10 Greatest Individual Accomplishments from the 2014-15 NBA Season

The 2014-15 NBA season is over, but it was an amazing year in terms of both team and individual accomplishments.

Whether it was career milestones by the likes of Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant, shattering season records as Stephen Curry did or even Klay Thompson’s historic quarter, there were many spectacular feats.

In determining the 10 greatest accomplishments, I considered both uniqueness and difficulty.

Also, this is a ranking of individual accomplishments only. Therefore, while the Atlanta Hawks had a remarkable, undefeated January, they are not included. 

When players boasted multiple events, their accolades were combined on one slide with consideration of that in the rankings.

They are ranked bottom to top in order of difficulty. The career achievements were generally given more weight, although there was one exception to that. The reasoning will be explained in the accompanying slide.

All stats not otherwise cited are from Basketball-Reference.com. 

10. Klay Thompson’s 37-Point Quarter

On January 23, Thompson of the Golden State Warriors shattered the NBA record for points in a quarter with molten-hot shooting, scoring 37 points. The previous record of 33, held by George Gervin and Carmelo Anthony, is now relegated to a distant second.

It’s hard to know which is more impressive—the point total or the tiny number of attempts it took for him to reach that sum. He took only 13 shots, nine threes and two free throws. He didn’t miss from any range.

He shot 100 percent from the field. His true shooting percentage was 133. His effective field-goal percentage was 134.5 percent.

Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated quoted Thompson after the game:

"

I got real good looks early. I made about four in a row. ... Every time I touched it, I was going to shoot it. Lucky me, I rattled off about six in a row. ... I was really focused. I was hitting some tough ones. I was in a great flow.

"

In other words, analytics, schmanalytics. Don’t tell him there’s no such a thing as a hot hand. Thompson’s was so scorching, he was lucky he didn’t pop the ball before he let it fly.

9. Kyrie Irving’s 2 Double Nickels

This year boasted eight 50 burgers, per Basketball-Reference.com. That’s the most in a season since the 2008-09 season when there were 11.

Irving and James Harden were the only two players to have two 50-point games, but Irving’s pair were even more distinct. The Cleveland Cavalier had two double-nickels. First, he went off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 28, scoring 55 points on 17-of-36 shooting that included going 11-of-19 from behind the arc.

Then two weeks later, in San Antonio, Irving went 20-of-32 from the field and hit all seven of his three-point attempts to notch 57 in an overtime victory. His nine points in the final minute of regulation were what sent it to the extra frame.

He joined a prestigious club as a result. Since 1963-64, only Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Bernard King and Tom Chambers have scored 55 or more twice in the same season.

Irving is quickly becoming one of the NBA’s most electric scorers. When he’s feeling it, he’s marvelous entertainment. I doubt we've seen the last such explosion from him. 

8. Steve Kerr’s Historic Rookie Coaching Season

Steve Kerr had the greatest rookie coaching season in the history of the NBA. I can't say “arguably,” because it’s really not close. All he did was destroy the record for wins by a first-year head man. His Warriors finished the season with 67.

The previous record was shared by Paul Westphal of the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns and Tom Thibodeau of the 2010-11 Chicago Bulls, who both had 62 wins.

The Warriors' Simple Rating number (a rating at Basketball-Reference that includes strength of schedule and margin of victory) of 10.01 was the seventh-highest in NBA history and the best ever by a rookie coach.

Kerr then followed up that regular-season success with a 16-5 postseason record and an NBA title. Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports explains just how impressive that was:

"

It was the 83rd win of the season for the Warriors — a league-leading 67-15 during the regular season, 16-5 during the playoffs. That's the third-highest regular- and postseason win total in NBA history, behind only the 1995-96 and 1996-97 Chicago Bulls ... a pair of teams that just so happened to employ a sharpshooting reserve guard named Steve Kerr.

"

The 2014-15 Warriors were one of the great teams in NBA history, and they owe a large part of that to their brigadier general, Kerr.

7. Russell Westbrook’s Oscar Robertson Impression

Russell Westbrook won the scoring title, and that wasn’t even the most impressive aspect of his season. He had a stretch after the All-Star Game that called to mind the great Oscar Robertson, who had a season averaging 30 points and a triple-double.

After the break, Westbrook averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 assists and 8.6 rebounds per game. On the season, he recorded 11 triple-doubles, the most in a campaign since Jason Kidd in 2008. He also had seven “Oscars”—my distinction for a game that matches Robertson’s great averages.

Since at least 1985, only Michael Jordan, who notched 10 in 1988-89, had a season with more.

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com looked at Westbrook’s year, compensating for pace and minutes, to put what Westbrook was doing into perspective:

"

Westbrook's era-adjusted stat line (warning: this might be NSFW):

Try 46.9 points, 14.6 assists and 12.2 rebounds.

That's not a typo. Statistically, he'd approach 50-15-12 if we adjust for the pace and playing time.

"

Take note that the article was written on April 1. Over the rest of the season, Westbrook’s averages went up slightly. So even those numbers are a shade short of what he accomplished.

6. James Harden’s Historic All-Around Season

James Harden continues to establish himself as one of the best all-around players in the league. While his defense is not elite, it has at least become average, as indicated by his defensive real plus-minus of minus-0.15, per ESPN.com.

And with the numbers he’s producing and the burden he’s carrying on offense, an average defender is really all he needs to be. The volume of his production in 2014-15 was on a tier that only some of the greatest players have ever matched.

Harden scored 2,217 points with a 60.5 true shooting percentage, dished 565 dimes and snared 459 misses. In addition, he had 154 swipes and 54 blocks.

Jordan, Larry Bird, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the only other players with 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 100 steals in a season. There are only five other seasons where a player posted those numbers and topped 60.0 percent true shooting (James twice, Jordan and Bird).

And the only time a player bested Harden’s totals across the board was Jordan in 1988-89.

That’s enough to establish Harden’s season as one of the greatest all-around years in history.

5. Stephen Curry Shatters Three-Point Record

Stephen Curry isn’t breaking three-point records. He’s plucking them from the tree, coring them, running them through the blender to make smoothies, drinking them and using them for fuel to break more records.

First, he bested his own record of 272 for three-point makes in a season with 286. He now has three of the five highest three-point seasons in NBA history.

He followed that up by knocking down another 98 in the postseason, eviscerating the former record of 58 set by Reggie Miller in 2000. And he did so playing one fewer game.

The combined total of 384 shots from deep obliterated anything anyone has ever approached. The former record was 314, set by Curry in 2012-13. The next-best total is by Curry’s brother-in-splashing, Thompson, who tallied 296 this year.

The most by anyone not associated with the present Warriors was Dennis Scott of the 1995-96 Orlando Magic (293). And the most after that is Curry, in 2013-14, who had 283.

So, putting this in perspective, only four totals even come within 101 threes of what Curry did this year—two of them were from Curry and another had 102 of his treys set up by Curry.

Oh yeah, and he won the three-point shooting contest this year.

What he is doing is positively magical, and it’s changing the formula for what it takes to win titles. Curry is the undisputed three-point king of the world.

4. Tim Duncan Joins 25,000-Point Club

Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs keeps piling on the career achievements. This season, he joined the 25,000-point club.

Dan McCarney of MySanAntonio.com (h/t Brett Pollakoff of ProBasketballTalk.com) points out how elite the company Duncan joins is:

"

Duncan, who compares so closely with the longevity and fundamental precision that made Abdul-Jabbar one of the game’s greatest players, scored his 25,000th career point in the Spurs’ 93-80 victory over the reeling Lakers. Combined with more than 14,000 rebounds and 2,500 blocks, Duncan joined the former Lakers star as the only two players in NBA history to surpass those thresholds.

“Unbelievable player,” Duncan said of Abdul-Jabbar, who reacted with clear appreciation to several of Duncan’s baskets during the game. “A way better scorer than I ever was at any point. I did see him; it was great to see him. It’s fun to be in a category with someone like that.”

“It means I’ve been playing for a very long time. It’s fun to hear about, but it’s something I’ll look back at later on.”

"

The legend of Duncan continues to grow. In addition to paring his statistical company down to Abdul-Jabbar, he aided the Spurs to yet another 50-win season—the 17th in 18 years. The one time they didn’t win 50 was the strike-shortened 1998-99 campaign when only 50 games were played.

That season, the Spurs' 74.0 winning percentage was equivalent to 61 wins.

In games Duncan has played, including both the regular and postseasons, the Spurs have won 1,102 of 1,572—70.1 percent of them. Since 1963-64, the only two players I can find with a higher career winning percentage are Magic Johnson (72.8 percent) and Larry Bird (71.5 percent).*

*I had to go through by hand to determine these, so it’s possible I’m missing someone, but I’m fairly confident that’s an accurate representation. Also, I only included the leader of the teams and not their teammates. For example, Michael Cooper and Manu Ginobili are technically on the list, but Johnson and Duncan deserve more credit. 

3. Dirk Nowitzki Climbs Scoring Ladder

Dirk Nowitzki is steadily climbing the ladder of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers.

This season, he passed Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes and Moses Malone. He now resides seventh on the all-time list, and with just 477 more points he will surpass Shaquille O’Neal for sixth.

Nowitzki is also the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history.

And he is also the greatest player groomed entirely outside of American basketball. There might be other players, such as Olajuwon, who could lay a claim to greatest non-American player ever, but their pre-NBA experience was still in the U.S.

Nowitzki changed the way the NBA views the Euroleague. He established that a player raised up entirely in another continent can be an MVP and lead a team to championships.

In his rookie season, there were 41 players in the NBA born outside of the U.S. This year, there were 104.

Nowitzki’s legacy exceeds his totals. He helped to change perceptions and alter the direction of the NBA.

2. LeBron James’ Massive Finals Performance

James didn’t win the Finals MVP because his team didn’t win the series, but make no mistake about it: He not only had the best Finals series this year but arguably the greatest one ever.

His 215 points were the eighth-highest since at least 1965. His scoring average of 35.8 ranks sixth. Only Rick Barry, Jordan, O’Neal and Jerry West have tallied more.

Since 1985, his 80 rebounds are ninth. His 13.3 average has only been bested by Bill Laimbeer, Ben Wallace, Duncan, O’Neal, Dennis Rodman and Dwight Howard.

And his 53 assists are 10th since ’85. Only Bird, Jordan, Magic Johnson, Isaiah Thomas and Dennis Johnson have surpassed that.

Consider this: He scored like Jordan, rebounded like Rodman and passed like Magic. His combined total of 348 points rebounds and assists were six more than anyone since at least 1985. His combined average of 58.0 was one better than O’Neal’s 2000 Finals run as the next-best.

Reiterating: James had 215 points, 80 rebounds and 53 assists. To truly appreciate those numbers, consider this: Only once since at least ’85 has someone come within 75 percent of those totals, and that was LeBron in 2013.

Some, clinging to the pettiest of reasons to criticize, would point to his 39.8 field-goal percentage. But, remember he was going against the seventh-best team in history (see Steve Kerr’s slide), and according to Neil Paine of FiveThirtyEight.com, James had the third-weakest supporting cast since at least 1985 with Kyrie Irving.

And he played the final five games without him. You can reasonably say that he had less help than anyone, ever.

When you put all that together, it’s impressive that James’ field-goal percentage was as high as it was.

James is ranked ahead of most of the career accomplishments because having arguably the greatest individual Finals ever is worth a lot, even if his team did lose in the end.

1. Kobe Bryant’s Three Milestones

Bryant registered three milestones this year.

First, he established the 30,000-point, 6,000-rebound, 6,000-assist club on Nov. 30. To understand how impressive that is, there are only seven other players with 25,000/5,000/5,000.

A little more than two weeks later, on Dec. 15, he surpassed Jordan on the all-time scoring list. When he did so, the hometown Minnesota Timberwolves fans stood and cheered, catching Bryant off guard, according to Jess Meyers of USA Today.

"It was different," Bryant said. "I'm so used to being the villain all the time on the road it took a minute to kind of adjust. It felt good to be appreciated like that."

But it was another milestone—one that perhaps many wouldn’t regard as a positive—that is Bryant’s greatest accomplishment. He broke the record for most missed field goals on Nov. 12.

Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com quoted Bryant’s reflections on the apparently dubious record after the game:

"

You've got to step up and play, man. You can't worry about criticism. You can't worry about failure. You really can't worry about that stuff.

You've got to go out and figure that out and play and do the best you can, and whatever happens, happens. You can't be held captive by the fear of failure or the fear of what people may say.

"

And, this is why it is not only an accomplishment but the greatest of Bryant’s career. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny that the one thing that defines him is his scoring mentality. 

There wasn't a single shot he took and missed that he wasn’t resolutely certain was going in when he released it. And, not one of them kept him from taking the next.

The Mamba always, always, always believes in himself.

Bryant has the most resilient ego of any player I’ve ever seen, and I say that without sarcasm or irony.

He has done a lot of things. And, while winning five rings, becoming the third-leading scorer ever and logging an 81-point game are certainly impressive, they aren’t records.

If there is a stat that encapsulates Bryant’s greatness, it’s the one authentic career record he owns: the missed field-goal record. And nothing could be more appropriate for the man with unshakable self-esteem.