We’re over a month into the 2023-24 NBA season, and the first month of action has not disappointed. We’re seeing some of the biggest stars in the NBA deliver every night their team is playing to try and keep pace as the league is as competitive as it’s ever been. As a result, some extremely big numbers have already been put onto the stat sheet by the various players around the NBA.
With the amount of action we’ve already seen, some early-season trends seem to be sticking as players fall into their roles and production expectations. We already have our candidates for the scoring title, while other major statistical categories have also had players emerge as leaders who will be challenged throughout the season across all five positions.
Let’s take a look at the leader in every major statistical category by position so far this season.
(All stats and positional data taken from ESPN)
Points Per Game
Point Guard – Luka Doncic 30.5 PPG
Shooting Guard – Donovan Mitchell 29.2 PPG
Small Forward – Jayson Tatum 27.9 PPG
Power Forward – Kevin Durant 31.4 PPG
Center – Joel Embiid 31.9 PPG
Rebounds Per Game
Point Guard – Luka Doncic 8.3 RPG
Shooting Guard – Josh Hart 6.1 RPG
Small Forward – Jayson Tatum 9.1 RPG
Power Forward – Domantas Sabonis 12.4 RPG
Center – Nikola Jokic 13.1 RPG
Assists Per Game
Point Guard – Tyrese Haliburton 12.3 APG
Shooting Guard – James Harden 5.9 APG
Small Forward – LeBron James 6.7 APG
Power Forward – Domantas Sabonis 7.1 APG
Center – Nikola Jokic 8.9 APG
Steals Per Game
Point Guard – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 2.4 SPG
Shooting Guard – Donovan Mitchell 2.0 SPG
Small Forward – Herbert Jones 2.0 SPG
Power Forward – Paul George 2.2 SPG
Center – Deandre Ayton 1.4 SPG
Blocks Per Game
Point Guard – Jrue Holiday 1.0 BPG
Shooting Guard – Lu Dort & Alex Caruso 0.9 BPG
Small Forward – Herbert Jones 1.6 BPG
Power Forward – Anthony Davis 2.9 BPG
Center – Brook Lopez 2.9 BPG
Turnovers Per Game
Point Guard – Cade Cunningham 4.8 TO
Shooting Guard – Anthony Edwards 3.4 TO
Small Forward – LeBron James 3.8 TO
Power Forward – Giannis Antetokounmpo 4.1 TO
Center – Joel Embiid 3.7 TO
Free Throws Made
Point Guard – Trae Young 8.8 FTM
Shooting Guard – Devin Booker 7.6 FTM
Small Forward – Jimmy Butler 6.7 FTM
Power Forward – Kevin Durant 7.6 FTM
Center – Joel Embiid 9.7 FTM
3-Pointers Made
Point Guard – Stephen Curry 5.2 3PM
Shooting Guard – Donovan Mitchell & Desmond Bane 3.5 3PM
Small Forward – Tim Hardaway Jr. 3.5 3PM
Power Forward – Paul George 3.4 3PM
Center – Karl-Anthony Towns 1.9 3PM
Field Goal Percentage
Point Guard – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 53.8 FG%
Shooting Guard – Jaime Jacquez Jr. 52.5 FG%
Small Forward – Jalen Johnson 59.0 FG%
Power Forward – Domantas Sabonis 63.4 FG%
Center – Jakob Poeltl 70.2 FG%
Major Takeaways
The first thing that we can see is that a fantastic scoring title race is brewing right now. While Joel Embiid looks like the leader to three-peat as the league’s scoring leader, Kevin Durant is not too far back. Whether he can sustain these numbers once Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are healthy is another question, but he’s scoring at an insanely good rate right now. Luka Doncic was the early leader here and is still in the mix as well.
Tyrese Haliburton will likely lock up the assists title in dominant fashion, given his electric start to the season. If Haliburton can maintain his 12.3 assist average for the entire season, he’ll be the first player since John Stockton in 1994-95 to average over 12 assists per game for an entire season. Haliburton is in contention to be regarded as the best playmaker in the NBA already, possibly surpassing the likes of James Harden, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic. Even Nikola Jokic should watch out.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is one of the leaders in three-pointers made per game, being the only bench player to feature anywhere on this list.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be the best two-way point guard in the NBA, given the high volume of scoring and defensive ability he provides on the court, which is unlike other comparable point guards in the NBA. Similarly, Herb Jones looks like an absolute defensive monster for the Pelicans, leading all small forwards in both steals and blocks.
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