NBA Single Game Point Record

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, Joel Embiid at 70, and Luka Doncic at 73), 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.

The latest players on the timeline to have recorded 60 or more points in an NBA game include Luka Doncic, who scored exactly 60 points (accompanied by a legendary triple-double) at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2022; Donovan Mitchell, who closed with 71 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Bulls on January 3, 2023; and, in the matchup between his Blazers and the Utah Jazz, Damian Lillard, who, in the game against the Houston Rockets, notched an impressive 71 points!

Since January 23, 2024, Karl-Anthony Towns has also joined this ranking with his 62 points scored against the Charlotte Hornets, and Joel Embiid, who delivered an outstanding performance by scoring 70 points against the San Antonio Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama. This exceptional performance allowed Embiid to rise to the 12th position in the all-time ranking.

From January 27, 2024, Luka Doncic secures the fourth position in the All-Time scoring list with 73 points in the game against the Atlanta Hawks.

A special mention goes to Devin Booker, who, with the 70 points scored in the match against the Boston Celtics on March 24, 2017 (at just over 20 years old), claims the tenth position in this special ranking, emerging as one of the youngest NBA players to score 70 points in a single game.

List of NBA single-game scoring leaders

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.

NBA Game with Most Points

The highest final score in an NBA game is 184 to 186, in the matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons on December 13, 1983. On that day, the two teams combined for a total of 370 points, thanks to a triple overtime that reshaped the history of this sport.