Listing the 5 players in history who led the NBA in scoring and won the championship in the same season
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid earned the NBA scoring title this season after posting an unbeatable 30.6 points-per-game average. Embiid became the first true center since Shaquille O'Neal in the 1999-00 season with the LA Lakers to lead the league in scoring.
The scoring average was Embiid's career high (in his sixth season). And he finally managed to stay relatively healthy throughout the season.
Along with the 30.6 ppg, Embiid also posted a career-high in games played (68) and a career-best 4.2 assists per game. He also put up a 49/37/81 shooting split, which was strong for the center.
Listing the only five players who have won the scoring title and the NBA championship in the same season
Obviously, Joel Embiid is a clear candidate for the award, but the main goal for his Philadelphia 76ers (51-31) is definitely the title. Along with James Harden, Embiid will go for it in the playoffs, starting with the Toronto Raptors (48-34) in the first round.
In the previous 74 NBA seasons, only five players managed to win the scoring title in the regular season and then win the title.
In this article, we will give you a list of those five players.
Without further ado, let us take a look.
No. 5: Shaquille O'Neal, 1999-2000
The most recent center to win the scoring title before Joel Embiid, Shaquille O'Neal, is also the most recent player to do so and lead his team to championship glory.
O'Neal did it in the 1999-2000 season with the LA Lakers. Arguably the most physically dominant player ever seen in the NBA, O'Neal averaged 29.7 points per game in 79 appearances.
He earned Most Valuable Player honors of the regular season and then won the first title of his career. The LA Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals.
In those finals, O'Neal averaged 38 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in the six-game series.
No. 4: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1970-71
En route to winning the first of his six titles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then named Lew Alcindor) led the Milwaukee Bucks to a historic regular season (franchise-best 66-16).
He led the league in scoring in the regular season with 31.7 points per game in his sophomore campaign. Moreover, he averaged 16.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while making 57.7% of his shots.
He won the regular-season MVP award and then won the 1971 NBA title alongside legendary point guard Oscar Robertson.