NBA Opening Night: Top 5 individual performances of all time
The NBA is back. Two games were played on the 2021 NBA Opening Night. Defending champions Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Brooklyn Nets at home, while the Golden State Warriors outlasted the LA Lakers at the Staples Center.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a great NBA Opening Night against the Nets. He had 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists in the Bucks' 127-104 victory. Meanwhile, Stephen Curry recorded his eighth career triple-double against the Lakers. Curry scored 21 points to go along with ten boards and as many dimes. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 121-114.
Steph Curry drops a triple-double to lift the @warriors on opening night! #KiaTipOff21
Jordan Poole: 20 PTS (16 in 2nd half)
Nemanja Bjelica: 15 PTS, 11 REB
LeBron James: 34 PTS, 11 REB
Anthony Davis: 33 PTS, 11 REB https://t.co/5mah6aytOO
While Antetokoumpo and Curry's performances were good, they are not among the best in the history of NBA's Opening Night. Here are the top five NBA Opening Night performances of all time.
#5 Wilt Chamberlain - 1962 NBA Opening Night
Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest and dominant players in NBA history. He holds many records that are deemed unbreakable, and still stand to this day. One of those records is the most points scored in an NBA Opening Night.
In 1962, Chamberlain of the then-San Francisco Warriors scored an NBA record 56 points against the Detroit Pistons. The Warriors defeated the Pistons 140-113 on the night.
Chamberlain added 29 rebounds and four assists while shooting 65.7% from the field. He could have had 63 points had he converted all of his free throws in the game. Chamberlain went 10-of-17 from the stripe on that night.
#4 Anthony Davis - 2014 NBA Opening Night
Anthony Davis is one of the most special talents in the history of the NBA. He spent his first seven seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans before getting traded to the LA Lakers in 2019.
While with the Pelicans, Davis had one of the greatest NBA Opening Night performances of all time. In 2014, he recorded a near triple-double with 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine blocks against the Orlando Magic at home. He also had three steals and two assists in his team's 101-84 win.
Pelicans' @AntDavis23 was a block short of a triple-double on opening night. dlvr.it/7Lsbk4 (@AP photo) http://t.co/hZ6Cs3f7sV
Davis was one block away from a rare triple-double with blocks. Nevertheless, the future Hall of Famer stamped his superstardom with one of the greatest opening night performances in NBA history.