Top 5 All-Time NBA Scorers

There are mornings you never forget. Where you were, what time you got out of bed, and especially when you turned on your phone. A little over a year ago, that almost supernatural experience happened during the trade between Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis. And this Wednesday, the NBA once again treated us to a moment that defied time, as only it knows how.

In a completely unremarkable game, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo finished the night with… 83 points on the board! Yes, “Kobe Bryant was outscored by Bam Adebayo”—that sentence actually exists. A space-time anomaly that prompted us to look back at the top 5 highest-scoring games in NBA history.

5) 73 points de David Thompson (Denver Nuggets) : Compiling a Top 5 list was no easy task. That’s because the fifth spot is tied among four performances by three different players. But as you may have noticed, only David Thompson’s name appears. To break the tie between these three legends of the game, we added an additional column to our matrix: minutes played. Luka Doncic’s performance against the Atlanta Hawks on January 26, 2024, as well as Wilt Chamberlain’s two performances against the New York Knicks on October 16, 1962, and against the Chicago Packers on January 13, 1962, were indeed recorded with more minutes on the box score. A handful of seconds that give the honors to David Thompson. Neck and neck in the race for the 1977-1978 season scoring title with George Gervin—swingman for the San Antonio Spurs—the Denver Nuggets forward has just one game left to surpass his counterpart. On April 9, 1978, a completely wild long-distance duel began. Trailing in this final sprint, our main character wasted no time, racking up 31 points on 13-of-14 shooting in the first quarter of this game against the Detroit Pistons. This set a new NBA record. The scoring spree continued, reaching 53 points by halftime. After returning from the locker room, David Thompson slowed down a bit. He scored “only” 20 points in the second half. This brought his total to 73 points in 43 minutes. A sensational achievement that would not, however, bear fruit. Upon hearing about this all-time record just hours before his game, George Gervin also caught fire. Facing the New Orleans Jazz, he put on his “fireman’s uniform” to score 63 points and claim the honorary title. In the end, David Thompson made his mark in the NBA’s record books in a different way.

4) 78 points by Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) : Over the years, Wilt Chamberlain has established himself as the official face of scoring in the NBA. Just a few lines ago, we mentioned that he has twice tied for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. This time, he stands alone, just three points shy of the podium. On December 8, 1961, the Philadelphia Warriors hosted the Los Angeles Lakers in a game that would later be remembered as one of the wildest in our sport. The fans in the arena were treated not to one, not to two, but to three overtimes. Although the visitors ultimately prevailed 147-151, the individual performances completely overshadowed the result. For the Lakers, the box score showed 63 points and 31 rebounds for Elgin Baylor, coupled with a decisive triple-double from Jerry West. These XXL performances were eclipsed by yet another masterclass from the former Harlem Globetrotters player. After playing 63 minutes without leaving the court, the center scored 78 points – a record for the time – and grabbed 43 rebounds along the way (though at this point, that’s almost an afterthought). If there were ever a need for numbers to illustrate Wilt Chamberlain’s dominance, this game provided them. Less publicized than his counterparts, this statistical feat served as the launchpad for a sensational season during which he averaged over 50 points per game. Above all, it heralds the beginning of a moment that is still frequently discussed more than 60 years later. Stay tuned for the next episode !

3) 81 points by Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) : Come on ! Let’s put the encyclopedia aside for a moment and go back to a time that’s more familiar to us. Until recently, this was the best scoring performance in NBA history for which we have video footage. Let’s go back to January 22, 2006. Orphaned by Shaquille O’Neal since his departure to the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers are no longer the franchise that dominated North America from top to bottom. The three-peat is light-years away, and today the team is fighting just to make the playoffs. There’s no longer any room for debate: the “Black Mamba” is the one and only franchise player. A status he embodies on the court. Admittedly, as a team, the yellow machine no longer moves forward as it once did. Individually, however, Kobe is averaging 35 points per game and just put up a 62-point performance in three quarters back in December. On this game day against the Toronto Raptors at the Staples Center, nothing suggests that the star guard will make history once again. He starts the game very strong by “classic” standards with 22 points in two quarters, but that already seems too modest to hope to surpass even the 50-point mark. At least, not for the Black Mamba, who rose to the occasion throughout the second half. Trailing on the scoreboard, Kobe carried his team on his back to secure the final victory. Des séquences lunaires voient dès lors le jour à l’image de ces 22 pions consécutifs. Bryant a en effet assuré le succès, mais ce grand fou est surtout devenu le 2e joueurs à atteindre les 80 points. Juste, admirez ces chiffres : 28/46 au tir, 7/13 à trois points et 18/20 aux lancers francs. Seul un joueur au talent offensif exceptionnel pourrait envisager de faire mieux. Comme par exemple des Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama ou encore Anthony Edwards… et pourtant !

2) 83 points by Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat) : Thanks to science, we can explain a great many things. We can understand how the infinitely small works, just as we can understand the infinitely large. We can observe other galaxies, dive to depths where even the sun’s rays cannot penetrate, and travel to the Moon… However, no one can understand what happened on March 11, 2026 – not even the person at the center of it all! Be careful, though, not to overdo it. Bam Adebayo has been one of the very best players in the NBA for nearly a decade. A 2024 Olympic champion, he was a key contributor to the Heat’s wild runs under Jimmy Butler in 2020 and 2023. But here’s the thing: that was Butler’s Miami, not Adebayo’s. Objectively speaking, the center doesn’t have the talent required to be a franchise player. Right now, he’s an elite second option whose offensive game isn’t necessarily his greatest strength. If we expand our ranking to the Top 10, he actually has the lowest career scoring average. Except that against the Washington Wizards, it was simply HIS night. With 31 points in 10 minutes, the big man started the game on a roll. The Kaseya Center watched in amazement as their favorite player attempted – and, more importantly, sank – shots that seemed to come out of nowhere. The second quarter was less prolific, unlike the second half, where he made history at the free-throw line. Of his 83 total points, 36 came from fouls. In addition to this remarkable achievement, Bam Adebayo also broke the record for free throws made while setting the record for the most attempts from the free-throw line in a single game with 43. It’s not as flashy as Kobe. A slight bitter aftertaste of “forced” play is bothering a plethora of fans around the world. Is it just the culture of the moment, or a genuine downside? Only time will tell. What is certain is that a contender valued at $1 billion to surpass the Black Mamba has delivered one of, if not the most unexpected individual performances in NBA history.

1) Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points (Philadelphia Warriors) : We warned you that the 1961–1962 season was straight out of a movie. Ranked third on our list of the greatest moments in NBA history, Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game against the New York Knicks sits comfortably at the top of our list. An air of mystery also lends a mystical dimension to that famous photo showing the center holding a blank sheet of paper in his hands with the number 100 hastily scrawled on it. It’s important to note that back then, the NBA couldn’t broadcast all of its games as it does today. So this matchup between the Warriors and the bottom-ranked team of the regular season largely took a backseat. Even in Philadelphia, an American football game forced the franchise to play on the outskirts of the city in front of barely 4,000 spectators. As mentioned earlier, the Knicks were on a downward spiral, especially since their two centers were missing. The slaughter was on, as they faced none other than the most dominant big man of his generation. On the court, unsurprisingly, it was no contest. However, Wilt Chamberlain dominated almost to a fault. Already at 41 points at halftime, the radio commentators on hand floated a wild hypothesis: imagine if they reached 100 points? The massacre continued in the second half. New York simply had no answer, as evidenced by the 63 fouls drawn by The Big Dipper. By the fourth quarter, the 76ers were ahead but not entirely out of danger. Everyone in the arena, however, understood that the home team’s goal was no longer simply to win. No, the priority was to reach 100 points. And with one final dunk, Wilt Chamberlain achieved the impossible. Spectators, realizing they were witnessing a historic moment, stormed the court.

But Wilt has been warned. From now on, he’ll have to watch out for everyone. If Bam scored 83 points, who knows what the future holds ?