There are a lot of talented scorers in the league today. There is no doubt that this is a golden era for offensive basketball and that there are a lot of players who can simply put the ball in the basket.
Half-court scoring is particularly valuable, as scoring against set defenses is extremely useful in the playoffs, where things slow down and transition opportunities don’t come as often.
Twitter user @SbtaughtU has shared a recent graph created by Synergy Basketball, which was shows the best half-court scorers in the league according to points per possession data. By this metric, Stephen Curry is the best half-court scorer in the league.
Best Half-Court Scorers of 2021 NBA Season
by PPP:
1.141 Stephen Curry
1.13 Nikola Jokic
1.128 Zion Williamson
1.116 Kawhi Leonard
1.107 Kyrie Irving
1.102 Damian Lillard
1.079 Joel Embiid
1.067 Zach Lavine
1.052 Giannis Antetokounmpo
1.048 DeMar DeRozan
data via @SynergySST pic.twitter.com/MkOqPN2yrn
— $B AKA Shadow (@sbremindem) October 3, 2021
It’s crazy to think about the fact that Stephen Curry managed to do this while having to carry an enormous scoring load for his team. There were few consistent offensive threats aside from Curry on the team, and defenses often sold out in order to try and stop him. Despite that, he finished with the scoring title, and this data just supports the view that he is the best scorer in the league.
Obviously, data isn’t everything, and the differences between top scorers are very small according to this metric. But Stephen Curry has definitely silenced the haters. Many thought that Stephen Curry couldn’t elevate a team by himself. Prior to his 62 point explosion against the Portland Trail Blazers last season, there was talk of him getting “exposed” as a player. Curry recently revealed that he took pride in “shutting that up”, and it’s clear that any doubters are just more motivation for the point guard.
Stephen Curry is one of the best superstars in the league, and the Golden State Warriors will have a chance to beat any team on a given night if he heats up. Hopefully, with Klay Thompson’s return, they’ll be a championship-contending team once again.
