Isiah Thomas is one of the greatest basketball minds in the world, as the two-time NBA Champion point guard has been around the game for over 40 years across multiple roles. While he isn’t actively coaching or working in front offices anymore, Thomas has a wealth of experience that informs his takes on modern basketball. As a result, how he views the game often leads to some poignant observations.
In the wake of Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, the NBA world has been torn over how to analyze it. Many have openly criticized what went on in that game, while some have defended the accomplishment regardless of how Adebayo and the Miami Heat actively chased the record down in a blowout win. Given that Adebayo is viewed as a defender before a scorer, it has led to a debate on how many NBA players could eventually break Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 100 points in a game.
Thomas, who had a career-high of 47 points, stated on FanDuel’s ‘Run it Back’ that 420 out of the 450 players with full-time NBA contracts could match Chamberlain’s 100 points if the situation led to an entire team only feeding one person in an attempt to chase the record down.
“If any NBA player gets hot, and I’m saying any of them. If the ball is pointed to his side every time he goes down the court, can he get a 100? Absolutely. Who can do it? Hey man, there’s a plethora of guys who can get that in the NBA. If you give him the ball every time down the court, and he gets hot, he can cook you. It’s not just a select few. Out of the 450 NBA players, probably 420 can score 100 points.”
This led to Thomas using Nikola Jokic as an example of how statistics can be inflated if a team is putting the ball in the hands of one player for every single offensive possession.
“That’s why the Joker has crazy stats. He touches the ball every play. He directs it from the point guard position; he’s assisting. Then he’s in the post, scoring from there. In the mid-range, scoring from there, and he’s knocking down threes. There’s not a single time the Denver Nuggets come down the court that he doesn’t touch the ball. Of course, his numbers are great.”
Isiah Thomas has raised an interesting point, but saying 93% of the active NBA players can break one of the most famous records in NBA history is a bit of a stretch. While all NBA players are elite, I highly doubt that the 13th man on an NBA roster could go for 100 points just because his team is giving him the ball every possession. Yes, it could lead to massive performances, but scoring at that level requires more than just teammates who are willing to let you take every single shot.
The example of Jokic was interesting, as the MVP candidate is averaging 27.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 10.8 assists en route to becoming the third player in NBA history to average a triple-double over a season.
Isiah Thomas is likely not implying that Jokic’s stats are bloated because the Nuggets need him to be included in every possession due to his incredible offensive talent, but highlighting a point that a lot of individual statistics are just a construct of playing whatever role one is given.
It’ll be interesting to see if a player actually sets out to break Chamberlain’s 100 points. Many players chose not to chase Kobe Bryant’s 82 points out of deference for the late legend, but now that Adebayo has broken that barrier, other players will chase it too.
