Is 50 the new 40? The NBA’s Latest Scoring Surge, Explained

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 January 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s not just you, we really are seeing more high-scoring performances by NBA players than usual. We’ve seen 50-point performances from Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Giannis, and counting this season…and that’s not including Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point game on January 2. It seems as though the saying “50 is the new 40” has finally made its way to the NBA, and it's become the dominant trend of the season…which left us asking ourselves, “why?” So naturally, we turned to the only person who could answer that question for us: Former San Antonio Spurs VP Kirk Goldsberry. Kirk helps us figure out why scoring is booming…and whether this trend is here to stay. To help ensure you didn't miss any of our best stories from the past year, we've collected our favorite episodes of 2022 into one playlist. We think you’ll love every episode on there, so check it out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So Kirk Goldsbury, what did you first realize that something very different was happening
0:12.5	in the NBA this season?
0:15.4	I first realized that on January 2nd.
0:17.8	Donovan Mitchell zigzags inside, close it up and close it in.
0:22.2	52 now.
0:23.2	For Mitchell.
0:24.2	Alright, goodness, Donovan Mitchell.
0:26.8	Donovan Mitchell had one of the most crazy box scores I've ever seen Pablo.
0:30.8	Look, heard off the lung.
0:31.8	Mitchell wants it.
0:32.8	He gets it.
0:33.8	Mitchell steps back.
0:34.8	He scored 71 points and he added 10 assists.
0:41.8	Mitchell to the basket.
0:42.8	Donovan Mitchell showed.
0:47.8	What a night.
0:49.8	Epic.
0:50.8	All told, he created 99 points for the Cavs.
0:53.8	That's the second highest to it all time.
0:55.8	Mitchell looks for 70.
0:58.8	A site to be more.
1:04.8	For me, it was the quintessential example of one of the dominant trends of a season where
	...

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