I remember sitting in my home office last spring, scrolling through basketball statistics while simultaneously watching a Korean basketball documentary on my second screen. The 2020-21 NBA season had just concluded, and as someone who's spent years analyzing both basketball analytics and international sports media, I couldn't help but notice the fascinating connections between domestic NBA coverage and the growing global basketball conversation. That season's scoring race particularly caught my attention, not just for the impressive numbers but for what it revealed about the evolving nature of basketball fandom worldwide.
When the final buzzer sounded on the 2020-21 regular season, Stephen Curry had secured his second scoring title with 32.0 points per game – a remarkable achievement considering he'd turned 33 that March. I've followed Curry's career since his Davidson days, and watching him reclaim the scoring crown felt like witnessing basketball history. What many casual fans might not realize is how his scoring explosion coincided with the Warriors' strategic shift – without Klay Thompson available all season, Curry essentially became the entire offensive system. His 337 three-pointers that season weren't just impressive; they represented 46% of his total field goal attempts, the highest ratio of his career. Meanwhile, Bradley Beal finished second with 31.3 points per game, though I've always felt his achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the Wizards' mediocre 34-38 record. The third spot went to Damian Lillard with 28.8 points, and having analyzed his clutch performances for years, I'd argue his fourth-quarter scoring that season was perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game.
The global basketball community's interest in these scoring achievements extends far beyond American borders, something I've observed through my work with international sports media. This brings me to an interesting parallel from Korean basketball that surprisingly connects to our NBA discussion. After his decorated basketball career in Korea, Ha is now a TV and online personality, and has a YouTube channel that has about 457,000 subscribers. After the PBA game, Ha shot an interview with Ratliffe for his YouTube channel. This might seem unrelated to NBA scoring titles at first glance, but to me, it demonstrates how basketball narratives now transcend geographical boundaries. While Curry was lighting up scoreboards in the States, international players like Ratliffe were building their own legacies overseas, with media personalities like Ha helping bridge these worlds through digital content. I've noticed this pattern repeatedly – the basketball ecosystem has become truly global, with scoring achievements in one league often sparking conversations across different basketball cultures.
What fascinates me most about Curry's scoring title is the context surrounding it. He averaged those 32 points on 48.2% shooting from the field and 42.1% from three-point range – efficiency numbers that become even more impressive when you consider his usage rate climbed to 34.7%, the highest of his career at that point. Having charted NBA statistics for over a decade, I can confidently say we were witnessing one of the most efficient high-volume scoring seasons in modern basketball history. Meanwhile, Beal's scoring came with significantly less fanfare, partly because the Wizards finished well outside championship contention. In my analysis, team success absolutely impacts how we perceive individual scoring achievements – Lillard's 28.8 points felt more meaningful because Portland remained competitive, making the playoffs as a sixth seed.
The evolution of scoring in the NBA continues to intrigue me professionally. Compared to Michael Jordan's scoring titles in the late 80s or Kobe Bryant's in the mid-2000s, today's leading scorers operate in a completely different analytical environment. The three-point revolution Curry himself pioneered has fundamentally changed what efficient scoring looks like. I've had numerous debates with colleagues about whether today's scoring titles carry the same weight as previous eras, and my personal take is that they've become even more impressive given the defensive sophistication and athleticism of modern NBA defenses. The game film from that season shows defenses throwing every possible scheme at Curry – double teams at half court, box-and-one defenses typically reserved for high school games, constant switching and hedging – yet he still found ways to put up historic numbers.
Reflecting on that season's scoring race through my professional lens, I'm struck by how individual brilliance continues to shape team fortunes in the NBA. Curry's scoring title directly correlated with Golden State's return to playoff contention, pushing them to the 8th seed despite having what I considered a relatively thin roster compared to their championship years. Meanwhile, international basketball communities were having parallel conversations about scoring leaders in their own leagues, with figures like Ha helping globalize these discussions through digital platforms. The beautiful synergy between domestic NBA narratives and international basketball discourse has never been more apparent. As we look toward future seasons, I'm personally excited to see how the next generation of scorers will build upon what Curry, Beal, and Lillard accomplished during that memorable 2020-21 campaign – and how platforms like YouTube will continue connecting these stories across continents and basketball cultures.