Ranking the 10 Best Single-Game NBA Finals Performances Since 2015
Tyrese Haliburton has already left an indelible mark on the 2025 NBA Finals thanks to his last-second game-winner in Game 1. However, the Indiana Pacers star didn't come close to putting together one of the greatest single-game Finals performances over the past 10 years.
Heck, even with his 38 points in that loss, Oklahoma City Thunder leading man and reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander didn't crack the top 50 such performances based on Basketball Reference's Game Score metric.
There's still plenty of time left in the 2025 Finals for someone—or multiple players—to break out in a big way. In the meantime, let's take a look back at the past 10 Finals and identify the best individual performances on the league's biggest stage.
We used the aforementioned Game Score as a guide for this exercise, though it wasn't the end-all, be-all. Context has to count for something, right? A massive scoring night in a home loss isn't quite the same as a huge performance in a pivotal road win. That being the case, we felt compelled to add a layer of subjectivity.
That subjectivity will inevitably lead to some disagreements, which is OK! We're talking about some of the NBA's greatest players doing astonishing things in the biggest moments. There's room for a difference of opinion.
Whether you agree or disagree with the picks here, feel free to share your thoughts in the app comments.
Honorable Mentions
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Kawhi Leonard: 36 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals at Golden State in Game 4 (2019)
The Toronto Raptors wrested full control of the 2019 Finals in the third quarter of Game 4, a period in which Leonard went off for 17 of his 36 points on the night. If you're looking for the moment when Leonard clinched Finals MVP, this was it.
Stephen Curry: 47 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists vs. Toronto in Game 3 (2019)
This is an instance where subjectivity hurt Curry (though it'll help him later, we promise). While his 47 points are the third-most in the Finals in the past 10 years and his Game Score ranked 10th, Curry was fighting an uphill battle with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both out with injuries. Curry did everything he could, but the Warriors still lost by 14 at home.
Nikola Jokić: 27 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds vs. Miami in Game 1 (2023)
Let's take a second to appreciate that stat lines like this are essentially the norm for Jokić. We had to decide between two very similar Jokić games for inclusion in the top 10, so we went with one that was more historic and on the road (more on that later). But make no mistake, this performance was an incredible tone-setter for the eventual champs.
Draymond Green: 32 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists vs. Cleveland in Game 7 (2016)
Green believes he would have been Finals MVP if the Warriors had won in 2016, and he's probably right. This game, in which he went 6-of-8 from three-point range, ranks 13th in Game Score over the past 10 years, and the fact that it happened in a Game 7 after he was suspended for Game 5 on adds to the degree of difficulty. But to the victor go the spoils.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: 41 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Phoenix in Game 3 (2021)
This was one of the more difficult exclusions from our list considering this performance ranked ninth in Game Score. Antetokounmpo came up huge when his team needed him. Returning home facing a 2-0 series deficit, Antetokounmpo dominated every facet of this game—including making 13 of 17 free throws—to get Milwaukee back into the series.
10. Stephen Curry: Game 4 at Celtics (2022)
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Stat line: 43 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
While Curry's 43 points in this game are tied for the fifth-most in a Finals game over the past 10 years, his Game Score feels criminally low at 26th. As promised, this was a game where subjectivity and context gave Curry a major boost.
In short, the Warriors had to win this game. They trailed the Boston Celtics 2-1 in the series and couldn't take another loss back to the Bay Area. Someone needed to turn things around, and as has often been the case over the past decade, that person was none other than Curry.
With his team backed up against the wall, Curry went supernova. He scored 43 points while making seven of his 14 three-point attempts, including scoring 14 points and sinking four triples in a critical third-quarter surge. Curry also put the game away by scoring 10 of Golden State's final 12 points.
“He wasn’t letting us lose. That’s all it boils down to,” Draymond Green said after the game. “I could tell in his demeanor, last couple of days, even after Game 3 that he was going to come out with that kind of fire.”
The series flipped on this game, with the Warriors winning the next two to win the title. That probably wouldn't have happened without Curry putting the Warriors on his back in Game 4.
9. LeBron James: Game 1 at Warriors (2018)
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Stat line: 51 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Honestly, LeBron James deserved better here. That was true in the moment, and it's still true now.
His effort here was the highest-scoring output in a Finals game since Michael Jordan had 55 in Game 4 of the 1993 Finals. James' 51 points are the fifth-most in a Finals game all-time. His Game Score is tied for fourth in the past 10 years.
But the Cavaliers lost the game. And they got swept in the series.
Now, we're not blaming any of that on LeBron. He's not responsible for George Hill missing a free throw or J.R. Smith getting the rebound and running out the clock by dribbling all the way out to half court. The degree of difficulty was also wildly high going against that Warriors team with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green.
So on one hand, putting up 51-8-8 against that team is legendary. But doing it in a loss—especially a loss where a teammate's gaffe accounted for one of the lasting images of the series—makes it bittersweet.
8. Nikola Jokić: Game 3 at Heat (2023)
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Stat line: 32 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 blocks
No matter what metric you want to pick—Game Score, box plus-minus, points, rebounds, etc.—this Jokić performance is not unique. Someone either matched or exceeded each of his numbers in a previous NBA Finals game.
But put it all together, and Jokić is in a class of his own. Prior to this contest, no one in NBA history had ever recorded a 30-20-10 game in the Finals.
While his Game Score from this game ranks only 20th in the past 10 years, this was another situation where history and context demanded a boost. When you cobble together never-before-seen numbers and you do it on the road to give your team a 2-1 lead in the Finals, that's worth a bunch of Game Score points in our book.
Let's also give a special shout-out to Jokić's running mate, Jamal Murray, who had a triple-double in Game 3 with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. If this were a list of best single-game performances by a duo, these two would be toward the top.
7. Jimmy Butler: Game 5 at Lakers (2020)
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Stat line: 35 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 steals, 1 block
This game was the genesis of the exhausted Jimmy Butler meme, but Butler's performance was no laughing matter. With the Heat trailing the Lakers 3-1 in the 2020 Finals, Butler gave everything he had to keep Miami's season alive.
Butler played all but 48 seconds of the game and had to carry the Heat every moment he was on the court just to give them a chance. With under two minutes and the game tied, Butler essentially went bucket-for-bucket with LeBron James for multiple grueling possessions until Anthony Davis intervened in to give the Lakers a one-point advantage with 21.8 seconds left.
There was no question where the ball was going on the ensuing Heat possession. Butler drove to the hoop and was fouled by Davis, which is when he took a moment to rest against the courtside padding. He made both free throws, the Lakers came up empty at the other end and the Heat extended their stay in the bubble.
While Butler's performance in this particular game was iconic and was tied for fourth over the past 10 Finals in Game Score, it somehow wasn't his best game in the 2020 Finals. This performance was slightly dinged on our list since the Heat were down 3-1 in the series heading into this game and they lost the series in six, but there's no denying that Butler left it all on the court in this one.
6. Kyrie Irving: Game 5 at Warriors (2016)
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Stat line: 41 points (on 17-of-24 shooting), 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
Famously down 3-1 against the 73-win Warriors, the Cavaliers needed to take advantage of Draymond Green's suspension in Game 5. Boy, did they ever.
Irving played a major role in Cleveland's series-extending victory at Oracle Arena, scoring 41 points on a blistering 70.8 percent clip from the field. He saved his best for the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points over four possessions across less than two minutes to push the Cavs' lead to 13 points and essentially put the game away.
Even with all their firepower, the Dubs' Splash Brothers just couldn't keep up with Irving's lights-out shooting.
The Cavaliers also got a monumental performance from LeBron James in this game to keep the series alive, but more on that later...
5. Kevin Durant: Game 3 at Cavaliers (2018)
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Stat line: 43 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Durant was the Finals MVP in 2017, but none of his performances in that series were quite at the level of what he did in Game 3 of the 2018 series in Cleveland.
The Warriors, who jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, had to withstand a desperate Cavaliers team playing both at home and with their backs against the wall. Durant parried every big swing the Cavs made.
The Warriors were trailing by double digits late in the second quarter, but Durant scored six points in the final minute to trim the halftime margin to six. When the Warriors rallied to take the lead in the third quarter, KD paced them with 10 points in the period.
And when Cleveland needed one stop to maintain its hope for a comeback, Durant delivered the dagger with a 32-footer with 49.8 seconds left—a shot reminiscent of another shot to the heart he delivered in that same building in Game 3 the year prior.
Just like in 2017, Durant ended the series as the Finals MVP. But out of all his great performances—he had four Finals games in the top 22 in Game Score over the past 10 years—Game 3 in 2018 was undoubtedly his best.
4. LeBron James: Game 5 at Warriors (2016)
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Stat line: 41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Remember when we mentioned earlier that Kyrie Irving's 41 points on 70.8 percent shooting in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals wasn't even the best individual performance in that game? Yeah, that honor belongs to LeBron.
To set the scene again, the Cavs were down 3-1 in the series, although they were facing a short-handed Warriors team without Draymond Green, who was suspended for Game 5 after being assessed with a flagrant foul for hitting James in the groin in Game 4. But still, these were the 73-win Warriors, and they had a seemingly insurmountable series lead going back to Oracle Arena.
It was the LeBron and Kyrie show in Game 5, though, as the Cavs kicked off their legendary comeback. In addition to his 41 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, James had three steals and three blocks while shooting 53.3 percent from the field on a whopping 30 shots.
LeBron set the tone early by scoring a team-leading 12 of his 41 points in the first quarter, and he never let up from there. He battled on both ends to help the Cavs run away with a 15-point win to send the series back to Cleveland.
3. Jimmy Butler: Game 3 vs. Lakers (2020)
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Stat line: 40 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks
We've reached the point in our rankings where Game Score and context align, and none of the top three should be much of a surprise. Re-order them if you want, but these top three are all the cream of the crop.
After a pair of double-digit losses to open the 2020 NBA Finals, the Heat needed a jolt to get back into the series. Naturally ,Butler provided it.
Butler was the leading scorer (or at least tied for the scoring lead) in each quarter, offering Miami incredible consistency as he steadily captained the Heat to a win in which they led for more than 41 minutes of the game.
With just under nine minutes to go, the Lakers took their first lead since early in the second quarter. That advantage lasted for all of 25 seconds, as Butler hit a 10-footer to tie the game. Shortly after that, Butler hit Kelly Olynyk for a go-ahead three that gave the Heat the lead for good.
In addition to Butler's points, rebounds and assists, he also had two steals and two blocks and shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the field. In the fourth quarter, he scored or assisted on eight of Miami's 11 field goals to put the game away.
While Miami didn't win the series, the win in Game 3 gave the Heat hope they could eventually come back. It took a magnificent performance from Butler (tied for the second-best Game Score of the past 10 Finals) to get there, but as previously mentioned, he still had plenty more to give before the series was over.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo: Game 6 vs. Suns (2021)
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Stat line: 50 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists
Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't going to be denied. Not when he had a chance to clinch his first championship and the first for Milwaukee in 50 years.
Armed with a 3-2 series lead and in front of a raucous crowd at Fiserv Forum, Antetokounmpo delivered a performance for the ages, tying Bob Pettit's 1958 record for most points in an NBA Finals closeout game with 50.
Most of that damage came in the third quarter, a period in which the Bucks trailed by as many as seven points in the opening minute. But then Antetokounmpo took control, dominating inside, mixing in a three-pointer and making his free throws to explode for 20 points in that quarter alone. Overall, he shot 64 percent from the field (16-of-25) on the night.
Antetokounmpo, who had often been mocked by opposing fans for his struggles at the free-throw line, went 17-of-19 in Game 6, including making a freebie with nine seconds left to put him at the half-century mark.
"People told me I can’t make free throws and I made them tonight. And I’m a freaking champion," Antetokounmpo said after the game.
Outside of his scoring, Antetokounmpo was all over the boards and was a menace on defense, racking up five blocks in the win.
You can argue this performance—which was tied for second with Butler in terms of Game Score—was the best of the past 10 years because it directly delivered a championship. But one performance just beat out Antetokounmpo's 50-piece.
1. LeBron James: Game 6 vs. Warriors (2016)
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Stat line: 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks
It's hard to imagine bigger circumstances and stakes than what LeBron and the Cavaliers faced in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals.
They were down 3-2 in the series, and after being without All-Star forward Draymond Green for Game 5 because of a suspension, the 73-win Warriors were back at full strength and aiming to close out the best season in NBA history. This game was being played in Northeast Ohio, where James had been born, raised and held up as the hero who would one day take the Cavaliers to the promised land.
He didn't succeed in that goal during his first stint in Cleveland, and he and the Cavs had fallen short against these same Warriors in 2015. Now they were facing an unprecedented comeback if they were going to win in 2016.
With all of that going on, LeBron put together arguably the greatest game anyone has ever played in the NBA Finals. According to Basketball-Reference's Game Score, which goes back to 1978, no one has had a better Finals performance.
In addition to his 41 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, James compiled four steals, three blocks and just one turnover despite a usage rate over 35 percent. He went 16-of-27 from the field (59.3 percent), including making half of his six three-point attempts.
James scored five of the game's first eight points as the Cavs opened on an 8-0 run and led 31-11 after the first quarter. They never trailed, and James only ramped up the intensity as the game wore on, finishing with 17 points in the fourth quarter alone in a statement 115-101 win.
The win set the stage for one of the greatest Game 7s in NBA history. While that game may be more memorable, it would never have happened without LeBron's exceptional performance in Game 6.
