The 2025-26 NBA season has been spectacular by all accounts. With some of the world’s best athletes performing at the highest level, the regular season provided several moments that left audiences speechless.
After an arduous 82-game season, some players asserted themselves as the best in specific categories. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic positioned himself as the NBA’s scoring leader this season, averaging 33.5 points per game. San Antonio Spurs‘ superstar Victor Wembanyama dominated on the defensive end, emerging as the league leader in blocks with an average of 3.1 per game.
As impressive as these two were, Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic was in a league of his own. The big man made NBA history as the first player to lead the league in rebounding (12.9) and assists (10.7), asserting himself as one of the best in the league.
While these three NBA players are among the many who have had noteworthy performances this season, there are always two sides to every coin. Having acknowledged the NBA’s leaders in these categories, we examine the players who lead the league in stats that have a detrimental effect on the game.
Turnovers:
1. Jaylen Brown – 259
2. Luka Doncic – 255
3. Deni Avdija – 253
Traveling Violations
1. Jalen Johnson – 21
2. Jaylen Brown – 16
3. Kyle Kuzma – 14
Charges Committed
1. Karl-Anthony Towns – 15
2. Derik Queen – 13
3. Victor Wembanyama – 11
Field Goals Missed
1. Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey – 807
2. Jalen Brunson – 786
3. Luka Doncic – 764
Three-Second Violations
1. Deandre Ayton – 7
2. Karl-Anthony Towns – 6
3. Jalen Duren – 4
Goaltending Violations
1. Kel’el Ware – 21
2. Alex Sarr – 14
3. Mark Williams – 13
Backcourt Violations
1. Anthony Edwards – 5
2. Andrew Nembhard and Kris Dunn – 5
3. Bones Hyland – 4
Kicked Ball Violations
1. Bam Adebayo – 17
2. Victor Wembanyama – 16
3. Alperen Sengun – 12
Offensive Fouls
1. Karl-Anthony Towns – 65
2. Jaylen Brown – 40
3. Jaren Jackson Jr. – 34
Technical Fouls
1. Dillon Brooks – 17
2. Luka Doncic – 16
3. Draymond Green – 15
Flagrant Fouls
1. Rudy Gobert – 6
2. Desmond Bane – 5
3. Russell Westbrook and Dillon Brooks – 4
Foul Outs
1. Wendell Carter Jr. and Karl-Anthony Towns – 7
2. Desmond Bane and Onyeka Okongwu – 5
3. Cade Cunningham – 3
Ejections
1. Draymond Green – 2
2. Kris Dunn – 2
3. Naz Reid – 2
The presence of some players in these categories seems quite understandable. Given that players such as Jaylen Brown and Luka Doncic are the offensive focal points for their teams, leading the NBA in categories like turnovers or missed field goals seems reasonable.
Similarly, in categories such as goaltending violations, players such as Kel’el Ware and Alex Sarr inevitably find themselves mentioned. As talented young big men with tremendous defensive instincts, blocking shots is second nature. However, the relative inexperience may manifest itself as being too eager or impatient, resulting in a goaltend.
While some can be justified to a degree, there aren’t many excuses for others.
In the technical fouls department, players such as Dillon Brooks and Draymond Green are bound to earn a spot simply because of their reputation. However, for a superstar like Luka Doncic to rack up 16 technical fouls this season seems unbecoming.
Lakers big man Deandre Ayton leads the NBA in three-second violations, a cardinal sin for any starter-quality center. Similarly, an elite offensive player like Anthony Edwards leads the NBA in backcourt violations, which may be an embarrassing stain on the guard’s otherwise brilliant performance this season.
Overall, the trends reveal that the greater a player’s usage rate, the greater the possibility of an error. However, considering what players such as Brown and Doncic are capable of doing when they are on the floor, NBA teams are bound to focus on the positive outcomes.
