Top 5 NBA players with consecutive 50-point games in league history
Bradley Beal made NBA history during the Washington Wizards’ Regular Season match during the 2019-20 NBA season by becoming the first franchise player to ever record two consecutive matches with 50+ points.
Over the years, quite a few NBA players have managed to produce consecutive 50+ point games, with the likes of Devin Booker and James Harden doing it in recent years.
The record for the longest 50-point game streak goes to Wilt Chamberlain, who back in December 1961 recorded 7 straight games scoring at least 50 points.
Bradley Beal holds the unfortunate distinction of being only the 4th player in history to record the streak in back-to-back losses, with both Booker and Harden also recording their 50-point games in back-to-back losses.
In this article, we look at the top 5 NBA players who have recorded consecutive 50-point games.
Top NBA players with consecutive 50-point games
#5 James Harden
Now part of a big-3 with the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Harden recorded exactly 51 points in back-to-back losses against city rivals the Lakers and Clippers back in December 2017.
Widely recognized as one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, Harden was the fourth player in NBA history to achieve the feat in back-to-back losses.
Overall, James Harden has recorded a resounding 23 NBA matches with 50+ points, putting him at fourth on the all-time list. Considering Harden is still on the lookout for his first NBA ring, he will be expected to jump as high as #2, by the time the 31-year old decides to hang up his boots.
#4 Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor is widely recognized as one of the most-gifted shooters of his generation, and was a 11-time All-Star. He is 5th on this list of the NBA players with the most 40+, and 50+ points ever recorded, with 88 and 17.
Baylor was also only the second player in NBA history to record more than 2 consecutive NBA matches with 50+ points, as he went 3 back-to-back games with at least 50 in the 1962-63 season. Baylor spent 14 seasons at the LA Lakers, with the final two of his 3-game streak coming against the San Francisco Warriors.
#3 Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain is perhaps the greatest scorer the NBA has ever seen, with innumerable records to his name. Chamberlain holds the record for the most points per game in a season, with 4 of the best ever seasons recorded by him.
He went for a whopping 100 points against the New York Knicks on March 2nd, 1962, and holds the record for the longest streak with 50+point games as well.
Chamberlain recorded at least 50 points in a total of 118 NBA matches, with quite a few of his records coming during the 1961-62 season, when he averaged 50.4 points per game.
Since December 16th, Chamberlain produced a total of 7 consecutive games with 50+ points. Overall, quite a few of his scoring records are widely accepted to be perennial in nature.
#2 Kobe Bryant
Another player widely accepted as one of the best in NBA history, the Black Mamba also has quite a few NBA records to his name. He produced the second highest points in an NBA match, with 81, and has recorded the third highest 50+ point games in the league’s history.
With a total of 25, the five-time NBA champion and 18 time All-Star has one of the most celebrated legacies in basketball history. Kobe Bryant went off for four consecutive 50+ games back in March 2007.
The streak began in the Lakers’ win over the Portland Trailblazers with a huge 65-point performance, and ended against the New Orleans Hornets, on March 23rd, 2007.
#1 Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan finds himself second on the all-time list of players with the most 50-point games in the NBA, with 31. Michael Jordan is perhaps the greatest basketballer the world has ever seen, and is the only player in NBA history to record consecutive 50-point games in the playoffs.
During the first round of the 1988 playoffs, the Chicago Bulls came up against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that relied on the likes of Brad Daugherty and the two-way brilliance of Larry Nance Sr.
Jordan delivered 50 and 55 points in the first two matches of the series as the Bulls went on to win 3-2. Michael Jordan finished the season with his first and only Defensive Player of the year award.