Published On: Fri, Mar 1st, 2019

5 Players Dominating the Scoreboards in This Year’s NBA Season

Every season of the National Basketball Association has been filled with anticipation, surprises and even a little bit of controversy here and there. But it cannot be denied that the NBA is basketball’s premier league and basketball fans from all around the world have their own favourite teams and players to root for and even place their bets on.

Now that the 2018-19 season is almost at the final stretch, we take a closer look at the men dominating the scoreboards—from the usual suspects to the newcomers:

  • James Harden

Position: Point Guard

Team: Houston Rockets

Points per Game: 36.7

We’ve all seen how James Harden has evolved from being a sixth man to one of the best players in the league. After playing for Arizona State, Harden was drafted third overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Three years after, he rallied his team to the NBA Finals but fell short of the crown against the heavily armed Miami Heat. Since 2012, Harden has been with the Houston Rockets where he developed his prolific shooting that gained him the title of the best shooting guard in the NBA.

In last year’s season, the shooting guard earned the much-coveted NBA Most Valuable Player award after leading the league in scoring, and this year, he is set to repeat his performance by leading the scoreboards at an average of 36.7 points per game.

  • Anthony Davis

Position: Power Forward

Team: New Orleans Pelicans

Points per Game: 27.3

News has been centered on Anthony Davis recently and the never-ending trade rumors to the Los Angeles Lakers where he will be reportedly paired up with LeBron James. But with the Lakers owner denying what she called “fake news” and Davis talking about how he wants to control his career, anything can still happen for the Pelicans power forward.

Davis was the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft and has played in six NBA All-Star games. He holds the record for the youngest player to score at least 59 points in an NBA game and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 2017 after scoring 52 points. Although Davis is still yet to confirm if he will stay with the Pelicans for his last year contract, he is still doing what he does best for his team averaging 27.3 points per game, making him a favourite among bettors in BetNow Sportsbook.

  • Joel Embiid

Position: Center

Team: Philadelphia 76ers

Points per Game: 27.3

Joel Embiid may be down with another knee injury, but he has still proven his worth as one of the best players in the league today by averaging 27.3 points per game. Embiid was drafted third overall by the 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft but didn’t play until the 2016-17 season due to foot and knee injuries. Although he only played 31 games during that season, Embiid was still part of the NBA All-Rookie first team and has since received two All-Star selections.

  • Giannis Antetokounmpo

Position:  Power Forward

Team: Milwaukee Bucks

Points per Game: 27.1

Known as the “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo has the lethal combination of height, ball handling skills and athleticism. He was the first player in the history of the NBA to finish a regular season with points, assists, rebounds, steals and blocks all above the top 20, and he led the voting in the Eastern Conference for the 2019 All-Star Games where Team Giannis battled it out against Team LeBron. Drafted 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, the Greek player with Nigerian descent is averaging 27.1 points, 12.6 rebounds and 6 assists per game.

So, where is LeBron James in all of this? His move to the Los Angeles Lakers was highly anticipated by basketball fans around the world and he still delivered stellar numbers throughout the season averaging 27 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. The shooting forward rallied his team to several wins last year but had a tough start this year with James being down with an untimely injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers may not be looking forward to making it to the play offs with their 10th seed ranking in the Western Conference with only 30 wins, but James will surely come back stronger for the next season and be a better leader to his team as they try to steal the crown from his former ultimate rival Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

This season’s finals will surely be a mix of both old and new teams vying it out for the coveted NBA title. One thing’s for sure; we can all look forward to another epic ending to the NBA’s 73rd season.

 

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