#2 Zion Williamson (27.0 ppg, FG 61.1%)
The future is very bright for Zion Williamson. We always knew he was going to be great, but to achieve what he did in the recently concluded season was simply phenomenal. Williamson went from averaging 22.5 ppg in just 24 games in his rookie year to 27.0 ppg over 61 games in his second NBA season.
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What is even more special about Williamson’s performance in 2020-21 is that if we go purely by shooting efficiency, he tops the list of 38 players who have hit more than 25.0 ppg in a single NBA season since 1979-80. His field-goal shooting percentage of 61.1% betters legendary Boston power forward Kevin McHale’s 60.4% (26.1 ppg) from the 1986-87 NBA season.
Williamson is a special kid and we are going to see him achieve this distinction many more times before his playing career comes to an end.
#3 Nikola Jokic (26.4 ppg, FG 56.6%)
It goes without saying Nikola Jokic had a great 2020-21 season. He won the MVP award. His 26.4 ppg was his career-best season performance by a fair distance. His next best scoring performance was the 20.1 ppg he averaged in 2018-19. Also, Jokic has done better than 55% from the field only once prior to 2020-21. He shot a career-best 57.8% from the field in 2016-17, in his second NBA season.
The interesting thing about Jokic’s performance is that on this special list of players, who average more than 25 ppg and shoot 55% or better from the field, Jokic is the only player to tally more than eight assists. What this means is that no NBA player, since the inception of the three-point line, has hit eight assists while scoring at a high volume (25.0 ppg) and with great efficiency (more than FG 55%) until the Joker came along.
Also read: 3 things Nikola Jokic needs to do to win MVP in 2021-22
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