Donovan Mitchell's 71, Luka's 60, and 5 Legendary NBA Games Already This Season
We still have around a third of the season to go, but the 2022-23 NBA campaign has already given us several years' worth of absurd offensive performances.
Through the All-Star break, there have been 138 40-point games. The all-time record is 142 and was set in 1961-62 (the season in which Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points).
It feels like we're in store for some kind of exceptional stat line every night the league is in action (no seriously, the NBA is averaging about one 40-point game per night this season).
But which ones have been the best?
Below, you'll find the most legendary performances in a season jam-packed with them.
Joel Embiid's Two-way Dominance of the Jazz
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The Line: 59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, seven blocks, one steal, 19-of-28 shooting from the field, 20-of-24 from the free-throw line
The Highlights:
On November 13, Joel Embiid absolutely dominated the Utah Jazz' jumbo frontcourt to the tune of 59 points on 19-of-28 shooting. And he only hit one three on the way to his total.
The overwhelming majority of the damage was done in the middle of the floor or from the free-throw line. But it was far from just a bully-ball performance.
Embiid had his mid-range jumper rolling that night, and it didn't seem to matter who was on him. Kelly Olynyk was the primary defender on 10 of the buckets, but Lauri Markkanen, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mike Conley, Rudy Gay and Walker Kessler each gave up at least two field goals.
What really sets this performance apart, though was the way Embiid dominated on the other end too. Embiid blocked seven shots that night. Evan Mobley and Jaren Jackson Jr. are the only players who've had more in a single game this season.
Following the Philadelphia 76ers' 105-98 win over Utah, Embiid's coach, Doc Rivers, told reporters, "I've never seen a more dominating performance when you combine defense and offense."
Damian Lillard's 60 on Utah
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The Line: 60 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three steals, 21-of-29 shooting from the field, 9-of-15 from three and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line
The Highlights:
They may wish they were on the other side of these performances, but shout out to the Jazz for making two appearances on this slideshow.
On January 25, a month and a half after Embiid lit them up inside for 59, Damian Lillard unleashed a perimeter barrage on the Jazz that led to 60 points.
And I do mean barrage. Click on the hyperlink for Lillard's shooting line above and check out that shooting chart. Eight of the threes are above the break. None of those eight is anywhere near the three-point line. A couple looks closer to the halfcourt circle.
His range has long been a calling card, but few performances have highlighted it as vividly as this game did.
But of course, he didn't score all 60 of his points from three. The entire shot chart looks like something out of a Daryl Morey fever dream. Beyond going 9-of-15 from deep, Lillard was 10-of-12 right around the rim. He almost never settled for anything in the mid-range.
"I think any time you score 60 points it's special, but I think this one I just felt like it came pretty simple," Lillard told reporters after the 134-124 win. "I thought I played the game as it should've been played."
Nikola Jokić's 40-15-15 Game
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The Line: 41 points, 15 rebounds, 15 assists, one block, 16-of-25 shooting from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line
The Highlights:
The Denver Nuggets and two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokić finally got a Christmas Day showcase this season, and the big man did not disappoint.
In a 128-125 overtime win, Jokić played 44 minutes, dropped 41 points (on 25 field-goal attempts), handed out 15 assists and grabbed 15 boards.
With eight makes inside, six more in the short and mid-range and two top-of-the-key threes, Jokić's shot chart illuminated the middle of the floor like a Christmas tree.
But, as is usually the case with the Joker, points were far from the only contribution. Only six players have exceeded the 15 dimes Jokić had in a single game this season (including Jokić himself three times).
"Sick," teammate Aaron Gordon said of the performance. "Those are video game numbers."
Indeed they are. And the comparison is apt on multiple levels. No one in the league can control a game the way Jokić does.
Luka Dončić's 60-20-10 Game
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The Line: 60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, one block, 21-of-31 shooting from the field, 2-of-6 from three and 16-of-22 from the free-throw line
The Highlights:
Two days after Jokić's 40-15-15 game, Luka Dončić had to show him up with the second 60-point triple-double and the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history.
And while Luka has done plenty of damage from three-point range over the course of his career, he's only had eight games this season in which he took fewer than six triples.
In this masterclass against the New York Knicks, he dropped the majority of his points in and around the paint. Over and over, Luka broke past the first layer of defense and carefully worked his way around or through the help to two points.
And what may have been more memorable than anything else from the game was the way he miraculously pushed it to overtime.
"I thought we won it," Doncic said of his celebration. "That's why I went to the crowd like this. I thought we won the game, and then I see it's tied. I was like, 'Oof.'"
No worries, Luka. Even if it may have been a bit premature, he earned that celebration before the Dallas Mavericks' 126-121 win was over. And he added an extra seven points and three boards for good measure in the extra frame.
Donovan Mitchell's 71
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The Line: 71 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, one block, 22-of-34 shooting from the field, 7-of-15 from three and 20-of-25 from the free-throw line
The Highlights:
On January 2, Donovan Mitchell blew up for 71 points in a 145-134 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and David Thompson are the only players in league history with games in which they scored more.
"To be there in the record book with guys like Wilt is truly humbling," Mitchell said after the game. "I always believed I could be one of the best players in the league. I'm speechless and blessed to be in the company of that greatness."
If you add Mitchell's 11 dimes, he stands alone. It probably comes as no surprise that this was the first 70-point performance that also came with a double-figure assist total.
In a season producing a 40-point performance pretty much every night and highlighted by absurd lines from the likes of Embiid, Lillard, Jokić and Dončić, this one still stands out.
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