The Craziest Stats from 1st Half of 2015-16 NBA Season
What a time to be a stathead.
Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is doing things we've never seen on the offensive end. The Dubs and the San Antonio Spurs are winning games at mind-numbing rates.
Aside from the two Western Conference juggernauts, plenty of players have done things history has taught us not to expect from mere mortals.
If the first half of the 2015-16 NBA season has produced this much quirkiness, we better buckle our seat belts for the second half.
Stephen Curry's 11.8 OBPM
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There are so many ways to highlight Stephen Curry's insane offensive ability, ranging from his league-leading total of 171 three-point bombs (49 more than anyone else) to a player efficiency rating of 31.7 that's within striking distance of Wilt Chamberlain's all-time record of 31.82 in 1962-63.
But let's turn to offensive box plus/minus (OBPM), which estimates how many more points per 100 possessions a team scores with the player in question, rather than a league-average contributor.
Curry's 11.8 OBPM is well clear of the current NBA field; Russell Westbrook's 8.1 OBPM puts him in second place. But the Golden State Warriors sniper is also on track to obliterate the historical record, which is Michael Jordan's 9.8 OBPM in 1987-88.
Essentially, Curry (11.8) has been the equivalent of '88 Jordan (9.8) plus '16 Nicolas Batum (1.9), who has been a borderline All-Star for the Charlotte Hornets.
Draymond Green's 8 Triple-Doubles
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Stephen Curry isn't the only member of the Golden State Warriors throwing up historic numbers.
Draymond Green has already racked up eight triple-doubles in 2015-16. Rajon Rondo (four) and Russell Westbrook (three) are the only other players to achieve the feat multiple times.
Since 1985-86, only two players have managed to accrue more triple-doubles during their team's first 40 games. Magic Johnson accumulated nine such performances during the 1988-89 season, while Jason Kidd has the modern record of 10 in 2007-08 for the then-New Jersey Nets.
That's some pleasant company for the versatile power forward on track to become the only player ever to average at least 15 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and a block across an entire season.
Golden State Warriors' 56.1 Effective Field-Goal Percentage
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This is the last stat about the Golden State Warriors. We promise.
It can't be overlooked that thanks to its three-point prowess and overall shooting ability, this team is pacing the league with an effective field-goal percentage of 56.1 percent. The San Antonio Spurs (53.5 percent) are in second place, and no one else is particularly close.
Comparing the Warriors to the league average (49.6 percent) makes them look even more ridiculous.
Thirty-nine games into the 2015-16 campaign, the Warriors are 13.1 percent better than that standard mark, and, according to my databases, no team has ever exceeded that number. Throughout all of NBA history, the 2012-13 Miami Heat stand as the current record holders, outdoing the average effective field-goal percentage by a gaudy 11.29 percent.
San Antonio Spurs' 15 Net Rating
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The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls are the proud owners of the best record in NBA history, and it's only fitting. My databases show they're also the all-time leaders in net rating, outscoring the opposition by a jaw-dropping 13.4 points per 100 possessions.
Though those Bulls remain one of only four teams with a net rating on the right side of 11, it's exceedingly likely at least one squad could gain entry to the ultra-exclusive club at the end of the current campaign.
The Golden State Warriors are on track to do so, topping their opponents by 11.7 points per 100 possessions even after their Jan. 13 loss to the Denver Nuggets. But the San Antonio Spurs, who have a net rating of 15, have been the Dubs' superiors.
No team in NBA history has ever dominated its foes so thoroughly for the entire 48 minutes.
San Antonio Spurs' 95.5 Defensive Rating
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Allowing only 95.5 points per 100 possessions, the Spurs have the NBA's top defensive rating by such a large margin that the gap between them and the second-place Indiana Pacers (100.5) is as large as the difference between the Pacers and the Utah Jazz, who currently sit at No. 17.
Kawhi Leonard is making a convincing case to repeat as the Defensive Player of the Year. Tim Duncan has been even more valuable on the point-preventing end, albeit in far fewer minutes. Every single member of the San Antonio roster has a positive defensive box plus/minus (DBPM), indicating they've all been above-average stoppers.
There just isn't a single weakness in the AT&T Center.
League-Wide 23.9 Offensive Rebounding Percentage
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"Years ago, every coach was looking for offensive rebounds," Toronto Raptors power forward Luis Scola told ESPN.com's Zach Lowe. "And now it's so different because coaches don't want to give up transition points. That's why players stopped doing it."
They haven't just stopped doing it by a small amount. Teams, especially those with direct ties to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, have begun favoring transition defense more than ever.
Offensive rebounding percentage has been tracked since 1973-74, and it peaked in 1979-80 and 1980-81, when teams grabbed 33.5 percent of the available offensive boards. This year, the rate is at an all-time low, with squads corralling just 23.9 percent—down from last year's record-setting 25.1 that beat 2013-14's record of 25.5.
You can view the historic trend here. Make sure to note the severity of this season's shift.
Andre Drummond's 16.1 ORB% and 33.0 DRB%
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If any one player is immune to the overall devaluation of offensive rebounds, it's Andre Drummond.
The Detroit Pistons big man is averaging a league-best 15.4 rebounds—5.4 of which come on the offensive glass during his typical outing. Looking at his percentages makes the center even more impressive, since his 16.1 offensive rebounding percentage and 33.0 defensive rebounding percentage both lead the NBA.
Work on the offensive and defensive boards typically require differing skill sets, which makes the combination even crazier. He's on pace to become just the fourth player in league history to accomplish the two-pronged feat.
Back in 1992-93, Dennis Rodman was the first to do so, and he eventually earned the double crown in five consecutive seasons. No one else has joined the club aside from Dikembe Mutombo in 2000-01 and Reggie Evans in 2012-13.
Nikola Jokic Dropping 9 Dimes in 23 Minutes
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Nikola Jokic, the 41st pick in the 2014 NBA draft, didn't carry particularly high expectations into his delayed rookie season. But the Serbian center still managed to submit one of the seasons's biggest box-score oddities.
In a Jan. 10 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, he aided the Denver Nuggets with nine assists in only 23 minutes of action. That number might not seem particularly impressive in a vacuum, but a few facts make it stand out.
First, Jokic is one of just seven players this season to drop nine dimes while logging no more than 23 minutes; the other six are all guards. He's the only center to accomplish such a feat since 1985-86.
Even if we remove the minutes restriction, he's unique. No first-year center has recorded nine assists in one of his first 40 career outings since Brad Daugherty in 1986.
Hassan Whiteside's 10.3 Block Percentage
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It's noteworthy that Hassan Whiteside is swatting 3.8 shots per game, leaving him 1.3 rejections per contest clear of the next-closest player, Anthony Davis. But the gap grows even larger when we look at the Miami Heat center's block percentage.
When Whiteside is on the floor, he blocks 10.3 percent of the shots that the opposition throws up. He's doubling the scores of all but nine other players across the league, including DeAndre Jordan, Anthony Davis, Bismack Biyombo, Serge Ibaka and Kristaps Porzingis.
The limited number of players in that group makes sense, since South Beach's breakout star is on pace to join Manute Bol and Alonzo Mourning as one of just three players to finish a season with a double-digit block percentage. Even more impressively, he's doing so while playing more minutes than Bol or Mourning did during any of their qualified seasons.
Kristaps Porzingis' Career Night
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Remember when New York Knicks fans booed the selection of Kristaps Porzinigis during the 2015 NBA draft? Neither do I.
The Latvian power forward has erased all doubts in his rookie season, highlighted by a Nov. 21 outing against the Houston Rockets.
That night, Porzingis recorded 24 points, 14 rebounds, two assists and seven blocks while shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. It's a sensational line for any player, but the fact that it came in one of his first 20 NBA appearances made it truly outstanding.
Since 1985-86, Porzingis and Josh Smith are the only players to reach at least 24 points, 14 boards and seven blocks while making two shots from beyond the arc in any game. But Smith's special showing came in 2007—he had already been in the league for three years.
Lamar Patterson, Timofey Mozgov and James Anderson in the Trillion Club
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In basketball language, a "trillion" occurs when a player steps onto the court but fails to register a single stat. He fouls no one, takes no shots, never turns the ball over and so on. Play two minutes, and it's a "two trillion." Three, and it's a "three trillion."
As the number rises, the line becomes more unlikely. Most NBA players are going to do something with their time on the court.
This season, we've already seen two "seven trillions." The first came courtesy of Sacramento's James Anderson, who logged zero contributions in a Nov. 9 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The second was recorded by Cleveland's Timofey Mozgov on Dec. 8 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
But this season's trillion king—so far, at least—is Atlanta Hawks' Lamar Patterson, who spent eight minutes on the floor against the Miami Heat on Nov. 3 but came up with all zeroes.
Rajon Rondo's 21.5 Potential Assists
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A player only records an assist if his teammate makes the shot that results from his feed. But that shouldn't be the only measuring stick for passing. If Rajon Rondo makes a pass but the recipient misses the ensuing layup, Rondo isn't receiving credit for a dime.
Potential assists—defined by NBA.com as passes leading to shots that, if made, would result in assists—account for that.
Rondo isn't just leading the league in assists at 11.6 per game. He's also pacing the Association by averaging 21.5 potential assists, leaving him well clear of John Wall (19.1) and everyone else.
Reggie Jackson's 16 Consecutive Points
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On Nov. 8, the Detroit Pistons trailed the Portland Trail Blazers by two with just over five minutes remaining.
Then Reggie Jackson went supernova.
When just two minutes remained, the Pistons had scored 16 consecutive points, and Jackson had accounted for all of them. He went 6-of-6 from the field—including a pair of triples—and drained his two attempts from the charity stripe, giving Detroit a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
No other player this season has scored at least 15 consecutive points, per NBAMiner.com. DeMarcus Cousins came closest with 12 in a row, and Matt Barnes, Russell Westbrook, Devin Booker, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard and Kemba Walker have also hit double digits.
But Jackson is in a tier of his own, thanks to the NBA's first 16-point run since Brandon Jennings reeled off 16 in a row on Jan. 29, 2013.
Jamal Crawford's Quartet of 4-Point Plays
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When Jamal Crawford retires, the NBA should name the four-point play after him.
At this stage of his career, it's no longer shocking that he leads the field in and-1 triples. But it is a little crazy that he's doing so despite playing only 25.3 minutes per game—his lowest average since 2002-03. Despite the declining role and the second-worst three-point percentage of his career, Crawford is still tied with James Harden for the top spot on the four-point-play leaderboard, per NBAMiner.com.
Depending on whether you round up or down, the veteran guard is on pace to finish the season with either eight or nine such plays, which no one has topped since he had a dozen in 2008-09.
Making that even crazier is the fact that Crawford had just one in 2014-15 and five during each of the two prior campaigns.
Ersan Ilyasova's 23 Drawn Charges
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This is the sixth season in which NBAMiner.com has data concerning how many charges players have drawn, and Ersan Ilyasova of the Detroit Pistons is on pace to set the record. Below, you can see the leaders during each of the relevant campaigns:
| 2010-11 | Nick Collison | 41 |
| 2011-12 | DeMarcus Cousins | 36 |
| 2012-13 | Udonis Haslem | 27 |
| 2013-14 | DeMarcus Cousins | 39 |
| 2014-15 | DeMarcus Cousins | 34 |
With 23 drawn in just 38 appearances, Ilyasova is on pace for 49.6, which would allow him to take over the all-time lead with plenty of room to spare. Perhaps that will stop him from putting his body on the line quite so often.
Of course, he probably won't quit attempting these plays anytime soon.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @fromal09.
All stats, unless otherwise indicated, are from Basketball-Reference.com or Adam's own databases and are current heading into games on Jan. 14.
