The 25 best one-season NBA wonders

The 2016-17 season was unreal for Thomas. He put up an astounding 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game as the motor behind Boston’s run to the No. 1 seed. There was never another season he had that came within 10 points of that scoring outburst. Thomas garnered MVP consideration that season, even picking up an All-NBA Second Team selection for his monumental campaign. 

Over 14 seasons, Barros forged a respectable NBA career. He never matched his explosion in the 1994-95 season, when he set career highs in points (20.6) and assists (7.5). That resulted in his only All-Star selection and the honors of winning Most Improved Player. His career average was 10.5 points per game, a far cry from the scoring prowess he exhibited in that remarkable run. 

Ultimately, injuries are what hampered Bynum’s career. He realized his full potential in 2011-12, averaging 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, earning an All-Star nod and an All-NBA Second Team selection. He even posted nearly two blocks per night. That season saw some incredible box scores, including one 30-rebound effort. 

A statistical anomaly was on full display for James in the 2005-06 season. In a contract year, James took his 9.9 career scoring average and upped that to 20.3 points along with 5.8 assists per game. That 10-point jump was never replicated as he averaged 7.4 points per game over his next seven seasons. It was an astounding campaign that saw him put up 30 points in four straight games. 

Brought to the New Jersey Nets as the centerpiece of the Jason Kidd trade with Dallas, Harris excelled in his first season. He put up 21.3 points per game and added 6.9 assists per game as one of the premier guards in the Eastern Conference. He never regained that 20-a-night scoring prowess, as injuries played a role in his decline.

His career-high 19.6 points per game in the 2009-10 season propelled Brooks to be the Most Improved Player in the league and someone that Houston could build around. However, his outlier season was due to increased usage after Tracy McGrady was traded and Yao Ming was injured. He was never able to sustain those numbers, particularly because he suffered an injury early in the next campaign, paving the way for Kyle Lowry to come in and take over the starting job. 

Looking at Adams’ career arc, it’s bizarre what he was able to accomplish in the 1990-91 season. He averaged 25 points and 10 assists per game, joining the likes of Oscar Robertson as one of the few to accomplish that at the time. He was truly a beneficiary of the run-and-gun system implemented by Denver’s Paul Westhead that season. His scoring fell by eight points the next season after being dealt to Washington, and it continued to decline in the years that followed. 

Armstrong reached the pinnacle of his career in the wake of Michael Jordan’s temporary retirement. He averaged 14.8 points per game, earning his only All-Star selection in 1993-94. That ended up being slightly more than five points higher than his career average. Armstrong was claimed in the Expansion Draft by Toronto the following season, who then flipped him to Golden State, beginning a drastic decline in usage. 

After spending most of his time as a reserve before the 2004-05 season, Simmons was given more court time and rewarded the Clippers with a career-high 16.4 points per game. That was far higher than his career average of 9.0 points per game. He received more than 37 minutes a game that season and turned that into an opportunity to ink a multi-year deal the following offseason. His scoring dropped the next year slightly, and then an injury struck, resulting in a loss of athleticism that never allowed him to tap back into that previous career year. 

This one is an anomaly within an anomaly. Delk was a career 9.1 scorer before the 2000-01 season. He bumped that up to a career-high 12.3 points per game that season, which alone isn’t getting him onto this list, but it’s his absurd 53-point game in January of that season that truly stands out. That remains the only game over his 10-year career in which he scored 30 or more points. 

At 7-foot-4, it was almost assumed that Eaton would be a defensive force in the league. He was, but his 1984-85 season was an unmatched performance that NBA fans have never seen before. He recorded 5.6 blocks per game, a record that remains to this day and is more than double the next closest. That same season, he averaged 11.3 rebounds. He was undoubtedly the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. That campaign was the only time he averaged double-digit rebounds, and he (or anyone else) ever came close to that outlier block season. 

His arrival in the 1992-93 season helped fuel the Suns' run to the Finals, as he averaged 15.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game after debuting mid-season. His debut season was never matched, as he finished well below that in career scoring (10.6 PPG) and lasted only three more seasons. His NBA career was cut short (and began later than it should have) due to substance abuse issues.

Stephenson became a cult hero after rising to the occasion in the 2013-14 season. That dominant campaign saw him lead the league in triple-doubles (5), a mark that he never came close to matching again. As is the case with many players who have outlier seasons, this was a contract-year that saw him elevate his game to a new level. He was never the same player after leaving Indiana for a large contract and a less-than-ideal role in Charlotte. 

Over his 11 years, one season stands alone as his breakout campaign. That was his 2013-14 run, which saw him set career highs in points (18.2) and rebounds (4.0), with the former a drastic spike from his career average (11.0). There was never a point prior to that where he was assumed to be the team’s top scorer, but that’s exactly what he did in his contract year.

Lin actually strung together a couple of impressive seasons, but for the sake of this list, it’s impossible not to hyper-focus on his 11-game stretch during the 2011-12 season. For a time, he averaged 23.9 points and 9.2 assists per game, more than double his career scoring average (11.6). A unique opportunity with injuries to the team’s stars and a struggling Knicks team allowed Lin to step into the spotlight. 

It’s unfair to call him a one-hit wonder, but in the 2000-01 season, he reached his scoring apex with 29.8 points per game, finishing runner-up for the scoring title. That sort of season was unheralded, as he had never scored more than 21 in any previous season and was well above his career average (16.9). Stackhouse was a good player who tapped into greatness for one season.

Campbell put up 23.2 points per game for Minnesota in their expansion season. That was by far his career year, thanks in large part to the high usage he received on a team that was figuring itself out. His scoring totals are impressive at first look, but they came by way of 20 field goal attempts per night. Campbell had the green light that entire season and shattered his career averages. 

After averaging 6.6 points per game as a rookie, MacLean’s scoring jumped to 18.2 points per game the following season, earning him the Most Improved Player award. He never scored more than 11 points in any other year, signaling just how much of an outlier that 1993-94 season in Washington was for MacLean. 

Burton enjoyed a memorable 1994-95 season with Philadelphia, bumping his scoring by five points. This was a classic case of a player starring on a bad team, one that finished 24-58. He received a career-high in minutes (29.5) and enjoyed some massive scoring outbursts, including a 53-point onslaught during one game. Oddly enough, he ended up playing overseas in Italy the following year for more money and was never able to replicate his success in the NBA again. 

The center doubled his career averages with 17.7 points and 8.7 boards per game for the expansion Cleveland Cavaliers. He became the first Cav to ever score 50 points in a game, a record that wasn’t broken until some player named Lebron James did so 30 years later. Wesley’s scoring dipped to 12.4 the following year and then to 3.2 after that. 

Carter-Williams shone brightly as a rookie, but many criticized him for having empty stats. His 16.7 points, 6.3 assists, and 6.2 rebounds per game were more than enough to win the Rookie of the Year award. That historic season, however, would never become the norm for him. His career scoring average hovered around 10, a steep dropoff from his debut season. 

Just like Carter-Williams, Evans quickly burst onto the scene as a rookie with 20.1 points per game. His debut numbers put him in rare air with names like Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James. Because of that, many fans thought Evans could become the game’s next star player. That was a mantle, however, that he would never reach outside of one season, averaging 19.4 points a night a decade after debuting. 

Talk about a career year. Lee bumped his scoring to 12 points a game compared to his 7.3 career average, but what made his 1977-78 season so spectacular was his defensive output. He led the league in steals (2.7), an honor he'd never replicate. His scoring never held up, either, as he averaged fewer than five points per game in multiple seasons. 

The 2012-13 season was the coming-out party for Sanders. He established himself as an imposing defensive center, nearly averaging a double-double to go with more than 2 blocks a night. A string of injuries and off-the-court issues that landed him in the league’s anti-drug program derailed his career just as it was about to get going. 

Drafted with the expectation of being a star in the league, Hughes never was able to reach that ceiling, but he did flash at times. No season was more dominant by him than 2004-05. That was when he became the first player since Michael Jordan to average at least 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and more than 2 steals per game.