Winning the bucket-getter crown in the NBA isn't just about being the best shooter. Honestly, it’s a marathon of ego, health, and a weird quirk in the rulebooks that most fans don't even realize exists. People talk about the nba scoring champion by year like it’s a simple list of the best players, but if you look at the actual history, it's more like a chaotic timeline of "how many shots can I get away with taking before my coach loses his mind?"
You’ve got the legends, obviously. Michael Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain. But there are also the years where the "best" scorer didn't actually score the most points. Yeah, that’s a thing. Since the 1969-70 season, the NBA decided that the title goes to the guy with the highest points per game (PPG) average, not the guy who physically put the most balls through the hoop over 82 games. It’s kinda weird when you think about it.
The Era of the Big Man (1940s - 1960s)
In the beginning, it was basically just a bunch of tall guys standing near the rim. Joe Fulks won the first-ever title in 1947 by averaging 23.2 points. Back then, that was like being a god. Then came George Mikan, the original "Mr. Basketball," who dominated the late 40s and early 50s.
But then things got stupid. In a good way.
Wilt Chamberlain’s Video Game Numbers
Wilt enters the league in 1959 and just breaks everything. Imagine being so much better than everyone else that you average 50.4 points per game. That’s what he did in 1962. 50 points. Every night. For a whole year. He scored 4,029 points that season. To put that in perspective, in the modern era, if a guy scores 2,500 points, people start talking about him like he’s an alien.
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Wilt won seven titles in a row. He basically owned the 60s until Rick Barry stepped in for a year in 1967. Barry was a different breed—a skinny forward with a weird underhanded free throw who just knew how to find the gap.
The Jordan Monopoly and the Efficiency Shift
If the 60s belonged to Wilt, the late 80s and 90s were Michael Jordan’s personal property. Between 1987 and 1998, Jordan won 10 scoring titles. Ten. He only missed out when he was busy playing minor league baseball or when he was a rookie/sophomore.
Jordan’s 1987 season is the one people still argue about. He averaged 37.1 PPG. It’s the highest average since Wilt’s heyday. But what’s wild is that Jordan was doing this as a 6'6" guard in a league that was still very much about physical, "hand-checking" defense. You couldn't just breathe on a guy back then without it being a foul—actually, it was the opposite. They could basically tackle you, and Jordan still got his buckets.
The Rise of the "Iso" Scorer
After Jordan retired (for the second time), the league shifted. The 2000s were the era of the isolation specialists. Allen Iverson, the "Answer," won four titles despite being barely 6 feet tall. He was basically a blur on the court. Then you had Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady trading blows.
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- 2003: T-Mac (32.1 PPG)
- 2004: T-Mac (28.0 PPG)
- 2005: Iverson (30.7 PPG)
- 2006: Kobe (35.4 PPG)
Kobe’s 2006 run was legendary. That was the year he dropped 81 on the Raptors. He was playing with a roster that... well, let's just say it wasn't great. He had to score.
Modern Times: 3-Pointers and Triple-Doubles
Fast forward to the last decade. The math changed. Teams realized that 3 is more than 2, and the nba scoring champion by year list started reflecting that. Kevin Durant won four titles because he’s basically a 7-foot shooting guard. Stephen Curry changed the geometry of the court, winning in 2016 and 2021 by shooting from the parking lot.
Then you have James Harden. Love him or hate him, his run from 2018 to 2020 was statistically insane. In 2019, he averaged 36.1 PPG. He was exploiting every single rule in the book—the step-back, the foul drawing, the volume. It wasn't always "pretty" basketball, but it was incredibly effective.
Recent Winners (The Last Few Years)
Lately, the big men are back, but they aren't like Mikan or Wilt. They're versatile.
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- 2022: Joel Embiid (30.6 PPG) - The first center to win since Shaq in 2000.
- 2023: Joel Embiid (33.1 PPG) - He doubled down.
- 2024: Luka Dončić (33.9 PPG) - The Slovenian wonder-kid just found a way to manipulate the pace.
- 2025: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32.8 PPG) - SGA took over with a mid-range game that felt like a throwback to the 90s but with modern footwork.
What Most People Miss About the "Champion" Title
Here is the kicker. You can lead the league in total points and still lose the scoring title. It happened to Trae Young in 2022. He scored 2,155 points—more than anyone else in the NBA. But because Joel Embiid had a higher average (30.6 vs Trae's 28.4), Embiid got the trophy.
Is that fair? Depends on who you ask. Some people think the best scorer is the one who shows up every night and puts up the most total production. Others think the title should represent the highest "peak" performance per game. Currently, the NBA sides with the peak. To qualify, a player usually has to play at least 58 games. If you play 57? Too bad. You're out.
Why the Scoring Title Still Matters
In a world obsessed with "advanced analytics" and "efficiency ratings," the scoring title is sort of a throwback. It’s the ultimate "I’m the alpha" award. When you look at the nba scoring champion by year, you’re looking at a map of who the league was terrified of at that specific moment.
If you want to track this yourself, don't just look at the points. Look at the Field Goal Attempts (FGA). The "true" scoring champions are often the guys who can maintain high efficiency while taking 20+ shots a night. It’s easy to score 20 points on 10 shots. It is incredibly hard to score 35 points on 25 shots every single Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday for six months straight.
Check out the official NBA stats archives to see the breakdown of free throws versus field goals for these winners. You’ll notice that guys like Durant and Jordan didn't just rely on one way to score; they were three-level threats who could hurt you from the line, the mid-range, and the rim.
If you're tracking the current season, keep an eye on the "Games Played" column as much as the PPG. One injury-shortened stretch can disqualify a leader, completely shifting the race and handing the trophy to the next person in line. That’s the real drama of the scoring race—it’s a battle against the schedule as much as the defender.