Is James Harden having the best scoring season ever?

James Harden has been white hot since the beginning of December, posting 21 straight 30-point games. In that span, he's averaging 43.1 points per game on efficiency 7.3% better than the league (true shooting). This video discusses Harden's season among the all-time great scoring years in NBA history, including Michael Jordan's best seasons and Stephen Curry's transcendent 2016 season.
If you're interested in more about Scoring Value and the top scoring seasons ever, check out podcast episodes #1 and #2 (available on major podcast networks): player.fm/series/thinking-bas... or at www.stitcher.com/podcast/ben-...
Dime Drop's Harden video: • James Harden is Contro...
Support at Patreon: / thinkingbasketball
Book: www.amazon.com/Thinking-Baske...
Website: www.backpicks.com
Twitter: @elgee35
Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Thanks to basketball-reference.com and pbpstats.com
Music by DJCutman: / djcutman
Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

[@harryli5979]

How do you only have 13k subs u deserve a million man!

[@user-ju3td7xu7s]

He just have started. But anyway agree with you

[@Kermit_T_Frog]

The best NBA content on KZbin by far. And the commentary on TV has always been mostly blather.

[@t.d.2016]

If he keeps up with such good content, he'll get there pretty quickly. He's just started!

[@johnrivera6244]

Yeah, this is easily the best sports related channel on youtube

[@arthurtanimoto]

His pod is dope, too.

[@reiner889011]

"step backing opponents into oblivion" this dude is effortless LOL

[@DoctorWu23]

James Harden might be one of my favorite NBA players, people say its boring to watch him but seeing that kind of scoring mastery and manipulation of the rules and defenders alike is just so awesome to watch

[@carlreubenfedelin9146]

Lol

[@Sg6CrossOver]

Easier to be Harden than KD , Stephen, kyrie , etc.

[@juliansearcie1758]

He's boring ..

[@myweirdsecondchannelwithap9070]

It’s extremely boring to watch. If you think manipulation of the rules is fun to watch then you shouldn’t be talking basketball.

[@joanbrunet6]

You seem the guy that studied maths in college and now is starting his project on his passion while trying to find a job

[@devvv4616]

@dhsilv2 wow he's like a pioneer then. he needs to collab with bigger channels like bballbreakdown using his track record as a means to get those collabs.

[@narukami597]

@dhsilv2 Lies. He's just a nerd who lives in his dad's basement. Well at least it's more fun to think that way lol

[@ratedpending]

@dhsilv2 this is the guy who's book inspired mdj's wilt Chamberlain paradox video?

[@raw5889]

Probably exactly what happened

[@spicyxiomai9335]

@dhsilv2 The dunking part looks out of place I thought the whole thing was gonna be a meme lmao

[@wallstreetzoomer]

A lot of casual fans don't use TS% man, I can't stress how much I love your channel. Best analysis of scoring seasons ever using related advance analytics. Btw I'm curious aside from Curry and Harden, how do that ranking using ur metrics look like? I'm guessing Durant 2014 must be in it also.

[@aduad]

Harden's TS% is boosted by his free throws just like his scoring!...that's why he always chokes in the playoffs when the refs don't give him the same calls

[@wallstreetzoomer]

@@aduad TS% is boosted by EVERYONE'S free throws except bad FT shooters. Not Hardens fault his defenders foul him more than others.

[@ThinkingBasketball]

Thanks! Check out the podcast series (link in description) - it goes into greater detail on best scoring seasons.

[@aduad]

@@wallstreetzoomer Harden is a flop king!

[@vshettyvs]

@@aduad but that doesn't matter his team still gets the points

[@raymondstewart3350]

Wilt averaged 50.4 minutes a game in 61-62. It took him 48.5 minutes per game to do so. (He played every minute including overtime.) At his current points per minute, Harden would have to play 51.8 minutes per game to hit 50.4 per game. For him to do that and play the same percentage of the game that he does now, the game would have to be a devilish 66.6 minutes long. It seems unlikely Harden could do that for a full season. We don't have great estimates for how many possessions per game there were in the 60s, but I've heard estimates of around 130. A 66 minute game at the current league pace would have around 137 possessions. Meaning Wilt effectively played every minute of a 60+ minute game (possession-wise) and still scored 50 a game at the second highest FG% in the league. I think that has to be one of the best scoring seasons ever, but points per 75 possessions would make it only as good as your average scoring leader's. Something's gone wrong. Judging Wilt on his points per possession overlooks how *hard* it is to score efficiently when you literally play every minute of every game. It's like comparing a marathoner to a sprinter based on average speed and concluding that the sprinter is the better runner. No, the metric just favors them. Of course, they might be the better runner and Harden might be having a better scoring season than Wilt. But we need to take into account that efficiency goes down with minutes played before we penalize the guy averaged more minutes than there are minutes in a game for being inefficient. Still a great video by the way, I just have this one quibble.

[@allwecanseeisaboveusnow]

Raymond Stewart great point!

[@nicolasmartins5601]

J you mean offensively, right? Well thats a good point but lets not forget that they are basically 40 years apart from each other. James is a guard and Wilt is a Center. James plays in an era of stretching the floor and Wilt played when you needed a big man to win. Today's athletes have a lot more of technologies, they have doctors ready to for them 24/7, and the basketball training regime is way more advanced. A freak athlete like Wilt would be so dominant today that we might have seen triple teams be unnefective. EDIT Comparing them in this manner is the same thing of comparing Shaq to Kobe Bryant. Shaq was a purr beast, while Kobe was arguably the most versatile scorer of his generation. James is similar to Wilt on one way, his amazing stats dont actually translate to playoff success, and before you mention last season, I mean longevity success. Harden isnt the type of guy who can adapt his game that much, so was Wilt.

[@Johnkoth]

Wilt was a way better Rebounder. Better than Harden and Cappela combined.

[@Johnkoth]

MJ had a better scoring season in the "modern era."

[@Johnkoth]

Wilt was 45.8 MPG. Next closest Russell 42.29. Oscar Robertson 42.2. Allen Iverson 41.12 Baylor 40.03. Thats all the 40s. Only 76 playered played 35 MPG or more.

[@yunan9610]

Curry's 2015-2016 is just a pinnacle of efficient scoring

[@tigerhoods7927]

Facts

[@Pippenfan10]

This is the exact video I’ve been waiting for. Thank you.

[@iu2]

"Is James Harden having the best scoring season ever?" No. Wilt Chamberlain did: 50.4 ppg without a 3-point line and played every single second in that season, which increased his fatigue factor. If Harden and Jordan played every single minute, they wouldn't score as much. They would pass out half way through the season.

[@Aaron-nm1ob]

Thank you for another amazing video!!!

[@kiingethan]

Ur uploads are goated

[@yutamori6113]

Your videos are gold. Keep up the great work man!

[@allenanalog]

You just earned a new sub !! Love the extra stats ESPN doesn't show!

[@benjaminjames8146]

These are awesome videos! Very well thought out analyses with impressive Lowe-esque video evidence - it's a pleasure to watch. Thank you!! (Would love to see one discussing if the Warriors are the best team ever)

[@joaomesquitarodrigues8034]

You are killing with this videos! Great content, keep it up!

[@martinostapowicz8889]

This channel is gold man💯💯🔥

[@teddy1234599]

Stunning analysis

[@rexmarkman2157]

This channel is amazing. Keep going!

[@makarzorklin8265]

Great video as always! Do a video on Marcus Smart he is a defensive stud and much improved on offense this year. It be cool to see a defensive breakdown.

[@moesty]

Great video. I found ur channel a couple days ago and I couldn’t help but binge watch all the videos. The quality of content is great. The channel is going to be big someday and I am happy to be apart of your journey early on. I’ll love if you can do a video on a Knick. Maybe ntilikina, knox, mudiay, trier or even mitch. I think ntilikina would be pretty interesting 🙂.

[@jameshoops10]

i just watched three vids from you in a row, great work man you have a subscriber in me 👍🏾

[@simhim12]

Hey Ben these videos are awesome thanks for the content !!

[@andreayton1993]

Loving these buds bro just watched like 7 in a row lol

[@BC21beats]

Underrated channel keep up the great work

[@Nukedisaster1986]

*best free throw shooting season ever*

[@hoangphu537]

He is the Gfoat so stfu his flopping skill is out of this well

[@Nukedisaster1986]

@Ashton Frailey at a Even lower percentage...

[@Nukedisaster1986]

@Ashton Frailey and either way I'm tired of the Bs free throws he shot 25 fts

[@Nukedisaster1986]

@Ashton Frailey oh yeah yeah btw

[@bluemarine101]

Lol maybe harden gets bailed out once or twice in a game but actually watch the game there legit trying to kill the man... what do you wanna do not call it...

[@mrphelpsjr]

lol dime drop 2.0. keep up the great vids man glad i came across your channel. hopefully you can do a video on donovan mitchell since he’s been playing so well recently. go jazz.

[@hudsonn5410]

easy sub crazy only 4 days ago you only had 13k and now you have 18k! good work man

[@kuci1995]

I cant wait for when you inevitably make the who is the GOAT video its going to be a great watch till then I'd like to see vids D.Mitchel and L.Doncic. Also really liked your lonzo video as its incredibly accurate and well thought out just wished one of the highlights you used in that video was the switching sequence vs the Magic. Hope you turn into the next BBallBreakdown in terms of viewership.

[@tupapachu]

This is some quality stuff. I was getting ready for work, actually running late, and I had to go to my phone and comment.

[@jiedbricenbyclips3872]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKTKm5abZpp7bbs

[@norlandy272]

Great video as usual... love the video game background music!

[@henken__sensei5820]

Do you know the song

[@rmiryala]

fantastic video bro

[@jourdanwashington1737]

You are the Dime Drop. Same voice and same exceptional basketball knowledge. Subscribed

[@redhorsepapi]

Ikr

[@mattmainer3314]

Great analysis man

[@TallestFiddle]

Great analysis, love it

[@mr.magnolia]

Awesome video. Hope you could do one for Jokic!

[@canislupus2661]

awesome channel, keep it up!

[@mskcrc]

This is good stuff. You should do one on Porzingis's offense. I think there's a lot of misconception about how good he is on the offensive end. All "upside."

[@sandileshongwe4764]

Man your stuff is good!

[@ethanmiller8714]

Man you've been growing so much. Just like a week or two ago you had like 9.1 k

[@robincorbridge1307]

Good shit man

[@Ilovemoney95]

Subscribed, great vid

[@acpliego]

Thanks for saying it, playoff performance is the real thing. Again, thank you.

[@redhorsepapi]

Can you put captions on your videos? It sounds like you have a script for your videos anyway. Helps a lot when discussing numbers. Great videos btw!

[@blackcloud0624]

Elgin Baylor averaged 34ppg 38ppg and 34ppg in back to back to back seasons along with 16 rebs don't forget that

[@blackcloud0624]

Yeah same way todays game makes it easier to score more. I'm not comparing eras but at the same time can't dismiss what happened in the past.

[@cashking9383]

Everyday Life facts

[@devvv4616]

the guy accounted for that by measuring points per 75 possessions. He might've seen that and decided Wilt's record is wayy more impressive and appropriate to use in comparison with the top scoring seasons.

[@zroysum]

@@realrareap2420 You don't know anything about the nba in the 60s. The rumors and innuendo you've picked up have no basis in reality.

[@pranavjagada9016]

He also played like 48 games in that 38 ppg season

[@mrmacross]

I like dominance stats that look at how much better the best guys were than the rest of the league. The problem with year-to-year comparisons is that a lot of changes (such as rules changes) affect numbers greatly. Three-point averages would be terrible if you could be as physical on the perimeter as you could in the 20th century. Harden exploits his ability to draw fouls to create space for his step-backs. His 2018-2019 was historically great, but TS% absolutely benefited from what the league allows and the greenlight he gets from his coaches.

[@carnage5350]

yeah thats why they look at ts% relative to the rest of the league lol

[@alon3802]

Subscribed.

[@qwikscopez6619]

I think u should do a video on Wilt chamberlains offence as a whole and put to bed the misconceptions surrounding it (you've done it before but it may be more accessible now

[@colem5483]

Qwikscopez did you make your account in 2013 💀

[@qwikscopez6619]

@@colem5483 idk why?

[@colem5483]

Qwikscopez idk it just brings back memories to black ops 2 with all the mlg videos 😂

[@psrabe7444]

There is a serious flaw in per 75 averages. If you are comparing Wilt to Harden, you are not taking stamina or effort into consideration. Wilt shot 50% when he scored 50 a game but you have to consider that he was doing that while running up and down the court a hundred more times a game and getting 25 rebounds a game. I think a better metric would be a dominance metric that compares players to other players throughout history. For example, the year Chamberlain scored 50, it's not like someone else scored 40. The gap between the top scorer and second best scorer in 1961 was far greater than this year. This shows a more dominant performance and thus a better scoring season comparatively. Additionally, it should be noted that Harden will finish the season with the third most all time turnovers in a season behind only himself and Westbrook both in 2017. He has almost a full turnover per 100 pos above the second worst in the league and if you take his turnovers plus shots missed, he is giving up the ball 6 times more per 100 pos than Steph Curry this year. That is a huge gap in total offensive efficiency each game. Consider that Curry has a higher offensive rating and turnover/assist ratio as well as a much higher true shooting percentage this year. You are right to point out that regular season scoring doesn't mean much but by all measures, Harden isn't playing better than Curry he is just having the play go through him more and that isn't necessarily a good thing. Also, when you don't play defense you tend to have more energy to score.

[@anthonynorman7545]

@dhsilv2 not gonna touch efficiency or dominance?

[@anthonynorman7545]

@dhsilv2 okay, then. Is it possible that the game is taking a similar amount of energy given the differences in technology but is resulting in different numbers of minutes played due to how the difference is manifested?

[@anthonynorman7545]

@dhsilv2 sports science is the application of science thus technology so the improvement of shooting is tied to advancement of technology. The optimal shooting mechanics are confirmed today by physics, anatomy and computer simulations. The more efficient approach to the game is also partly a result of analytics.

[@asceofspades1236]

"The gap between the top scorer and second best scorer in 1961 was far greater than this year. This shows a more dominant performance and thus a better scoring season comparatively." Not necessarily - could show that it was less competitive back then

[@marksuckerburg3051]

He should also take into consideration that Wilt also needed to put effort into defense compared to Harden who puts no effort into defense, thus making Wilt more tired when he goes back on offense because he never stops running

[@NorthandClark]

Imagine if the "CBS Sports Minute" was ever a briefer version of this type of essay. That would be fantastic.

[@abeljohnbormate1212]

You and The DimeDrop should have a Collaboration. and Call it the The Thinking Drop or something.

[@homerjavier123]

Subscribed

[@samwilliams-smith2583]

underrated youtuber ❤️

[@marksalabutin928]

Cool videos, thanks! Luka Dončić might be an interesting topic for the next video.

[@xeemproducedit6364]

I like your vids

[@NPR7771]

MJ had that high of a scoring rate, with the 3pt line not being used much, and there being no def 3 second rule on 50% career shooting from the floor. He's the greatest scorer of all time.

[@martindagoat3909]

The Ferris bueller reference was goat level status

[@Raptors19tdot]

I fuking love people online, they're so analytical with interesting insights.

[@elisamuelpedraza8228]

I would like one about Paul George. He’s been very impressive this Season now that he’s been taking more attempts since Carmelo Anthony’s release

[@home1231]

Best nba channel so far ....

[@JimboCruntz]

Can we get a sequel to this? A retrospective? Would be interesting to see with the full season added to this.

[@gaozhi2007]

Hope you will do one on Donovan Mitchell at some point!

[@donaldpace9033]

Why

[@petar55555]

What has Donovan Mitchell done to get a video?

[@parrits]

Ask and you shall receive i guess

[@elisamuelpedraza8228]

Severian Wintermute he delivered.

[@juliansearcie1758]

@@elisamuelpedraza8228 Mitchell works for UPS delivery

[@shengcheng7562]

He is a smart player. Harden can draw fouls better than anyone

[@auotukun872]

not smart enough to put his team into the playoff ;) ;) wink wink lol he is a con artist who exploits the foul like no others, he lives off fouling others intentionally...which is kind of boring. It is understandable if you try to foul others but to that extent with Harden oh and don't talk to me about his step back omg I give him respect but it is sooo boring especially when his team kept losing to in the playoff and fades off like burnt candle in the dark lol

[@NotAPirate]

That Beuller edit was so choice.

[@Michael-yu9ix]

Dude, how did you find that 9 times bit? That shit was HI-LA-RIOUS!!!

[@controversialgaming1364]

People who claim that James Harden is not efficient just don't watch the matches. Harden does so much in the court it's just unbelievable. For a scorer like this he makes his team around him so much better and he always willing to pass the ball.

[@qwikscopez6619]

I think a video on Jokics offence would be very interesting

[@sophiemaneus6679]

Bro I love your vids give me more😁😁😃

[@estebanb7166]

You shut me up. Really well done.

[@midori4713]

2016 Curry Crazy volume and accuracy

[@nikitaalekseyeva4533]

Here before 1 Million sub!

[@2Kayu]

I like how people talk ab his free throws bro MJ averaged just as many in 87 and nobody uses that to say mj is overrated that’s just great

[@eggpooy7322]

Mj averaged 38 with nearly no 3s,and he played defense

[@real.j1]

egg pooy excuse me harden is way better on defence and even if he's bad at defence no ones perfect

[@eggpooy7322]

Michael jordan won dpoy is 3d all time in steals (in less games than most other guys) had 10 1st team defense selections and if it wasnt for scottie always guarded the best guard/wing on the opposing team

[@GlobusTheGreat]

@Blblbl Ahaha He's obviously trolling. Nobody would seriously argue that Harden is a better defender than MJ

[@DUB_87]

@@real.j1-😂

[@DUB_87]

@Siete7seven-If you dare come in here and even try to insinuate that James Harden is better...

[@joshyjimbo]

sick beat

[@sweetlowfatjesus9663]

Cp3 will be back and Capela as well, his numbers will be lower in the post, he is having the best regular season ever though. Ive never witnessed anything close to this in my 25+ years or watching basketball. Its crazy.

[@samuel2pac72]

He and Curry are benefiting tremendously due the style of play today and their systems.

[@juliansearcie1758]

Curry is a shooter far superior to harden he doesn't draw many fouls if any .

[@RR-ik9cg]

This 2019-2020 season, Harden ranked 1st in Total pts/(2PA*2)+(3PA*3)+FTA

[@thomasguccione5450]

Would love to see one on Klay. Don’t think people realize how good he is

[@imranseid6823]

I love this account

[@UAlredyKnowWhatItIss]

Yeah it would be tough for him because gameplans are more focused in the postseason.

[@Soosss]

Nice deltarune music at the start lol

[@aaronlyons7267]

I see you playing that tobi fox music...... I see you

[@junleelow2857]

hey thinking basketball just a quick question do you get copyright claim on your videos?

[@davidb3807]

You should do Kyle Kuzma! I have no clue how you haven’t blown up. This content is high end

[@ShivamSengupta]

You just earned a new subscriber, great content man! Also this might be irrelevant but Dwyane Wade’s retiring, and he’s my favourite player. I would just love to see a D. Wade video analyzed so well with facts. Even just as a tribute or to show his greatness (much of which I feel is under appreciated). Anyway, thank you! Great content and analysis! Hope your channel does extremely well, you deserve it.

[@kenny9198]

It’s now 31 and he tied the 2nd best ever. This is crazy man

[@tzogreekwarrior6]

Any other channels like this one, educating about American Football, Baseball or Ice Hockey? I would love to get in depth knowledge for these sports too.. Thank you

[@ThatGreekHero]

How informative basketball vids should be!

[@henken__sensei5820]

What's the song used in the background 🔥🔥🔥 also fire vid I just subed

[@gavinwightman4038]

Deltarune OST: The legend

[@henken__sensei5820]

Gavin Wightman dude you might be thinking I wouldn’t care about this but this was a pleasant surprise to see someone reply thx bro

[@gavinwightman4038]

@@henken__sensei5820 Haha it's a really awesome piece of music. I watched this video and thought "where do I know this song from??"

[@henken__sensei5820]

Gavin Wightman it just sounded so good to me I’m a “retro gamer” so 8bit sounding tracks like this are gems to me. I’m currently playing persona 4 the original on pcsx2 it’s awesome

[@grantemery723]

What software do you use for visualizing you data??

[@eldrick4269]

He amazes me tbh I’m a Celtics fan and I do not think he would be good on our team but I want to see him at the garden so bad more than kyrie

[@ChrisSmith-tu9bu]

AND ANOTHER REASON WHY STEPH IS COMPLETELY UNDER RATED

[@yxng_vikram4409]

u should upload more often

[@alchemi1976]

I appreciate taking into account historical seasons, but there are a few assumptions in the metrics used that I am not sure are justified. First, I think there is value in playing additional minutes and possessions (something like value over replacement player). Second, I do not think pace is automatically something independent of the player ability (and which should therefore be corrected). Wilt's teams, for example, could have so many possessions in part because he could gobble up so many rebounds and could beat his man down the court so often. Wilt essentially helped create inducements for his team to play at a higher pace (as did Bill Russell, as did Magic Johnson and Larry Bird). Finally, I think the tradeoff between efficiency and additional scoring. I think this ends up in undervaluing super efficient high-volume players such as Kareem Abdul Jabbar (whose career efg is 3% above Harden's, though not adjusted for era).

[@ThinkingBasketball]

Good points -- pace is not a 1:1 for player comparisons, it's more like a "somewhere between 0.9 and 1.1 to 1." But rate statistics are always more predictive because basketball is a game of possessions (back-and-forth) so they serve as a good normalizer. Post players are, in theory, undersold when there's a faster pace. The counter point is that post players don't score much in transition, which is a skill/scoring component unto itself.

[@mikeandrews3361]

@dhsilv2 I think you're generally right, but Wilt was still an outlier. That season Wilt played over 200 more minutes than #2 (Bill Russell). The difference between third in the league and first by a good margin is probably meaningful.

[@redgaming2654]

Can you make a video on how Demarcus Cousins helps the Warriors?

[@williamgee6654]

Hardin still has a long way to go for that accomplishment, if he can average perhaps 40 ppg for the rest of this season and break big Wilt's other 3 records for consecutive 30 point plus games, or be on pace to then, mabey, oh yeah also you got to throw in a 100 point performance in there and then, YES.

[@chaseb5376]

I always never counted Wilt’s records. He just had too many advantages. If he played in this era. He’s be great. But he would never score 50PPG. Not to disparage him. The dude is a great center, but he was one of the strongest men in the world vs dudes who weren’t made for the league like they are now. Not to mention the amount of possessions, minutes, etc. it’s really hard to compare. But that’s just me,

[@mirceabriciu5461]

9 times ??? ... 9 times !!! Loool nice content

[@pinkruntz]

If only he could do just a lil bit of this in the playoffs

[@kenm4390]

Almighty Jaden he took the warriors to 7 games

[@pinkruntz]

Lol no. CP3 outplayed him then went out in game 5. After CP3 went out we all seen the downfall of the James Harden led rockets losing game 6 & missing 27 3’s with a loss in game 7.

[@DanielTWood-vp6ub]

You should make this vídeo again when the season ends

[@VoxGav-bd9rc]

Amazing

[@begejekan1244]

could you possibly do the resurgence of KAT after the Butler trade or maybe the dissappointment of Andrew Wiggins?