Welcome to the inaugural edition of Paroxysmal Pursuit! In this and subsequent editions, I will let my mind wander the landscape of the NBA, past and present, in order to answer nonsensical, mostly unimportant and definitely trivial questions.
Photo by gareth1953 via Flickr
For this first installment of Paroxysmal Pursuit, I tackle the issue of when NBA players reach their peak in terms of scoring prowess. Now, there’s no way on earth I could peruse each and every single player in league history. Nor would I really want to. I’m not too interested in seeing when Tree Rollins averaged a career high scoring for this exercise.
So, the players sampled here are those who averaged at least 20 points per game for their career and also played in at least 500 games in the NBA and/or the ABA. The points per game minimum is my way of singling out the best scorers, even if it does come with flaws. The 500 game limit is to dispose of players whose careers didn’t last long enough to descend from peak play.
This leaves us with 60 players and the following data:
Season: the season the player hit their ppg peak.
Year: the year of their playing career ppg peak was reached.
Age: the age the player at.
% of career ppg: How much larger the high avg. was than the career avg.
| Player | Season | Year | Age | High average | Career Average | % of career ppg |
| Paul Arizin | 1959 | 7 | 30 | 26.4 | 22.8 | 115.8% |
| Bob Pettit | 1962 | 8 | 29 | 31.1 | 26.4 | 117.8% |
| Elgin Baylor | 1962 | 4 | 27 | 38.3 | 27.4 | 139.8% |
| Walt Bellamy | 1962 | 1 | 22 | 31.6 | 20.1 | 157.2% |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 1962 | 3 | 25 | 50.4 | 30.1 | 167.4% |
| Oscar Robertson | 1964 | 4 | 25 | 31.4 | 25.7 | 122.2% |
| Jerry West | 1966 | 6 | 27 | 31.3 | 27 | 115.9% |
| Rick Barry | 1967 | 2 | 22 | 35.6 | 24.8 | 143.5% |
| Dave Bing | 1968 | 2 | 24 | 27.1 | 20.3 | 133.5% |
| Billy Cunningham | 1970 | 5 | 26 | 26.1 | 21.2 | 123.1% |
| Spencer Haywood | 1970 | 1 | 20 | 30 | 20.3 | 147.8% |
| Elvin Hayes | 1971 | 3 | 25 | 28.7 | 21 | 136.7% |
| John Havlicek | 1971 | 9 | 30 | 28.9 | 20.8 | 138.9% |
| Bob Lanier | 1972 | 2 | 23 | 25.7 | 20.1 | 127.9% |
| Dan Issel | 1972 | 2 | 23 | 30.6 | 22.6 | 135.4% |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 1972 | 3 | 24 | 34.8 | 24.6 | 141.5% |
| Charlie Scott | 1972 | 2 | 23 | 33.4 | 20.7 | 161.4% |
| Julius Erving | 1973 | 2 | 22 | 31.9 | 24.2 | 131.8% |
| Lou Hudson | 1973 | 7 | 28 | 27.1 | 20.2 | 134.2% |
| George McGinnis | 1975 | 4 | 24 | 29.8 | 20.2 | 147.5% |
| Bob McAdoo | 1975 | 3 | 23 | 34.5 | 22.1 | 156.1% |
| John Drew | 1977 | 3 | 22 | 24.2 | 20.7 | 116.9% |
| Pete Maravich | 1977 | 7 | 29 | 31.1 | 24.2 | 128.5% |
| David Thompson | 1978 | 3 | 23 | 27.2 | 22.7 | 119.8% |
| Marques Johnson | 1979 | 2 | 22 | 25.6 | 20.1 | 127.4% |
| George Gervin | 1980 | 8 | 27 | 33.1 | 25.1 | 131.9% |
| World B. Free | 1980 | 5 | 26 | 30.2 | 20.3 | 148.8% |
| Adrian Dantley | 1981 | 5 | 24 | 30.7 | 24.3 | 126.3% |
| Moses Malone | 1982 | 8 | 26 | 31.1 | 20.3 | 153.2% |
| Mark Aguirre | 1984 | 3 | 24 | 29.5 | 20 | 147.5% |
| Player | Season | Year | Age | High average | Career Average | % of career ppg |
| Bernard King | 1985 | 8 | 28 | 32.9 | 22.5 | 146.2% |
| Alex English | 1986 | 10 | 32 | 29.8 | 21.5 | 138.6% |
| Michael Jordan | 1987 | 3 | 23 | 37.1 | 30.1 | 123.3% |
| Larry Bird | 1988 | 9 | 31 | 29.9 | 24.3 | 123% |
| Dominique Wilkins | 1988 | 6 | 28 | 30.7 | 24.8 | 123.8% |
| Charles Barkley | 1988 | 4 | 24 | 28.3 | 22.1 | 128% |
| Clyde Drexler | 1989 | 6 | 26 | 27.2 | 20.4 | 133.3% |
| Karl Malone | 1990 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 25 | 124% |
| Patrick Ewing | 1990 | 5 | 27 | 28.6 | 21 | 136.2% |
| David Robinson | 1994 | 5 | 28 | 29.8 | 21.1 | 141.2% |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | 1995 | 11 | 32 | 27.8 | 21.8 | 127.5% |
| Mitch Richmond | 1997 | 9 | 31 | 25.9 | 21 | 123.3% |
| Glenn Robinson | 1998 | 4 | 25 | 23.4 | 20.7 | 113% |
| Shaquille O’Neal | 2000 | 8 | 27 | 29.7 | 23.7 | 125.3% |
| Vince Carter | 2001 | 3 | 24 | 27.6 | 22.1 | 124.9% |
| Chris Webber | 2001 | 8 | 27 | 27.1 | 20.7 | 130.9% |
| Tim Duncan | 2002 | 5 | 25 | 25.5 | 20.5 | 124.4% |
| Tracy McGrady | 2003 | 6 | 23 | 32.1 | 20.4 | 157.4% |
| Amare Stoudemire | 2005 | 3 | 22 | 26 | 21.9 | 118.7% |
| LeBron James | 2006 | 3 | 21 | 31.4 | 27.7 | 113.4% |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 2006 | 8 | 27 | 26.6 | 22.9 | 116.2% |
| Paul Pierce | 2006 | 8 | 28 | 26.8 | 22.2 | 120.7% |
| Allen Iverson | 2006 | 10 | 30 | 33 | 26.7 | 123.6% |
| Gilbert Arenas | 2006 | 5 | 24 | 29.3 | 21.2 | 138.2% |
| Kobe Bryant | 2006 | 10 | 27 | 35.4 | 25.3 | 139.9% |
| Carmelo Anthony | 2007 | 4 | 22 | 28.9 | 24.8 | 116.5% |
| Ray Allen | 2007 | 11 | 31 | 26.4 | 20.2 | 130.7% |
| Michael Redd | 2007 | 7 | 27 | 26.7 | 20 | 133.5% |
| Dwyane Wade | 2009 | 6 | 27 | 30.2 | 25.4 | 118.9% |
| Chris Bosh | 2010 | 7 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 120% |
| Â Average | 5.35 | Â 25.7 | Â 29.9 | Â 22.7 |
Paroxysmal Notes of Interest
Averages by Decade
| Decade | Season | Age | High average | Career Average |
| 1950s/60s | 4.11 | 25.7 | 33.7 | 25 |
| 1970s | 3.63 | 24.2 | 29.4 | 21.6 |
| 1980s | 6.25 | 26.6 | 30.9 | 23 |
| 1990s | 6.5 | 28.2 | 27.8 | 21.8 |
| 2000s | 6.6 | 25.7 | 28.6 | 22.7 |
It’s important to note that Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, and Tracy McGrady are likely to drop out of the 20 ppg career average club. Michael Redd is sitting right at 20.0 ppg and is gearing up for a season in Phoenix of spot minutes, so his average is assuredly about to fall below the line.
Scoring Spike: 1962 is often noted as the most statistically ridiculous season in NBA history. The distinction is well-deserved since it’s the year Wilt averaged 50 points and Oscar threw up a triple double average for the season. However, did you notice that in 2006 and 2007 NINE of the 60 players here set their career high in ppg? Something was definitely in the water.
The Least Deviant: Glenn “Big Dawg” Robinson was the most steady of scorers in this survey. his career average was 20.7 and his career high ppg of 23.4 represented only a 13% increase. Other steady-as-they-come scorers are LeBron James (13.4% increase), Paul Arizin (15.8%), Jerry West (15.9%), Dirk Nowitzki (16.2%), Carmelo Anthony (16.5%), and John Drew (16.9%).
The Most Deviant: These are the players who certainly scored in bunches during their career but at some point they cut back on the binging. Unsurprisingly, Wilt Chamberlain paces this group with his 50.4 ppg high being 67.4% larger than his career average of 30.1.
Other deviant scorers include Charlie Scott (61.4%), Tracy McGrady (57.4%), Walt Bellamy (57.2%), Bob McAdoo (56.1%), and Moses Malone (56.1%).
Baby Faces: Spencer Haywood at 20-years old is the youngest player here to set a career high in ppg. His 30 ppg in 1970 were good enough to take home both MVP and ROY for the ABA that season. LeBron James during his 3rd season at age 21 is the only other player to set a career-high under the age of 22.
Walt Bellamy is the only other player to set a career-high during his rookie season in the go-go season of 1962. Dave Bing, Charlie Scott, Dan Issel, Bob Lanier, Rick Barry, Julius Erving, and Marques Johnson all set their high ppg during their 2nd season.
Fine Wine: Only 8 of the 60 players set their career high in ppg after reaching age 30 and only two of these did so prior to 1986, showing that player longevity and ability to produce during their career arc has increased. The two super studs who defied the aging processes of their eras were Paul Arizin and John Havlicek. Arizin did so at age 30 in his 7th season (1959). Havlicek hit his peak at age 3o, too, in his 9th season (1970).
The most vintage of these wines, though, is Hakeem Olajuwon. In his 11th season at age 32, he crested at 27.8 ppg. Centers at age 32 are usually creaky and starting to resemble the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz. Hakeem’s 27.8 ppg represent the single highest scoring average for a center over thirty years of age. His average of 20.8 ppg overall after passing 30 years of age is 2nd only to the wondrous Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
And really, perusing Hakeem’s career stats is what inspired this Paroxysmal Pursuit, so let’s go ahead and see him and his Rockets do their thing back in the mid-90s as he was entering his most vintage years.
[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixyMQX9_wo w=600 h=400]
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