Basketball

The NBA has quadrupled its 20-point scorers in nine years. How? Plus, a look at arena effects


For this week’s edition of the Analytical Lookaround, a look into two statistical oddities that I’ve been aware of.

Why are there so many 20-point scorers in the NBA right now?

Last week, while discussing some of the problems relating to statistical milestones in the crazy scoring environment we’ve seen this season, I noted 43 players were averaging at least 20 points per game this year, when that number was 11 as recently as 2012-13. A lot can change in a week, as entering Monday’s games, 44 players were doing so. Over the weekend, a reader asked what has caused this increase. It’s a great question!

There are three things converging to create such a friendly environment for big individual scoring averages. The first is pace of play.





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