Top 10 highest scoring games by a player in NBA history
The NBA has seen some monster-scoring performances in its history. From Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game to Kobe Bryant's 81-point night, there's been a ton of scoring performances that have stood out.
What is equally surprising is that 10 different players have scored 70 points, including four players between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons alone.
Usually, the NBA has seen such a high frequency of high-scoring games thanks to the likes of Wilt Chamberlain doing Wilt Chamberlain things, but that's not been the case, with the variety we've seen since the play-by-play tracking began.
With all this scoring record in the books, we decided to look back at the greatest single-game scoring exploits in NBA history. Here are the top 10:
Most Points Scored in A Single Game in NBA History
#10 Joel Embiid - 70 points
Joel Embiid scored 70 points in the 2023-24 NBA season during a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs on Jan. 22, 2024. It was Embiid's career-high scoring effort. He became the ninth player to record a 70-point game. Embiid shot 58.5% and led the 76ers to a 133-123 win.
#10 Devin Booker- 70 Points
It still seems almost unreal that Devin Booker did it. The then 20-year-old exploded for 70 Points at the TD Garden against the Number 1 seeded Celtics in an incredible offensive explosion on the 24th of March, 2017. He was 21/40 from the field, 4/11 from deep and 24/26 from the charity stripe while dishing out 6 assists and grabbing 8 rebounds.
His night didn't exactly start off this way, as Booker had 19 points at the half and looked set for probably a 40-Point game, which would have been great in itself, but something clicked post-half-time.
Booker scored 23 in the third quarter and then added 28 in the fourth to finish with 70 Points. Not everyone was impressed of course, especially with the Suns fouling towards the end of the game to help Booker get more shots off, but hey he still had to make them.
Booker hasn't even come close to replicating his performance that night and that is expected, but it's a day that will live long in the memory of everyone who witnessed it.
#10 Wilt Chamberlain- 70 Points
One could say that the NBA record books are the autobiography of Wilt Chamberlain and this list proves it.
Prepare yourself to see the Big Dipper pop up multiple times on here. Between 1961 to 1963, Chamberlain scored 70 or more points six times and this was the last one.
This 70-Point performance came against the Syracuse Nationals, back in 1963 on the 10th of March.
The Warriors were out of the playoffs by this point with Wilt not having a great deal of support, which was really a common occurrence during his time with the Warriors, which led to many of these ridiculous outings.
He shot 27-38 (71%) from the field and 16-22 from the line and the Warriors still lost 163-148 which is quite amusing and sad at the same point. Fortunately for Wilt, he'd be traded a few seasons later.
#8 Donovan Mitchell - 71 points
Donovan Mitchell bagged 71 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 145-134 OT win over the Chicago Bulls. Mitchell became the seventh player in history to score a 70-point game. He achieved the feat on Jan 2., 2023 during the 2022-23 NBA season. Mitchell shot 64.7% from the field in that game. It was a personal career-high and Cavaliers' franchise record for most points in a game.
#8 Damian Lillard - 71 points
Damian Lillard tallied 71 points during the 2022-23 NBA season on Feb. 26, 2023 for the Portland Trail Blazers. He led the team to a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets. Lillard made 57.9% of his shots and hit nine 3-pointers. He became the eighth player in NBA history and second during the 2022-23 season to record a 70-point outing.
It's a franchise and personal record for the former NBA Rookie of the Year. Lillard, who was 32-years-old when he dropped 70, is the oldest player to record a 70-point outing and the only player aged 30 or above to achieve the milestone.
#8 David Robinson- 71 Points
In the 1993-94 season, David Robinson was going toe to toe with Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring title and it came down to the final game of the season.
Robinson and the Spurs erased any doubts regarding his victory as they fed him the ball the entire game en route to a 71-point performance against the Clippers. Robinson scored the first 18 Points of the game for the Spurs and you knew right away that it was going to be one of those nights.
Despite having gotten 64 Points with a minute left in the game, the Spurs still wanted more. He scored 7 more points in the final 59 seconds to finish with 71 Points on 26/41 shooting from the field and 18/25 from the foul line.
His performance meant that Shaq needed to score 68 points to win the scoring title and the Diesel ended up well short of that mark, scoring 32 Points against the Nets.
#8 Elgin Baylor- 71 Points
In my opinion, the most underrated player in NBA history, Elgin Baylor has unfortunately been forgotten. Baylor was way ahead of his time and is the one responsible for the invention you could say of modern-day basketball.
Baylor had many incredible scoring outbursts during his career and his 61 points against the Celtics in the 1963 NBA Finals is a record that is unlikely to ever be broken.
While I would say that was his best performance, Baylor had set the record for most points in a game three years earlier, on November 15th, 1960 when he dropped 71 points on the Knicks as a third-year player.
He shot 28-48 and grabbed 25 Rebounds in a 123-108 win for the Finals-bound Lakers. They would, unfortunately, lose again to the Celtics, which was a theme of Baylor's career, as he lost to the Celtics in 7 NBA Finals.
#7 Wilt Chamberlain- 72 Points
Another otherworldly performance and another crushing loss, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chamberlain erupted for 72 Points against the Lakers on November 3rd, 1962 shooting 29/48 from the field along with 14/18 from the line and the Warriors still lost 127-115.
As usual, he didn't have a great deal of support, as Guy Rodgers was the 2nd top scorer with 15, while on the other side, the Lakers were powered to victory by their All-star duo of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
West dropped 49 Points while Baylor had 30 and 18 rebounds as the Lakers reversed a halftime deficit, took over in the third quarter, and never looked back.
The loss did seem to have a damaging effect on the team, as after starting 5-1, the Warriors limped to a 31-49 record and missed the playoffs entirely.
#4 Luka Doncic - 73 points
Luka Doncic matched Wilt Chamberlain's 73-point effort to record the fourth highest scoring game in NBA history. He became the 10th NBA player to score 70 points. Doncic achieved the feat against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 26, 2024. He shot 25-of-33 in a 148-143 win for the Dallas Mavericks. It's Doncic's career-high and Mavericks' franchise record for most point in a game.
#4 Wilt Chamberlain- 73 Points
On November 16th, 1962, Wilt Scored 73 Points against the New York Knicks who unfortunately make their second entry on this list for all the wrong reasons (and it isn't the last time they'll be here either).
Having pulverized the Knicks in Philadelphia just a few months back, this time around Wilt came to Madison Square Garden to put on another dominant performance.
The Warriors were actually trailing at the break, but Chamberlain put on a brutal offensive display to dispatch the Knicks and the Warriors won 127-111 (finally a win for Wilt on this list!!).
What many don't realize is that this performance came just about two weeks after those 72 Points he put up against the Lakers in a losing effort.
The man really scored 70+ points twice in like 15 days! Sheesh. Thankfully for Wilt this time around it came in a winning cause.
#4 Wilt Chamberlain- 73 Points
Hey! It's Wilt yet again and once again it's in a winning effort! The Warriors faced the Chicago Packers on January 13th, 1962 and it was utter domination.
The Packers were in their first year in the NBA, and they got a grand welcoming from the Big Dipper. Chamberlain dropped 73 Points on 29/48 shooting and grabbed a ridiculous 36 Rebounds in a 135-117 win.
Wilt got plenty of support in this encounter, with Paul Arizin scoring 26 Points, as the Warriors pounced on the sorry Packers who unsurprisingly for an expansion team, finished bottom of the league
As for those wondering about the Packers they're not the predecessors for the Bulls. The team would be renamed as the Chicago Zephyrs the following season and a year later they'd move to Baltimore after which they eventually ended up in Washington as the Wizards.
#4 David Thompson- 73 Points
Well, finally a new face! David Thompson set the single-season scoring record for guys not named Wilt back in 1978 on the 9th of April.
This was another case of the scoring title being on the line, as Thompson battled George Gervin for the crown.
In what would end up being the closest scoring race in NBA history, Robinson erupted for 73 Points in the final game of the season against the Pistons and had 32 Points by the end of the first quarter, which set the record for most points in a quarter.
The Nuggets lost a close ball game right at the end but took some solace from the fact that Thompson had surely won the scoring crown, but that wasn't the case.
Gervin would need to score 58 Points to snatch the crown later in the day and guess what? He scored 63 to win the scoring title by a whisker, 27.22 to 27.15.
#3 Wilt Chamberlain- 78 Points
Well, its Wilt Chamberlain yet again. The Dipper broke Elgin Baylor's record just over a year after it was set with 78 Points in a triple OT thriller against the Los Angeles Lakers on December 8th, 1961.
The game set the record for most points scored by two players in a game, as while Wilt had 78, Baylor scored 63 of his own. Chamberlain played all 63 minutes and fatigue really started to set in towards the end of it, as the Lakers won 151-147.
To go along with 78 points, Wilt also hauled in 43(?!) Rebounds and was the only player on his team to even shoot 50% from the field, as he shot 31/62.
The tie shifted in LA's favor as it had the last time around, thanks to the supporting cast. While Wilt's floundered, Baylor, got a helping hand in the form of a 32 Point triple-double from Jerry West.
#2 Kobe Bryant- 81 Points
The Black Mamba put on the greatest offensive showing in modern times with an 81 point explosion against the Toronto Raptors on January 22nd, 2006.
These were the years between Shaq's departure and Pau Gasol's arrival, where it was pretty much Kobe or bust for the Lakers and this game was no different as they needed every one of those 81 points.
Down 63-49 at halftime against the lowly Raptors, Kobe put the Lakers on his back in the 2nd half, scoring 55 Points, outscoring the Raptors by himself (55-41) as the Lakers won 122-104. He shot 28/46 from the field, 7/13 from beyond the arc and was 18/20 at the foul line.
Phil Jackson later commented that it's probably not the ideal way to win, as evidenced by an early exit in the playoffs that season, but hey, the only way that roster was going to win games was if Kobe went full Kobe.
#1 Wilt Chamberlain- 100
Quite simply, stunning. Wilt Chamberlain was at the peak of his prowess in the 1961-62 season, averaging 50.4 Points and he lifted his game beyond the reach of any other NBA player by scoring 100 points against the Knicks on March 2nd,1962.
He was up to 69 Points by the end of the third quarter and despite the Warriors leading comfortably, decided to stick around and beat his record of 78 Points. He easily went past 78, and with 5 minutes remaining in the fourth, Chamberlain had 89.
Not wanting to be the ones to let a man score 100 points, the Knicks began fouling other players on the Warriors in an attempt to make sure Wilt didn't score.
They also slowed down considerably on offense to waste some more time and the Warriors duly countered by intentionally fouling the Knicks in order to get the ball back.
Amidst the drama, Wilt kept on going and with 46 seconds remaining, he got to a 100 points, a record that will never be broken.
He finished the night shooting 36/63 from the field and 28/32 from the line. The free throw shooting was a big reason why he got there and if he could have shot like that throughout his career, he might as well be holding all 10 spots on this list right now.