NBA ranking: The top scoring duos ever (relative to team performance)

Wilt Chamberlain: 50.36 ppg
Paul Arizin: 21.87 ppg

It only makes sense that the highest single-season scoring average in NBA history, that of Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62 when he put up over 50 points per game, also ranks so high up this list. Chamberlain and Paul Arizin, another Hall-of-Famer, scored 57.15 percent of the then-Philadelphia Warriors’ points in ’62. Fun fact: Chamberlain didn’t even win MVP the season he put up 50 a night. Also of note, ’62 Chamberlain and Arizin are the highest-scoring duo in league history in total points, too, in large part due to Chamberlain’s nightly 50-burger that year.

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Kobe Bryant: 30.01 ppg
Shaquille O’Neal: 27.48 ppg

The highest-scoring duo in modern NBA history, meanwhile, is a distinction that belongs to the illustrious tandem of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who accomplished the feat in 2002-03, the season after their final ring together. That season, Shaq and Kobe scored 52.27 percent of what the Lakers averaged as a team that year. L.A.’s third-leading scorer that season was Derek Fisher at 10.5 points per game. Makes sense why the Lakers went out and signed Karl Malone and Gary Payton the following offseason.

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Paul Pierce: 25.26 ppg
Antoine Walker: 23.36 ppg

The Boston Celtics duo of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker may not have won anything together, but they did manage to score a whole lot of buckets as a tandem, putting up 51.08 percent of Boston’s points in the 2000-01 season. The Celtics went 36-46 that year and missed the playoffs, failing to have a third player average double-digit points in that campaign.

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Wilt Chamberlain: 38.39 ppg
Paul Arizin: 23.19 ppg

Chamberlain and Arizin pop up once again on this list, this time for their exploits in 1960-61 for Philadelphia in which they averaged over just half of the Warriors’ points per game that season. Once again, Chamberlain didn’t win MVP that year despite leading the entire NBA in nightly points and rebounds per contest.

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Neil Johnston: 22.65 ppg
Paul Arizin: 21.00 ppg

By the ’60s, Arizin was no stronger to shouldering a huge load of the Warriors’ offense. Before his time with Chamberlain, Arizin also formed a high-scoring tandem with Hall-of-Fame big man Neil Johnston. In 1954-55, the two combined to average 50.89 percent of Philadelphia’s points, one of the highest combined totals ever, with Johnston leading the NBA in scoring that season at 22.7 points per contest. It was Johnston’s third season in a row leading the league in scoring average.

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George Mikan: 28.41 ppg
Vern Mikkelsen: 14.12 ppg

The NBA’s leading scorer in 1950-51 was legendary center George Mikan, who accomplished the feat while putting up 28.4 points per game. Combined with Hall-of-Famer Vern Mikkelsen’s 14.12 points that season, the two put up 50.36 percent of the Minneapolis Lakers’ points that year. ’51 was actually the only season between 1948-49 and 1953-54 in which Mikan and the Lakers did not win the NBA championship. 

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Walt Bellamy: 31.58 ppg
Slick Leonard: 16.07 ppg

Hall-of-Famer Walt Bellamy averaged 31.58 points per game in 1961-62, his rookie season, for what was a very bad Chicago Packers (now the Washington Wizards) team. We somewhat recently named Bellamy one of the best players from a very bad team in league history for his contributions that year, as Chicago went 18-62 that season. Making that campaign somewhat memorable was the fact that Bellamy and his teammate Slick Leonard combined to average over half of the Packers’ points that campaign.

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Kevin Durant: 28.03 ppg
Russell Westbrook: 23.61 ppg

One of the most entertaining NBA duos since the turn of the century, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook accomplished a lot during their time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, including getting all the way to the 2012 NBA Finals. That same year, Durant led the league in scoring with Westbrook trailing not all that far behind, as the tandem averaged over half of OKC’s points per game that season. Eventual league MVP James Harden mostly came off the bench for the Thunder that season and put up 16.8 points per game. No other Oklahoma City player that year averaged double-digit points.

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Paul Pierce: 26.15 ppg
Antoine Walker: 22.15 ppg

The Pierce-Walker tandem shows up on this list again, as in 2001-02, they combined to put up nearly half of Boston’s points per game. Pierce and Walker’s scoring that season led to much more success than the year prior, however, even despite the Celtics’ third-leading scorer in ’02 being Rodney Rodgers at a pedestrian 10.7 points per contest. Even so, Boston got all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals that year before falling in six games to the New Jersey Nets.

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Adrian Dantley: 30.65 ppg
Darrell Griffith: 20.63 ppg

The 1980-81 Utah Jazz didn’t have much luck as far as winning games, as the team went 28-54 that season, but they did have a prolific scoring duo in Adrian Dantley and Darrell Griffith, who combined to score nearly half of the team’s points per game that year. Dantley led the league in scoring in ’81 at 30.65 points per game while Griffith, in his Rookie of the Year campaign, chipped in 20.63 points nightly. The problem for Utah that season was that its third-leading scorer, Ben Poquette, averaged 9.5 points.

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George Mikan: 27.43 ppg
Jim Pollard: 14.74 ppg

The 1949-50 championship-winning Lakers had an elite scoring duo in Mikan and Jim Pollard, who accounted for over 49 percent of Minneapolis’ nightly scoring that season. The Hall-of-Fame forward Pollard earned 1st Team All-NBA honors that year, as did Mikan after leading the league in scoring.

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Wilt Chamberlain: 44.82 ppg
Guy Rodgers: 13.90 ppg

One of the bigger examples on this list of a single player carrying a duo’s scoring load, Chamberlain led the NBA in nightly points (and rebounds) in 1962-63 at 44.8 points per game. Despite pulling that off, Chamberlain didn’t win MVP or even make 1st Team All-NBA that year, though that probably had to do with his Warriors going 31-49 that season. Four-time All-Star and Hall-of-Fame point guard Guy Rodgers did do well to chip in nearly 14 points per game that year while leading the NBA in nightly assists at 10.4.

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Joe Fulks: 26.00 ppg
Ed Sadowski: 15.33 ppg

In 1948-49, Hall-of-Famer Joe Fulks averaged 26.00 points per game. Along with Ed Sadowski, the two put up 49.38 percent of the Warriors’ points that year. But with such little outside scoring besides Fulks and Sadowski, Philadelphia went just 28-32 and fell in the Eastern Division semifinals.

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Kobe Bryant: 35.40 ppg
Lamar Odom: 14.82 ppg

Bryant makes his second appearance on this list for his otherworldly 2005-06 season that saw him lead the league in scoring at 35.4 points per game, earning 1st Team All-NBA and All-Star honors for his efforts. Bryant accomplished that while willing the Lakers to a 45-37 record and a playoff appearance despite a serious lack of top-end talent around him. Even so, eventual Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom did chip in over 14.8 points per game in ’06. When combined with Bryant’s scoring, the duo accounted for 49.28 percent of Los Angeles’ nightly points that season, one of the highest clips ever.

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Shaquille O’Neal: 28.72 ppg
Kobe Bryant: 28.50 ppg

The illustrious duo of Shaq and Kobe make the list once again, this time for their contributions in a championship-winning season. In 2000-01, O’Neal and Bryant combined to score 49-plus percent of Los Angeles’ average points per game that season as a team. Los Angeles would cruise to a championship that year even despite depending so heavily on just two players as the Lakers went 15-1 in the postseason in 2001.

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Michael Jordan: 37.09 ppg
Charles Oakley: 14.54 ppg

The first appearance of Michael Jordan on this list stems from his 1986-87 season in which he averaged 37.09 points per game, the highest-scoring average for an NBA player not named Wilt Chamberlain to this day. Combined with Charles Oakley’s 14.54 points per game that year, the duo combined to average 49.24 percent of Chicago’s points in 1986-87. The Bulls’ third-leading scorer that year was John Paxson at 11.3 points per game, making it clear why the team got swept in the first round of the playoffs by Boston.

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George Mikan: 28.30 ppg
Jim Pollard: 14.79 ppg

The great Mikan finds his way on this list again, this time for his 1948-49 season when he, combined with Pollard, put up 49.23 percent of the Lakers’ points. That was actually Mikan’s rookie season, meaning he led the BAA in scoring as a first-year player. It also means he led his Lakers to a championship as a rookie, no easy feat.

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Bob Pettit: 29.24 ppg
Cliff Hagan: 23.71 ppg

Hall-of-Famers Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan combined to put up 48.68 percent of the St. Louis Hawks’ total point average as a team in 1958-59. Pettit led the NBA in scoring that season and won league MVP honors but his Hawks fell in the Western Division Finals four games to two to the Lakers.

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Bob McAdoo: 34.52 ppg
Randy Smith: 17.76 ppg

The underrated Bob McAdoo was one of the better scorers in league history, and his 1974-75 season was some of his best work. That year, McAdoo led the NBA in scoring at 34.52 points per game, the 14th-highest single-season scoring average ever, as he earned league MVP honors. He combined with Randy Smith to put up 48.5 percent of the Buffalo Braves’ points that year, though the team fell in the Eastern Conference semifinals in seven games to the Washington Bullets, mostly due to their lack of defending.

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Wilt Chamberlain: 37.60 ppg
Paul Arizin: 22.31 ppg

Chamberlain and Arizin make the list once again. In 1959-60, Chamberlain’s rookie season, the big man won league MVP, Rookie of the Year and was a 1st Team All-NBAer after leading the NBA in scoring at 37.6 points per game, the fourth-highest scoring average ever. Arizin was no slouch himself that season, putting up 22.31 points per game, and between he and Chamberlain, the tandem put up 48.49 percent of the 76ers’ points that season. To his credit, Tom Gola put up a solid 15.0 points per game that year, making him the Warriors’ third All-Star that season.

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LeBron James: 26.72 ppg
Dwyane Wade: 25.54 ppg

Few players received the vitriol that LeBron James did when he left Cleveland to join the Miami Heat. Despite how loaded the team was, however, there was a sentiment that having to pay James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh so much money would ruin Miami’s depth and make it difficult for the Heat to contend. Of course, that wound up proving incorrect but in Year 1, there was some truth to the sentiment, as James and Wade had to do a lot of the team’s scoring, 48.42 percent of it, to be exact, in their first campaign together. After Bosh and his 18.7 points per game that season, the Heat’s fourth-leading scorer (who played at least 50 games) was Eddie House at 6.5 points per contest.

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Gilbert Arenas: 29.32 ppg
Antawn Jamison: 20.54 ppg

Now better known for being a shock-jock type of podcaster, Gilbert Arenas had a pretty outrageous zenith in the NBA, peaking in 2005-06 when he averaged 29.32 points per game on 44.7 shooting over 80 games. Combined with the underrated Antawn Jamison and his 20.54 points per game that year, the duo put up 48.34 percent of Washington’s points in ’06. Caron Butler gets a shout here, too, as he put up 17.6 points for the Wizards that year. However, no other Wizard averaged double-digit points that season.

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Michael Jordan: 29.65 ppg
Scottie Pippen: 20.20 ppg

Finishing second in the MVP vote that year while leading the league in scoring at 29.65 points per game, Jordan, along with Pippen and his 20.20 points per contest, handled a huge amount of the 1996-97 Bulls’ scoring load, putting up 48.32 percent of the team’s points that year. The ’97 Bulls, obviously, won the title that year after a 69-13 regular season. Sometimes, having just two players do so much of a team’s scoring is not a bad thing.

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Kevin Durant: 28.15 ppg
Russell Westbrook: 23.21 ppg

Durant and Westbrook make the list again as a tandem, as in 2012-13, the two put up 48.25 percent of the Thunder’s nightly points. Durant finished second in the MVP vote that year and with 1st Team All-NBA and All-Star honors while Westbrook was 2nd Team All-NBA and an All-Star. Harden and Serge Ibaka had good years, too, putting up 14.0 points and 13.2 points respectively, though no other OKC player averaged more than 7.6 points that year. The Thunder would go on to fall in the second round of the playoffs that year to the Memphis Grizzlies in five games.

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Jerry West: 30.97 ppg
Elgin Baylor: 27.15 ppg

Two all-time greats, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, make their debut on this list for their 1964-65 contributions in which West (All-Star, 1st Team All-NBA, third in the MVP vote) and Baylor (1st Team All-NBA and All-Star) combined for 48.07 percent of the Lakers’ points. Los Angeles would fall in the NBA Finals that year in five games.

Neil Johnston: 24.43 ppg
Joe Graboski: 13.30 ppg

In 1953-54, Johnston led the NBA in scoring at 24.43 points per game while making 1st Team All-NBA and All-Star honors. Joe Graboski, meanwhile, chipped in 13.30 points per game when, combined with Johnston’s league-leading total, accounted for 47.99 percent of the Warriors’ points that year. Philadelphia went 29-43 that season, in part due to a lack of scoring outside of two players.

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Bob McAdoo: 31.12 ppg
Randy Smith: 21.79 ppg

After his MVP season, McAdoo was spectacular once again in 1975-76, leading the NBA in scoring for a third year in a row, this time at 31.12 points per game. Smith added 21.79 points per game himself, as the tandem combined for 47.91 percent of the Braves’ points that year. Buffalo got to the second round of the playoffs that year, falling to Boston in six games, proving McAdoo’s (and Smith’s) scoring was far from empty calories.

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Allen Iverson: 33.01 ppg
Chris Webber: 20.24 ppg

Legendary big man Chris Webber spent just one full season with the 76ers. That took place in 2005-06 when Webber averaged 20.24 points per game, an impressive mark but a surprisingly inefficient one, as the former Michigan standout shot just 43.4 percent from the floor that year. One-time league MVP Allen Iverson was still basically at his peak powers at that time, putting up 33.01 points per game. Combined with Webber, the duo put up 47.81 percent of Philadelphia’s points that year, but the team would miss the playoffs anyway after a 38-44 regular season.

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Paul Pierce: 25.92 ppg
Antoine Walker: 20.13 ppg

Pierce and Walker make this list for an impressive third time. In 2002-03, the tandem put up 47.61 percent of the Celtics’ average points per game. But Boston didn’t have a single other player put up double-digit points that year. Even then, the Celtics got to the second round of the playoffs that year, showing how good the Pierce-Walker duo were in their prime.