5 Active players with most 40-point games in the NBA Playoffs
The NBA playoffs are an entirely different affair as the competition is a lot stiffer. However, certain players have managed to replicate their stand-out regular-season performances in the postseason.
It's a tad difficult to pull this off during the NBA playoffs. The teams that make it this far are equally as impressive and will not stand idle while a single player decimates them. The toll of the regular season also plays a role as players play with tired legs and bruised bodies.
Regardless, certain players have shown that they can produce stellar performances regularly, no matter the stage. Michael Jordan tops the all-time list with thirty-eight 40-point games during his stint with the Chicago Bulls.
Top five active players with 40-point games in the NBA Playoffs
Only 32 active players have achieved this feat, with Trae Young as the most recent member of the exclusive list. His 48 points against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals earned him a spot on the list.
On that note, let's take a look at the active players with the most 40-point games in the NBA playoffs.
#5 Stephen Curry, 6
Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to three NBA championships in 2015, 2017, and 2018. He is arguably the best three-point shooter to have stepped on an NBA hardwood.
After seven consecutive NBA playoffs runs, which started in 2013, Steph Curry has failed to lead the Warriors to a postseason appearance for back-to-back seasons. He lost out to LeBron James in the inaugural 2021 NBA Play-in tournament.
Despite missing five NBA playoffs in his 12-year career, he has successfully scored 40+ points six times on his road to three rings. Curry was the NBA scoring champion in 2021 for the second time in his career but did not have the opportunity to continue that hot streak in the playoffs. His highest tally (47) came in Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
#4 Russell Westbrook, 7
Russell Westbrook is currently leading the league in triple-doubles and has done so on the back of some solid offensive displays in the playoffs. Although he is yet to win a championship, he has made the NBA playoffs in 11 of his 13 active seasons in the NBA.
Westbrook has had seven 40+ points in the NBA playoffs, but the most memorable is his 51 points against the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the 2017 NBA playoffs first-round bout. That night, he set an NBA playoffs record for the most points scored while recording a triple-double. Despite the loss, he finished the game with 51 points, 13 assists, 10 points, and four steals.