Top 5 individual scores in a career-finale game
It is a dream for a lot of players to have a great farewell game. It gets increasingly tougher to score high points as a player gets older and therefore, it requires players to push their limits to pull off legendary performances in the career-finale game.
After playing in the NBA for a lot of years, it is only fitting that players get a final game that they truly deserve. While a lot of players are not fortunate enough to have a fitting farewell game, there are few players who will be remembered for their performances in the final game of their respective careers.
Kobe Bryant's performance of 60 points against Utah Jazz in his farewell game at Staples Center will be remembered for a very long time by the basketball fraternity. The Lakers went on to win the game at home. Though the Lakers could not qualify to the playoffs that season, this game gave the Lakers fans a lot of moments to cherish.
In the history of NBA, there are very few instances where a player was able to score more than 20 points in the final of his career. Here are the 5 players who scored most points in their respective career finale games.
#5 Walter Davis
Stat line: 20 points, 1 assist on 50.0% shooting
Walter Davis was selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 5th overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft. He went on to win the Rookie of the Year award in the 1978 season when he averaged his career-high 24.2 points and 6.0 rebounds. Davis was a 6-time NBA All-Star and played shooting guard and small forward. He played 16 seasons in the NBA and averaged 18.9 points, 3.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Davis who was remembered for his days with Phoenix Suns made it to the post-season 10 times in his career but was not fortunate enough to win a championship. He was 2-time All-NBA Second Team and his jersey No.6 was retired by the Phoenix Suns.
In his last season, Denver Nuggets finished 11th in the Western Conference and could not make it to the playoffs. In their final game of the season against Dallas Mavericks, Walter came off the bench and scored 20 points in the final game of his career after playing for only 19 minutes. He went for 10-20 from the field with a field-goal percentage of 50. Though the Nuggets went on to lose the game, it was Walter Davis' performance that gave fans reason to smile.