The NBA Finals are the biggest games of the season, and these players rose to the occasion by scoring the most points in a single match.
The NBA Finals are one of the most exciting series in the world of sports, and fans love it because it's usually extremely even and dramatic. But for the players on the court, it's not easy, and that's why we don't often see the legendary performances in the Finals that we see more often in the regular season.
You probably knew that Michael Jordan was going to be mentioned in this list, and he will be mentioned a couple more times, by the way. In Game 5 of the 1992 NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 119-106 thanks to a tremendous performance by His Airness, who scored 46 points, making 14 of 23 shots from the field, with two three-pointers, and converting 16 of 19 free throws.
In addition, Mike grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists, and had one block. It was another day at the office for Michael Jordan.
In the third game of the 2019 NBA Finals, Stephen Curry shined with 47 points, making six three-point shots, hitting 14-of-31 shots from the field and making 13-of-14 free throws. The Chef Curry
Despite this stellar performance, the Golden State Warriors lost the game to the Toronto Raptors, 123-109. The key was teamwork, as five of the Raptors' players scored more than 17 points.
Allen Iverson proved he was cold-blooded when he stole the show in his first NBA Finals game appearance, as he scored 48 points in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Philadelphia 76ers ended up winning the game in overtime by a score of 107-101. However, the Lakers would go on to win the next four games to win the championship in dominant fashion.
NBA Hall of Famer Bob Pettit, arguably the best second overall pick in NBA Draft history, had a game for the ages on April 12, 1958, in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Pettit scored 50 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to lead the St. Louis Hawks to a 110-109 victory over the Boston Celtics to win the NBA Championship.
The most recent 50-point performance in an NBA Finals game came courtesy of Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 6 of the 2021 Finals. The Greek Freak put on an insane performance to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the championship victory, 105-98 over the Phoenix Suns.
Giannis scored 50 points, with 14 rebounds and five blocks, becoming the first player in history with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in an NBA Finals game.
LeBron James is a phenomenal player, so it's no wonder he's on pretty much every record list. In Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, King James erupted for 51 points, with a 59.4 field goal percentage and 10-of-11 free throws made.
In addition, James had eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block. Despite LeBron's barbaric effort, the Cavs were defeated, 124-114.
Jerry West was nicknamed Mr. Clutch for a reason, he responded in the big moments, averaging 29.1 points per game in the playoffs and 30.5 points per game in the Finals.
With that said, it's not surprising that Jerry West scored 53 points in an NBA Finals game, specifically in the first game of the 1969 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. But West's contribution was not enough for the Celtics to take the win.
In Game 3 of the 1967 NBA Finals, Rick Barry scored 55 points to lead the San Francisco Warriors 130-124 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
It is worth mentioning that Barry also had 12 rebounds and five assists. This was the Warriors' first win after losing the first two games. It was undoubtedly one of the best games of Rick Barry's illustrious career.
Once again Michael Jordan is present, as in Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals, he led the Chicago Bulls to defeat the Phoenix Suns, 111-105. Mike scored 55 points (almost 50% of his team's points), grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
It was a spectacular performance by Michael Jordan in front of 18,676 fans at Chicago Stadium. The Bulls would go on to win the championship, and Jordan would be named the Finals MVP.
The player with the most points in a single NBA Finals game is Elgin Baylor, who scored 61 points on April 14, 1962, in the Game 5 of the finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.
As if that wasn’t enough, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds during that game. The Lakers won the game, 126-121, to take a 3-2 lead, but the Celtics ended up winning the title after seven games.
Roberth Pérez is a journalism student, extremely passionate about sports and movies. He loves to express his knowledge through writing.
