The term offense is a loaded and complex word when it comes to NBA basketball. There are many different aspects of offense and many different ways you can be considered a good or great offensive player. There’s playmaking, whose meaning is right in the name, making plays and creating easy opportunities for you and your teammates. There is passing, which is critical to a successful offense from players whose primary job is to set up their teammates with productive gives on offense. This list today will be focusing on the most important of offense.
- 10. Trae Young
- 9. DeMar DeRozan
- 8. James Harden
- 7. Jayson Tatum
- 6. Joel Embiid
- 5. Ja Morant
- 4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
- 3. Luka Doncic
- 2. Stephen Curry
- 1. Kevin Durant
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That would be scoring. The reason why scoring is the most important part of an offense is pretty obvious and simple. You have to outscore your opponent to win a basketball game. The players on our list here today are the best players in basketball at this current moment in the NBA. They are the best scorers who, yes, have other things they do well on offense, but their scoring would be their best trait. These players score in a variety of different ways and put their team in the best position to win by putting the ball through the net.
Just as we have with every list, there are a few honorable mentions that deserve to be recognized before we continue. Nikola Jokic is the 2-time reigning MVP whose best attribute on offense is his passing and playmaking. Jokic averaged 27.0 PPG in 202-22, so we know he can rack up the points, but he just misses the cut today. The same goes for LeBron James, who averaged 30.3 PPG at age 37 just one year ago. The last honorable mention we would like to give notice to is Devin Booker, who is a good three-level scorer whose PPG has gone up every year that he has been in the NBA.
Now that we have mentioned the players who just missed the cut let’s get to the 10 best offensive players in the game today.
10. Trae Young
Trae Young is heading into 2022-23, coming off of his best offensive season in his young career. Trae became the 2nd player in NBA history to lead the league in both total points and total assists in 2021-22, carrying a Hawks team that underperformed all season long to the playoffs. Young is a deadly and jaw-dropping 3-point shooter with a logo range that breaks the backs of opponents nightly. He also knows how to manipulate defenses to get to the foul line and even finishes over larger defenders with a patented almost automatic floater.
Even with rule changes last season that were directly aimed at his style of play, Young thrived and his production increased. He has the highest true shooting of his career at 60.3% and the highest eFG% of his career at 53.6%. Young averaged 28.4 PPG on 46.0% shooting overall and 38.2% from 3-point range. Young has a gift for passing as well which will lead to more and more opportunities for a Hawks team who is hungry to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
9. DeMar DeRozan
What more can be said about the resurgence of DeMar DeRozan since he has gotten to Chicago to play for the Bulls? DeRozan has been one of the most prolific scores in basketball since arriving in the Windy City, still killing opponents with his masterful work in the mid-range. DeRozan has been able to create his own shot at will for Chicago from anywhere he has needed to on the floor. He has even added a much more efficient 3-point shot to his repertoire, something that he has been criticized greatly for in the past.
In 2021-22, DeRozan had a near-MVP season averaging 27.9 PPG on 50.4% shooting and a 59.0% true shooting percentage. DeRozan was able to also become one of the most clutch players in basketball, sporting a 55.5% clutch field goal percentage on the season and making history by hitting back-to-back game-winning 3-pointers mid-season. To kick off the 2022-23 season, DeRozan showed out by dropping 37 points on the Miami Heat opening night and shot 63.6% from the field. He also added 9 assists and 6 rebounds to secure the win for the Bulls.
8. James Harden
Whether we like to admit it or not, James Harden has been one of the best scorers in the NBA over the last 15 years. He still remains that as he heads into his first full season as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. With the Rockets up until 2020-21, Harden put up historic scoring numbers by being a deadly ball-handler who could create his own shot from all three levels on the court. He manipulates defense regularly by forcing his way to the foul line and has a deadly crossover/step-back jumper mix that embarrasses defenders almost every time he is on the court.
Over the past 2 seasons, we have heard rumblings that Harden isn’t the same he once was when it comes to scoring. Some said it was age and some said it was the rule changes that didn’t allow him to get to the foul line as frequently. Well, in his first game of 2022-23, he showed all of us that we were a little premature in our take. Against the Celtics, Harden had 35 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds on 64.3% shooting. If Harden can continue to score at will like this and look like the version of himself in Houston, the NBA may be in trouble when it comes to the 76ers and their potent offense.
7. Jayson Tatum
Since entering the NBA in 207, Jayson Tatum has im[proved his scoring every season. He has become one of the better players in transition, using his speed and athleticism to get ahead of the pack. Tatum is efficient with his back to the basket with a beautiful-looking fadeaway step-back jumper that falls a good amount of the time. When he gets into a rhythm, Tatum also has a beautiful sidestep three-pointer that falls with precision and style. The last 2 seasons have shown that he is quickly becoming one of the better scorers in basketball.
In 2021-22, Tatum had the highest-scoring season of his career at 26.9 PPG. Even though his efficiency was down a bit from previous years, he still showed that his teammates could count on him to get the job done. After leading his team to the NBA Finals and falling short, Tatum came out guns blazing in 2022-23. Tatum poured in 35 points and 12 rebounds in an Opening Night win over the 76ers and shot 65.0% from the field. He shot just 2-7 from three but got everything else he wanted and knocked down 11 of his 13 2-point attempts. Tatum is on a mission to get his team back to the NBA Finals and bring a title back to Beantown.
6. Joel Embiid
In 2021-22, Joel Embiid became the first center since Shaquille O’Neal to win a scoring title. Embiid punishes opponents in the low post with tough finishes and turnaround short hooks. He can also step out and knock down mid to medium-range shots, a trait becoming more and more common in today’s big men. For the past 2 seasons in a brown, Embiid has finished runner-up to Nikola Jokic for the MVP award and a big part of it is the rate at which he puts the ball through the hoop.
Embiid has gotten off to a rocky start in 2022-23. He looked sluggish and off of his game on Opening Night against the Celtics, going 9 of 18 from the field for 26 points as he also grabbed 16 rebounds. Most of his scoring came in the second half, as he looked rusty in the first. He hit the floor one too many times as well, leaving Sixers fans gasping for breath every time he did. Don’t expect his struggles to continue for long as Embiid is far too talented to let issues like that linger.
5. Ja Morant
Ja Morant took a leap in his 3rd season that not many saw coming. We knew he was talented and that he would be a star in the NBA, but not this fast and this tremendous. Morant has used his athleticism against his opponents since arriving in the NBA, but took it to even higher heights in 2021-22. He took home the league’s Most Improved Player award averaging 27.4 PPG on 49.3% shooting. He has helped the Grizzlies ascend to the top of the Western Conference standings and hopes to continue to do so in 2022-23.
Morant got off to a hot start in 2022-23 with a Memphis overtime victory over the New York Knicks. Morant was driving past defenders and dropping dimes to teammates en route to an incredible performance. He scored 34 points in the win on 45.8% shooting from the field. Many critics and analysts have the Grizzlies dropping a few spots in the standings this season, but if Morant has anything to say about it, it will not go down that way.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the best player in the world for the better part of the last 4 seasons. The 2-time MVP has bewildered opponents with his ability to run the floor and get to the rim from the perimeter in set offenses. Some say he isn’t a talented scorer because his style is mostly run, jump, and dunk. I say if he isn’t that skilled, how come no one can stop him from accumulating points? Giannis has become one of the best two-way players in basketball and you don’t get to be that way without having some skills on the offensive side of the ball.
In 2021-22, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.9 PPG on 55.3% shooting. He helped Milwaukee advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs where they would fall in 7 games to the Boston Celtics. Giannis is determined to get the Bucks back to the NBA Finals after winning a championship in 2021 and there is no reason why he cannot achieve that goal. His 2022-23 season hasn’t kicked off yet, but fans should expect him to once again be back at the top of the NBA in scoring for the season.
3. Luka Doncic
The way that Luka Doncic has taken control of the Dallas Mavericks over the past 4 seasons has fans and analysts alike fawning over the young man from Slovenia. Doncic has been special over the first 4 years of his career, playing at an MVP level and taking the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals a year ago. His game sometimes looks slow and ineffective, but it is the complete opposite of that. He lulls defenders to sleep and accelerates his dribble down the lane or he will pull it out and attempt a long shot from the perimeter.
Luka is coming off a 202-22 season that saw him average 28.4 PPG on 45.7% shooting. He also tallied 9.1 RPG and 8.7 APG to round out a complete season that ended just 4 wins away from a trip to the NBA Finals. His 2022-23 season got off to a good start individually but ended in a 107-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Doncic dropped 35 points on 43.5% shooting from the field as he went just 2-10 from three-point range. Expect him to ramp it up even more as the season goes on as he tries to get the Mavericks back to their first NBA Finals since 2011.
2. Stephen Curry
Two seasons removed from a scoring title and one season from his 4th NBA championship, Stephen Curry comes in at No. 2 on our list. Curry has been the best shooter in the world for going on the better part of 10 seasons and that continues to be the main source of his scoring. His off-ball movement is the best in basketball and the way he can set himself for his shot off of screens has become legendary. Shooting isn’t the only form of scoring for Curry as many may think because he can also put the ball on the floor and get to the rim should the situation arise when he needs to.
Last season, Curry became the all-time leader in 3-pointers made which led to a drop in efficiency and his scoring but in the end, it wasn’t an issue. Curry led the Warriors to their 4th title in 8 years and finally took home the Finals MVP award that he probably should have already been awarded in 2015. On opening night against the Lakers in 2022-23, Curry scored 33 points on 45.5% shooting overall and just 30.8% from three. Don’t expect the rust to last too long for Curry because he has proved all of his doubters wrong plenty of times in the past.
1. Kevin Durant
Love him or hate him, Kevin Durant is the best offensive player in basketball still. The 7-foot demi-god is still better than anyone in basketball when it comes to putting the ball through the basket. He can quite literally create his shot from anywhere on the floor. With a 7-foot frame and the handles of a point guard, Durant is one of the toughest defensive assignments in basketball. He can shoot the three, dominate from the mid-range, and if all else fails, he can blow by his defender and get to the basket.
Last season ended in disappointment for Durant and the Brooklyn Nets as they were swept out of the first round by the Boston Celtics. Durant averaged 29.9 PPG on 51.8% shooting. Opening night for the Nets was more of the same for Durant and the Nets as they were blown out by the New Orleans Pelicans. Durant had a great individual game for Brooklyn with 32 points and 4 blocks on 52.4% shooting from the field. Nobody knows what his next move could be with Brooklyn should they continue to struggle, but we do know that Kevin Durant is the best offensive player and scorer in the NBA as it currently stands.
