All anyone can talk about in the NBA during 2022-23 is offense. The NBA in 2022-23 is in its highest-scoring period since 1970. Teams are averaging 114.3 PPG which is the highest output since teams were putting up 116.7 PPG 53 years ago. Over the last 20 years, the game has slowly been catered more and more toward the offensive player with the three-point revolution and amending of some of the league’s rules. This time in NBA history has proven to be one of the most offensively loaded eras with some of the most gifted players the NBA has ever seen.
Just as we did with defensive players last week, we are going to take a look at the best offensive players at every position for the 2022-23 season. These players are among the best shooters, finishers, shot-creators, and three-level scorers that the NBA has to offer. They are also elite playmakers and passers that impact success for their teams in more ways than one on the offensive side of the ball. We determined the order in which we placed these stars strictly based on the 2022-23 season and how they have performed on offense.
These are the three best offensive players at every position for the 2022-23 season.
Point Guard
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1. Luka Doncic
2. Damian Lillard
3. Stephen Curry
The point guard position is loaded with talent for the 2022-23 season so narrowing down a Top Three is no easy task. Number one on our list has to be Luka Doncic who is leading all point guards and the entire NBA with 33.3 PPG. With just 32 games to play, Doncic has the Mavericks at 31-29 or sixth place in the Western Conference. Not only is Doncic scoring at will but he is also dishing out to his teammates with 8.1 APG, his fourth straight season with at least 8.0 APG. Doncic has a tall task ahead of him to get Dallas back to the Conference Finals but he and new teammate Kyrie Irving will figure it out.
Damian Lillard is having one of the best offensive seasons he has had in a long time. Lillard is averaging 31.4 PPG on 46.7% shooting overall and 37.2% from three on 11.2 attempts. Since January 1, Lillard has been on an even bigger tear averaging 35.0 PPG on nearly 50.0% shooting from the field. Lillard has added 7.3 APG in 2022-23 as well, the third-most assists in his career so far. The Trail Blazers are currently battling for the final play-in spot but have a chance as long as their three-point contest-winning point guard is healthy in crunch time.
With all due respect to Ja Morant and Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry is still the one to round out the Top Three. Curry has missed the last five Golden State contests with injuries to his left leg but is expected to be back after the All-Star break at some point. Before the injury, Curry was having a season reminiscent of his MVP years in 2015 and 2016. He is averaging 29.4 PPG and shooting 49.5% from the field, his highest percentage since 2018. He is also shooting 42.7% from three on 11.4 attempts which is his highest percentage from three since 2019. The Golden State offense looks lost at times without Curry due to how much attention he draws as the greatest shooter that ever lived. The 6.4 APG he is averaging is also the most he has averaged since 2017 when the Warriors were NBA champions.
Shooting Guard
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1. Donovan Mitchell
2. Devin Booker
3. Zach LaVine
The shooting guard position is another one that is loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball with these three players among the best in the league. Donovan Mitchell is having a career year in his first season as a member of the Cavaliers. He is averaging 27.3 PPG which would be a career-high if he finishes that way. Mitchell is also shooting the ball at a career-high rate of 48.0% overall and 38.7% from three on over 9.0 attempts. Mitchell’s presence has the Cavaliers in fourth place in the East this season, just five games back of the Celtics for first.
No matter how much time he has missed or how you feel about the Phoenix Suns, Devin Booker is one of the best shooting guards in basketball. Booker missed an extended period of time this season but has returned just in time to usher in the new Kevin Durant era and chase an NBA championship. With their lineup as scary as it is now, Booker should be the same assassin from the mid-range he has been the last few years and thrive as a playmaker as well. Booker is currently averaging 26.6 PPG on 47.6% shooting and 35.8% from three.
The final spot for a shooting guard in the 2022-23 season goes to Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls. LaVine has been a top shooting guard in the NBA for the past few seasons and is still playing at that level despite the poor play overall from Chicago. Zach LaVine is averaging 24.0 PPG on 46.5% shooting and 36.9% from three-point range. LaVine and Chicago have reportedly been at odds over different issues within the franchise and how he is being used so we will see if LaVine is bringing his top-tier production somewhere else in 2023-24.
Small Forward
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1. LeBron James
2. Jaylen Brown
3. DeMar DeRozan
It seems that every year for the last 20 years, we have labeled LeBron James as the best small forward in basketball. James has lived up to those expectations over time and continues to do so even at 38 years old. James recently became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer but is not satisfied with where the Lakers are headed and will look to right the ship after the All-Star break after they revamped their roster at the trade deadline. James is currently averaging 30.0 PPG and dishing out 7.0 APG while shooting 50.8% from the field. He is clearly what makes the Lakers tick even in old age making everything he does from here on offense that more impressive.
Jaylen Brown has not gotten his proper due as a player over the last four seasons. While Jayson Tatum is seen as the superstar, Brown had flourished into one of the best young players at his position as well. Brown has played a huge role in the Celtics having the best record in the NBA at 42-17 so far. Currently, Brown is averaging 26.5 PPG on 48.7% shooting overall and 33.1% from three. If he and Tatum can continue their success together, the Celtics should have no issues getting back to the NBA Finals with a chance at the title.
In 2021-22, DeMar DeRozan broke out once again as an MVP candidate and a force on the offensive side of the ball. DeRozan is up to it again in 2022-23 for a Bulls team struggling to stay afloat in this year’s playoff race. DeRozan is averaging 25.4 PPG on 50.7% shooting which is his best shooting since 2020 with the Spurs when he was taking far fewer shots. DeRozan is one of the best mid-range shooters in today’s game and continues to use the forgotten art as a way to dominate his opponents on the offensive side of the ball.
Power Forward
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1. Kevin Durant
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo
3. Jayson Tatum
Among the power forwards sit three players that are in the Top 10 for the 2022-23 season and three legitimate MVP candidates. As far as offense goes, there is no one better at power forward than Kevin Durant. Now a member of the Phoenix Suns, Durant has a legitimate shot at competing for another NBA championship and if he plays at the level he was before the injury, those chances increase dramatically. Before suffering the setback, Durant was in serious MVP contention averaging 29.7 PPG on 55.9% shooting from the field and over 60.0\% on mid-range jumpers. He was also shooting 37.6% on three-pointers and leading the NBA at 93.4% from the foul line. Phoenix acquired the ultimate offensive weapon. Now, all they have to do is use him the right way.
The second-best offensive power forward has to be Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis means so much to Milwaukee’s offense as a rebounder, scorer, and playmaker. It seems he always makes the right play whenever the Bucks need it and can take over as a scorer in the most crucial moments. His powerful style of play is hard for any defense to stop and when they do throw the entire defense at him, he always finds his teammates for open threes or cuts to the hoop. Giannis is currently averaging 31.8 PPG on 53.8% shooting. Since returning from injury 12 games ago, Giannis has been even better averaging 34.3 PPG and 5.6 APG on 57.9% shooting.
The last offensive power forward that we have selected for our Top Three is Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics. Tatum is anchoring the offense for the Celtics who have the best record in the NBA through 59 games at 47-12. Tatum has turned in an all-around masterpiece of a season with 30.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and a career-high 4.5 APG. Tatum has been great as a scorer from all three levels and has looked to get his teammates more involved than ever before. It has paid off as it looks like Boston is headed toward a second straight NBA Finals berth if it keeps trending in this direction.
Center
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1. Nikola Jokic
2. Joel Embiid
3. Kristaps Porzingis
At the center position, we are seeing some of the greatest offensive play ever from Nikola Jokic. At nearly seven feet tall, Jokic is averaging a triple-double in 2022-23. Jokic has been the best playmaker in the NBA and is particularly dangerous when he catches the ball in the high or low post. His passing and playmaking have been off the charts as the offense runs through him on all accounts. He has led the nuggets to the best record in the West and is averaging 24.7 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 10.1 APG.
Joel Embiid has been just as talented as Jokic on the offensive side of the ball but far more centered around him scoring than anything. Embiid is just shy of another scoring title again in 2022-23 with 33.1 PPG on 53.7% shooting. Embiid has been a great scorer at all levels but has especially got his mid-range game working well in 2022-23. His finishing has always been great as has his offensive rebounding. Embiid looks to be on the verge of another runner-up MVP finish to Jokic for the third season in a row.
The third pick here may come as a nice shock to everyone reading but hear me out before you get all defensive. Porzingis is averaging a career-high 22.8 PPG in 2022-23 and is shooting 48.7% from the field overall, another career-high. He is also having one f the better three-point shooting seasons of his career at 37.0% on 5.4 attempts. His 22.8 PPG is behind only Jokic and Embiid for the most PPG by a center this season and he has also added almost 2.0 offensive rebounds per game. The days of Porzingis memes and jokes are over, he is the third-best offensive center in basketball right now in 2022-23.
Source: fadeawayworld
