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With only four days remaining in the remarkable 2024-25 season, it’s been a year filled with historic achievements.
Here are some impressive statistics that have emerged over the past six months…
The Oklahoma City Thunder have established themselves as statistically the greatest team in NBA history, boasting an impressive average victory margin of 12.6 points per game—the highest in the league’s 79-year history.
Greatest point differential in NBA history
In their 80 games played, the Thunder have scored 1,006 more points than their opponents. To surpass the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who finished at plus-1,007 over 82 games, the Thunder will need to achieve at least a plus-2 differential in their final two matches (against Utah and New Orleans).
The Thunder’s 38 victories by 15 points or more mark a new NBA record, eclipsing the previous high of 37 set by the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks. Remarkably, they’ve only suffered two losses by the same margin.
A few additional insights into the Thunder’s dominance…
For the second consecutive season, the Thunder are among just two teams ranked in the top five for both offensive and defensive efficiency, the other team being the Boston Celtics.
If they maintain their current defense ranking (fifth), this will be the Celtics’ third straight season in the top five on both sides of the court, making them the first team in the 48 years since the recording of turnovers began to accomplish such a feat.
During the late 1970s, only 22 teams existed, making it easier to rank in the top five across both categories. The Celtics aim to achieve this in a 30-team league over three successive seasons—a remarkable display of two-way prowess.
Top 5 on both ends of the court for two consecutive seasons, since 1977-78
Ranks = Points scored and points allowed per 100 possessions Titles = Championships earned during that two-year period Note: Possessions estimated until 1995-96, then actual figures since ’96-97
The Thunder are set to potentially join this elite group, while the Celtics could establish a new benchmark.
The Celtics’ offensive success is anchored by the highest 3-point shot rate of any team in the 46-year history of the 3-point line. They have attempted a staggering 53.6% of their shots from beyond the arc, which is 1.14 times higher than any other team.
Despite the Celtics having a significantly higher 3-point shooting rate, they are not alone in experiencing an increase from the previous season. Twenty-four out of the league’s 30 teams have raised their 3-point shot percentages compared to the 2023-24 season.
The league witnessed an 11-year trend of increasing 3-point shooting rates, jumping from 22.2% in 2010-11 to a peak of 39.9% in 2021-22, followed by a slight dip to 38.7% two seasons ago. This season, the rate has surged back to 42.1%—the highest in 46 years of the 3-point line. Last season’s percentage was an all-time high, and this represents the second-largest season-to-season increase in three decades since the 3-point distance was reduced in 1994-95.
This higher 3-point shooting rate has come at the expense of mid-range attempts, which have dropped below 10% of all field goals for the first time ever. The percentage of field goal attempts taken in the paint has remained above 57% for the past three seasons, a level not seen in the previous 26 years of shot location data.
The breakdown of shot types—paint, mid-range, & 3-point—over the last five seasons
As of Wednesday, there are 14 teams that have taken fewer mid-range shots than DeMar DeRozan (623).
While the increase in 3-point attempts is significant, it hasn’t positively affected overall shooting efficiency, in part due to a decline in 3-point shooting percentage alongside the higher volume. The league is averaging 113.7 points per 100 possessions this season, the third-highest figure recorded, but down slightly from last season’s 114.5 and the one prior at 114.1.
The Cleveland Cavaliers stand out as the only team in the top five for both 3-point rate (45.8%, fourth) and 3-point percentage (38.4%, first).
Even though those figures are lower than what last year’s Celtics achieved, the Cavaliers also lead the league in shooting percentage in the paint. Their 61.2% success rate in the paint is the seventh-best in 29 years of shot-location tracking.
With their proficiency both inside and beyond the arc, the Cavs boast an effective field goal percentage of 58.1%, setting a new NBA record, surpassing the previous best of 57.8% by last season’s Indiana Pacers.
As of Wednesday, there are 16 players who hold an effective field goal percentage of 60% or greater on at least 500 attempts, with the Cavaliers being the only team to feature three of these players: Jarrett Allen (71.1%, first), Evan Mobley (60.7%, 13th), and Ty Jerome (60.4%, 14th).
The Cavaliers also rank in the top five for turnover rate, generating an extra 7.8 points per 100 possessions compared to the league average, equating to what would be the fourth-best offense in 29 seasons of detailed play-by-play analysis.
While improvements are still needed on the defensive end, two players have achieved significant individual milestones.
Dyson Daniels of the Hawks has averaged 3.0 steals per game, leading the league by 1.2 steals. He is on track to be the first player in over 31 seasons to average at least three steals per game since Nate McMillan did it in 1993-94.
Additionally, Daniels has recorded an average of 5.8 deflections per game—1.6 more than any other player during the nine seasons for which “hustle” stats are available. His total of 433 deflections is 169 more than any rival.
Victor Wembanyama’s season was cut short at the All-Star break, disqualifying him from the league’s block leaders. Nonetheless, he recorded 32 more blocked shots than any other player, with an average of 3.8 blocks per game this season—the highest figure in 26 years.
Wembanyama managed to achieve these numbers while avoiding foul trouble, achieving a ratio of 1.68 blocks per personal foul, the highest recorded in the 52 seasons that blocks have been tracked.
Highest blocks-to-personal fouls ratio, since 1973-74
Minimum 100 blocks
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John Schuhmann is a senior statistician for NBA.com. You can reach him by email, explore his archive here, and follow him on X.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA, its teams, or Warner Bros. Discovery.
