Jalen Brunson’s Historic Month, Doncic’s 73: NBA January in Review

With February upon us, let’s take a minute to reflect back on January. There were epic scoring performances from Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid and Devin Booker,  historic success from Jalen Brunson, and greatness from the game’s best rookie. So, before looking forward to the second half of the season, let’s acknowledge some of the incredible games we witnessed, and hand out some “awards” to the most deserving performances of January.

To determine the winners of these awards, data was pulled and analyzed from every month of January between the 1996-97 season and the 2023-24 season. The data used for the analysis can be found on the NBA’s stat website.

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Best Game, Scoring Champ, Brunson Makes History

Best individual performance: Luka Doncic

There were several incredible individual games to choose from here. LeBron James recorded a triple-double in a thrilling overtime win against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, finishing with 36 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists, Embiid scored 70 points while adding 18 rebounds in a win over the San Antonio Spurs on January 22, and Booker dropped a cool 62 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers on January 26.

However, the most impressive game was the masterclass that Doncic put on against the Atlanta Hawks on January 26. Doncic scored 73 points while shooting 75.8% from the field and 61.5% from three. The immaculate performance was also historic; Doncic became the first player ever to score 70 or more points while shooting 75% or better from the field.

Scoring Champ: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 536 points in January, 56 more than Devin Booker who was second. It was the first time a player has scored 500 or more points in a month this season, and the highest monthly total of SGA’s career. Only three players since the 1996-97 season have scored more points in the month of January, James Harden in the 2018-19 season (610 points), Kevin Durant in 2013-14 (575 points), and Kobe Bryant in 2005-06 (534 points).

SGA drives the ball more than anyone in the NBA and has led the league in drives per game in each of the past three seasons. January was no different, with over 58% of SGA’s 536 points coming on drives.

Best +/-: Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby

The New York Knicks finished the month with the league’s best record, going 14-2 and climbing into third place in the eastern conference. Given their tremendous month, it is no surprise that two of their key contributors, Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, were first and second the league in cumulative +/-. Brunson finished the month at +256, while Anunoby was just behind him at +252.

However, to provide context for just how impactful they were in January, when comparing their months to every players’ January +/- since the 1996-97 season, Brunson and Anunoby are in a league of their own.

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Best Three Point Shooter, Best Rookie

Best 3pt Shooting:Donte DiVincenzo (catch and shoot) and Jayson Tatum (pull ups)

This category was a bit less cut and dry, so it was broken into two awards…

Donte DiVincenzo buried 9 threes against the Utah Jazz on January 30, to pull his average for the month to 40%. The vast majority of DiVincenzo’s three point attempts come from catch and shoot opportunities. In January, DiVincenzo took 119 catch and shoot threes, the most in the league, and converted them at a 41.2% clip.

Jayson Tatum gets a lot of flack for shooting too many pull up threes, but that never  stops him from shooting. Tatum is only shooting 32.9% on pull up threes on the year, but in January he hit 32, the most in the league. Even more importantly, he hit them on 40% efficiency.

Rookie: Victor Wembanyama

There were many rookies which had fantastic starts to the calendar year. Brandon Miller averaged 16 points per game for the Charlotte Hornets on the way to winning rookie of the month honors in the east, Jordan Hawkins shot 45% from three for the New Orleans Pelicans, and Chet Holmgren continued his tremendous rookie campaign, averaging 14.9 points and 2.5 blocks in January.

All of that taken into account, no one was better than Victor Wembanyama. Wemby averaged 24 points per game, in just 26.7 minutes a night. On the defensive end, his 46 blocks were the second most by a rookie in the month of January since the 1996-97 season.

Now, onto the trade deadline, All-Star break, playoff push, and actual NBA awards.

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