Top Scoring Performances NBA: The Most Legendary Individual Games in Basketball History

I still remember exactly where I was when Klay Thompson went nuclear for 37 points in a single quarter. I was watching Golden State play Sacramento in 2015, casually eating dinner, when he suddenly transformed into a basketball deity. That’s the magic of the top scoring performances in NBA history—they’re not just numbers on a stat sheet; they’re moments that sear themselves into your memory. These legendary individual games represent the absolute peak of human performance in basketball, where everything a player throws up just seems to go in. It’s a zone that few ever reach, and even fewer can sustain for an entire game. The pursuit of the single-game scoring record is a fascinating subplot in the league’s history, a chase for immortality that every great scorer secretly dreams about.

Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962 is, of course, the Everest of these top scoring performances. The stories from that night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, are the stuff of legend. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the grainy, silent footage, trying to imagine the sheer force of will it took. He didn’t just score; he dominated in a way that feels almost mythical. 36 field goals and 28 free throws. The math alone is staggering. For decades, pundits and fans have debated whether that record will ever be broken. Kobe Bryant’s 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006 is the closest anyone has come in the modern era. I was a teenager when that happened, and it felt like watching a video game on the easiest setting. Kobe was just toying with the defense, pulling up from anywhere with an icy, unstoppable confidence. That game single-handedly revived the conversation about Wilt’s record, making it feel tangible again, a mountain that could perhaps be climbed.

Then you have the modern explosions, like Devin Booker’s 70-point game in 2017. I’ll be honest, my reaction was a bit mixed. It was an incredible display of shot-making, no doubt, but it happened in a loss, and there was a sense that the Suns were force-feeding him down the stretch to hit that symbolic number. It raises an interesting question about these top scoring performances: does context matter? Is a 60-point game in a tight playoff victory more "legendary" than a 70-point game in a regular-season blowout loss? For me, it absolutely is. The stakes are part of what makes the performance legendary. That’s why Michael Jordan’s "Flu Game" in the 1997 Finals, where he dropped 38 points, is arguably more iconic than some higher-scoring affairs. He was practically carried off the court afterward. The sheer will to win elevates those points to another level.

We’re currently in an era where scoring has exploded. The rules favor the offense, the pace is faster, and the three-point shot has become a primary weapon. Luka Dončić’s 60-point triple-double in 2022 was a statistical marvel that even Wilt would have to respect. It felt like a new breed of top scoring performance, combining volume with breathtaking all-around play. Players like Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard have repeatedly flirted with the 60 and 70-point marks, making it feel like a record-breaking game could happen any night. The talent pool is deeper than ever, and the green light for superstars is almost unlimited. You get the sense that the league is primed for another seismic, Kobe-like explosion.

But here’s the thing—history will have to wait a little longer, though, for someone to truly challenge Wilt’s 100. We say that after every 70-point game, don’t we? We get excited, we start doing the math, and then reality sets in. The physical and mental toll of taking that many shots, of facing double and triple teams for 48 minutes, is almost incomprehensible in today’s game. Coaches are more mindful of load management, and defenses, while challenged by the rules, are more sophisticated. To score 100 points, a player wouldn’t just need a hot hand; they’d need a perfect storm of circumstances—an overtime game, a defensively weak opponent, a team fully committed to the cause, and a superhuman level of endurance. It’s that elusive combination that keeps the record safe.

So, while we marvel at the modern greats and their video-game numbers, the top scoring performances of the past retain a certain mystique. They are the benchmarks, the stories we tell new generations of fans. For me, Wilt’s 100 and Kobe’s 81 exist on a different plane. They weren’t just great games; they were historical events that redefined what we thought was possible on a basketball court. I love watching these modern stars put on a show, and I genuinely believe we’ll see someone drop 80 again soon. But 100? That’s a number that lives in a different realm, a ghost that haunts and inspires every single great scorer who laces them up. And in a way, I’m okay with that. Some records are meant to be chased, not caught, fueling the legend for decades to come.