Top 5 highest-scoring performances in Olympic men's basketball history
The Olympics is a global sporting event that features the best athletes from all over the world. Basketball, in particular, has become a global sport with numerous record-breakers and stars on the world stage.
There are ongoing debates about whether the NBA features the best players globally, but it is in Olympic basketball where these athletes represent their countries and compete against each other.
Here, we look at the top five highest-scoring performances in Olympic men's basketball history, and surprisingly, only one player on the list has played in the NBA.
Top 5 highest scoring performances in Olympic men's basketball history
#5, Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) - 46 points vs. Soviet Union (1988)
Oscar Schmidt, a Brazilian basketball legend, is known for his incredible scoring ability. In the quarterfinals against the Soviet Union during the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he scored 46 points. However, he missed a potential game-tying shot in the final minute, leading to Brazil's 110-105 defeat.
#4, Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) - 46 points vs. Puerto Rico (1988)
In the classification round of the same Olympics, Schmidt again scored 46 points, this time against Puerto Rico, leading Brazil to a dominant 104-86 win. In the subsequent battle for fifth place, Schmidt scored 41 points as Brazil defeated Canada 106-90.
#3, Luka Doncic (Slovenia) - 48 points vs. Argentina (2020)
Luka Doncic made a sensational Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games, held in 2021, scoring 48 points against Argentina in a preliminary round game. His performance was marked by efficiency, as he shot 18-for-29 from the field and contributed 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
#2, Eddie Palubinskas (Australia) - 48 points vs. Mexico (1976)
Australian player Eddie Palubinskas made Olympic history with a stellar 48-point performance against Mexico during the 1976 Montreal Olympics, which was the most points scored in a single game for 12 years before it was broken by the No. 1 performance in this list.
Palubinskas was selected in the 1974 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round. He was then traded to the New Orleans Jazz and drafted in the eighth round of the ABA draft by the Utah Stars but never played in the NBA.
#1, Oscar Schmidt (Brazil) - 55 points vs. Spain (1988)
Topping the list is Oscar Schmidt's legendary 55-point game against Spain in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Despite Spain's 118-110 victory, Schmidt’s performance set the record for the most points scored in a single Olympic game.
In the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Schmidt averaged 42.3 points per game. Eight years later at the Atlanta Games, in his final Olympics at age 38, he averaged 27.4 points.
In total, Schmidt tallied 1,093 points in the Olympics for an average of 28.8, still an Olympic record.
Schmidt was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the sixth round of the 1984 NBA draft and played with them in their 1984 training camp and preseason. However, he declined the club's offer of a fully guaranteed contract because it was for considerably less money than he made playing in Italy and accepting it would have meant he could no longer represent the senior Brazilian national team.
Until 1989, NBA players were not allowed to play for national teams.