Guards Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, in scoring last season.
We’re counting down 24 key storylines heading into the 2024-25 NBA season. Our senior analysts will dissect a new topic each day as we help you get ready for opening night on Oct. 22.
Here is storyline No. 18:
You can expect to see these five players battle for the 2024-25 scoring title.
The past two seasons have been the highest-scoring campaigns in the last 54 years. With that, Luka Doncic averaged 33.9 points per game last season (fourth-highest in the past 35 years), while Joel Embiid became just the second player in NBA history to average more than a point per minute.
Doncic and Embiid, of course, are among the favorites to lead the league in scoring in 2024-25.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The two-time Kia NBA MVP is the only qualified player to have averaged at least 25 ppg in each of the past six seasons, and he’s averaged more than 30 ppg in each of the past two. Damian Lillard should provide a little more support this season, but unless Khris Middleton avoids his recent injury issues, Antetokounmpo will again shoulder the load offensively.
Luka Doncic
The Mavs’ star led the league in scoring by a wide margin last season, having seen big jumps in both 3-point rate and 3-point percentage. Like most of the league, he saw a big drop in free-throw rate after the All-Star break. But he still averaged a league-high 33.2 ppg after the break and should be the favorite to win a second-straight scoring title.
Joel Embiid
After leading the league in scoring two seasons ago with 33.1 ppg, Embiid became just the second player in NBA history (joining Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62) to play at least 500 minutes and average more than a point per minute. His 1.03 points per minute was ridiculous, and if he comes close to approaching that while staying relatively healthy (58 games are needed to qualify for the scoring title), Embiid will be in the mix even with the addition of Paul George.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
The Thunder also added some key pieces this summer, but they shouldn’t take touches away from Gilgeous-Alexander. Alex Caruso (via forced turnovers) and Isaiah Hartenstein (via offensive rebounds) could provide the 26-year-old with more opportunities to score. The continued development of Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren could be the only thing that brings Gilgeous-Alexander’s scoring down from his 31.4 ppg in 2023-24.
Cam Thomas
Thomas is a wild card. He was the Nets’ leading scorer last season (22.5 ppg, 25.7 per 36 minutes), and they traded their No. 2 scorer (Mikal Bridges) to the Knicks. Thomas will happily pick up the slack in what will probably be a contract year (he’s extension-eligible until opening night). Ben Simmons being healthier wouldn’t take away from Thomas’ scoring and should get him better shots, leading to higher efficiency.
Five more candidates: Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards and Victor Wembanyama.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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