 percent last season) from inside the arc. And his 49.5 percent from mid-range (between the paint and the 3-point line) was the best mark among 86 players who attempted at least 200 shots there.
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If he and Curry combine for 50 or more points per game, theyโd hardly be the first duo, championship-caliber or otherwise, to pull that trick in the NBA. An informal crawl through Basketball Reference revealed at least 20 separate instances of teammates each topping the 25-point mark over the same campaign. No fewer than nine of those pairings made it to the Finals.
Durant and Curry clearly have the scoring capacity and the squad around them to be the 10th.
Paul George, Small Forward, Indiana Pacers
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Paul George wouldโve been forgiven had he taken a step back on the court last season. Heโd missed most of 2014-15 after breaking his leg during a Team USA scrimmage and returned to an Indiana Pacers squad in transition from big, bruising conference finalist to run-and-gun Eastern threat.
Instead, George regained his superstar form and then some. He poured in a career-high 23.1 points per game and hovered just under 25 points per game before stumbling into a midseason slump.
This, on a team that finished 17th in points last season with 102.2 per game. George expects that number to skyrocket in 2016-17, with Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young ready to turbocharge new head coach Nate McMillanโs go-go approach.
โWeโve been so used to a set or calling of plays and now weโre getting that freedom,โ George said, per the Indianapolis Starโs Nate Taylor. โI think thatโs going to take some time, but once we get it, we could easily be a 115-point team a night.โ
Now that George is on a fast-paced roster thatโs been entirely retooled around his talents, he should get as good a crack as ever at the 25-points-per-game plateau.
James Harden, Guard, Houston Rockets
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New Houston Rockets head coach Mike DโAntoni joked that James Harden will be the teamโs โ'points guard' because heโs going to score some points,โ per ESPNโs Calvin Watkins.
That, along with lackluster defense, has been Hardenโs M.O. since he arrived in Houston four years ago. Over that time, heโs averaged 27.0 points per game while using 30.2 percent of the Rocketsโ possessions, including career highs in those departments (29.0 points, 32.5 percent usage percentage) last season.
Hardenโs role within Houstonโs offense will only expand in 2016-17, as DโAntoni explained:
"He's more or less responsible giving rhythm to the team, that's what a point guard does. He's going to be on the ball and he's going to be distributing the ball and it will take some adjusting. He's got a lot more responsibilities as a point guard. A play-caller, a good basketball mind, he's already telling guys we can do this, we can do that."
What Harden will be able to do most is score whenever he wants.
And with the Rockets poised to push the pace under DโAntoni, there will be no shortage of buckets for Harden (or his teammates) to rack up.
LeBron James, Small Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers
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LeBron James has averaged fewer than 25 points per game in a season just once: 2003-04...when he was a rookie. Since returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, heโs scored 25.3 points during each of his two seasonsโthe second-lowest marks of his illustrious career.
As The Ringerโs Jonathan Tjarks explained, thereโs reason to believe James is on the precipice of a clear decline, even after his spectacular performance in the 2016 Finals:
"LeBron has already played over 5,000 minutes more than Magic and Bird did in their careers. Barring an injury, he will pass Michael Jordan at some point this season, and he already has if we pretend that MJโs Wizards days never happened.
LeBron has more miles on his legs than Jordan had after his final championship. If a playerโs body is like a high-performance sports car, LeBron has to hope the make and model are more important than the odometer.
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James doesnโt look like heโs going to break down just yet. And if there are any concerns about his longevity, Cleveland can always turn to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to step up as scorers.
Until then, look for James to finish among the leagueโs elite point-producers for the umpteenth year running.
Damian Lillard, Point Guard, Portland Trail Blazers
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Damian Lillard figures to have the ball in his hands less this season but could see his scoring numbers skyrocket anyway. The Portland Trail Blazers plan to give C.J. McCollum, Allen Crabbe and free-agent signing Evan Turner greater command of the offense while Lillard works to get himself into scoring position off of screens, pindowns, curls and the like.
As Lillard explained to NBA.com's Trail Blazers reporter Casey Holdahl:
"I think over the course of the game Iโll get high quality shots, Iโll be able to get better looks. Weโve got sets now that compliment the roster that we have where I donโt have to have the ball and I donโt have to beat two defenders all the time. Sometimes the offense is putting the defense in position where itโs me and the big or my man gets left on an island and thereโs a better opportunity for me. Iโm excited about that.
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Portland should be stoked, too.
Lillard dropped a career-best 25.1 points per game last season while playing more of a hybrid role next to McCollum, another 20-point-per-game scorer. Another shift in that direction could make Lillard even more lethal for a young Blazers team looking to build off its serendipitous second-round playoff run.
Russell Westbrook, Point Guard, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Russell Westbrook has emerged as a chic MVP pick across the NBA, and for good reason. With Kevin Durant gone, heโll have to be all for the Oklahoma City Thunder, from point man to emotional leader and everything in between.
Chief among that in-between: scorer supreme.
Itโs a role with which Westbrook is already familiar. Two seasons ago, he led the league at 28.1 points per game, while Durant fought through a troublesome foot fracture. Once KD was out for good in mid-February 2014, Westbrook upped the ante to 31.3 points per night during his failed attempt to will OKC into the playoffs.
The struggle will be even more real this season, with Durant now wearing Golden Stateโs threads. Westbrook will be the Thunderโs sun and stars from the jump, but if he had his druthers, he might play in a more egalitarian offense like the ones OKC has seen in Europe.
"Their offenses are 10 times better than NBA offense just because they move around a lot,โ Westbrook said, per the Norman Transcriptโs Fred Katz. โA lot of movement and not as much talent so they have to do different things to be able to score the basketball."
The Thunder donโt need quite as much trickery to generate scoring chances, with an elite attacker like Westbrook on the payroll. For better or worse, heโll touch the ball every trip down the floor and may well wind up with his second scoring title as a result.
Andrew Wiggins, Shooting Guard/Small Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves
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Last season, Drew Hanlen, trainer to a slew of young NBA stars, told Bleacher Report that his client Andrew Wiggins would be a 25-points-per-game scorer in the league once he became a consistent perimeter shooter.
Wiggins finished 2015-16 averaging 20.7 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves, despite converting fewer than 40 percent of his looks from beyond nine feet, per Basketball Reference.
Lo and behold, Wiggins spent much of his summer launching jumpers to fashion himself into a reliable long-range threat.
The early returns have been spotty, at best. Through two preseason games, Wiggins has hit just 6-of-24 (25 percent) from the field and attempted just a single three-pointer.
Not that anyone should put much stock in exhibition results, especially in Wigginsโ case.
Like all the other Timberwolves, heโs adjusting to new head coach Tom Thibodeau and all the changes that accompany that transition. Once Wiggins finds his comfort zone under the new regime, though, heโll get to show his true colors as the budding stud for which heโs been pegged since his high school days.
Playing with unselfish teammates should help to elevates Wiggins' profile as a scorer, as well. Ricky Rubio and Karl-Anthony Towns are both precise passers, capable of setting Wiggins up for easy opportunities inside and out.
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