Russ, Jokic And The Greatest Statistical Seasons Ever

On a recent episode of the Gilbert Arenas' podcast, Rashad McCants called Russell Westbrook the "greatest statistical point guard ever." His case for Brodie being over players like Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, and Chris Paul is, "If the points and assists double-double is the highest metric for a point guard, and Russ averaged a triple-double for four seasons, how can Westbrook not be way up here. None of y'all can reach him...He made it look so easy, we stopped looking at it."

I agree that Westbrook is "statistically" one of the greatest point guards and players in NBA history. Here are a few reasons why:

• The only player in NBA history with 200 triple-doubles; only five players have more than 100: Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James, and Jason Kidd.
• Multiple 50-point triple-doubles.
• He and Wilt are the only players with a 20/20/20 triple-double. Dedicating it to Nipsey made Russ' a little cooler.
• He will have the record for most rebounds by a point guard by the end of this season. Jason Kidd has the current record with 8,402.
• He's also 1,359 points away from passing Oscar Robertson's record for most career points by a point guard.

Russell Westbrook GREATEST SEASON EVER! BEST MVP Plays from 2016-17 NBA Season!

With all of that said, my pick for the "greatest statistical point guard ever" and "greatest point guard ever" is Magic Johnson. The main reason is I'm putting more weight on assists than points since we are discussing the point guard position. I'm also factoring in the Playoffs. Let's take a look at some numbers from Russ and Magic.

Best 10-year Regular Season stretch

• RUSS: 25.1 PTS, 9 AST, 8.3 REB, 1.8 STL, 4.4 TO (44% FG)
• MAGIC: 19.9 PTS, 11.7 AST, 7.3 REB, 2 STL, 3.9 TO (53% FG)

Russ has the edge if you put more weight on points, but three assists over ten is usually more challenging than five points over 20. I'm sure many will disagree.

Best 10-year Playoff stretch (105 GMS - 167 GMS)

• RUSS: 24.8 PTS, 8 AST, 7.2 REB, 1.8 STL, 4.1 TO (40% FG)
• MAGIC: 19.7 PTS, 12.9 AST, 7.3 REB, 1.8, 3.6 TO (51% FG)

It's the same argument. The points differential is the same, while Magic is averaging five more dimes and maintaining these numbers for 62 more games.

NBA Finals (5 GMS to 50 GMS)

• RUSS: 27 PTS, 6.6 AST, 6.4 REB
• MAGIC: 19.4 PTS, 11.7 AST, 7.9 EB

Impressive numbers from Russ in the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat (especially in Game 4, when he scored 43 points), but you can't compare his output in one series against the production in nine series (more about that later).

Here are a few more stat comparisons:

• Russ has more 40-point games (50 to 6)
• Magic has more 20-assist games (22 to 8)
• Magic has more PTS/AST double-doubles (441 to 394)

Back to the Finals thing, Westbrook has only been to the Finals once in 16 seasons, and Magic Johnson went to the Finals nine times in 13 years and won five times. One of those five included one of the most memorable Finals performances of all time: Rookie Magic playing center for injured Kareem and putting up 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists.

Magic probably would have had more trips to the Finals in the '90s, too, if he hadn't had to retire. He was on the All-NBA 1st team and the MVP runner-up after averaging 19.4 points, 12.5 assists, and 7 rebounds the year before he left. There was also a Charles Barkley to the Lakers rumor, and I can't imagine how great that duo would have been.

Another thing you have to mention when discussing triple-doubles is nobody cared about the stat or even knew what a triple-double was until 76ers statistician Harvey Pollack coined the term in the early 80s to highlight what Magic Johnson was doing. Still, it wasn't something Magic cared about or would go out of his way to achieve in a game. I'm not calling Russ a "stat padder" or trying to take anything away from his triple-doubles, but I believe he was more aware of his numbers and cared about them. Here's what a frustrated Russ said in 2018 about people who accuse him of stat padding:

"A lot people make jokes about whatever, stat-padding or going to get rebounds...Since everybody wants to be talking, I'm tired of hearing the same old rebound this, stealing rebounds, all this s***. I take pride in what I do. I come out and play, and I get the ball faster than someone else gets to it. That's what it is. If you don't want it, I'm gonna get it. Simple as that."

THE JOKER (2024/25)

Nikola Jokić’s 5th STRAIGHT TRIPLE-DOUBLE Performance! 🏆| November 22, 2024

While thinking about the greatest statistical seasons of all time, I didn't have to go back very far to find a nominee. That nominee is Russ' favorite new teammate, Nikola Jokic. And what the Joker has done over the first two months of the 2024/25 season is unheard of by even Joker standards.

Over the past four seasons, we have watched the point center rack up three MVP awards (runner-up in the other) and almost average a triple-double (26/12/9) while shooting nearly 60% from the field. Each of those seasons could be a nominee, and none of them top what he's doing this season:

• 30.3 Points (career high)
• 13.9 Rebounds (career and league high)
• 11.3 Assists (career high)
• 1.6 Steals (career high)
• 2.3 Threes (career high)
• 56.3% Three-Point Shooting (LEAGUE HIGH!!!!!)

Yes, the league leader in rebounds also leads the league in 3PT shooting. To emphasize how crazy that sentence is, let's look at a list of recent rebounding leaders: Domas Sabonis, Rudy Gobert, Clint Capela, Andre Drummond, Hassan Whiteside, and DeAndre Jordan. Except for sometimes Sabonis, teams would love for one of those guys to shoot a three. Anthony Edwards once joked, "If Rudy shoots a three in a real NBA game, I'm walking off the court."

I do not expect Jokic to maintain this lead, but I've seen him make too many game-winning threes and unorthodox off-one-leg threes to doubt him. He even made a career-high seven threes on his way to a 41-point night earlier this season. And this is what Gilbert Arenas had to say about Jokic after watching him dominate AD and the Lakers (again):

"At this moment in time, Jokic in the halfcourt is like Jordan in the Finals. You are not going to beat him. In halfcourt, he is God."

As I said earlier, the best part is that he could not care less about his stats and hates hearing about them. The following is what he had to say when he was asked what having the first triple-double in NBA Finals history means to him:

"To be honest, not much. I'm just glad we won the game... I think it's just a win because if you lose, nobody is going to even mention it. I don't care. It's just a stat."

It might not mean anything to him, but putting up 32 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists in an NBA Finals game needs to be remembered. And so should this potentially historic season and the following great statistical ones.

WILT (1961-62)

Wilt Chamberlain ● 1961-1962 Season Highlights | 4K |

"Video or didn't happen!" That's a typical comment from kids nowadays when someone mentions what Wilt did to the Knicks on March 2nd, 1962. They have difficulty understanding that we used to live in a world where everything wasn't being captured on video. I don't, but I do struggle to comprehend Wilt's numbers during the 1961-62 season, which was just the third for the 25-year-old Warrior.

• Averages: 50.4 PTS (50% FG), 25.7 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.5 PF
• League Leader: Points, Rebounds, Minutes
• Awards: All-NBA 1st Team, MVP (2)
• Top scoring games: 100, 78, 73
• Top rebounding games: 43, 38, 36
• Top assists games: 6, 6, 6, 5
• 45 games with 50+ points
• 15 games with 60+ points
• 36.4 PTS and 27.9 REB in 8 playoff games

Best Game: Warriors vs Knicks (March 2, 1962)
Wilt recorded an NBA record 100 points on 36-of-63 shooting and 28-of-32 from the free throw line. Here's a breakdown of the points by quarters:

• 1st Quarter: 23 PTS (7/14 FG)
• 2nd Quarter: 18 PTS (7/12 FG)
• 3rd Quarter: 28 PTS (10/16 FG)
• 4th Quarter: 31 PTS (12/21 FG)

What rarely gets mentioned about this game is Wilt had 25 rebounds in this game. That's almost half of what the entire Knicks had (56).

AIR JORDAN (1987/88)

24 Year Old Michael Jordan Was GODLIKE! 1987-88 MVP Highlights | GOAT SZN

Like Wilt, you could easily list multiple seasons for Michael Jordan, but I want to limit each player to just one. And picking one Jordan season seems unfair to the GOAT because of how many worthy seasons he has had.

There's the 1986-97 season, when he averaged 37.1 points. His point total of 3,041 is the third most points ever in a season. You should be able to guess who has the top two spots.

During the 1988/89 season, the Bulls experimented with MJ playing point guard for 24 games. He averaged 30/11/9 and recorded a triple-double in 10 of 11 games. In that missed triple-double game, he only had 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists.

In the 1990-91 season, he led the league in scoring for his fifth straight time and averaged 31 PTS, 11.4 AST, and 6.6 REB in the NBA Finals.

How about 1995-96, when he averaged 30 points for the 8th time in his career and won the first championship of his 2nd Three-Peat. He also continued to torture the ghost of the Bad Boys Pistons with this performance: 53 PTS (75% FG), 11 REB, 6 STL.

The last two mentioned are probably the two greatest seasons of his career, but we are talking about statistics. And statistics don't get much better than the ones he had during the 1987-88 season, when he became the first player to ever win MVP and Defensive Player Of The Year in the same season.

• Averages: 40.4 MPG, 35 PTS (54% FG), 5.9 AST, 5.5 REB, 3.2 STL, 1.6 BLK
• League Leader: Points, Steals, Minutes
• Awards: MVP, DPOY, All-Star Game MVP
• Top scoring games: 59 (78% FG), 52 (65% FG)
• Top rebounding games: 13, 13
• Top assists games: 13, 13
• 4 games with 50+ points (60% FG in all 4)
• 8 games with 6+ steals
• 10 games with 4+ blocks

Best Game: Bulls vs Nets (January 29, 1988)
The best game was his 59 points on 78% shooting against the Bad Boy Pistons but the game that represents this season the most happened against the Nets and his former teammate Orlando Woolridge. MJ had 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting and a season-high 10 steals in just 28 minutes! His former teammate and other half of the Chicago Net Busters had 0 points on 0-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes.

SHAQ (1999-00)

Shaquille O'Neal 99-00 Season Highlights - Most Dominant Ever! | GOAT SZN

As dominant as Shaq was with the Lakers, he was arguably the most criticized player in the league. Critics thought he didn't care enough about basketball because he was making rap albums and really, really, really bad movies like KAZAAM and STEEL. Getting eliminated every year in the playoffs also didn't help Shaq, who had a commercial with him saying, "I have 10 fingers and no rings." Enter the Zen Master. Phil Jackson arrived and found a way to motivate Shaq to play 40 minutes a game and have one of the most dominant seasons ever.

• Averages: 29.7 PTS (57% FG), 13.6 REB, 3.8 AST, 3 BLK, 40 MINS
• League Leader: Points, Field Goal %
• Awards: MVP, DPOY (2), All-NBA 1st, Championship
• Top scoring games: 61, 49
• Top rebounding games: 24, 23
• Top assists games: 9, 9
• 9 games with 40+ points (60% FG in all 4)
• 4 games with 30+ PTS, 10+ REB, 7 BLK
• Averaged 38 PTS (61% FG), 16.7 REB, 2.7 BLK in the NBA Finals

Best Game: Lakers vs Nets (March 6, 2000)
Shaq celebrated his 28th birthday by dropping a career-high 61 points and 23 rebounds on No. 1 draft pick Michael Olowokandi, who had a measly 2 points and 5 fouls.

STEPH (2015/16)

When Steph Curry BECAME THE UNANIMOUS MVP! BEST Highlights from 2015-16 MVP Season!

I thought about the 2020/21 season when Steph led the league with a career-high 32 points per game and scored a career-high 62 in a game. I thought about Steph's first MVP season in 2014/15. But I ended up on the second of Steph's back-to-back MVP seasons because of this one number: 402.

402 is so special because there have only been seven instances of a player making 300+ threes in an NBA season. Steph has five of those seven, and at the top of those seven is the greatest shooter of all time, with his 402-made threes in a single season.

• Averages: 30.1 PTS (50% FG), 6.7 AST, 5.4 REB, 5.1 3PT, 2.1 STL
• League Leader: Points, Steals, Free Throw %
• Awards: MVP, All-NBA 1st, Championship
• Top scoring games: 53, 51
• Top 3PT games: 12, 11
• Top assists games: 15, 12
• 13 games with 40+ points
• 4 games with 10+ 3PT
• 6 Playoff games with 30+ PTS

Best Game: Warriors vs Thunder (February 27, 2016)
“They do have a timeout, decide not to use it. Curry, way downtown. BANG!!! BANG!!! Oh, what a shot from Curry!"

That was Mike Breen's call when Steph knocked down a 38-foot-game-winning three vs OKC. That three was also his 12th, which tied him with Kobe Bryant (2003) and Donyell Marshall (2005) for the most made threes in a single game. This performance was also the third of three great ones:

• 42 PTS, 7 AST, 7 REB (6/12 3PT)
• 51 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB (10/15 3PT)
• 46 PTS, 6 AST (12/16 3PT)

LEBRON (2012-13?)

The King's BEST Season? LeBron James 2012-13 Highlights | GOAT SZN

Like Mike, LeBron has so many great seasons to choose from. There were the early Cavaliers years when Bron led the league in scoring. Then you have the Heatles days when it felt like LeBron wouldn't miss a shot for games. The 2nd marriage in Cleveland saw LeBron almost average a triple-double for a season. Lastly, we have a 37-year-old LeBron putting up 30.3 points a game with the Lakers.

Most consider his best season to be 2012/13. He won his fourth MVP award and added another ring to his collection with a 37-point Game 7 performance vs the Spurs. But it isn't the most impressive statistical season. The one that keeps calling me is his third season in the league. That's when a 21-year-old Bron was an MVP runner-up after averaging a career-high 31.4 points.

Here's a list of young stars in the league today and their age. Look at that list and then think again about LeBron dominating the league at 20 and 21.

• Paolo Banchero: 22
• Anthony Edwards: 23
• LaMelo Ball: 23
• Luka Doncic: 25
• Ja Morant: 25
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 26
• Trae Young: 26

I'm changing my mind. As much as I want to brag about what a 20-year-old Bron was doing, I also want to brag about what a 40-year-old Bron is doing, like, four straight triple-doubles. How about you pick a number between 1 and 22, and as long as you don't say 18, you probably picked a great LeBron season.

Best Game: Heat vs Bobcats (March 3, 2014)
Every talented scorer circled the Charlotte Bobcats on their calendar because they knew they had a chance at a new career-high in points. LeBron knocked down his first eight threes in the first half and scored a franchise-best 25 in the third quarter. He finished the game with a career-high 61, leading to this great quote from teammate Shane Battier: "The amazing part is the efficiency. Good Lord. Sixty-one on 33 shots, that's Wilt Chamberlain-esque. That's pretty amazing. Incredible performance.

KOBE (2005/06)

EVERY BUCKET From Kobe Bryant's 81-PT Performance!

I'll never forget logging into my NBA fantasy team on January 22, 2006, and thinking there was an error when I read Kobe Bryant had over 70 points with minutes left in the game. As you know, it wasn't an error, and Kobe scored 81 points that night. The 81 happened just a few weeks after Kobe scored 40+ in five consecutive games during the highest-scoring season of his incredible career. A season that saw Kobe attempt the 2nd most field goals per game over the past 24 years. Of those 27.2 shots per game, only 2.3 of them were threes.

• Iverson: 27.8 (2001/02)
• Kobe: 27.2 (2005/06)
• Iverson: 25.5 (2000/01)
• Iverson: 25.3 (2005/06)
• Harden: 24.5 (2018/19)

The most shocking number from this season might be 4. That represents where Kobe placed in the MVP race that season. Steve Nash, LeBron, and Dirk were the top 3 vote-getters, and Chauncey Billups was just seven votes behind Kobe.

• Averages: 35.4 PTS (45% FG), 5.3 REB, 4.5 AST, 2.3 3PT
• League Leader: Points
• Awards: All-NBA 1st
• Top scoring games: 81, 62
• Top assists games: 11, 10
• 6 games with 50+ points
• 27 games with 40+ PTS
• 2 games with 40+ FGA
• 2 games with 0 AST (sorry, I had to)

Best Game: Lakers vs Mavs (December 12, 2005)
Kobe's 81 should be the answer. This is not just because it's the 2nd highest point total in NBA history but because the Lakers needed every one of those points to get the come-back victory. That said, after three quarters in a game against the Dallas Mavs, Kobe outscored the entire team 62-61! I'm not sure we will ever see a player do that again. And that Mavs team had a great scorer who also received more MVP votes than Kobe that year.

My favorite story from this game came from assistant coach Brian Shaw. He asked Kobe if he wanted to play in the 4th to get 70 points. Kobe responded, "I'll do it when we really need it." Flash forward a month later to the night Kobe dropped 81 when the Lakers really needed it.

BILL RUSSELL (1964-65)

Bill Russell Highlights ● The Secretary of Defense | 4K |

Earlier, I mentioned how Shaq used to be criticized for making a commercial that showed him holding up his bare fingers and saying, "I have 10 fingers and no rings." The late, great Bill Russell always received compliments for his most iconic photo, which showed him wearing a ring on every finger and two rings on one.

For over a decade, it seemed like the competition had no chance of getting a ring or a rebound if Russell played. He averaged over 20 boards for a decade, with his career-best of 24.7 boards a game during the 1963-1964 season. I'm going with the following season when he "only" averaged 24.1 and won his 5th MVP award.

• Averages: 14.1 PTS, 24.1 REB, 5.3 AST
• League Leader: Rebounds
• Awards: MVP, All-NBA 1st, Championship
• Top scoring games: 27, 25
• Top rebound games: 49, 41
• 13 games with 30+ REB
• 12 games with 20+ PTS & 20 REB

Best Game: Celtics vs Pistons (November 3, 1965)

Playing in front of an audience of just 3,145 people in Rhode Island, Russell scored a game-high 27 points, dished out a game-high 6 assists, and racked up an insane 49 rebounds (20 less than the entire Pistons). One night after dominating Dave DeBusschere, Russell and the Celtics took on the Royals with Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. Then, less than 24 hours later, they were playing Nate Thurmond and the Warriors. Russell had another 40-rebound night on the third game in three days. How do you like them apples, load management era centers?

OTHER GREAT STATISTICAL SEASONS

The following are other memorable statistical seasons by NBA greats that deserve a few more paragraphs, but I'm saving them for another post.

THE DREAM (1989-90)

This pre-Clutch City season includes Hakeem's two quadruple-doubles. The official one is when he recorded 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocks, and 10 assists against the Bucks. He had a more impressive one earlier in the month (29 points, 18 rebounds, 11 blocks, 10 assists, 5 steals), but the league accused the Rockets of stat-padding and took away an assist.

Dream also led the league in rebounding and blocks this season with career highs of 14 and 4.6.

THE WORM (1991-92)

Before Dennis Rodman covered his body in tats, dyed his hair or wore a wedding dress, he was winning championships and Defensive Player Of The Year awards with the Bad Boy Pistons. During the first of seven consecutive rebounding titles, the Worm averaged a career-high 18.7 boards. He finished the season with 39 games of 20+ rebounds and three games of 30+. The best of those three was a 34-rebound clinic with 18 offensive boards.

THE BEARD (2018/19)

James Harden led the league in scoring for three straight seasons in H-Town. The second of the three contained some of the biggest fantasy performances of the past decade, including two 61-point games, a pair of 58-point games, and multiple 50-point triple-doubles.

Just as shocking as the positive numbers from this season were the negative ones. He had five games with 9+ turnovers, and his poor shooting nights gave birth to the term "tour dates."

• 5-16
• 7-25
• 7-27
• 8-24
• 9-26
• 11-32
• 12-34

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