The art of scoring the ball has changed in the NBA. Years ago the three-point line was thought of as a gimmick. As one can remember, the NBA didn’t always have a three-point line. If you had a dominant big man like a Wilt Chamberlain or a Bill Russell you were winning games since the easy basket was the focus back in the day. Now the three-point line has become a tool in the arsenal of scorers. The best scorers in the NBA can all shoot the three. The top 10 leaders for three-pointers made in one season are all by current players.
The Three Best Scorers in the NBA Currently
Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard is one of the best scorers in the league. He makes the difficult look easy with his smooth game. He is liable to come down the court and shoot a pull up three-pointer. It isn’t right at the line either though it is near half-court. In the playoffs last year Lillard shot one of his bombs right in the face of Paul George to win the game and hit it. What his deep three does is that it creates space for everybody else. When a player has to account for a shot that far that brings him out farther than he wants to go which in turn creates space for everybody else.
Lillard has averaged 25 points or more for five straight seasons. He has an efficient field goal percentage of 56.1 percent and he is shooting 38.7 percent from three in the fourth this season while only 12.0 percent of his shots are assisted. Lillard is one of the most lethal point guards in terms of scoring in the clutch.
Kevin Durant
Before Kevin Durant was injured there were some people that thought he was better than LeBron James. He hit two clutch three-pointers in James’ face in two separate NBA Finals. Durant is the hardest player to guard in NBA history. He is nearly seven-foot-tall, can handle like a guard, and can shoot efficiently anywhere past half-court. When he came into the league it was said that he would have to bulk up to survive in the NBA but his slender build is what has led to him becoming one of the best scorers in the NBA.
Durant is a four-time scoring champ. During the 2013-14 season, Durant averaged 32.0 points per game. That was the year that he won the MVP award. For 11 straight years, Durant has averaged 25 points or more. Right now he is 31st in most points ever scored in NBA history with 22,940 points. With more years ahead of him to play, he will definitely end up in the top 10 for most points scored in NBA history.
James Harden
James Harden is the best scorer in the NBA today. His step-back move is unguardable because it creates the space he needs to get his three-point shot off. He has averaged 30 or more points per game for three straight seasons. He had that record streak of 32 straight games of 30 points or more last year. Wilt Chamberlain has the record with 65 straight games.
Harden has had seasons that have rivaled the two best scorers in the history of the NBA in Michael Jordan and Chamberlain. In 2018-19 Harden averaged 36.1 points per game. The only two players that are above him are Chamberlain and Jordan. That same season Harden scored 2,818 points. Only two players have scored 3,000 points and they are Chamberlain and Jordan. Harden was the closest player to score 3,000 points since Kobe Bryant had 2,832 points in 2005-06.
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