The Golden State Warriors have proven capable of doing it all during their reign of terror and have provided some admirable feats throughout the early part of the season. The duo of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have started the season averaging over 30 points per game, a feat Curry could see sticking for the entire season.
Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are both averaging 30+ points per game right now. Is that possible for an entire season? Curry: “Why not? We’ll see.” pic.twitter.com/DPBhho51rv
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 28, 2018
While Curry played coy on this one, it's a feat that has never been done in NBA history, as there is a fine balance that needs to occur to allow two high-octane scorers to constantly come out at a high clip.
There are few players to have averaged 30 points for a season and the margin is slim, as Durant has a career high at 32 points per game in 2013-14 and has only done it twice in his 10-year career. Curry put up 30.1 points per game in his second MVP season in 2015-16, which remains the only time he has achieved the feat.
Curry is off to a blistering start, leading the league in scoring with 33.9 points per game and breaking a galore of 3-point records through the start of the season. Durant isn't falling far behind, posting 30.3 points per contest of his own after a 41-point bomb against the New York Knicks.
Los Angeles Lakers legends Elgin Baylor (38.3) and Jerry West (30.8) are the only teammates to record 30 points per game or more in a season, which happened in the 1961-62 campaign, though Baylor only played 48 games that year and West didn't hit the 30-point average in the games they played together.
https://twitter.com/AlbertNahmad/status/1056974814014029825
The giant mark of a combined 72.3 points per game between the highest scoring teammates belongs to Wilt Chamberlain (50.4) and Paul Arizin (21.9) during the Philadelphia Warriors' 1961-62 season.
Chamberlain's monstrous numbers are likely to stay cemented in the record books, but Curry and Durant could etch their own place in history if they indeed manage to accomplish such a daring feat.
Durant came somewhat close alongside Russell Westbrook during his last season in Oklahoma City (2015-16), posting 28.3 points alongside Westbrook's 24.6. However, no one has come closer in the modern era than Kobe Bryant (30 points per game) and Shaquille O'Neal (27.5) during the 2002-03 season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
If that 30-and-30 mark can be finally reached again, it would take two Hall of Fame-caliber players and elite shooters like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to get it done, though the long grind of the season will offer plenty of tests for both players.
Editor's note: This article initially said no teammates had ever averaged 30 points per game in the same season. It has been updated to reflect the fact that Elgin Baylor and Jerry West did it with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1961-62, but with the caveat that they didn't do it in the games they actually played together.
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