No true NBA Fans need you to tell them how great Michael Jordan was on a basketball court. At this point, neither do they need to know about the greatness of Kevin Wayne Durant.
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That middle name might sound new to you, but The Slim Reaper has been doing it for too long to surprise us with a scoring stat.
But as the 34-year-old is on the verge of making the 2022-23 season – one of the best starts by an individual in the history of the game, we must know who is at the top.
Kevin Durant breaks a Michael Jordan but is miles away from Wilt Chamberlain’s
While the 4x scoring champ completed his 15 years in the league with close to 30 points per game average last season, the start to his 16th has been tremendous on a totally different level.
The 6ft 10’ forward is showing up on defense each night being the leader his team requires on both ends of the floor. But his otherworldly consistency on the offense is breaking some Michael Jordan records, which looked like they won’t be touched.
Longest streak of 25-point games to start a season:
16 — MJ in 1988-89
16 — KD this seasonThe record is Wilt (80 in 1961-62). pic.twitter.com/ThT5SDdlGq
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 18, 2022
As amazed as we are by KD’s accomplishments, one can’t help but think about how great Wilt Chamberlain must be feeling in 1962. Thanks to StatMuse for getting our attention to it.
But who stopped Wilt from scoring 25 pts in two games when he was averaging 50 points that season? Nobody.
The 1961-62 season was the one, in which The Big Dipper, in just his 3rd year in the league, decided that he would average 50 points per game throughout the year. And he did. He put up 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds in 80 regular season games.
The NBA was an 80-game league at the time. So, the 7ft 1’ juggernaut did complete the streak of scoring 25 points or more every game, throughout the season.
Come the 1962 Playoffs, his scoring average did take a massive hit, and guess what it exactly was? 35.0 POINTS and 26.6 REBOUNDS PER GAME. Unreal!
