2018 NBA Finals Stats, as numbers in sports, don’t always have to be an endless, contentious point of debate. Sure, it’s always fun to continuously circle back around a contrived argument between outdated television hosts and ostensibly bespectacled computer geeks, recycling the same straw man points over and over… Wait, that’s not fun at all? Right, that’s seriously not fun at all.
Let’s change the tone for a brief moment during the offseason doldrums. Here are some strange, shocking and ultimately entertaining stats you never expected to see from the 2015-16 NBA season.
Beasts of efficiency (not really): By the traditional definition and minutes thresholds, most numerically inclined NBA fans will know that Stephen Curry “led” the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (PER) last year, with a 31.5 mark that challenged some of the most efficient seasons in league history (it ended up eighth of all-time, trailing seasons by only Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Wilt Chamberlain).
In actuality, however, small-sample theater reveals that Curry did not technically lead this category last year. In six minutes apiece, the top spots were actually held by Thanasis Antetokounmpo (32.9) and Rakeem Christmas (32), with Curry taking home bronze. In another entertaining twist, San Antonio Spurs fan favorite Boban Marjanovic was ranked fifth. Somehow, it feels like these guys might find a bit tougher sledding if they played a Curry-like minute load.
The streakiest of the streaky: Many NBA players have the ability to get hot, but which can get the hottest? That’s impossible to quantify, right? Partially wrong, actually.
Using NBAMiner.com, we can track one element of streakiness: Scoring runs. Steph Curry (surprise, surprise) tops the category for last season, scoring 24 consecutive points for the Golden State Warriors in a December game at the Charlotte Hornets, and Paul George (21 straight against the Detroit Pistons in January) is the only other to break 20 consecutive for his own team. If we include the opponent, Reggie Jackson’s 16 straight points for either team against the Portland Trail Blazers on November 8 tops the field.
A look down this list reveals a few pretty huge surprises, though. The group of guys who scored at least 15 straight during a game last season includes P.J. Tucker, Marcus Thornton and Rodney Stuckey. Also, the longest such streak during the regular season for a Cleveland Cavaliers player belonged not to LeBron James or Kyrie Irving, but to Kevin Love’s 17 in a row against the Orlando Magic in mid-November.