5 New Players That Will Average 20+ Points This Season
In case you didn’t know, last season there were only 27 players in the NBA that averaged over 20.0 points per game. And now that the offseason landscape has finally settled down, with the majority of the big trades and free agents signings out of the way, here are five guys that will average 20+ this coming season that didn’t last year.
1. Deron Williams – After steadily increasing from 10.8 to 16.2 to 18.8 to 19.4 points per game over his four year career, D-Will is ready to make the jump to legitimate 20+ ppg status in the League this year. And with the future of Carlos Boozer somewhat shaky, it’s time for this team to officially become Deron’s. In 34 playoff games, Williams has averaged 20.2 ppg, so he knows he can do it. Now it’s just time for him to get it done.
2. Monta Ellis – Despite an injury plagued season, Ellis still averaged 19.0 points per game for the Warriors last year, his first campaign without Baron Davis. This year, now that’s he’s back at 100% and the team is clearly his, he should dwarf his numbers from the 2007-08 season when he averaged 20.2 ppg.
3. O.J. Mayo – As a rookie last year, Mayo lead the league with 18.5 points per game for the Grizzlies in 38 minutes a night. This season, after losing Rookie of the Year honors to Derrick Rose, you know that Mayo is going to be coming out the gate firing. The beautiful thing is though, he has the green light.
4. Andre Iguodala – Whereas these other guys will probably end up averaging 20+ points per game as part of their team’s development, Iguodala needs to average over 20 a game in order for the Sixers to remain competitive. After steadily increasing from 9.0 to 12.3 to 18.2 to 19.9 points per game over the first four years of his career, Iguodala only averaged 18.8 last season. Even with Elton Brand back in the mix, Andre will need to call his own number more often this year.
5. Gilbert Arenas – He’s back! Arenas has a career average of 22.8 points per game, so getting back above the 20-point mark shouldn’t be a problem if he’s healthy this year. After playing 15 games over the last two seasons, Gilbert might just come out and drop 50 his first game out.
From the guys that didn’t last year, who do you think will average 20+ this coming season?
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September 8th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
BRUCE says:
D-Will always start the season slow.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
fan says:
I can’t wait for the Hibachi to be back. I’ve never seen anyone make #0 look so damn good. He’s an amazing talent w/ his skill set. Put Gilbert in Miami healthy the Hawks I think would win the East and give Kobe and Co. fits. He gave the Lakers 62 and PhX 55 in a week and got the W why did he do that? Why aren’t those games on Hardwood Classics. Gil you need to put those games on DVD and sell them. Hood classics. LOL. Seriously why did he do that. Kobe was tight? LOL
September 8th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
isotope says:
take out Igoudala and add Scola
September 8th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Did Nate Robinson? If he gets decent tick I can see him averaging 20.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
The REAL Tyrone says:
How about Elton Brand y;all?? Cat’s a monster down low and be hoopin’ up them points real fast. Cat’s got ability to dish dope dimes and be glass eatin’ too. With Miller outta Filly, Brand’s gonna be getting’ money shots y’all. If Brand’s healthy, them Sixers are gonna be real tight yo.
True thugs NEVER lie.
The REAL Tyrone
September 8th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Simi Laflare says:
WHAT ABOUT EARL JR SMITH?!
September 8th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
flavur says:
I say Ben Gordon if he hasn’t already and Devin Harris if he hasn’t already.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Dime Magazine says:
@isotope
I agree. Scola is going to have a HUGE season without Yao there. I don’t think he’ll average 20+ though for the season.
@Simi Laflare
JR can easily drop 20 on the regular, but there are too many guys in Denver that need shots. Just like Ray and KG in Boston not averaging 20+ either.
-AP.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Baby Huey says:
LaMarcus Aldridge
September 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Hugo says:
Devean George, mark my words.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
maddskizzle says:
Bargnasty!
September 8th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Claw says:
@Hugo – stay off the pipe
Scola and Hedo, both will be monsters just because they will shoot and shoot often. Depeding on KG maybe Rondo.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
jzsmoove says:
Pau Gasol (to rest Kobe more often)
Jason Richardson (who else on the Suns will score more?)
Bargnani (its time to live up to #1 pick status)
Gerald Wallace (See J-Rich)
Rudy Gay (its time to step up to superstar status)
September 8th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Arrogant says:
lol @ 10….
either derrick rose or luol deng… the bulls have options… but they are the prime candidates… im surprised Deng injury is still plagueing him… not a good look…
September 8th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
jzsmoove says:
oh and Al Jefferson fo sure
September 8th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
A-Lid says:
*Deron Williams is the most underrated player in the association.
Top 5 guys capable of 20 ppg in the 09/10 campaign;
1.Deron Williams
2.Andrea Bargnani
3.O.J Mayo
4.Michael Beasley
5.Eric Gordon
September 8th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Tbest says:
Sasha Vujacic bout to blow up.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
flavur says:
@16 good call Eric Gordon is gonna be a beast for sure
September 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Dime Magazine says:
@jzsmoove
Big Al did it last year.
@Claw
I like Hedo too. If he can run wild like he did in Orlando, he definitely has a shot.
Do all you guys really think Bargnani can do it?
-AP.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
YuccaMan says:
D-Will for sure.
If you look at D-Will’s stats from mid December (when he finally felt better after the ankle injury) to the end of the season he averaged more than 21 points and 11 assists. The dude rocks.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
alquimista says:
If Allen Iverson ends up in menphis he is gonna get massive buckets and will limit O.J points, however this would be a hell of backcourt.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Chainfire says:
Bargnani can do it, he was average something in the ball park of 18-19 points the second half of the season when the raps got rid of Jermaine O’neal. He just has to take advantage of being guarded by a smaller player and have some back to the basket post-moves. Hopefully he added a move or two in the off-season and has become more confident in that area of the game. His 3 point shooting is already solid and he’s good from the deep 2 pointer range as well.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Chainfire says:
The only possible issue that might prevent Bargs from averaging 20+ points is that with Hedo brought it, there might be less touches for Bargs.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
edlp says:
Andrea Bargnani
September 8th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
the cynic says:
Monta is the only sure fire 20 point scorer on that list
September 8th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
12t says:
Shaq will average 20. He managed to get 17.8 in an offense that wasn’t catered to his half-court skills and he was the 4th option behind Amare, Nash and whoever Nash found streaking on the break. He’ll be the clear 2nd option in an offense that wasn’t good at half-court sets not called Iso-to-Lebron.
September 8th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
aa says:
yi jianlin will avg 20 and 10.
September 8th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
BR says:
I can see Jeff Green or Westbrook averaging around 18-20. Same with Nene.
September 8th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
deeds says:
Bargnani could come close. Like people said he averaged close to 20pts for the 2nd half of last season. Realistically, with the addition of turkoglu I would predict about 18-19 for bargs…but I hope he can pull it off
September 8th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Hoss says:
Once the season starts, we won’t forget you didn’t mention Eric Gordon who will average 22-24 PPG this season.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Claw says:
Not sure of AB, Hedo is more of a scorer. Better one on one player though AB continues to improve but I don’t know if his offense is better than Hedo’s.
Who has a better offensive game Hedo or AB?
September 8th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
deeds says:
In terms of overall offensive game I would say Turkoglu is better since he has the ability to drive and create for others…but in terms of going out and just getting his I think Bargs might have a step up. When he was the focus of the Raptors offense last year he had some huge games…hes just so quick for his size, and with the range he has you kind of have to pick your poison with him. Hopefully hes been working on his back to the basket game during the offseason
September 8th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
cdubb says:
new 20+ scorer this upcoming season:
- Scola
- Jeff Green
- Ariza
Mark my words…
September 8th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Seven Duece says:
Quiet as kept, Richard Jefferson is going to be getting more open looks than he’s ever had in his career.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Juan R aka RickyRubio9 aka Rocketfan2503 says:
Hmm, this is a good list. I seen a comment with Scola, I don’t think he’ll hit the 20 mark just yet, but another forward may. LaMarcus Aldridge?
Just a thought
September 8th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Teddy "Doowop" says:
Iguodala and Agent Zero, I dont see the others doing it
September 8th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
ponky_alolor says:
damn i though iggy was a 20pt scorer already…
and yeah shaq doesn’t need to score 20, he just needs to play the whole year. I doubt mike brown will play him excess minutes.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Joe says:
DWill only scores 20+ (actually 30+) when he has to. He’s a pass first point guard. I’d take 15 points and 15 assists over the 20 points. The rest of the Jazz need to step up and not wait for Deron to bail them out all the time.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Glenn says:
First, I agree with the Monta, D-Will, and Arenas except those are all easy calls. By virtue of being healthy they will all be scoring option numero uno.
There are a lot of notable mentions that i think would make the highest ppg under 20.0 list:
Iguodala
Nate Robinson
Scola
Bargnani
Rose/Deng
Hedo
Jeff Green/Westbrook
The new 20+ ppg performers i agree with:
JR Smith
Aldridge
Rudy Gay/OJ Mayo
Eric Gordon
Josh Howard
John Salmons
check out my blog for a personal analysis on each player -http://gdubdsbball.blogspot.com/
Check out hoopsworld.com’s list of breakout performers – http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13753“>http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=13753
September 9th, 2009 at 3:02 am
bigger_daddy says:
not quite sure with Mayo once AI officially signs with the grizz, it’ll be a good show though if mayo, ai and day all hit 20+ points per game.
September 9th, 2009 at 6:07 am
dagwaller says:
My connection isn’t all that great here, so I can’t do the research myself…
…but if there are around 30 players that average 20 a year, and we’re saying that there will be 5 new guys at that plateau, who are the 5 that will DROP OFF from the same level?
From all the Hedo/Bargs posts, you’d have to think that Chris Bosh will drop off from 22.7 ppg this year (while the Raps improve). And for some reason, I seem to recall that Bosh had a GREAT beginning of the year (an EARLY MVP candidate), which in my mind means that he must have had a disappointing season after November.
Dwight Howard was already close to 20 ppg, but he’s a dangerous pick to fall off just because of Vince Carter’s arrival. His game may develop, not to mention the fact that his garbage game around the hoop always makes him a threat to get 20, but for some reason I can see him taking a baaaby step back in terms of scoring this year. Possibly due to Marcin Gortat being a credible backup, easing a couple minutes off of the Centaur’s normal load.
I don’t think that Devin Harris will score as much this year. With Brook Lopez having a year under his belt, Yi Jianlian (hopefully) gaining the necessary confidence to utilize his own offensive game, and the arrival of a legit player in Courtney Lee, I can picture Harris dropping off a few points.
Paul Pierce is an easy pick because he was the second closest to being off of the list in the first place, his team added a natural scorer in Rasheed Wallace, not to mention having KG back healthy all year. To top it off, the Celtics now have a real bench, with Big Baby, Marquis Daniels, Wallace, and even Shelden Williams to help ease Pierce’s minutes.
Finally, I don’t think that Tony Parker will average 22 points again this year. In theory, TD and Manu won’t miss nearly as many games as they did last year, forcing TP to score more than 3 points over his previous career high average. He really had to carry the scoring load more often last year than ever before. He finally has a scoring threat for a small forward now, after years of dishing to…Bruce Bowen. The Spurs’ bench is also more confidence inspiring than it has been in years past, and I think that’ll lead to less minutes for everyone in the Big Three in San Antonio.
September 9th, 2009 at 6:19 am
dagwaller says:
I can also see Antawn Jamison not needing to score as much with Gilbert back, and Danny Granger taking a step back with Mike Dunleavy back in the lineup.
September 9th, 2009 at 9:29 am
karizmatic says:
What I want to know is what is the average number of players that score over 20ppg every season and which players that scored over 20 last season are likely to score less this season.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:15 am
doc says:
Mike Beasly
September 9th, 2009 at 11:11 am
go jazz says:
not o.j or arenas
September 9th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Chicagorilla says:
I’m sure its just some racist asshole mocking black people, but just in case The REAL TYrone is actually a real person, i’m going to read every one of his comments. That is come classic sh!t right there.
September 9th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
dagwaller says:
karizmatic – NBA’s stat page shows only the last 4-5 years, and in that span, the lowest number of people to score 20 was 20, and the most was this year. In other words, it’s likely that LESS people will score 20 this season.
September 9th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
mtindore520 says:
Aaron Brooks will scorch the League with his quickness, i see him leading the Rockets in scoring, the kid has amazing quickness and body control to go along with his 3 point shooting if u back off him, 20+ is a lock for Aaron…
September 9th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
. says:
you forgot eric gordon
September 9th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Mack Brownee says:
jj barea; he’s a scoring machine, puerto rican cp3 clone
September 10th, 2009 at 2:06 am
goodrichballa says:
hey ima agree wit ya Aaron brooks is gonna average 21/6/2 next year and will be a top ten guard mark my word go (ROCKETS)
September 10th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
TheR3dMenace says:
Bargnani averaged 19ppg once entered into the starting center position last year. I have no doubt that his numbers will continue to escalate.
Also, Anthony Randolph will score 20ppg easily this year.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
zac says:
where is lamarcus aldridge you know the beastly power forward in portland that led portland in a victory over boston with out b-roy people over look the fact that he averaged 19 and 6 last season
September 18th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Utah Jazz Blog says:
Deron Williams won’t start slow this year. He’s one of the top-2 PGs in the league but has yet to make the all-star team. His slow start last season was due to injury. He will dominate this season. I predict 20.5 points and 11 assists per game.