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NBA Single Game Point Record

Let’s find out the points record in an NBA game in the history of the league and the ranking of all the players who pursue this record

Team Dunkest 2023-03-01T16:34:00

When we talk about Score Records in an NBA game, we are talking about legendary performances, those single days in which the players have expressed themselves to the maximum and have remained in history.

Let’s find out the all time NBA single-game scoring leaders (Last update: 1 March 2023).

The Highest Points Ever Scored in One Game

The NBA points record in a game was achieved by Wilt Chamberlain who with the 100 points obtained in 1962 still remains unattainable, especially considering that Kobe Bryant is in second place with 19 points behind.

The legendary Wilt Chamberlain in the 1960s imposed a scary dominance that led him to be omnipresent in this special ranking, although he “only” places 7th in the NBA’s best scorers ever.

The NBA phenoms of today are still very far from being able to threaten this record (Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard “stopped” at 71), if you consider that Stephen Curry scored 62 points, while LeBron James and James Harden are currently stuck at a personal best of 61 points in a game. However, there are several players who have stopped at 60, including Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum.

List of NBA single-game scoring leaders

#	Player	Points	Years	Team	Vs	Result
1	Wilt Chamberlain	100	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	New York Knicks	169–147
2	Kobe Bryant	81	2006	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors	122–104
3	Wilt Chamberlain	78	1961	Philadelphia Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	147–151
4	Wilt Chamberlain	73	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	Chicago Packers	135–117
	Wilt Chamberlain	73	1962	San Francisco Warriors	New York Knicks	127–111
	David Thompson	73	1978	Denver Nuggets	Detroit Pistons	137–139
7	Wilt Chamberlain	72	1962	San Francisco Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	115–127
8	Elgin Baylor	71	1960	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks	123–108
	David Robinson	71	1994	San Antonio Spurs	Los Angeles Clippers	112–97
	Donovan Mitchell	71	2023	Cleveland Cavs	Chicago Bulls	145-134
	Damian Lillard	71	2023	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets	131-114
10	Wilt Chamberlain	70	1963	San Francisco Warriors	Syracuse Nationals	148–163
	Devin Booker	70	2017	Phoenix Suns	Boston Celtics	120–130
12	Michael Jordan	69	1990	Chicago Bulls	Cleveland Cavaliers	117–113
13	Wilt Chamberlain	68	1967	Philadelphia 76ers	Chicago Bulls	143–123
	Pete Maravich	68	1977	New Orleans Jazz	New York Knicks	124–107
15	Wilt Chamberlain	67	1961	Philadelphia Warriors	New York Knicks	135–126
	Wilt Chamberlain	67	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	St. Louis Hawks	121–128
	Wilt Chamberlain	67	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	New York Knicks	135–149
	Wilt Chamberlain	67	1963	San Francisco Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	129–134
	Wilt Chamberlain	66	1969	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns	134–116
20	Wilt Chamberlain	65	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	Cincinnati Royals	132–152
	Wilt Chamberlain	65	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	St. Louis Hawks	147–137
	Wilt Chamberlain	65	1966	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers	132–125
	Kobe Bryant	65	2007	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers	116–111
24	Elgin Baylor	64	1959	Minneapolis Lakers	Boston Celtics	136–115
	Rick Barry	64	1974	Golden State Warriors	Portland Trail Blazers	143–120
	Michael Jordan	64	1993	Chicago Bulls	Orlando Magic	124–128
27	Joe Fulks	63	1949	Philadelphia Warriors	Indianapolis Jets	108–87
	Elgin Baylor	63	1961	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia Warriors	151–147
	Jerry West	63	1962	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks	129–121
	Wilt Chamberlain	63	1962	San Francisco Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	118–120
	Wilt Chamberlain	63	1964	San Francisco Warriors	Philadelphia 76ers	117–128
	George Gervin	63	1978	San Antonio Spurs	New Orleans Jazz	132–153
	Michael Jordan	63	1986	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics	131–135
34	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	Boston Celtics	136–145
	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	St. Louis Hawks	136–130
	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	Syracuse Nationals	139–132
	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1963	San Francisco Warriors	New York Knicks	123–103
	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1964	San Francisco Warriors	Cincinnati Royals	122–106
	Wilt Chamberlain	62	1966	Philadelphia 76ers	San Francisco Warriors	135–125
	Tracy McGrady	62	2004	Orlando Magic	Washington Wizards	108–99
	Kobe Bryant	62	2005	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks	112–90
	Carmelo Anthony	62	2014	New York Knicks	Charlotte Bobcats	125–96
	Stephen Curry	62	2021	Golden State Warriors	Portland Trail Blazers	137-122
44	George Mikan	61	1952	Minneapolis Lakers	Rochester Royals	91–81
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1961	Philadelphia Warriors	Chicago Packers	135–113
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	St. Louis Hawks	139–121
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1962	Philadelphia Warriors	Chicago Packers	128–119
	Elgin Baylor	61	1962	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	126–121
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1962	San Francisco Warriors	Cincinnati Royals	139–143
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1962	San Francisco Warriors	Syracuse Nationals	136–124
	Wilt Chamberlain	61	1962	San Francisco Warriors	St. Louis Hawks	130–110
	Michael Jordan	61	1987	Chicago Bulls	Detroit Pistons	125–120
	Michael Jordan	61	1987	Chicago Bulls	Atlanta Hawks	114–117
	Karl Malone	61	1990	Utah Jazz	Milwaukee Bucks	144–96
	Shaquille O’Neal	61	2000	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Clippers	123–103
	Kobe Bryant	61	2009	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks	126–117
	LeBron James	61	2014	Miami Heat	Charlotte Bobcats	124–107
	James Harden	61	2019	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks	114–110
	James Harden	61	2019	Houston Rockets	San Antonio Spurs	111–105
	Damian Lillard	61	2020	Portland Trail Blazers	Golden State Warriors	129–124
	Damian Lillard	61	2020	Portland Trail Blazers	Dallas Mavericks	134–131
62	Wilt Chamberlain	60	1961	Philadelphia Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	138–117
	Wilt Chamberlain	60	1961	Philadelphia Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers	123–118
	Wilt Chamberlain	60	1969	Los Angeles Lakers	Cincinnati Royals	126–113
	Bernard King	60	1984	New York Knicks	New Jersey Nets	114–120
	Larry Bird	60	1985	Boston Celtics	Atlanta Hawks	126–115
	Tom Chambers	60	1990	Phoenix Suns	Seattle SuperSonics	121–95
	Allen Iverson	60	2005	Philadelphia 76ers	Orlando Magic	112–99
	Gilbert Arenas	60	2006	Washington Wizards	Los Angeles Lakers	147–141
	Kobe Bryant	60	2007	Los Angeles Lakers	Memphis Grizzlies	121–119
	Kobe Bryant	60	2016	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz	101–96
	Klay Thompson	60	2016	Golden State Warriors	Indiana Pacers	142–106
	James Harden	60	2018	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic	114–107
	Kemba Walker	60	2018	Charlotte Hornets	Philadelphia 76ers	119–122
	Damian Lillard	60	2019	Portland Trail Blazers	Brooklyn Nets	115–119
	James Harden	60	2019	Houston Rockets	Atlanta Hawks	158–111
	Bradley Beal	60	2021	Washington Wizards	Philadelphia 76ers	136-141
	Jayson Tatum	60	2021	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs	143-140
	Karl-Anthony Towns	60	2022	Minnesota Timberwolves	San Antonio Spurs	149-139
	Kyrie Irving	60	2022	Brooklyn Nets	Orlando Magic	150-108
	Luka Doncic	60	2022	Dallas Mavericks	New York Knicks	126-121
	Damian Lillard	60	2023	Portland Trail Balzers	Utah Jazz	134-124

In bold players still active

Last record for points scored in an NBA game

The latest player to deliver a legendary performance is Damian Lillard, who scored an impressive 71 points in the Portland Trail Blazers-Houston Rockets game on February 27, 2023, ending with a score of 131-114.

This score has placed him in the 8th position of all time alongside Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, and Donovan Mitchell.

To celebrate this historic achievement, we at Dunkest have created two t-shirts dedicated to Dame Time, now available on Etsy.

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The Highest Points Ever Scored in One Game

List of NBA single-game scoring leaders

Last record for points scored in an NBA game

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