10 Highest-Scoring Seasons By A Point Guard In NBA History

• Oscar Robertson has five of the highest-scoring seasons by a point guard in NBA history

• Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard each recorded one of the highest-scoring seasons in NBA history by a point guard in 2022-23

• Russell Westbrook in 2017 and Oscar Robertson in 1964 are the only two MVP seasons on this list

Throughout NBA history, the point guard position has produced some of the greatest players in NBA history. Though they are primarily distributors, playmakers, and even elite perimeter defenders, there have also been those who have had some of the greatest scoring seasons over the last 76 years of NBA basketball. Today, we will take a look at some of the greatest offensive seasons ever put forth by a player who occupied the point guard position and the results that came about for their team as a result.

From Stephen Curry to Oscar Robertson, these generational talents came about these high-scoring seasons in different ways but they all etched a spot in NBA history forever just the same. Several of these performances have come in recent seasons with the introduction of the three-point revolution in the NBA. Other point guards and their highest-scoring seasons have been able to withstand the test of time, remaining in the top 10 to this day.

Now, it is time to break down these impressive season-long performances. These are the 10 highest-scoring seasons by a point guard in NBA history.

T10. Oscar Robertson – 1960-61 Season – 30.5 PPG

Oscar Robertson kicks off our list, and with five other seasons on this list, is a name you should get used to seeing. It didn’t take long for Oscar Robertson to crack the highest-scoring seasons by a point guard list as he averaged 30.5 points per game during his 1960-61 rookie season with the Cincinnati Royals. While playing 71 games, Robertson also added 10.1 rebounds and led the NBA with 9.7 assists per game to cruise to the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Robertson would finish third in the NBA in scoring behind only Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor. He would achieve his 30.5 points per game on 47.3% shooting from the field and 82.2% from the foul line on over 11.0 attempts. Teammate Jack Twyman also averaged 25.3 points per game on the season but the Royals would go just 33-46 on the season and miss the playoffs entirely.

T10. Oscar Robertson – 1966-67 Season – 30.5 PPG

While Oscar Robertson did have scoring seasons that exceeded 30.5 points per game, he would average the same amount again, six seasons later in 1996-67. Along with his 30.5 points per game, Robertson would add 6.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game. He finished second in the NBA in scoring behind Rick Barry’s 35.6 points per game and second in the NBA behind Guy Rodgers’ 11.2 assists per game.

Robertson also shot an incredible 49.3% shooting and 87.3% from the free throw line on 10.7 attempts. Teammate Jerry Lucas also contributed 17.8 points and 19.1 rebounds per game to help the Royals win 39 games and make their way to the NBA playoffs. In their first-round matchup, the Royals would draw the unfortunate task of taking on WIlt Chamberlain and the 76ers.

The Royals would get an upset win in Game 1 behind 33 points and 16 assists from Robetson but the 76ers would come back to win three straight games to eliminate them from the playoffs altogether. In the series, Oscar would average 24.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game which was not enough to overcome over 28.0 points per game from both Hal Greer and Wilt Chamberlain.

8. Oscar Robertson – 1961-62 Season – 30.8 PPG

A few seasons prior to his 1966-67 season, Oscar Robertson would make history in 1961-62 with the Royals as well. In just his second season in the NBA, Robertson became the only player in history to average a triple-double with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and league-leading 11.4 assists per game. It was Robertson’s second straight assists title but he lost out on the scoring title thanks to 50.4 points per game from Wilt Chamberlain.

The Royals would have a good season as a team as well, going 43-37 in 80 games on the year. Jack Twyman backed up Robertson with 22.9 points per game while Wayne Embry added 19.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. The second-place finish in the Western Division qualified them for the NBA playoffs for the first time in Robertson’s career.

In the first round, the Royals would find themselves in a matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Robertson led all scorers with 28.8 points per game on 51.9% shooting while also adding 11.0 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game. Despite the incredible performance from Robertson, the Pistons got 22.0 points per game or more from Bailey Howell, Gene Shue, and Don Ohl to defeat the Royals in four games and put an end to the magical season from Oscar.

7. Oscar Robertson – 1965-66 Season – 31.3 PPG

The 1965-66 season would be the second-highest-scoring season of Oscar Robertson’s career. During this season, Robertson would average 31.3 points per game on 47.5% shooting and 84.2% shooting from the foul line. It ranked tied for second in the NBA with Jerry West while Wilt Chamberlain won one of his seven scoring titles with 33.5 points per game. Robertson’s 11.4 assists per game would win him his fifth assists title as well.

Along with Robertson, Jerry Lucas would have a historic season with 21.5 points and 21.1 rebounds per game to help the Royals go 45-35 on the season and finish third in the Eastern Division. With the incredible season, the Royals made their way back to the NBA playoffs. Unfortunately, waiting for them there was the powerhouse Boston Celtics.

The Celtics were in the middle of their eighth championship run in a row as one of the greatest dynasties ever in 1965-66, having won the previous seven NBA titles. Their first-round matchup would be a back-and-forth series that would need to be decided with a Game 5. The Celtics would emerge victorious behind a triple-double from Bill Russell with 16 points, 31 rebounds, and 11 assists. The Celtics were moving on despite 31.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game from Robertson.

6. Oscar Robertson – 1963-64 Season – 31.4 PPG

The final season that we will see from Oscar Robertson on this list is his best individual season ever. In the 1963-64 season, Robertson averaged 31.4 points per game on 48.3% shooting overall and a league-leading 85.3% from the foul line. It would be Oscar’s third career assists title with 11.0 assists per game as he fell just shy of another triple-double season with 9.9 rebounds per game as well. It would all be capped off with the first and only MVP award of Oscar Robertson’s career.

As a result of his MVP season, the Royals would finish the year with a 55-25 record and a trip to the NBA playoffs. In the first series of the playoffs, The Royals would squeak past the 76ers in a five-game series led by Robertson with 30.4 points and 11.2 assists per game. Their run would be stopped dead in its tracks by the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics with a five-game series victory in the Division Finals. Robertson led the Royals again with 28.2 points per game but it was not enough to overcome the Celtics dynasty.

5. Russell Westbrook – 2016-17 Season – 31.6 PPG

It is only fitting that the list transitions from Oscar Robertson to Russell Westbrook considering what Westbrook accomplished this season. Westbrook and the Thunder were still reeling from the unexpected loss of Kevin Durant who spurned them for the Warriors in free agency. Westbrook would respond with a historic season of 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game. It was the first time since Robertson in 1962 that a player averaged a triple-double for a season.

Westbrook would take home his second career scoring title along with the only MVP award of his career. He shot 42.5% from the field overall, 34.3% from three, and 84.5% from the foul line to earn his 31.6 points per game scoring average. His 10.7 rebounds ranked 10th in the NBA as well and his 10.4 assists per game ranked third. Thanks to his herculean effort, the Thunder finished 47-35 and qualified for the NBA playoffs.

As good as Westbrook was during the regular season, he looked even more dominant in the playoffs. In their first-round series against the Rockets, Westbrook averaged 37.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.8 assists per game. Unfortunately, only two of his teammates averaged over 10.0 points per game in the series. James Harden’s 33.2 points per game were accompanied by four of his teammates averaging over 10.0 points per game and Houston won the series in five games.

4. Stephen Curry – 2020-21 Season – 32.0 PPG

Individually, the 2020-21 season is one of the most impressive single seasons from Stephen Curry in his entire career. As a team for the Golden State Warriors, it was one of the most disappointing. Curry would win his second career scoring title in 2021 averaging 32.0 points per game on 48.2% shooting overall, 42.1% from three, and 91.6% from the foul line. However, thanks to his team’s 39-33 record, Curry would finish third in MVP voting behind NikolaJokic and Joel Embiid.

With the poor record, the Warriors only qualified for the newly-installed Play-In Tournament. In their first matchup against the Lakers, Golden State would fall 103-100 despite 37 points from Curry. With another chance to earn the eighth seed, the Warriors fell again to the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime, 117-112 despite 39 points from Curry this time. The Warriors would miss the NBA playoffs but get their revenge with their fourth NBA title in 2022.

3. Damian Lillard – 2022-23 Season – 32.2 PPG

Each of the next two highest-scoring point guard seasons in NBA history would come during the 2022-23 season with each player missing the NBA playoffs. The first of these players was Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers who averaged 32.2 points per game on 32.2 points per game on 46.3% shooting overall and 37.1% shooting from three.

Lillard would have a special season offensively with a season-high 71-point game, another 60-point game, and a 50-point game. Lillard would add a total of 15 40-point games as well as 33 30-point games, adding 7.3 assists per game as well. Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers were abysmal across the board and finished with a 33-49 record under Head Coach Chauncey Billups. Lillard now appears on his way out from Portland after 11 years with the franchise and becoming one of the greatest three-point shooting point guards in NBA history.

2. Luka Doncic – 2022-23 Season – 32.4 PPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvuPf_fpM90

Luka Doncic is another player who had an offensive explosion in 2022-23 with 32.4 points per game for the Dallas Mavericks. Doncic’s season consisted of one 60-point game, four 50-point games, 14 40-point games, and 44 30-point games on the year. Doncic shot a career-high 49.6 % from the floor overall and 34.2 % from three. He also added 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game in another All-NBA First Team season, his fourth in five seasons overall.

Despite the incredible season, and the acquisition of Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks would finish with a 38-44 record and finish 11th in the Western Conference missing the NBA playoffs as a team. Doncic and Irving combined for 59.4 points per game as a duo and were one of the highest-scoring duos in the entire NBA for the season. Mavericks fans everywhere are hoping for a much better outcome on a team level in 2023-24.

1. Tiny Archibald – 1972-73 Season – 34.0 PPG

The highest-scoring season by a point guard in NBA history goes all the way back to Tiny Archibald during the 1972-73 season. Archibald would average 34.0 points per game and 11.4 assists per game. He is the last player in NBA history to win both the scoring title and the assists title in the same season. Only Trae Young has come close, leading the NBA in total points and total assists in 2022 and 2023.

In 1972-73, Archibald would get his 34.0 points per game by shooting 48.8% from the field overall while also leading the NBA with 46.0 minutes per game and shooting 84.7% from the foul line. Archibald did everything he could to carry the Kansas City-Omaha Kings to a winning record, but a lack of support from teammates left them well short of that goal.

Teammates Sam Lacey, Tom Van Arsdale, and Nate Williams averaged between 11.5 and 13.5 points per game each, but the team won just 36 games to 46 losses. As for Archibald, he recorded three 50-point games, 18 40-point games, and 61 30-point games. It is the seventh-most 30-point games by any player in any single season in NBA history. He would finish third in MVP voting behind Dave Cowens and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar despite his team missing the playoffs entirely. 

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