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When it comes to NBA basketball, the word offense is a complicated and complicated one. There are so many different aspects of offense and so many different ways you can be considered a good or good offensive player. An organized name with the right meaning, creating opportunities and creating easy opportunities for you and your teammates. Passing is crucial to a successful offense for a player, and their main job is to allow teammates to play an active role in the offense. Today’s list will focus on the most important offenses.
That will be the score. The reason why scoring is the most important part of the offense is pretty obvious and simple. You have to outscore your opponent to win a basketball game. The players on our list today are some of the best players in NBA basketball today. They’re the best scorers, yes, they have other greats on offense, but their scoring will 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 into the net.
As we do on every list, there are a few accolades to honor before we go on. Nikola Jokic is a two-time defending MVP, and his best attributes on offense are his passing and playmaking. Jokic averaged 27.0 points per game in 202-22, so we know he can score, but he just missed the cut today. The same was true a year ago when LeBron James, 37, averaged 30.3 points per game. Last but not least is Devin Booker, an excellent third-level scorer whose PPG has risen every year since he entered the NBA.
Now that we’ve mentioned the players who just missed the cut, let’s take a look at the 10 best offensive players in today’s game.
10. Trae Young
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Trae Young is heading into the 2022-23 season, the best offensive season of his young career. Trey became the second player in NBA history to lead the league in both scoring and assists in 2021-22, leading an Eagles team that had been underperforming all season to the playoffs. Young is a deadly and jaw-dropping 3-point shooter whose signature range breaks opponents’ backs on a nightly basis. He also knows how to maneuver defenders to the free-throw line, and even completes larger defenders with a patented, nearly automatic float.
Young has thrived and his production has increased even as last season’s rule changes were made directly to his playing style. He has a career-high true shooting percentage (60.3 percent) and a career-high effective field goal percentage (53.6 percent). Young is averaging 28.4 points while shooting 46.0 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from 3-point range. Young also has passing talent, which will open up more and more opportunities for an Eagles eager to return to the Eastern Conference finals.
9. DeMar DeRozan
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What more can be said about DeMar DeRozan’s revival since he came to Chicago to play for the Bulls? DeRozan has been one of the most prolific players in basketball since coming to the Windy City, and his brilliance from the mid-range still kills opponents. DeRozan can create his own shot for Chicago anywhere he needs to be on the floor. He even added a more efficient 3-pointer to his repertoire, which has been heavily criticized in the past.
In 2021-22, DeRozan is averaging a near-MVP season with 27.9 points per game on 50.4 percent shooting and 59.0 true shooting percentage. DeRozan has also become one of the most clutch players in basketball, shooting 55.5 percent from the field this season and making history by hitting a streak of game-winning 3-pointers in the middle of the season. To kick off the 2022-23 season, DeRozan scored 37 points on opening night for the Miami Heat while shooting 63.6 percent from the field. He also contributed 9 assists and 6 rebounds for the Bulls win.
8. James Harden
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Whether we like to admit it or not, James Harden has been one of the best scorers in the NBA for the past 15 years. He remains that way as he enters his first full season as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Before the Rockets played into the 2020-2 season, Harden set historic scoring numbers as a lethal ball-handler who could create his own shot on all three levels of the floor. He often manipulates defenses by forcing his way to the free-throw line and has a lethal crossover/stepback jumper combo that embarrass defenders nearly every time he’s on the floor.
Over the past two seasons, we’ve heard rumors that Harden has been different in scoring. Some say it’s an age issue, others say a rule change has kept him from getting to the free throw line as often. Well, in his first game of the 2022-23 season, it’s a little too early for him to show us all what we think. Against the Celtics, Harden had 35 points, seven assists and eight rebounds while shooting 64.3 percent from the field. If Harden can continue scoring like this and looking like himself in Houston, the NBA could be in trouble when it comes to the Sixers and their powerful offense.
7. Jayson Tatum
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Jayson Tatum has been in the NBA since he entered the NBA in 2007[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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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