Top 10 Greatest Seasons by an NBA Player
LeBron James is the best small forward of all time and the best NBA player of all time. He is the NBA GOAT, but only in the NBA Finals. The way he played during the finals in the playoffs is why he is the GOAT, not because of his everyday play. So, he is the GOAT in the finals, but working his way up there in everyday play. He is the biggest crybaby, but he is still amazing at basketball. He has the gift. He is the best in the game. He is Baby Bron-Bron. He is the best because of his playoff play in the finals in 2016.
MJ is the most amazing player of all time. He is so good and has put up consistent numbers throughout his career. His best year was 1996. The Bulls have never had a better player, and no one likes a player more than MJ except for the frontrunner LeBron fans who switched from Curry to LeBron after LeBron won the NBA Championship. What a day. MJ is still so good.
Stephen Curry. On the greatest team of all time now that KD's on the team. The greatest 3-point shooting team of all time. Two-time MVP. One half of the Splash Brothers. The most popular player in the current NBA, currently fighting off LeBron James. He ruined basketball with his excessive 3's. The most overpowered player in NBA 2K16. The most bandwagoned player in all of the NBA. His performance during the NBA finals was the second best next to the crybaby LeBron, which is why he is an NBA great. Chef Curry will keep cooking 3's, and he is one of the best in the game right after LeBron. Steph gonna Steph. These top 5 players are the only players as of this year that are ever going to be named the GOAT. Everyone else came close, but they don't deserve that nickname. One of the best in the game. Cook up a win, Dub Nation.
Kobe Bryant had a fantastic year. He had his greatest moment of his entire career when he scored over 60 points in his final game in the NBA. He is the definition of a loyal player, having played with one team his entire career. Kobe has the shot, and he is the Black Mamba. The Lakers fans love him, and he is easily the most lovable in the NBA. The way he played in that last game was almost as good as MJ in 1996. He is one of the best in the game. His last game is the reason why he is third in the game. He had his moment.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the second greatest player of all time, not just in a timeframe right under MJ. Kareem is so solid and is the best center of all time. He is the greatest Milwaukee Buck and the greatest actor. Thanks, Full House. Kareem is the greatest historic player of all time, and his size advantage made his hook shot so much easier. He is easily the greatest post player of all time and is so gifted. Thank you, Kareem.
MJ again? He can't be two names on one list. He can because I'm listing how they performed during that year. His performance in 1991 was phenomenal. His only better year was 1996. He is not the GOAT this year, but he is in 1996. He is the true MJ. Sorry, Magic Johnson. One of the best in the game. Love you, MJ. He is number seven because of his MVP performance in 1992.
The greatest player on the Kings of all time. The third-best PG of all time. He is a beast in the NBA. He is an old player, but that can't stop him from being great. He truly is a king in the NBA.
Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward of all time. He retired this year and had a wonderful 18-year career with the Spurs. I love players who are with one team their entire career. Mr. Fundamentals had a great career and shared a special bond with his coach, Gregg Popovich. He won a lot of championships and was fantastic. The reason he is number nine is because of his 2003 throwback year. The best throwback period of all time was Tim Duncan's.
Add up the numbers, and most of the other names' best years are about "half" of what Wilt's were in 1962. Possibly the problem is that the numbers are so huge, they don't seem real.
Wilt had the best statistical season in NBA history.
50 points per game: a record
25 rebounds per game: not a record but close to it (his record was in his rookie season). Also, to correct the other guy, he didn't have 55 boards in one game this season.
Averaged 50.4 points per game: NBA record.
Averaged 25.7 rebounds per game: NBA record.
Several 60/40 games (60 points/40 rebounds): no other player has ever done it.
Scored 100 points in a game: NBA record.
Had 55 rebounds in a game: NBA record.
No other player in NBA history has remotely had a year like Wilt Chamberlain had in the 1961-62 season.
Dwyane Wade became the leader of the Miami Heat right after LeBron left to go to the Cavaliers. He had a great season, leading the Heat in almost all offensive categories. Then, he went to the Bulls. Dwyane Wade has had a great career so far. The best part of his career was in 2006, his throwback year. This is the second-best throwback year of all time, only falling under Tim Duncan. He is still a great player, and this places him at that Hall of Fame tier. Always a D-Wade fan for life.
35.6 ppg...the only player in today's modern 3-point era to average that much. The last person to do that was a young Michael Jordan. The man dropped 81 points in one game, for God's sake. Everyone says LeBron carried the Cavs last year. No, he didn't. The only threat was Boston. In this 2006 season, Kobe Bryant carried the Lakers against a prime Dirk Nowitzki, the 7 Seconds or Less Suns, the Tim Duncan Spurs, and a really good Tracy McGrady/Yao Ming duo in Houston. THAT is a good conference, not the complete and utter joke of the Eastern Conference like it was this year.
Wilt's rookie year was better than any other player's best year ever, much less any other rookie's best year.
PPG: 37.6
RPG: 27.0 (yes, that is 27 rebounds per game AVERAGE!)
APG: 2.3
They did not officially record blocks during Wilt's era, but considering that he "informally" averaged about 8.8 blocks per game in the 112 career games he played where somebody kept track, chances are that he had more blocks as a rookie than anybody in NBA history except for Bill Russell (and himself).
Led Philly to the Finals with a very weak team. Won the Scoring Title and the MVP award. Averaged 32 points per game, and who can forget the Toronto series? He nearly scored 50-55 points every match in a 7-game series. After winning the Conference Finals, they played the Lakers, which was one of the strongest teams in history. Iverson brought the first game to the Sixers with 48 points. After the first game, the Lakers won the series with Shaq's amazing performance. Iverson averaged about 39 points in the Finals, but there was no way to beat that Lakers team with one player. I've never seen anyone else but Iverson lead a really weak team to the Finals by himself.
Although it was extremely disappointing for the entire country to watch him walk after just one season, what he did in that one season is, in my opinion, the most incredible single season I've ever seen by a player.
Traded to Toronto from San Antonio after missing a full season due to injury, Kawhi stepped in and never looked back. He didn't want to be here, and we knew that. Regardless, Kawhi used this season to prove everyone wrong and to bring an entire country their first ever NBA championship.
He averaged 26-7-3 during the regular season despite some belief that his quadricep injury might affect his future as a player. Then, as the Raptors' undisputed leader, he led the team to the Eastern Finals with ease. The Raptors quickly went down 2-0 to the Bucks before coming back and winning four in a row. This series, of course, provided what will easily go down as the biggest moment in Canadian basketball history. With the game tied at 90 and mere seconds left on the clock, Kawhi ran up the court to the right side of the Bucks' zone, just past the 3-point line, and hit a clock-beating 2-point jumper to bring the Raptors to their first ever NBA final.
The Finals series heavily favored the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who had arguably the best lineup ever assembled. The Warriors were unfortunate to lose two key players, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, in the series, but even at near-full strength, the Raptors seemed one step ahead. The Toronto Raptors shocked the entire world when they did indeed overcome all odds and defeat the Warriors, effectively ending an era of dominance for GS. Leonard was named Finals MVP, becoming only the third in NBA history to win the honor with two different teams alongside all-time greats LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Kawhi may have left that offseason back to his hometown in LA, but his season with the Raptors will be cemented in time among the greatest seasons by any player in NBA... more