Bam Adebayo did more than post a career night on Tuesday night. He changed the active-player scoring leaderboard in one shot. The Heat big man exploded for 83 points against the Wizards, the second-highest total in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100, and jumped past every active scorer in the league in the process. He also did it in one of the strangest ways imaginable, setting NBA single-game records with 36 made free throws and 43 attempts.
That performance now gives this discussion a new starting point. Before Bam, the top of the active list was built around the usual superstar shot-creators: Luka Doncic with 73, Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard with 71, and Devin Booker and Joel Embiid with 70. Now there is a new No. 1, and it came from a player nobody would have picked to sit above that entire group.
So, with Adebayo crashing the top of the board, it is the right time to look at the 10 active NBA players with the most points in a single game. Some of these names are obvious. A few are not. But all of them produced one unforgettable scoring night that still defines part of how they are remembered.
10. Nikola Jokic – 61 Points
Nikola Jokic’s career high came on April 1, 2025, when he dropped 61 points against the Timberwolves in one of the wildest games of the season. The Nuggets lost 140-139 in double overtime, but the performance still belongs on this list because it was much bigger than a normal scoring outburst.
Jokic added 10 rebounds and 10 assists, making it a 60-point triple-double, and at the time, it was the highest single-game point total in the NBA that season.
The stat line is absurd even by superstar standards. Jokic shot 18-of-29 from the field, 6-of-11 from three, and 19-of-24 from the line in 53 minutes. That is elite efficiency for any player, let alone a center carrying that much creation responsibility. It also became the highest-scoring game of his career, topping his previous best and adding another ridiculous entry to an already historic résumé.
What makes this 61 stand out is that it was not just volume. It was total control. Jokic had to score, create, rebound, and basically keep the Nuggets alive possession after possession in a playoff-style game. The Nuggets did lose, which keeps it from feeling like a signature win, but as an individual offensive masterpiece, it absolutely deserves a spot in the top 10 among active players.
9. Stephen Curry – 62 Points
Stephen Curry’s career high came on January 3, 2021, when he dropped 62 against the Trail Blazers in a 137-122 Warriors win. It was a loud reminder that Curry was still one of the league’s most dangerous offensive players, and he got there in classic fashion: eight threes, constant movement, and absurd efficiency. He finished 18-of-31 from the field and 18-of-19 from the line, which made the scoring profile look even cleaner than most 60-point games.
What makes this one stand out is how natural it felt. Curry did not need reckless volume, and he did not rely on a weird late-game chase. He just overwhelmed the Trail Blazers for 36 minutes and set a new career best in the process. For a player who already changed how the league thinks about shot-making, 62 still stands as the single biggest regular-season scoring night of his career.
8. Karl-Anthony Towns – 62 Points
Karl-Anthony Towns matched Curry’s career high number on January 22, 2024, when he scored 62 against the Hornets. Towns finished with 21 made field goals, 10 made threes, and 10 made free throws, which made it one of the most explosive scoring nights ever by a big man. The 10 threes were also a career high, which says a lot about how devastating he was as a stretch scorer that night.
The strange part is that the Timberwolves lost 128-125, which changed the feel of the performance almost immediately. The scoring was historic, but the result made it harder for the game to live as a pure triumph. Even so, 62 is still the highest single-game total of Towns’ career, and it remains one of the clearest examples of how unique his offensive skill set is for a center.
7. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 64 Points
Giannis Antetokounmpo owns the seventh-highest single-game total among active players after his 64-point explosion against the Pacers on December 13, 2023. It was the best scoring night of his career and a franchise record for the Bucks, built almost entirely on unstoppable rim pressure, transition force, and foul creation. Giannis finished 20-of-28 from the field and added 14 rebounds, which made the performance feel even more overwhelming physically.
What stands out is how inevitable it looked. This was not a jump-shooting heater. It was Giannis breaking the defense possession after possession until the Pacers had no answers left. He also went 23-of-32 from the line, which shows both how much pressure he put on the paint and why the game still gets debated a little differently than some cleaner perimeter masterpieces. Still, 64 is 64, and for Giannis it remains the clearest example of what happens when his power game reaches a level nobody can contain.
6. Devin Booker – 70 Points
Devin Booker still sits near the very top of this list because his career high remains 70 points, the total he posted against the Celtics on March 24, 2017. That game made him the youngest player ever to score 70 in an NBA game at the time, and it is still the number most tied to his scoring reputation. Booker finished 21-of-40 from the field and 24-of-26 from the line, showing the full three-level scoring package that later turned him into one of the league’s most polished offensive guards.
It is also worth noting that Booker did not stop there. Years after the 70-point game, he proved it was not some one-off outlier by dropping 62 against the Pacers on January 26, 2024, giving him a second entry above 60. That matters in the bigger picture because it shows how real his place is among the league’s elite shot-creators. The 70 remains the standard, but the later 62 reinforced that Booker belongs in this company.
5. Joel Embiid – 70 Points
Joel Embiid matched Booker’s top number on January 22, 2024, when he scored 70 against the Spurs in one of the most dominant big-man scoring games of the modern era. Embiid added 18 rebounds and five assists in the 76ers’ win, and the performance instantly became the highest-scoring game of his career. For a center to get to 70 while still controlling the glass and carrying that kind of offensive burden is ridiculous.
What made it so impressive was the variety. Embiid was not just overpowering defenders inside. He was hitting face-up jumpers, drawing fouls, punishing switches, and basically scoring from every area that matters for a modern superstar big. He shot 24-of-41 from the field and 21-of-23 from the line, which tells the story of both the volume and the pressure he created all night. Among active players, only a handful have ever reached 70. Embiid is one of them, and he did it in a way that fully matched his status as one of the league’s most unstoppable offensive forces.
4. Donovan Mitchell – 71 Points
Donovan Mitchell earned this spot on January 2, 2023, when he exploded for 71 points against the Bulls in one of the best individual scoring performances of the last decade. Mitchell did not just pile up points either. He added 11 assists and eight rebounds in a 145-134 Cavaliers’ overtime win, and his late missed free throw, followed by his own putback to force overtime, became one of the signature plays of that season. It was the highest-scoring game of his career and the most points by any active player at the time until later explosions pushed the bar even higher.
What gives Mitchell’s 71 extra weight is the balance between volume and control. He shot 22-of-34 from the field, 7-of-15 from three, and 20-of-25 from the line, which is elite efficiency for that kind of usage. This was not just one hot quarter stretched into a big total. It was a full-game takeover from a lead guard who had to create offense constantly and still finish the game under pressure. That is why his 71 still holds up as one of the strongest scoring nights among active players.
3. Damian Lillard – 71 Points
Damian Lillard sits third because his career high is 71, the total he dropped against the Rockets on February 26, 2023. That game was a scoring avalanche. Lillard made 22 field goals, 13 threes, and all 14 of his free throws in a 131-114 win, giving the Trail Blazers one of the great single-game shooting displays of the era. The 13 made threes tied for the second-most in NBA history at the time, and the 71 matched Donovan Mitchell for the most points by any player in the 2022-23 season.
What strengthens Lillard’s case on this list is the larger body of work. The 71 was the peak, but it was not a one-off outlier. He also scored 61 against the Mavericks on August 11, 2020, 61 against the Warriors on January 20, 2020, and 60 against the Nets on November 8, 2019. In other words, Lillard is not just one of the few active players with a 70-point game. He is one of the few who have lived in this territory repeatedly, which says a lot about his shot-making ceiling and his ability to carry enormous offensive loads.
That is what makes Lillard different from most names on this ranking. His career high is elite on its own, but the repeatability is what pushes him this high. Very few active players have one game above 60. Lillard has four, including two separate 61-point nights. That kind of scoring résumé makes his spot at No. 3 feel easy to justify, especially because so many of those games came with real pressure and huge creation responsibility on his shoulders.
2. Luka Doncic – 73 Points
Luka Doncic held the top spot on this list until Bam Adebayo changed everything last night. Doncic’s career high remains 73 points, the total he dropped against the Hawks on January 26, 2024, in one of the most efficient mega-scoring games the league has ever seen. He finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists in a Mavericks win, which made the performance even more absurd. This was not just a volume night. It was total offensive domination from the opening tip.
What makes Doncic’s 73 so special is how clean it was. He shot 25-of-33 from the field, 8-of-13 from three, and 15-of-16 from the line, numbers that barely make sense for that kind of usage. Most 70-point games come with some ugly volume somewhere in the profile, whether it is too many shots, too many free throws, or late-game force-feeding. This one did not. Doncic scored from every level, controlled the tempo, and made one of the hardest jobs in basketball look easy.
There is also the larger point. Doncic’s 73 was not some random explosion from a player who never threatens those numbers. It fit the broader profile of one of the best scorers in basketball, and before Bam’s eruption, it stood as the highest single-game total by any active player. Even after dropping to No. 2, it still feels like one of the strongest entries on this ranking because of the balance between volume, efficiency, and all-around control.
1. Bam Adebayo – 83 Points
Now the top spot belongs to Bam Adebayo, and nobody saw that coming. On March 10, 2026, Adebayo exploded for 83 points against the Wizards, giving him the highest single-game scoring total of any active player and the second-highest single-game total in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100. He passed Kobe Bryant’s 81 and instantly rewrote the active leaderboard in one night. The Heat won 150-129, and Adebayo also set NBA single-game records with 36 made free throws and 43 attempts.
The performance itself was bizarre, historic, and impossible to ignore. Adebayo finished 20-of-43 from the field and 7-of-22 from three, which means this was not the cleanest scoring masterpiece on the list from a pure shot-making standpoint. The free throws were a massive part of the total, and that is part of why the game immediately sparked debate. But this piece is about the highest scoring game by active players, not the prettiest one, and in that category Adebayo now owns the crown.
That is what makes Bam’s place at No. 1 so fascinating. He is not the first name people associate with outrageous scoring highs, and yet he now sits above every active superstar shot-creator in the league. Luka Doncic, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, all of them are now chasing a number that belongs to Adebayo. Whether it ages as an admired masterpiece or a controversial outlier is a different conversation. On the active leaderboard, though, there is no debate left. Bam is first.
