5 Youngest players with a 50-point game in NBA Playoffs
Jayson Tatum made history when he dropped a 50-point game in a winning cause against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. He became the third-youngest player in the NBA to score 50 points in a playoff game.
It was Tatum's 4th 50-point game this season and second in the post-season after he achieved the feat against the Washington Wizards in the play-in tournament as well.
On that note, we take a look at the five youngest players, including Jayson Tatum, to dropped 50 in the NBA Playoffs.
5 Youngest players to score 50 points in an NBA Playoff game
#5 Donovan Mitchell (23 years, 345 days)
Before Jayson Tatum made his way onto the list, Donovan Mitchell was mentioned twice as the fourth and fifth-youngest player in the NBA to drop 50-point games in the playoffs. He achieved this feat last year in the Orlando Bubble against the Denver Nuggets. The Utah Jazz star man had 57 points, shooting 19-for-33 from the floor.
It was his career-best performance to date in the NBA and the second-highest total for a player aged 23, behind Michael Jordan's 63-point game against the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA playoffs.
#4 Wilt Chamberlain (23 years, 206 days)
Wilt Chamberlain has held multiple scoring records in his career. He was the youngest player to score 50 points in a playoff game between 1960-1967. He scored 53 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Syracuse Nationals during the 1960 NBA playoffs.
Chamberlain shot 24-of-42 from the field to become the first player aged 23 to score a 50-point playoff game.
#3 Jayson Tatum (23 years, 86 days)
Jayson Tatum had a playoff-career night against the mighty Brooklyn Nets that helped his team avoid going down 3-0 in their first-round series. He shot 16-of-30 from the floor, including 5 three-pointers to lead his team to a 125-119 win.
It was his fourth 50-point game of the season, the most by a player in the 2020-21 NBA campaign.
#2 Michael Jordan (23 years, 62 days)
Michael Jordan's 63-point game in the 1986 playoffs against the Boston Celtics was his best individual performance ever and is still the playoff scoring record in the NBA. It was just his second year in the league and the first sign the greatness that was to follow. More impressively, he delivered the performance against a Celtics team playing at TD Garden that had an all-time great in Larry Bird on their roster.
#1 Rick Barry (23 years, 21 days)
Rick Barry produced one of the most historic NBA finals performances when he tallied 55 points for the San Francisco Warriors against Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia Warriors in Game 3 of the 1967 NBA Finals. It was the second-highest score by a player in an NBA Finals game at the time, which was later tied by Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals.