NBA Players with the Highest Scoring Averages in Their 3rd Season

Explore the NBA players who delivered the best stats ever in a 3rd NBA season, ranked by regular season points per game. See how the all-time greats compare in this top-50 historical list.

Year:

3rd

/ Other years

Other years
1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th / 5th / 6th / 7th / 8th / 9th / 10th / 11th / 12th / 13th / 14th / 15th / 16th / 17th / 18th / 19th / 20th / 21st / 22nd

Show: Season - Playoffs / Other Stats

Other Stats

Points Per Game

3-Pointers Made Per Game

Total

Which NBA player averaged the most points in the Regular Season in his 3rd year?

Playing for the 1962 Philadelphia Warriors, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points in 80 games — the highest scoring average by any NBA player in his 3rd season.

Points Per Game, 3rd Season

50.4 ppg
Wilt Chamberlain
(1962 Philadelphia Warriors)

Note: No game minimums were used for this list / = NBA champion in this season.

Points Per Game in a Player's 3rd Season - Top 50

Regular Season

		Points			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
1	Wilt Chamberlain (1962 Warriors)	50.4	4,029	80	25.7	2.4	-	-	-
2	Michael Jordan (1987 Bulls)	37.1	3,041	82	5.2	4.6	2.9	1.5	0.1
3	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1972 Bucks)	34.8	2,822	81	16.6	4.6	-	-	-
4	Elgin Baylor (1961 Lakers)	34.8	2,538	73	19.8	5.1	-	-	-
5	Bob McAdoo (1975 Braves)	34.5	2,831	82	14.1	2.2	1.1	2.1	-
6	Tiny Archibald (1973 Kings)	34.0	2,719	80	2.8	11.4	-	-	-
7	LeBron James (2006 Cavaliers)	31.4	2,478	79	7.0	6.6	1.6	0.8	1.6
8	Kevin Durant (2010 Thunder)	30.1	2,472	82	7.6	2.8	1.4	1.0	1.6
9	George Gervin (1979 Spurs)	29.6	2,365	80	5.0	2.7	1.7	1.1	-
10	Mark Aguirre (1984 Mavericks)	29.5	2,330	79	5.9	4.5	1.0	0.3	0.2

		Points			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
11	Shaquille O'Neal (1995 Magic)	29.3	2,315	79	11.4	2.7	0.9	2.4	0.0
12	Spencer Haywood (1973 Supersonics)	29.2	2,251	77	12.9	2.5	-	-	-
13	Elvin Hayes (1971 Rockets)	28.7	2,350	82	16.6	2.3	-	-	-
14	George Mikan (1951 Lakers)	28.4	1,932	68	14.1	3.1	-	-	-
15	Oscar Robertson (1963 Royals)	28.3	2,264	80	10.4	9.5	-	-	-
16	Luka Doncic (2021 Mavericks)	27.7	1,830	66	8.0	8.6	1.0	0.5	2.9
17	Karl Malone (1988 Jazz)	27.7	2,268	82	12.0	2.4	1.4	0.6	0.0
18	Vince Carter (2001 Raptors)	27.6	2,070	75	5.5	3.9	1.5	1.1	2.2
19	Joel Embiid (2019 76ers)	27.5	1,761	64	13.6	3.7	0.7	1.9	1.2
20	Ja Morant (2022 Grizzlies)	27.4	1,564	57	5.7	6.7	1.2	0.4	1.5

		Points			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
21	Dominique Wilkins (1985 Hawks)	27.4	2,217	81	6.9	2.5	1.7	0.7	0.3
22	Dwyane Wade (2006 Heat)	27.2	2,040	75	5.7	6.7	1.9	0.8	0.2
23	Jerry West (1963 Lakers)	27.1	1,489	55	7.0	5.6	-	-	-
24	Walt Bellamy (1964 Bullets)	27.0	2,159	80	17.0	1.6	-	-	-
25	Allen Iverson (1999 76ers)	26.8	1,284	48	4.9	4.6	2.3	0.1	1.2
26	Kiki Vandeweghe (1983 Nuggets)	26.7	2,186	82	5.3	2.5	0.8	0.5	0.2
27	Carmelo Anthony (2006 Nuggets)	26.5	2,122	80	4.9	2.7	1.1	0.5	0.5
28	Pete Maravich (1973 Hawks)	26.1	2,063	79	4.4	6.9	-	-	-
29	Joe Fulks (1949 Warriors)	26.0	1,560	60	-	1.2	-	-	-
	Amar'e Stoudemire (2005 Suns)	26.0	2,080	80	8.9	1.6	1.0	1.6	0.0
	Zion Williamson (2023 Pelicans)	26.0	754	29	7.0	4.6	1.1	0.6	0.2

		Points			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
32	Paolo Banchero (2025 Magic)	25.9	1,191	46	7.5	4.8	0.8	0.6	1.9
33	Jim Jackson (1995 Mavericks)	25.7	1,309	51	5.1	3.7	0.5	0.2	0.7
34	Charlie Scott (1974 Suns)	25.4	1,322	52	4.3	5.2	1.9	0.4	-
35	Trae Young (2021 Hawks)	25.3	1,594	63	3.9	9.4	0.8	0.2	2.2
36	Paul Pierce (2001 Celtics)	25.3	2,071	82	6.4	3.1	1.7	0.8	1.8
37	Derrick Rose (2011 Bulls)	25.0	2,026	81	4.1	7.7	1.0	0.6	1.6
38	Geoff Petrie (1973 Trail Blazers)	24.9	1,970	79	3.5	4.4	-	-	-
39	Antawn Jamison (2001 Warriors)	24.9	2,044	82	8.7	2.0	1.4	0.3	0.8
40	Devin Booker (2018 Suns)	24.9	1,346	54	4.5	4.7	0.9	0.3	2.7

		Points			Other stats
Rk	Player (Team)	Per Game	Total	Gms	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	3pm
41	Moses Malone (1979 Rockets)	24.8	2,031	82	17.6	1.8	1.0	1.5	-
42	Bob Pettit (1957 Hawks)	24.7	1,755	71	14.6	1.9	-	-	-
43	Anthony Edwards (2023 Timberwolves)	24.6	1,946	79	5.8	4.4	1.6	0.7	2.7
44	Reggie Miller (1990 Pacers)	24.6	2,016	82	3.6	3.8	1.3	0.2	1.8
45	Bob Rule (1970 Supersonics)	24.6	1,965	80	10.3	1.8	-	-	-
46	Mike Mitchell (1981 Cavaliers)	24.5	2,012	82	6.1	1.7	0.8	0.6	0.0
47	Neil Johnston (1954 Warriors)	24.4	1,759	72	11.1	2.8	-	-	-
48	Anthony Davis (2015 Pelicans)	24.4	1,656	68	10.2	2.2	1.5	2.9	0.0
49	Collin Sexton (2021 Cavaliers)	24.3	1,460	60	3.1	4.4	1.0	0.2	1.6
50	John Drew (1977 Hawks)	24.2	1,790	74	9.1	1.8	1.4	0.4	-

* The NBA began recording rebounds in 1951, steals and blocks in 1974, and added the 3-point line in 1980.