Over the last 20 years, the NBA has seen an astronomical increase in scoring. In 2002-03, teams were averaging 95.1 PPG scored. In 2022-23, teams are now averaging 114.2 PPG, a 20.1% increase over the last 20 seasons. A glaring reason for this is the influx of three-point shooting and the freedom of movement era that is seeing 20.0 more three-point attempts from teams than they attempted 20 years ago. So, who are the players that have benefited the most from this scoring revolution, and more importantly, who are the ones with the best individual performances?

The following players are the 15 NBA stars who have recorded the most 50-point games. These are the players who have dominated individual games with all-time amazing nights shooting the ball and entering their names into the record books. These days, 50-point games have become more and more frequent, even when you look at the top five MVP candidates just this season in 2022-23. The players below have demonstrated the ability to have big scoring nights while being impactful and valuable to their respective teams.

These are the NBA players with the most 50-point games over the last 20 years.

T10. Bradley Beal - 5 50-Point Games

Bradley Beal is one of the players over the last 20 seasons who has benefited from a much more offensively focused game. Beal made his NBA debut in the 2012-13 season and, by 2016-17, was a 20.0 PPG scorer on a consistent basis. Beal has averaged 25.6 PPG over the last seven seasons, which includes two seasons of 30.0 PPG or more PPG. Beal has been a consistent 36.3% three-point shooter who has shown he can score at will from all three levels.

In 2019-20, Beal had his first season with at least 30.0 PPG when he averaged 30.5 PPG in 57 games for the Wizards. It was in this season that he would have two of his five career 50-point games. The following season, Beal averaged a career-high 31.3 PPG and had two more 50-point games. This included a 60-point game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Beal shot 20-35 from the floor overall and 7-10 from three-point range. In 2022-23, Beal is averaging just 22.4 PPG and has a season-high of 34 points against the Trail Blazers on February 3rd.

T10. Devin Booker - 5 50-Point Games

The evolution of Devin Booker both as a scorer and overall player since 2016 when he entered the NBA out of Kentucky. Booker went from an underrated budding star who was getting snubbed from the All-Star Game to one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Booker has become a solid scorer who has mastered the art of scoring from the mid-range and adjusting when driving the lane to draw contact and make tough shots.

In 2016-17, Booker’s second season, he became a 22.1 PPG scorer and hasn’t looked back since. Since that season, he has averaged 25.5 PPG and recorded his five career 50-point games. Booker recorded a career-high 70 points in 2017 in a loss to the Celtics that saw him shoot 17-29 from the field and 24-26 from the foul line. Booker recorded two of his other 50-point games in 2019 when he averaged 26.6 PPG. He also recorded the other two 50-point games in his career just last season in 2022, when he averaged a career-high 26.8 PPG. Before being injured earlier this season, He was averaging 27.1 PPG, which will be a new career-high if he maintains his status as one of the best shooting guards in the game right now.

T10. Jayson Tatum - 5 50-Point Games

Jayson Tatum entered the NBA as a Top Three pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. It became clear quite quickly that Tatum was a future franchise cornerstone, and his big-game scoring performances had a lot to do with it. By 2019-20, Tatum was an All-Star averaging 23.4 PPG and has maintained a steady increase to 2022-23, averaging 30.9 PPG through 50 games. Tatum had led the Celtics to Conference Finals appearances and an NBA Finals appearance in 2022, looking to build on his 50-point game total at just 24 years old.

Tatum recorded his first career 50-point game in 2021 when he dropped 53 against the Timberwolves. Three weeks later, Tatum recorded a career-high 60 points against the Kings in an overtime victory. Tatum shot 20-37 from the field that day and 15-17 from the foul line. Since then, he has recorded three more 50-point games to bring his career total to five. Chances are that Tatum will be making his way up this list in the not-so-distant future.

T10. Luka Doncic - 5 50-Point Games

Another young star who has made his NBA debut even more recently than Tatum is Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. Over the last four and a half seasons, Luka Doncic has already made his way to the number 10 spot on this list. Doncic has shown that he is going to control the game at his pace and pick apart defense no matter what they bring at him. Doncic is one pace to set NBA records with his all-around play and high-scoring ability.

Doncic really began to show off his scoring ability over the last two seasons. He recorded his first 50-point game last season in a win over the Clippers, but it has been his work this season that has put him on an all-time great trajectory. Doncic has had four 50-point games since the beginning of 2022-23. His best performance came two days after Christmas when he recorded 60 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists in an overtime win over the New York Knicks. Doncic is another player that is sure to skyrocket up this list over the course of the next decade.

T10. Anthony Davis - 5 50-Point Games

Since entering the league in 2012-13, Anthony Davis has become one of the best two-way bigs in basketball. Davis has developed a three-level offensive game that makes him versatile for his size, and he has always been an elite rim protector on defense. Despite struggling with injuries over the last three seasons, Davis was still able to show he can help lead a team to an NBA championship in 202-0 when he won one with the Lakers.

Davis’ first 50-point game back in 2016, and it happens to be a career-high scoring performance for the veteran big man. Davis scored 59 points in a win over the Pistons when he shot 24-34 from the field and 9-10 from the foul line. Davis’ most recent 50-point performance came earlier this season in a win over the Wizards. Davis scored 55 points and grabbed 17 rebounds on 22-30 shooting from the field.

T10. Russell Westbrook - 5 50-Point Games

Over the last two decades, there haven’t been as many point guards who are as valuable as Russell Westbrook has been. Westbrook has played the game with a relentless attack on defenses and other-worldly athleticism for a player in the point guard position. Westbrook has gone on to win an MVP award in his career as well as shattering the NBA’s all-time triple-double-record set by Oscar Robertson.

Westbrook recorded his first 50-point game in 2015 when he recorded 54 points on 21-43 shooting in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. Westbrook last recorded a 50-point game in 2017 when he recorded three of his five career 50-point games. Westbrook’s career-high came in 2017 is a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Russ recorded 58 points and shot 21-39 from the floor. He also added nine assists and three steals in the game.

T5. Kyrie Irving - 6 50-Point Games

Kyrie Irving is tied for the fifth spot on our list of players with the most 50-point games in the past 20 years, with six. Kyrie burst onto the NBA scene with the Cavaliers as Rookie of the Year and has a clear and bright future in the league. Irving would further prove this with his incredible handles and shot-creating, as well as his incredible layup package and finishing at the rim. He has also been efficient as a member of the 50/40/90 club and clutch with a game-winning shot to seal the 2016 NBA Finals.

Kyrie recorded his first two 50-point games during the 2014-15 season when he had two separate games with 55 and 57 points, respectively. Irving would go on to have three more 50-point games before he recorded his career-high in a game in 2022. In a 42-point blowout win over the Orlando Magic as a member of the Nets, Kyrie scored 60 points on 20-31 from the field. He also shot 8-12 from three-point land and 12-13 from the foul line.

T5. Allen Iverson - 6 50-Point Games

Allen Iverson is the first player on this list so far to have debuted before the 2002-03 cutoff date to qualify. Often compared to Kyrie for their similar handling of the basketball on a string, Iverson actually recorded 11 career 50-point games, with most of them coming after the 2002-03 season. Iverson was a fearless attacker of the basket in a time when big men still ruled the paint. He would win four scoring titles in his career as well as an MVP in 2001.

From 2002-03 thru 2009-10, Allen Iverson averaged 26.4 PPG and recorded six 50-point games. These six games include his career-high 60-point performance in 2005 against the Orlando Magic. Iverson and the Sixers picked up the win, with Iverson shooting 17-36 from the field and 24-27 from the foul line. When Iverson got going on one of his many high-scoring rolls, there were not many players you would rather be waiting for during their primes.

T5. Giannis Antetokounmpo - 6 50-Point Games

When Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted 15th overall in 2013, nobody knew that he would develop into the best player in the world. Giannis got a slow start to his career in Milwaukee, but by 2017, he was the NBA’s Most Improved Player. Giannis would go on to add two MVP awards and a Defensive Player of the Year award to his resume as well as an NBA title and Finals MVP in 2021. During the 2021 NBA Finals, Giannis even dropped a 50-point game to seal his first NBA championship.

Giannis notched his first 50-point performance in 2019 when he dropped 52 points in a loss to the Sixers. Just this past January, Giannis recorded a career-high 55 points in a win over the Washington Wizards. Giannis shot 20-33 from the floor and 15-16 from the foul line and added 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. On February 2nd, Giannis recorded a 54-point game where he led the Bucks to a massive comeback over the Clippers on 21-39 shooting from the field. Expect many more 50-point games from the Greek Freak in the future.

4. Kevin Durant - 9 50-Point Games

Kevin Durant was destined to be a superstar from the moment he stepped on the court and took home Rookie of the Year in 2007-08. Over the next 16 seasons, Durant would win four scoring titles and become one of the most efficient scorers in NBA history with his ability to create shots like a guard and rise above defenders with his seven-foot frame. Durant helped the Warriors win two NBA championships in 2017 and 2018 and was named MVP in 2014.

Durant recorded his first 50-point game in 2012 in an overtime win against the Denver Nuggets. Just last season, Durant recorded two of his nine career 50-point games. He scored 53 points in a win over the Knicks last season while shooting 19-37 from the floor. Just weeks later, Durant dropped a career-high 55 points against the Atlanta Hawks in a loss. He shot 19-28 from the floor, 8-10 from three-point range, and 9-11 from the foul line in that contest.

3. Stephen Curry - 11 50-Point Games

If there is any one player that we can point at as the face of the three-point era, that player is Stephen Curry. Over the last 14 years, we have watched Curry blossom into the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history and win four NBA championships with the Gilden State Warriors. He won the NBA’s only unanimous MVP award in 2016, shooting an insane three-point volume on efficiency that had never been seen or has been seen since, except by Curry himself. The man changed the game and ushered in a brand new era of high-scoring basketball.

Stephen Curry recorded two of his 11 50-point games during the first MVP season in 2015. When he won the unanimous MVP in 2016, Curry also recorded two more 50-point games. In 2020-21, Curry had the highest-scoring performance of his career when he dropped 62 points against the Trail Blazers. Curry and the Warriors picked up the win with Curry shooting 18-31 from the field and 8-16 from three-point range. Something tells me that we haven’t seen the last of a Stephen Curry 50-point outburst just yet, either.

T2. Damian Lillard - 14 50-Point Games

Aside from Stephen Curry, there has been another superstar to emerge from the three-point revolution. Damian Lillard has shown his ability to go on incessant scoring tears in his career. Lillard has developed a three-point range rivaled by only Curry and accuracy that is amongst the best in basketball. Lillard is a true three-level threat but relies mostly on his perimeter game to rack up the points.

Lillard recorded his first 50-point games in 2016 when he had two in the same season with the Portland Trail Blazers. In 2020, Lillard became just the third player in NBA history to record multiple 60-point games in a single season. Lillard reached his career-high of 61 points in two separate contests in 2020 in wins over the Warriors and Mavericks. Lillard also recorded two more 50-point games in January 2023 in a loss to the Cavaliers and 60 points in a win over the Utah Jazz. There will be more Lillard 50-point games in the future guaranteed.

T2. LeBron James - 14 50-Point Games

Over the last 20 years, there haven't been many players, or any for that matter, who has been as consistently great as LeBron James has been. James has averaged at least 25.0 PPG every season since 2004-05 and is on the verge of becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38-year-old record. James has led three different franchises to NBA championships while taking home four MVP awards and four Finals MVP awards. His case for the greatest player of all time has only grown and continues to grow with every passing day.

LeBron James recorded his first two 50-point games back in 2005 during his third year with the Cleveland Cavaliers. From there, he went on to record 12 more between 2005 and 2022 before recording two more games within a week of each other at 37 years old in 2022. His career-high in a game came in 2014 against the Charlotte Bobcats. James dropped 61 points in the big win over Charlotte, shooting 22-33 from the floor, 8-10 from three, and 9-12 from the foul line. Does James have any more 50-point masterpieces left in his arsenal?

T1. James Harden - 23 50-Point Games

One of the most talented offensive players of the last 20 years is peak James Harden in the 2010s with the Houston Rockets. Armed with a deadly Eurostep and step-back three-pointer, James Harden went on scoring spurts, the likes of which had not been seen since MVP Kobe Bryant during the 2000s. Harden was a serious three-level threat who manipulated both the rules and defense to three straight scoring titles and seasons with over 30.0 PPG during his prime with the Rockets from 2018 thru 2020.

James Harden did not come into the NBA as a high-scoring MVP candidate with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he is sure to be remembered as one. Not only does Harden have 23 50-point games since 2002-03, but he also has four different 60-point games to his name. His career-high of 61 points is something he reached twice during the 2018-19 season, which saw him average 36.1 PPG in 78 games played. James Harden still has not won himself an NBA championship, but he is still one of the most offensively talented players we have seen over the last 20 years.

T1. Kobe Bryant - 23 50-Point Games

There is no shock value to the fact that Kobe Bryant is also atop the list for the most 50-point games over the last 20 years. Bryant was a spitting image of the greatest player to ever play the game playstyle-wise, with an unrelenting desire to win and an impossibly replicable offensive arsenal. Bryant masted the art of scoring from all three levels including with his back to the basket in the post and from the mid-range. Bryant would win five NBA championships and two Finals MVPs over the course of 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In his entire career, Kobe recorded a total of 25 50-point games, meaning he had just two before the 2002-03 season. From that point on, Bryant cemented his legacy as a dominant offensive presence and one of the greatest players to ever play the game. His single-game scoring is the stuff of legend, as he recorded the second-highest game total ever in 2006. In a game against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant scored 81 points on 28-46 shooting from the field. He would go 7-13 from three-point land and 18-20 from the foul line in the contest. 

We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.

Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.

Next

Only NBA Players With 40 Points And 20 Assists In A Game

All-Time Greatest NBA Teams For Every Continent

The All-Time NBA GOAT Pyramid: There Is Only One GOAT

The Most Accomplished Active NBA Players: Rings, MVPs And Finals MVPs Combined

The Most Scoring Titles By Position In NBA History: Michael Jordan Is The Ultimate Leader With 10