Iso-Ball is not something that is looked upon too fondly in the NBA these days. With analytics coming into the picture and with the Spurs and Warriors displaying the effectiveness of a brand of basketball that emphasizes moving the ball around, isolation is something coaches tend to try to avoid.
Plenty of the elite players around the league still love to resort to it, though, and when the rubber meets the road in the playoffs, teams rely on their big guns to deliver the goods through isolation. So we decided to have a look at who exactly fared the best in isolation this past season, and we only consider players here who attempted at least four of them per game. Here is who came out on top on a Points Per Possession (PPP) basis in the 2021-22 regular season via the NBA.
Top 10 Isolation Scorers
1. DeMar DeRozan – 4.3 possessions – 1.13 PPP
2. Luka Doncic – 6.3 possessions – 1.11 PPP
3. Kevin Durant – 5.2 possessions – 1.10 PPP
4. James Harden (PHI) – 7.4 possessions – 1.07 PPP
5. James Harden (BKN) – 7.6 possessions – 1.06 PPP
6. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – 6.8 possessions – 1.03 PPP
7. LeBron James – 4.3 possessions – 1.03 PPP
8. Damian Lillard – 4.4 possessions – 1.01 PPP
9. Kyrie Irving – 5.5 possessions – 1.01 PPP
10. Trae Young – 4.4 poss – 0.98 PPP
DeMar DeRozan comes out on top over Luka Doncic in a bit of a surprise, and Kevin Durant rounds out the top three. James Harden comes in right after them as his time with the Sixers, and the Nets saw very similar performances in isolation. It makes you wonder if all the talk of Harden’s demise is a bit premature, and he certainly believes he’ll be back among the top-tier of players this upcoming season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is perhaps the most surprising inclusion at sixth as he just about gets ahead of LeBron James, with Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Trae Young filling up the rest of the spots.
