That’s two scoring titles in a row for Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid.
In a season that saw a record six players average over 30 points per game, Philadelphia center Joel Embiid separated himself from the pack to earn his second straight NBA scoring title.
Scoring Champion: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 33.1 points per game
Embiid averaged a career-best 33.1 points per game to best Dallas’ Luka Doncic (32.4), Portland’s Damian Lillard (32.2), Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.4), Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.1) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum (30.1) as the league’s top scorer.
Embiid joins Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only Philadelphia 76ers to win multiple scoring titles. Embiid becomes the 19th player in league history with multiple scoring titles, the 13th player with consecutive scoring titles and the first center to do so in 47 seasons, when Bob McAdoo won three straight from 1973-76.
In addition to this being the most prolific offensive season of Embiid’s seven-year NBA career, it was also his most efficient. Embiid shot a career-best 54.8% from the field, which ranked 22nd overall and third among high-usage players with at least 1,000 field goal attempts this season. Embiid’s effective field goal percentage (57.3%) and true shooting percentage (65.5%) were both up nearly four percentage points from last season, while his usage was nearly identical (37.0%).
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Embiid led the NBA in free throws made (10.0 per game), ranked second in attempts (11.7) and ranked third in percentage (85.7%) among 51 centers with at least 100 free throw attempts this season. Embiid’s ability to score on all three levels — in the paint, in the mid-range and out to the 3-point line — make him a nightmare to defend. And when teams sent aggressive double teams his way, he was able to find teammates with 4.2 assists per game, matching his career-best from last year when he also won the scoring title.
The versatility of Embiid’s offensive resume can be found when breaking down his scoring by play type, with data provided by Synergy. In addition to leading the NBA in points per game as the roll man in pick-and-roll sets (8.2 ppg), Embiid also ranks second in the league in points per game on post ups (5.2) and isolations (7.0). He adds another 3.9 points per game on spot ups (72nd in the league) and ranks 45th in points per game on drives to the basket (6.4).
With a second straight scoring title in hand, the question that remains is whether it is enough to push Embiid to the elusive first Kia MVP of his career. Embiid has finished as runner-up the past two seasons and is considered the frontrunner for the award. While the final votes need to be cast and counted to determine that honor, Embiid takes the scoring crown and is ready to lead the Sixers on another playoff run.
Assists Champion: James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers: 10.7 assists per game
James Harden leads the NBA in assists per game for the second time in his career.
Not only do the Sixers have the league’s leading scorer in Joel Embiid (33.1 ppg), they also have the NBA’s top playmaker this season: James Harden (10.7 apg). They become the first teammates since 1981-82 to lead the league in both scoring and assists in the same season.
The Harden-Embiid combination featured 244 assisted baskets from Harden to Embiid. Those 244 assists account for 39.5% of Harden’s 618 total assists this season, and account for 33.5% of Embiid’s 728 made field goals. It wasn’t just a one-way combination, as Embiid also assisted on 33 of Harden’s 371 field goals made (8.9%).
For Harden, this is the second assist title of his career after dishing a career-best 11.2 per game in 2016-17 during his time with the Houston Rockets. Harden joins former teammate Russell Westbrook as the only two players in NBA history to have led the NBA in scoring and assists multiple times.
Rebounding Champion: Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings: 12.3 rebounds per game
Domantas Sabonis led the NBA in rebounds per game and double-doubles this season.
In his first full season with the Sacramento Kings, Domantas Sabonis has led the NBA in rebounding (12.3 rpg) for the first time in his career. This is Sabonis’ fourth straight season averaging at least a dozen rebounds per game, but falls short of his career-best (12.4) set during the 2019-20 season with the Indiana Pacers.
In addition to leading the NBA in rebounds per game, Sabonis also led all players with 65 double-doubles and ranked second with 14 triple-doubles; both marks were career-highs for Sabonis in this seventh NBA season.
Sabonis averaged 19.2 points and 7.3 assists for the Kings. He joins elite company as only the fourth player to average at least 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists over a full season, joining Nikola Jokic (2021-22), Wilt Chamberlain (1966-67, ’67-68) and Oscar Robertson (’61-62).
Steals Champion: O.G. Anunoby, Toronto Raptors: 1.9 steals per game
O.G. Anunoby averaged a career-best 1.9 steals per game for the Raptors.
No team came close to matching the Toronto Raptors in steals this season as Toronto’s 9.4 steals per game average was 1.1 more than second-ranked Memphis (8.3). To put that margin in perspective, the same difference separates second-ranked Memphis and 14th-ranked Phoenix (7.2 spg).
So it should come as little surprise that the league leader in steals came from the Raptors, the only question was which player would it be. With a career-best 1.9 steals per game, O.G. Anunoby is the league leader in the category, besting teammate Fred VanVleet and Miami’s Jimmy Butler (each 1.8 spg). In addition to sitting atop the steals leaderboard, Anunoby and VanVleet also led the NBA in deflections with VanVleet (3.8) edging out Anunoby (3.6) for the top spot in the hustle rankings.
Blocks Champion: Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies: 3.0 blocks per game
Jackson is the first player in seven seasons to average at least three blocks per game.
After missing the first month of the season due to a stress fracture in his foot, Jackson has been a defensive force for the Memphis Grizzlies since returning to the lineup in mid-November. Jackson’s three blocks per game not only marked a career best for the fifth-year pro, but also marked the first time any NBA player has averaged three blocks over the course of a season in seven years (Hassan Whiteside, 3.7 bpg in 2015-16).
Jackson’s defensive presence went well beyond the three blocked shots he registered each night. He led the NBA in overall rim protection, with opponents shooting just 46.9% at the basket against him. The last player to record a rim protection mark better than Jackson this season was Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2019-20 (41.7%) when he was named Kia Defensive Player of the Year.
