Scoring has long been on the rise in the NBA and players are sure to put up impressive stat lines throughout the upcoming 2023-24 season. While Joel Embiid won last year's scoring title en route to his first-ever MVP Award, five other players averaged at least 30.1 points per game. Embiid will surely have some stiff competition as he looks to defend his title, and I've taken a look at all the options to pick three strong scoring title bets you should have on your radar ahead of the season's start.
Joel Embiid (+175)
Embiid has led the NBA in scoring in each of his last two seasons and is in a great position to do it again in 2023-24. While James Harden's facilitating has created a ton of easy buckets for the Philadelphia 76ers big man and his departure could hurt Embiid, several other frontrunners have their own difficulties to deal with. Luka Doncic will have to play an entire season with Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo has a superstar teammate in Damian Lillard, and Kristaps Porzingis will pose more of a threat to Jayson Tatum's production than Al Horford or Robert Williams ever did. Each of the aforementioned players will have to find balance with their new teammates. The reigning MVP will be the clear-cut focal point for a team with no other All-Star caliber players if Harden holds out, so bettors should be confident in him.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+400)
Only Embiid, Doncic, and Lillard averaged more points per game than SGA last season. The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard proved that few players can match him in terms of shot creation during the 2022-23 campaign. He doesn't need to depend on others to get the looks he wants and 79 percent of his field goals were unassisted last season. Only Doncic (84.7) topped that mark. OKC hasn't really gone through any major changes over the offseason. No key pieces have left and no big names have come to town. Chet Holmgren's insertion into the starting lineup shouldn't slow SGA down.
Stephen Curry (+1600)
How can you not sprinkle a little something on this? Curry is entering his age-35 season, but averaged more than 30.0 points per game during three different months last season. That figure could've been four if he wasn't injured for a hefty chunk of February. Someone has to replace Jordan Poole's 20.4 points per game and Chris Paul remains one of the best floor generals in basketball. Curry attempted more than 20 shots per game for the third time in his career last season. The other two times came in 2015-16 and 2020-21. He won the scoring title in both those campaigns.
