larry bird averaged the most points in nba history.
larry bird averaged the most points in nba history.
who averaged the most points in nba history?
larry bird
forty-one games into the season, westbrook was averaging 30.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per game, marking the latest anyone had averaged a triple-double since robertson in 1966–67, when he became the first player to average a triple-double for an entire season (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists). on january 15, 2017, westbrook had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 20th triple-double of the season, as he helped the thunder defeat the sacramento kings 122–118. he joined robertson (five times) and wilt chamberlain (twice) as the only players in nba history to record 20 triple-doubles in a season. his 21st triple-double of the season came on january 18 in a loss to former teammate durant and the golden state warriors. on january 23, westbrook hit a pull-up jumper with 1.4 seconds left to lift the thunder to a 97–95 win over the utah jazz. he finished with 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his 22nd triple-double of the season and no. 59 for his career, tying larry bird for fifth on the career list. two days later, he had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 114–105 win over the new orleans pelicans, thus passing bird with his 60th career triple-double. heading into all-star weekend, westbrook was averaging 31.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.1 assists in 57 games. westbrook went on to record three straight triple-doubles coming out of the all-star break, giving him 67 for his career and 30 on the season. on march 7, westbrook's career-high 58 points was not enough to lift the thunder over the portland trail blazers, losing 126–121. his 31st triple-double of the season, which came on march 9 against the san antonio spurs, matched wilt chamberlain's 1967–68 campaign for the second-most in a season. he surpassed chamberlain's record with his 32nd triple-double on march 11 against the jazz. westbrook went on to tie robertson's single-season record of 41 triple-doubles on april 4 against the milwaukee bucks. westbrook also moved into a tie with chamberlain for fourth on the career list with his 78th triple-double. three days later, he joined robertson (in 1961–62) as the only players in nba history to average a triple-double for a season, needing just six assists against the phoenix suns to clinch the triple-double average. his historic 42nd triple-double, to break robertson's record of most triple-doubles in a season, came in a 106–105 away victory against the denver nuggets on april 9. westbrook scored 18 of his 50 points in the last five minutes, including a 36-foot game-winning buzzer-beater, to overcome a 14-point deficit. as a result, westbrook moved into fourth place for most triple-doubles in nba history with 79, surpassing chamberlain's 78. it was his third career 50-point triple-double, all of which came in 2016–17, the most by any player in nba history. the thunder finished the regular season with a 47–35 record and entered the playoffs as the no. 6 seed.
russell westbrook
after missing the rockets' next game with an illness and a strained neck, his return game on february 25 saw him score 28 points against the atlanta hawks, snapping his 32-game streak with at least 30. on february 28, he scored 58 points in a 121–118 win over the miami heat. on march 19, he scored 31 points in a win against the hawks and became the first player in nba history to score 30 or more points against all 29 other teams in a single season. on march 20, he scored 57 points in a 126–125 overtime loss to the memphis grizzlies, marking his seventh 50-point game of the season. two days later, he matched his career high with 61 points, including 27 in the first quarter, to lead the rockets to a 111–105 victory over the san antonio spurs. for these performances, he received his fourth western conference player of the week honor of the 2018–19 season. on march 31, harden had 50 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 119–108 win over the sacramento kings to record his ninth 50-point game of the regular season. it was his fifth career 50-point triple-double, the most of any player in nba history. he also became the ninth player in nba history to make 2,000 3-pointers in their career. after a 135–103 victory against the los angeles clippers on april 3, he became the third person in nba history to record 2,700+ points and 500+ assists in a single season. in a 149–113 blowout win against the phoenix suns on april 7, harden's 30-point, 13-rebound, nine-assist, and two-steal performance matched and broke several records: he tied kobe bryant for the most 30-point games in one season for any nba player in the past 30 years with 56 games; became the second player in nba history (michael jordan, 1989–90) to record 2,700 points, 500 assists, and 500 rebounds in one season; and joined michael jordan as the only player to average at least 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in one season. he finished the season with the largest scoring margin (8.1 ppg) over the second-leading scorer since chamberlain in 1962–63.
james harden