NBA Record Watch at the Quarter-Season Mark
Most NBA records are just waiting to be shattered.
By Anthony Davis. The impressive ones, anyway.
More seriously, most records are built to fall. Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game isn't one of them, but other exceptions are rare. History is made one year then broken another. It's the circle of basketballing.
Certain records, both good and bad, are going to fall this year. Roughly one-quarter of the way through 2014-15, there are a number of teams and players pacing themselves toward history. What follows is a comprehensive list of the most notable—and often most difficult—feats.
Some of these records are already on the verge of being erased; others are still being chased after. We're focusing on both kinds—the record-breakers and the record-seekers.
Will these historical touchstones inevitably fall, or will they instead be preserved by larger sample sizes that, for now, render them unreachable?
That's a matter for time to decide. For now, we're just here to see what's at stake.
The Honorable Mentions
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History is made at the NBA level all the time. Here is some of the league's record-chasing surplus to munch on:
DeAndre Jordan and Brandan Wright: Both players are on pace to have the highest field-goal percentages among qualified players in NBA history. Chamberlain—of course—holds the current honor. He buried 72.7 percent of his shots for 1972-73. Jordan is at 73.4 percent, while Wright is putting in 74.6 percent of his looks.
Tim Duncan: The oldest players in NBA history to average at least 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks per game were 33. Until now. Looking a very young 38, Duncan is on track to become the oldest player ever to hit those benchmarks...by five years.
Because Duncan likes to put cherries on top of his historical sundaes, he's also on pace to become the only player who maintained said averages while logging under 31 minutes per game. Like...I mean...come on now.
Rajon Rondo: This isn't going to be fun. Consider yourself warned.
Back in 1947-48, Mickey Rottner became the first guard to qualify for the assists leaderboard and shoot under 38 percent from the foul line; he shot 32.4 percent from the charity stripe. Rondo is doing the same as of now. He's converting just 32.4 percent of his foul shots.
If this continues, he may own the worst free-throw percentage of any guard to qualify for the assist leaderboard. That's a different kind of "wow."
Rajon Rondo, Part II: This one is sweeter. Promise.
Rondo, a nightly triple-double threat, is bringing down 7.6 rebounds per game. If that somehow holds, he'll be the shortest player (6'1") in league history to grab at least 7.5 boards a night. That's the type of "wow" one can get on board with.
2014-15 Warriors vs. the 1995-96 Bulls
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Call this an "Honorable Mention" if it makes you feel better, but the Golden State Warriors need to be here. For now.
Having won 19 of their first 21 games, they're on pace to register roughly 74 victories this season, a total that would eclipse the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' league record of 72. To be sure, it's probably not going to happen. The Warriors have played the NBA's third-easiest schedule thus far and were a more grounded 6-2 before their 14-game winning streak carried them to the best start in franchise history.
Still, only 14 teams have ever started the season 19-2 or better. The 2008-009 Boston Celtics were the last squad to reach this mark. They ended the year 62-20, lending further credit to the notion that the Warriors—who play in an ultracompetitive, seven-teams-have-won-at-least-70-percent-of-their-games Western Conference—will cool off eventually.
Mathematical monster and Bleacher Report colleague Adam Fromal has the Warriors finishing 2014-15 with 61 wins—the offshoot of the fantastic formula he presented here. But while math often prevails in these situations, the Warriors are, for now, in Bulls territory.
Keep one eye on the history books, the other on Stephen Curry's shooting hand (right).
2014-15 Sixers vs. 2011-12 Bobcats vs. 1972-73 Sixers
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Seconds after pondering whether this season's Warriors will ever lose again, it's only fitting we tackle another equally historic query: Will the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers ever win again?
More seriously: Are the 2014-15 Sixers the worst team in NBA history?
Nabbing only two wins through their first 21 games puts the Sixers on pace to win less than 10 percent of this season's contests, giving them a not-so-sterling record of 8-74. The 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats own the worst winning percentage in NBA history, having emerged from a lockout-truncated campaign 7-59 (10.6 percent).
Finishing 8-74 both breaks that mark and removes asterisks from consideration. The 1972-73 Sixers team owns the worst record from an 82-game season; it went 9-73 that year.
Victories over the depleted Minnesota Timberwolves and lowly Detroit Pistons haven't safeguarded the Sixers against making unfortunate history. It ensured they wouldn't get off to the worst start ever (0-18), but they're still a team headlined by two raw talents—Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel—and a hodgepodge of fringe NBA players.
"What the Sixers lack in flesh-and-blood basketball talent they make up for in that most alluring buzzword of the contemporary NBA: assets," wrote Slate's Jack Hamilton when the Sixers were 0-10. "The one inconvenience of that strategy is that the 2014-2015 Philadelphia 76ers exist, albeit barely, as an ongoing professional basketball concern."
In other words, the Sixers aren't in the business of winning now. And win now they will not. Fromal's formula has them securing 15 victories, which for obvious reasons feels ambitious. From what we've seen thus far, the Sixers are more than capable of being incapable enough to make an 8-74 record possible.
The 3-Ball Is Kind of Popular
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Both the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets broke the record for three-pointers made and attempted back in 2012-13. New York has sole possession of that record right now, having drilled 891 treys while jacking 2,371.
Said historical touchstone looks like it will wind up holding for all of one full season.
At this writing, the 2014-15 Rockets are making 11.9 deep balls on 34 attempts per game, putting them on pace to shoot 976-of-2,788 and obliterate the Knicks' mark. And though we cannot say this distance-shooting model is working offensive wonders—they rank 20th in efficiency, down from fourth in 2013-14—there's no end to Houston's chucking in sight.
Injuries to Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones, among others, have forced the Rockets' hands. They are thin on shot-creators and playmakers and have resorted to recurrent James Harden drive-and-kicks. They lead the league in catch-and-shoot threes made and attempted per game (8.2-of-24.4) by design and out of necessity.
That's not going to change—not even when the analytics-aware Rockets are at full strength.
This, right now, is their blueprint—the one that, in conjunction with their second-place defense, has them fighting for top-two positioning within the contender-crammed Western Conference.
Dear Steph, Watch Your Back. Maybe. Signed, Steph...And Friends
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In today's trey-heaving happy NBA, it feels like only a matter of time before someone breaks Curry's single-season mark for three-pointers made set in 2012-13, when he found nylon 272 times from deep.
As of now, his record isn't slated to be broken this season. But it still can be.
Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews and Curry himself all have an outside chance at making it happen. Each has drained at least 62 three-pointers thus far. Below you'll see the number of long balls they, assuming health, need to average the rest of this season to reach 273:
| 64 | 3.0 | 209 | 61 | 3.5 | |
| 63 | 2.9 | 210 | 59 | 3.6 | |
| Stephen Curry | 62 | 3.0 | 211 | 61 | 3.5 |
Hitting that benchmark of 273 will be difficult. Not only do we have to assume great health, but only one person in league history has ever averaged 3.5 made threes a night: Curry. All three of our candidates must flirt with a similar average while playing in every one of their team's remaining games.
But that doesn't make it impossible.
Curry is Curry, and Korver is tracking toward maintaining the highest three-point conversation rate (56.1 percent) of any qualified player in NBA history. If there's a modern-day shooter who can make long-range history, he's in this group.
Oh, Hello Again, Mr. Korver
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Korver is so much than three-point shooting.
Heck, he's so much more than those supposed deadly assassins who earn acclaim by shooting at least 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from deep and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
He's more of a 50-55-95 guy. Seriously. The Atlanta Hawks' gunner—who dabbles in sneaky-good passing and understated defense—is shooting 52.9 percent from the field overall, 56.1 percent from beyond the arc and 95.3 percent from the charity stripe.
No one has ever successfully completed a 50-55-95 season. Current Warriors coach Steve Kerr came the closest in 1995-96, when he shot 50.6, 51.5 and 92.9 respectively. His usage rate at the time (12.9) was nearly two percentage points lower than Korver's is now (14.7) too.
Furthermore, Kerr's three-point prowess came at time when the NBA had shortened the three-point to 22 feet. Now it's back to initial placement, 23.9 feet away from the basket. Korver is banging in 56-plus percent of his long looks nonetheless.
What I'm trying to say is this: Wow.
In the event Korver keeps this up, the Hawks will need to erect a statue of him outside Philips Arena under which will read the inscription, "Kyle Korver: Czar of Accuracy."
Hey Mike, Here Comes Kobe
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There's nothing like an inevitable record-razing endeavor nearing completion.
Kobe Bryant was always going to pass Michael Jordan and move into third place on the all-time scoring list. If injuries had not derailed Bryant's 2013-14 campaign, limiting him to six appearances, he would have climbed the point-piling ladder last season, and we would be giving (much) stronger consideration to the prospect of him usurping Karl Malone for second place on this uber-exclusive scorer's directory.
Alas, time and fate are indiscriminately cruel. So we're here instead, games away from Bryant dethroning Jordan. Or maybe just one game away.
That is spectacular.
Entering the Los Angeles Lakers' showdown against the San Antonio Spurs Friday night, 31 points is the magic number. That would give Bryant 32,293 for his career, one more than Jordan.
Reaching that benchmark may have to wait until Los Angeles' matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night, though. Bryant is averaging 25.5 points per game on the season and has six 31-point nights under his belt thus far.
But the Spurs are a defensive powerhouse. They're tied for second in points allowed per 100 possessions, and Bryant is averaging just over 24 points against them during the regular season for his career.
"Nineteen years is a long time to be playing, and I've had a different career path than Michael," Bryant told Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding. "It has been a hell of a marathon. I'm really proudest of that."
Rest assured, that marathon isn't over. Bryant is swiftly approaching another checkpoint—an inevitable feat that attests to his longevity and will forever link him to a player he's stylistically emulated for almost two decades.
Best of the Worst Offenses and Defenses
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Whomever says the Sixers and Lakers are not contenders is wrong. They are most certainly in contention—for the worst offensive and defensive ratings respectively in NBA history.
Let's start with the Sixers, who have been decent on the defensive end—Noel says, "You're welcome," by the way—allowing 106 points per 100 possessions. That ranks as the league's 13th-best defensive rating and frankly attests to how bad their offense is playing.
Philadelphia is averaging a scant 93.5 points per 100 possessions. That gives them the sixth-worst offensive rating in Association history as of now, and it's only 1.3 points short of the worst mark ever (92.2) set by the New York Nets in 1976-77 then again by the Denver Nuggets in 2002-03.
If the Sixers regress even slightly on that end during their final 61 games, they're liable to reach unprecedented levels of offensive incompetence.
The same goes for the Lakers on defense.
Head coach Byron Scott fancies himself an old-school guy, one who promised the Lakers would play a physical brand of defense this season during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show (h/t Los Angeles Times). News flash: They have not.
Instead, they've bent, often broke, at the behest of opposing offenses. They're allowing 114.6 points per 100 possessions, leaving them a mere 10th of a point shy of matching the worst showing ever (114.7) held by the 1990-91 Nuggets, 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks and 2008-09 Sacramento Kings.
Like the Sixers, the Lakers are flirting with historical emptiness. The final three-quarters of 2014-15 will prove whether either party is able to elude a futile-footnote finish.
Best of the Best Offenses
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Some said the Mavericks' fantastic, precedent-setting offense would fade. And perhaps it will.
Just not now.
Almost 30 percent of the way through their 2014-15 campaign, the Mavericks are still pumping in 116.3 points per 100 possessions. Should their potency hold, they'll close out this season with the highest offensive rating ever, breaking the current record held by the 1986-87 Lakers, who recorded 115.6 points per 100 possessions.
Spectacular still is the manner in which the Mavericks are scoring. Despite the absence of a first-rate floor general, they boast one of the league's most balanced offensive attacks—an assault founded upon off-ball positioning and orbiting shooters just as much as deliberate, though not volume, passing.
"This isn’t just about talent," Grantland's Zach Lowe explained in November. "There is art in how Dallas arrays its players and makes reads on the fly."
Frequent pick-and-rolls headlined by perfectly placed screens make the Mavericks nearly impossible to defend. Their offensive rating has fluctuated a bit through 24 games, but they have the requisite personnel and subsequent firepower to sustain this historic performance.
Oh, by the way...the Toronto Raptors might too. They're pouring in 115.6 points per 100 possessions, which ties the all-time record. That they've done this while navigating the indefinite absence of No. 1 option DeMar DeRozan is wholly wonderful and sort of crazy.
Shots are falling for these two teams, both of which are in prime position to cut themselves a piece of historical pie.
Anthony Davis Everything
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Where do we begin?
Anthony Davis is averaging 25.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 2.9 blocks on 56.9 percent shooting through 21 appearances. Not one player in league history has done that for an entire season before.
Remove Davis' steals from the equation, and he's on pace to join Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to average at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 55 percent from floor. A 21-year-old Davis and O'Neal would be the lone players to accomplish the feat before their 25th birthday.
More impressive than that, Davis is on course to post the highest player efficiency rating in NBA history, a record that's stood for over four decades. His 32.9 PER easily eclipses Chamberlain's record-setting 31.8 in 1962-1963. Chamberlain was five years Davis' senior at the time.
LeBron James and Jordan are the only ones who have come relatively close to achieving this honor. Both have a season-long PER of 31.7 to their name.
For kicks: Davis is also averaging 0.299 win shares per 48 minutes, which would be the league record for someone under the age of 23. And he's doing so for the potentially lottery bound New Orleans Pelicans. Chris Paul, the current record-holder, registered 0.284 for a 56-win New Orleans Hornets team in 2007-08.
The lesson here?
We are forever on Anthony Davis Record-Razing Watch.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com are accurate as of games played Dec. 10, 2014.
