Joel Embiid, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are locked in what could be the closest battle for the NBA scoring title in almost half-a-century.
For the first time, it looks like three men could potentially go into the final run of games with a chance of taking the crown.
That has never happened in the history of the league.
We are not just talking about any three men. We are talking about:
- LeBron James – One of the greatest basketball players of all-time and a four-time champion and four-time league and Finals MVP. Primarily a playmaker, he has only won the scoring title once, some 14 years ago, so his one-man mega-mission to try and drag the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs could result in a second scoring title. James is atop the list of the three contenders, averaging 29.96 points (which would round up to 30.0).
- Joel Embiid – Second in the race at 29.83 is the man who is arguably the story of the league this season and could well end up with his first MVP crown, whether or not he wins the scoring title. After a protracted start to his career, the Philadelphia 76ers center has now revved up to the peak of his powers and is a dominant force at both ends of the floor every night. From a scoring perspective, as well as having his way with anyone inside, he can hit all sorts of high-technique jump shots from various distances and areas of the floor. Defenses settle for him shooting threes and he hits them at a 36 per cent clip on 3.7 attempts per night – that says it all really.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – Sitting just a hair behind Embiid is the Milwaukee Bucks’ two-time MVP in third at 29.80. Although the jump shot can still waver at times Giannis is a force of nature and can still storm to the basket with ease against any given defense at any given point on any given night. If he doesn’t slam down a dunk (or, although irrelevant to this particular discussion, kick out a perfect pass to an open team-mate) then he will be getting to the line to shoot free throws the vast majority of the time. He has yet to win the scoring title and if he did so, it would just add yet more gleam to his first ballot Hall of Fame resume.
Comparing this year’s race historically – and a look back at epic ’78 showdown
The closest scoring title race to date was back in 1978 when the battle went to the last day between David Thompson and George Gervin.
Each had a game on April 9, 1978, the season’s final day 44 years ago. Thompson’s game was first; he scored 73 points for the Denver Nuggets to take the scoring lead. Gervin, playing a few hours later, would need 58 points to reclaim the top spot.
He scored 63 for the San Antonio Spurs. The crown was his, 27.22 points compared to 27.15 for Thompson.
Imagine such a scene playing out this season on April 10 – the scoring title once again going down to the season’s final day. Only this time, with three players in the race. It could happen.
Entering Tuesday, the NBA finds itself on pace for the closest three-man scoring race in league history. LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is atop the list averaging 29.96 points (which would round up to 30.0), Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is second at 29.83, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks is third at 29.80.
The last time a race ended up that close between the top three spots was, well, never. The closest three-way race was in 1985-86, when Dominique Wilkins averaged 30.3 points – a half-point better than both Adrian Dantley and Alex English. A decade ago, Kevin Durant, then with Oklahoma City, held off the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant by one-tenth of a point, 28.0 to 27.9 for the second-closest head-to-head race ever.
Madness of March scoring proves volatility of race
A red-hot scoring race would add just an extra dimension to the end of the season, just another reason to tune in and pay attention to what’s happening.
It’s also worth considering that so far this month, six different players have combined to log eight games of 50 or more points, starting with LeBron James’ 56-point game against the Golden State Warriors on March 5.
The latest offering came Thursday, when Detroit forward Saddiq Bey hit a career-best and Pistons record-tying 10 three-pointers, part of a 51-point outing in the evening’s lone action against the Orlando Magic.
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That follows Tuesday’s 60-piece by Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving, again against the Magic. That total marked both a career-high for Irving and was a Nets single-game scoring record. Irving’s 60 came a day after Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns set a franchise- and career-best with a 60-point game of his own in a win against the San Antonio Spurs.
Lest we forget, Irving’s 60-pointer came just two days after his team-mate, Kevin Durant, scored 53 (which was one point shy of his single-game career-high).
Of the eight 50-point games this month, six of the players who accomplished them needed less than 40 minutes to accomplish them (with Jayson Tatum’s effort narrowly missing the cut at 41 minutes).
For context, the last month with more 50-point games in the NBA was nearly six decades ago – all the way back to December 1962. There were nine of them that month, six by Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors, the other three by Elgin Baylor of the Lakers.
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Obviously, the numbers will change. Embiid might get a game or two more off down the stretch to rest his body. If the 76ers have nothing to play for on the season’s final day, one would not expect him out there with only a scoring title at stake. Same goes for Antetokounmpo; if the Bucks are locked into a seed, it would seem foolish for Milwaukee to play the reigning NBA Finals MVP much, if at all. The Lakers’ only path to the playoffs is through the play-in, which means James might be called upon to play big minutes – and potentially put up big numbers – all the way to the end.
“At the end of the day,” James said, “all I care about is wins and losses.”
But anything involving James is certain to be intriguing. Same goes with Antetokounmpo. Same goes with Embiid. Put them together, and the intrigue levels skyrocket.
Durant could also have been in contention…
The only downside to all of this is that it could have been a four-man race.
Brooklyn’s Durant is fourth in the league in scoring, four-tenths behind James and two-tenths behind Antetokounmpo and Embiid at 29.6 per game. But Durant basically cannot win the scoring title since he will not meet the NBA’s minimum – 58 games in an 82-game season – to qualify.
So, unless somebody gets really, really hot down the stretch, the scoring race is down to three.
Trae Young, Luka Doncic, DeMar DeRozan, Ja Morant and Jayson Tatum are all within 3.0 points of James’ average right now (as is Kyrie Irving, who obviously will not meet the minimum games-played threshold). If any of those guys go on an absolute spree – not unheard of in this day and age – they could make a run at the title as well.
The potential is there for a thrilling finish, just like the league had in 1978.
It would be the perfect appetiser to the playoffs.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here