Who scored 73 points in the NBA?
Seventy-three points. In the world of professional basketball, it’s a number so high it borders on the mythical. While an entire team is often happy to reach that total, a single player has managed it on just a few, legendary occasions. The most recent person to accomplish this incredible feat is a young international superstar named Luka Dončić.
Hailing from Slovenia, Dončić is the leader of the Dallas Mavericks, where he has quickly cemented his reputation as one of the most gifted players in the league. Even before this historic scoring night, he was widely regarded as one of the best young NBA superstars, known for carrying his team with a skill set that feels both classic and brand new. This wasn’t just a lucky performance; for many who follow the sport, it felt like an inevitable display of his immense talent.
What makes him so captivating to watch? Unlike players who rely solely on athletic power, Luka Dončić is famous for his clever, almost deceptive style of play. He’s known for a combination of crafty moves, pinpoint passes, and a remarkable ability to score from nearly anywhere on the court. That 73-point game was simply the ultimate showcase of the unique abilities that make him one of the most entertaining athletes in the world.
Inside Luka’s Historic Night: How He Scored His 73 Points
So, how does one person score 73 points in a single 48-minute game? It’s not as simple as just making more baskets than anyone else. Modern basketball allows for three different ways to score, and reaching such a high total requires mastering all of them. On that historic night—January 26, 2024—Luka Dončić used every tool at his disposal.
The foundation of scoring is the standard two-point basket. But to reach truly elite numbers, players rely on the three-pointer, a longer shot taken from behind a large arc on the floor that’s worth an extra point. In addition, players can earn free throws, which are uncontested one-point shots awarded after being fouled by an opponent. A huge scoring night is always a blend of all three.
At the end of every game, a player’s key accomplishments are summarized in what’s called a stat line. It’s like a report card for their performance. For his 73-point game, Dončić’s stat line showed an incredible mix: he made 19 regular two-point shots, sank 8 of the long-distance three-pointers, and added 15 points from free throws. This combination of inside scoring, outside shooting, and drawing fouls is what made the seemingly impossible number a reality.
This masterful performance cemented Dončić’s place in basketball history, putting his name alongside the sport’s greatest scorers. However, he isn’t the only player to land on the magic number 73. To find the other, we have to turn the clock back almost 50 years to a high-flying legend known as “The Skywalker.”
The Original 73-Point Man: David Thompson, “The Skywalker”
Long before Luka Dončić took the court, the number 73 belonged to another legend: David Thompson. Playing in a completely different era of basketball, the 1970s, Thompson was an athletic marvel for the Denver Nuggets. While today’s game is often defined by long-distance shooting, Thompson’s era was about power, speed, and getting to the basket, and he was one of its most electrifying stars.
Known as “The Skywalker,” Thompson earned his nickname for his astonishing leaping ability. Before Michael Jordan was famous for “flying” through the air, Thompson was the one who seemed to defy gravity, playing a high-energy, above-the-rim style that captivated fans. His vertical jump was rumored to be over 44 inches, allowing him to score in ways most players couldn’t even imagine. He was a pioneer of athletic showmanship, paving the way for future high-flyers.
Thompson’s explosive performance came on April 9, 1978—the very last day of the regular season. For decades, his 73-point outburst stood as one of the most remarkable scoring efforts in the sport’s history, a record many thought might never be matched. But the story behind that game is even more dramatic than the number itself. It wasn’t just about scoring; it was about winning a scoring race that came down to the final buzzer.
A Scoring Race to the Finish: The Incredible Story of Thompson’s 73
The drama surrounding Thompson’s 73 points began before he even stepped on the court. On that final day of the 1977-78 season, he was locked in a fierce, season-long battle with another star, George “The Iceman” Gervin, for the NBA’s scoring title. This award is given to the single player who finishes with the highest points-per-game average for the year. To win it, Thompson needed to put on a show for the ages.
From the opening tip-off, Thompson’s mission was clear, and his teammates were completely dedicated to helping him achieve it. They passed him the ball on nearly every play, giving up their own shots so he could keep scoring. The strategy worked wonders. Thompson exploded for a record-breaking 32 points in the first quarter alone and didn’t let up. His 73-point masterpiece was a team-fueled effort to snatch the scoring crown at the last possible moment.
With Thompson’s historic performance in the books, the pressure shifted entirely to Gervin, who was scheduled to play later that same night. The math was simple but daunting: to take back the lead and win the title, Gervin needed to score at least 58 points in his own game. The entire basketball world waited to see how “The Iceman” would respond.
Incredibly, Gervin answered the call. He went out and scored a staggering 63 points, winning the scoring title by one of the slimmest margins in sports history. Although Thompson didn’t get the award, his monumental effort remains legendary. The fact that his 73-point game was part of a dramatic, head-to-head race makes the performance even more special, cementing it as a truly unforgettable moment in NBA history.
To Understand 73, You First Need to Understand 35
After hearing about numbers like 73, it’s easy to lose perspective on what a typical, impressive scoring night looks like in the NBA. For the league’s biggest stars—the players you see on posters and in commercials—a great game usually means scoring somewhere between 35 and 40 points. Hitting that mark is a major achievement that often leads the sports news headlines and gets fans talking for days. It’s the standard by which elite offensive performances are judged.
Putting that into perspective, scoring 73 points isn’t just a little better; it’s an entirely different category of performance. It’s more than double what is widely considered a fantastic night for a superstar. While a 40-point game is a brilliant flash of lightning, a 70-point game is a full-blown meteor shower—an event so far beyond the norm that it seems to defy the very limits of the sport.
Think of it this way: scoring 35 points is like having a hit single. It’s a huge success. Scoring over 70 points is like that same artist releasing an album where every single song goes to #1. It’s a historic and monumental accomplishment that places a player in one of the most exclusive clubs in all of sports.
Welcome to the 70-Point Club: The NBA’s Most Exclusive List
Scoring over 70 points in a single game grants a player entry into one of basketball’s most revered fraternities: the 70-Point Club. This isn’t an official award you can put on a mantel, but rather a title of ultimate respect for achieving a level of offensive brilliance that few can even imagine. Luka Dončić and David Thompson, with their 73-point masterpieces, are prominent members, but they are part of a surprisingly small group of players who have ever reached this statistical summit.
Over the entire history of the NBA, spanning more than 75 years and thousands of players, the complete list of every player who has scored 70 or more points in a game is remarkably short. The all-time NBA single game points leaders in this exclusive club are:
- Wilt Chamberlain
- Kobe Bryant
- David Thompson
- Luka Dončić
- Elgin Baylor
- David Robinson
- Damian Lillard
- Donovan Mitchell
- Devin Booker
- Joel Embiid
Looking at that list, what’s just as shocking is who isn’t on it. Legendary names that even casual fans know, like Michael Jordan (whose career-high was 69) and LeBron James, have never crossed the 70-point threshold. This fact alone shows that joining the 70-Point Club requires not just all-time talent, but a perfect storm of circumstances on one unforgettable night.
Each member of this group authored a historic performance. Yet, one name on that list, Wilt Chamberlain, treated the 70-point barrier less like a once-in-a-lifetime achievement and more like a regular destination. While everyone else on the list accomplished the feat once, Chamberlain did it an astonishing six times, including one game where he soared to a level no one has touched before or since.
The Mountain Top: Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-Point Game
While scoring 70 points is a historic achievement, one performance stands alone as the Mount Everest of NBA scoring records. That peak was reached by Wilt Chamberlain, who scored an almost unbelievable 100 points in a single game. This number isn’t just the record; it’s a piece of sports mythology, a figure so round and perfect that it feels more like a legend than a statistic. For context, most teams are happy to score 100 points. Wilt did it by himself.
That legendary performance took place on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In a game that wasn’t televised and was witnessed by just over 4,000 people, Chamberlain’s Philadelphia Warriors faced the New York Knicks. As the points piled up, the game transformed from a regular contest into a collective mission. Chamberlain’s teammates began feeding him the ball on every possession, and even the opposing team was reportedly mesmerized by the history unfolding. The final basket came with less than a minute to play, sending the small crowd into a frenzy.
In the decades since, the 100-point game has gained a reputation as one of the most unbreakable records in all of sports. The modern game is faster and features more three-point shooting, but it’s also built on a team-first philosophy that makes it nearly impossible for one player to take that many shots. The player who has come closest to Wilt’s 100 points is Kobe Bryant, whose incredible 81-point game in 2006 is still a staggering 19 points shy of the mark.
The 100-point game cemented Wilt Chamberlain’s legacy, but it was far from an isolated event. It was the ultimate peak in a career filled with staggering statistical mountains. Understanding how one player could so thoroughly dominate the act of scoring requires looking beyond just this single, magical night.
The King of Scoring: Why Wilt Chamberlain Appears on the List So Often
Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime event, but for him, scoring at an otherworldly level was almost routine. It’s one thing to have the single greatest scoring night ever; it’s another to make a habit of it. Incredibly, Chamberlain is the only player in history to have scored 70 or more points in a game multiple times. He didn’t just do it twice or three times; he accomplished the feat a staggering six times throughout his career.
When you look at the all-time leaderboard for single-game scoring, his name appears so frequently it almost looks like a typo. Beyond his famous 100, Chamberlain also holds the third-highest scoring game in NBA history with a 78-point performance, which, like his 100-point game, also came in 1962. These repeated explosions of scoring weren’t just statistical oddities; they were statements of his absolute control over the game in a way no player has replicated since.
So, how was one man able to do this so often? The simplest answer is that Wilt Chamberlain was an athlete ahead of his time. Standing at 7-foot-1 with unheard-of strength and athleticism, he was a physical force unlike any other in the 1960s. The average player guarding him was often several inches shorter and significantly lighter, giving Chamberlain a massive advantage near the basket. His dominance was a product of a perfect storm—a once-in-a-generation athlete in an era that was unprepared for him. Decades later, another player would get closer than anyone to his 100-point peak, but in a completely different way.
Second Only to Wilt: Kobe Bryant’s Unforgettable 81-Point Game
For decades, Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring records seemed to exist in a dimension of their own, completely untouchable. But on a January night in 2006, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant delivered a performance that came shockingly close to that peak. In a game against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant scored an incredible 81 points, etching his name into the history books with the second-highest single-game total the NBA has ever seen.
What made the performance legendary wasn’t just the final number, but the story behind it. The Lakers were losing badly at halftime, and the game seemed all but over. Instead of accepting defeat, Bryant put the team on his back and single-handedly willed them to a comeback victory. He scored a stunning 55 points in the second half alone—more than the entire Raptors team scored in that same period. His scoring wasn’t just for show; it was a desperate and ultimately successful act to win.
Unlike Chamberlain’s physical dominance in the paint, Bryant’s attack was a breathtaking display of skill and endurance from all over the court. He relentlessly drained long-range three-pointers (a shot that didn’t exist when Wilt scored 100), hit difficult mid-range shots, and attacked the basket to earn free throws. It was a modern offensive masterpiece, proving a player could reach those historic heights without being a 7-foot giant.
Because it happened in an era with more complex defenses and world-class athletes, many fans and experts consider Kobe’s 81-point game the most impressive scoring feat of all time. It stood as the undisputed benchmark for modern basketball for nearly two decades, a testament to sheer will and skill that has yet to be surpassed. This incredible scoring explosion proved that even a record that seemed unbreakable could, with the right evolution of the game, be challenged.
Why Are We Seeing More High-Scoring Games Today?
After Kobe Bryant’s 81-point masterpiece, it seemed like the absolute limit for a modern player. For years, no one came close. Yet recently, fans have seen a surge of massive scoring nights, including two 70-point games in the same week in 2024. This isn’t just a coincidence; it’s the result of a fundamental shift in how basketball is played. The game has changed, creating the perfect environment for offensive explosions that were once thought impossible.
The biggest factor is what many call the “Three-Point Revolution.” Teams and players have embraced a simple mathematical truth: a three-point shot is worth 50% more than a traditional two-point shot. In previous eras, the three-pointer was a special weapon used sparingly. Today, it’s a primary strategy. Players now launch dozens of shots from behind the arc every game, creating a path to higher scores. A player who makes eight three-pointers, for example, has already scored 24 points from those shots alone—a total that would have been a great full-game performance for many stars of the past.
On top of this, the overall pace of play has quickened dramatically. Teams are pushing the ball up the court faster, leading to more shot attempts for everyone over 48 minutes. Think of it as getting more turns in a board game—each extra turn provides another opportunity to score. When you combine more chances to shoot (a faster pace) with a higher-value shot (the three-pointer), you get the perfect recipe for today’s staggering point totals. It’s this evolution that allows modern stars to chase records once thought to be untouchable.
More Than a Number: What These Games Mean for Basketball History
Before, the number 73 might have just seemed like a high score. Now, it has a face—two, in fact: Luka Dončić and David Thompson. You can place their incredible nights within the historical context of NBA scoring explosions, seeing exactly where they sit on a legendary mountain occupied by Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant at its peak. What was once a simple fact is now a story you understand.
With this new context, the next time you see a headline about a player scoring 40 or 50 points, you’ll be able to instantly gauge the performance. You can now distinguish between a great game and a truly once-in-a-generation event, appreciating the difficulty and rarity of what it takes to climb toward the all-time NBA single game points leaders.
Ultimately, these moments are more than just entries in the NBA scoring record history. They are sporting folklore—the kind of “were you watching when…” stories that connect fans across decades. While the game evolves, the timeless spectacle of a single player touching perfection for one night will always be at the heart of why we watch.
