Most points scored by a player in an NBA game

On March 2, 1962 in Hershey, Penn., Wilt Chamberlain set the NBA’s single-game scoring record by dropping 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169-147 win against the New York Knicks. Chamberlain scored 23 points in the first quarter, had 41 at the half, added 28 in the third and 31 in the fourth to reach 100. For the game, he shot 36-of-63 (57.1%) from the field and 28-of-32 (87.5%) from the free throw line despite being a career 51.1% foul shooter. He added 25 rebounds and two assists while playing all 48 minutes.
In the locker room following the game, Philadelphia statistician Harvey Pollack scribbled “100” on a piece of paper and had Chamberlain hold it up for photographers, creating one of the most iconic images in basketball history.
Chamberlain’s record has stood for more than six decades, with only one player — Kobe Bryant in 2006 — coming within 20 points of Wilt’s mark.
Wilt Chamberlain:
100 points (Warriors vs. Knicks, March 2, 1962)
Kobe Bryant:
81 points (Lakers vs. Raptors, Jan. 22, 2006)
Wilt Chamberlain:
78 points (Warriors vs. Lakers, Dec. 8, 1961 in 3OT)
Entering the 2024-25 season, there have been 15 70-plus point games in NBA history by 10 different players. Chamberlain is the only player with multiple 70+ point games with five.
73 points
Luka Doncic
: Mavericks at Hawks, Jan. 26, 2024
David Thompson
: Nuggets at Pistons, April 9, 1978
Wilt Chamberlain:
Warriors at Knicks, Nov. 16, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain:
Warriors vs. Packers, Jan. 13, 1962
72 points
Wilt Chamberlain:
Warriors at Lakers, Nov. 3, 1962
71 points
Damian Lillard
: Trail Blazers vs. Rockets, Feb. 26, 2023
Donovan Mitchell
: Cavaliers vs. Bulls, Jan. 2, 2023 (OT)
David Robinson
: Spurs at Clippers, Apr. 24, 1994
Elgin Baylor
: Lakers vs. Knicks, Nov. 15, 1960
70 points
Joel Embiid
: 76ers vs. Spurs, Jan. 22, 2024
Devin Booker
: Suns at Celtics, March 24, 2017
Wilt Chamberlain
: Warriors at Nationals, March 10, 1963
In the NBA Playoffs, only two players have eclipsed 60 points in a single game — Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan — and both did so against the same foe. Baylor set the single-game record in 1962 with a 61-point performance for the Lakers in a win over the Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. That record stood for 24 years until Jordan scored 63 points in a double-overtime loss to the Celtics in Game 2 of the 1986 first round — a feat that Larry Bird described as: “God disguised as Michael Jordan.”
Michael Jordan:
63 points (Bulls at Celtics, Game 2 of first round, April 20, 1986 in 2OT)
Elgin Baylor:
61 points (Lakers at Celtics, Game 5 of NBA Finals, April 14, 1962)