NBA Records That Could Be Broken During 2014-15 Season
Dust off those NBA record books that haven't been used in, like, a second. History is about to be broken—maybe.
New records are set every year in the NBA. As players and teams evolve, so too have the pieces of history they call their own.
Certain milestones won't ever be broken. They stand strong and are able to withstand their greatest challengers. Good luck to whoever believes he'll top Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game or whichever team will topple the Chicago Bulls' 72-win campaign in 1995-96.
Individual and collective feats like those may never be seen again. Others, though, are more attainable.
Sometimes it's modern-day gameplay that puts select statistical touchstones—think three-point shooting—within reach. In other instances the NBA simply plays host to unparalleled greatness (see everything the San Antonio Spurs have ever done) that knows no bounds.
History, in some form, is made every season. These are the records most likely to fall this time around.
Team 3-Pointers Made
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Current Record: 891 (New York Knicks, 2012-13)
Never...stop...shooting...threes.
The NBA's three-point revolution is real, and it isn't going anywhere. Math has won out. Floor-spacing forwards abound. Home is beyond the arc.
Seven teams attempted at least 2,000 three-pointers last season. Eleven squads drilled at least 700 bombs. Three-point shooting has never been more popular, and as with any fad, it runs the risk of peaking eventually. It's just not now.
"Coaches and analytics experts agree that NBA teams are not close to reaching the optimum upper limit on 3-point attempts, with the success of the Vipers (Houston Rockets' D-League affiliate) perhaps serving as evidence," Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote last December, months after the Rockets and Knicks each shot and made the most threes in NBA history. "In strict mathematical terms, not even Houston is taking enough 3s."
Three-point numbers will continue to climb in the golden age of analytics. Last season's leader in treys made, the Rockets (779), didn't set any records. But they, along with the remaining top five teams—Golden State Warriors (774), Los Angeles Lakers (774), Portland Trail Blazers (770) and Atlanta Hawks (768)—are all in the top 15 of single-season three-pointers made.
More and more teams are jacking up more and more threes. The Knicks' record from 2012-13 is going to fall sooner or later—bank on sooner.
Teams to Watch: Warriors, Hawks, Blazers, Rockets, Dallas Mavericks
King of True Shooting
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Current Record: 66.5 true shooting percentage (Charles Barkley, 1987-88; 16 field-goal attempts)
Don't bother poring over the conventional record books for this one. It isn't in there.
Charles Barkley is the only player in NBA history to register a true shooting percentage—which takes into account two-pointers, three-pointers and free throws—above 66 while also attempting at least 15 shots a night. If anyone is going to take over that No. 1 spot, it's LeBron James.
James' field-goal efficiency has steadily improved over the last four years, morphing into a legend all its own. He maintained a 64.9 true shooting percentage while attempting 17.6 shots per game last season, giving him the sixth-best efficiency mark among any players who have ever sent up 15 or more shots a night.
Overtaking Barkley comes down to free-throw shooting. There's nothing James cannot do when it comes to two- and three-pointers. He's excelled from every area on the floor since 2010—except the charity stripe.
Significantly improving upon his lifetime 74.7 conversion rate from the foul line—while continuing to make other shots with staggering frequency—should give James the boost he needs to make the Barkley of nearly three decades ago sweat more than usual.
Drastic leaps like these are tall orders, but this is the same James who argued he could hit 90 percent of free throws if he wanted to back in May 2013, per Fox Sports' Chris Tomasson. Prove that's true and Barkley's one-off efficiency throne can be his.
Players to Watch: LeBron James, Kevin Durant
Individual 3-Pointers Made
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Current Record: 272 (Stephen Curry, 2012-13)
Look, I know what you're thinking: If this guy wants to talk about Stephen Curry, then just talk about him. There's no use beating around the bush.
Instead of employing unsuccessful deflection methods, I'll admit this record is mentioned with Curry in mind. But with three-pointers increasing in popularity, he's not the only one capable of nailing more than 272 long balls.
OK, fine. Maybe there isn't anyone else.
Curry put in 261 three-pointers last season. No other player flirted with the 250 mark. Teammate Klay Thompson came the closest, and he banged in "only" 223 while missing just one game all season.
On some level, then, it's crazy to think this record could be broken. Its fate is basically being tied to one player...who was only 12 deep buckets shy of setting a new record last year.
It's a player who has already established himself as the greatest shooter in NBA history.
If offenses are going to continue hoisting threes, the Warriors aren't going to be an exception; and if the Warriors aren't going to be an exception, Curry will continue bombing away; and if he continues bombing away, well, you know the rest.
History might be made—again.
Players to Watch: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Stephen Curry, Kevin Love, Stephen Curry
Most Wins by NBA Trio
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Current Record: 540 (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish with Boston Celtics)
No wonder Tim Duncan didn't call it quits after his fifth NBA title. His Spurs still have some unfinished business standing between them and complete and utter world domination.
Last season Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Duncan squeaked past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper of the Lakers on the list of winningest NBA trios by securing their 491st victory together on March 14, 2014. Upon season's end, this timeless trio ran their total up to 498, a mere 42 regular-season victories shy of the all-time record.
"It’s crazy just to think about it," Parker said then, per NBA.com's Fran Blinebury. "Once I retire, I can look at it and enjoy it. Now I try to stay focused on the season, but it’s unbelievable."
Forty-three victories—which would break the record—is nothing in Spurs Land. That's 51.2 percent of the team's 82 games. The Spurs haven't posted a winning percentage lower than that since 1996-97, when this year's No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins was two years old. Yeah, Spurs.
Age, along with coach Gregg Popovich's well-known rest and relaxation program, won't make surpassing Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish easy, though.
Duncan, Parker and Ginobili appeared in 54 games together last season, according to NBA.com. If they make the same number of simultaneous appearances again, they'll have to win 79.6 percent of the time.
That might be a little too Spurs-like, even for these Spurs.
Then again, these are the Spurs. So, you know, doubters beware.
Lowest Winning Percentage
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Current Record: 10.6 percent (Charlotte Bobcats, 2011-12)
Last year's Philadelphia 76ers were bad by design. This season's version could be even worse, also by design. That doesn't put the then-Bobcats' horrendous 2011-12 record-breaking, eye-gouging season in jeopardy, but it could.
To finish 2014-15 as the worst of the worst, the Sixers must win no more than eight games. That's an ambitious drop after seeing them win 19 last season. But this year's Sixers are, in a way, last year's Sixers on reverse-active steroids.
Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young are both gone. Not one of their prized rookies is expected to play next season either. Joel Embiid may go full Nerlens Noel and sit out all of 2014-15 rehabbing, per the Daily News' Bob Cooney; Dario Saric will likely stay overseas for at least another two years, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
Collective bargaining agreement aficionado Larry Coon (via Adi Joseph of USA Today) also doesn't anticipate the Sixers hitting the salary-cap floor, meaning they'll be forced to disperse unused funds among anyone who suits up for them next year. In other words, they're actively willing to pay more to be worse.
"Add it all up," Bleacher Report's Jim Cavan wrote while pondering whether the Sixers would fall any further next year, "you have the makings of a team that, no matter how hungry or well-coached, appears poised for another year of dining in the doldrums."
How deep the Sixers will plummet next year is unclear. Just know that, despite housing promising talents such as Noel and Michael Carter-Williams, Charlotte's previous, unflattering record isn't safe.
Sam Hinkie has made sure of it.
Player Efficiency Rating
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Current Record: 31.8 (Wilt Chamberlain, 1962-63)
LeBron James is still LeBron James, and that's why you should see the potential for Chamberlain's player efficiency record—measured among players who qualified for the minutes-per-game leaderboard—to crumble.
Although Chamberlain's record season has stood for more than four decades, James has come close to breaking it before. He finished with a 31.7 PER in 2008-09, tying him for the second-highest mark in league history. He's also eclipsed the 30 plateau four times. Michael Jordan is the only other player to have as many above-30 seasons.
Playing next to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving—and still playing in the Eastern Conference—could make the game easier than it's ever been for James. The Cavaliers could be so good, so fast that he plays more efficiently than we've ever seen.
Don't make the mistake of thinking his latest superteam disqualifies him from rivaling Chamberlain, either. James registered a 31.6 PER while with the Miami Heat in 2012-13. It's possible he experiences similar success in Cleveland.
If not, there's always Kevin Durant, who recorded a league-high 29.8 PER last season. There's also the third-year Anthony Davis, who's so freakishly, unprecedentedly talented it's not unreasonable to envision him shaming Chamberlain's record into defeat at some point, even if it's not this year.
Make room, Mr. Chamberlain. You might have company soon enough.
Players to Watch: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise cited.
