NBA Players 40 Points Games: We gave you a rundown and list of the players who have the most 35-point games since the 1983–84 campaign just over two weeks ago. We’re going to step it up a notch today and show you the NBA players that have scored the most 40 points in a game during the previous 40 seasons. This list is home to many of the same names as well, but aside from the top, there will be some new faces and places that have changed.
While many current players still have the opportunity to improve their position before their careers conclude, the list of players below gives the ideal combination of NBA icons who established the standard for this list to be made. For the majority of these athletes, the most important issue to be addressed is if they can go closer to the top place.
The top 10 NBA players with the most 40 points games over the past 40 years will now be revealed.
10 NBA Players With The Most Scored in 40 Points Games
Check out the top 10 NBA players with most scored 40 points games:
1. Michael Jordan – 173 40-Point Games
Michael Jordan is the person that everyone is attempting to catch on this list, just like it was with our list of players with the most 35-point games in the previous 40 years. Jordan played with the Bulls and Wizards for 15 seasons, during which time he set a record for the best career scoring average in NBA history with 30.1. He also won five MVP awards, six NBA titles, six MVPs in the Finals, and an NBA record 10 scoring crowns.
In terms of scoring, mid-range shooting, and overall skill, Jordan is the best player in NBA history. Jordan added 31 50-point and four 60-point performances to his 173 games in which he scored 40 points or less. In a 1990 matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he would turn in one of his finest single-game performances. Jordan led his team to an overtime victory this evening, scoring 69 points. He went 23–37 overall and 21–23 from the foul line while shooting 62.2% from the field.
While I don’t take very lightly the declaration that a player is the greatest at anything, I can say with complete certainty that Michael Jordan is the greatest scorer in NBA history, having had 173 40-point games on 49.7% shooting over his career.
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2. Kobe Bryant – 122 40-Point Games
After winning five NBA championships, two MVP awards in the Finals, two scoring crowns, and one MVP award, Kobe Bryant became the most recognisable name in Lakers history for 21 years. His play, which cut over boundaries and linguistic obstacles, contributed to the game’s rise to international superstardom. Bryant became the fourth-all-time top scorer in NBA history in 20 seasons with the Lakers, averaging 25.0 points per game on 44.7% shooting. He finished with 33,643 points overall.
Throughout his career, Kobe Bryant has had six games with 60 points and 25 other 50-point performances. In 2006, when playing the Toronto Raptors at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles in front of his home fans, he gave his most well-known and thrilling performance. In a 122-104 victory, Bryant would go off for 81 points on 60.9% shooting from the field overall and 7-13 from three. In what turned out to be his final NBA game, Bryant gave us one last spectacular show on April 13, 2016, defeating the Utah Jazz once more on the Staples Centre floor with 60 points.
3. James Harden – 101 40-Point Games
There have only been three players to record 100 or more 40-point games in the last 40 years. One of those players quickly rose up this list by taking over the 2010s in terms of scoring. James Harden is good for a 40-point night 10.1% of the time. Since 2009–10, he has produced 101 40-point outings out of 1,000 games played.
Over his career, he has averaged 24.7 points per game, which has helped him win three scoring crowns and the 2018 MVP award. In addition, Harden has had 23 games with 50 points or more, and twice in the 2018–19 campaign, he hit his career-best of 61 points. In the first meeting, Harden scored 61 points on 44.7% shooting in a 114-110 victory over the Knicks. Two months later, in a 111-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, he would repeat the feat on 55.9% shooting from the field overall and 9-13 from three.
As a result of his rough start to the 2023–24 season, Harden was traded to his fourth team in four seasons. With Russell Westbrook, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers, Harden is playing with more talent than he has ever had around him. I don’t see Harden doing anything to catch the two guys who are ranked ahead of him on this list since there are so many players who can score the ball quickly.
4. Allen Iverson – 79 40-Point Games
One more former NBA scoring icon faces the possibility of dropping out of the top four on this list. Thanks to his outstanding play throughout the course of his 14-year NBA career, Allen Iverson is currently only five 40-point games ahead of LeBron James. Iverson, a four-time scoring champion and MVP, finished his career with an average of 26.7 points per game on 42.5% shooting.
Over the course of his career, Allen Iverson scored 40 points in 79 games, but he also managed 11 50-point performances. With the lone 60-point performance of his career, he would reach a new level of performance. Back in 2005, Iverson defeated the Orlando Magic 112-99 with 60 points on 17-36 shooting from the field and 24-27 from the foul line. Having won four or more scoring titles, Iverson is the only shooting guard who isn’t called Michel Jordan.
5. LeBron James – 74 40-Point Games
Of course, it was inevitable that the all-time top scorer in the NBA would figure somewhere on this list. He finishes right in the centre at No. 5, having recorded 74 games with 40 points or more in his career. LeBron James has averaged 27.2 points per game on 50.5% shooting from the field across his 21 NBA seasons. Having won four MVP honours during his career and four Finals MVPs, he has brought titles to three separate teams.
James has scored 50 points in 14 games during 2003–04 in addition to his 74 games with 40 points or less. James did, however, score 61 points for the first time in his career to tie his career best. It returned in the 2013–14 season when the Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 124–107. He hit 8–10 from three-point range, 9–12 from the free line, and 66.7% from the field during this game.
LeBron James, who is almost 39 years old, is performing at a high level in 2023–2024. He is averaging 24.6 points per game in five games with the Los Angeles Lakers, shooting 56.5% from the field. He is attempting to make even more history by being the first player in history to reach 40,000 points.
6. Kevin Durant – 65 40-Point Games
Kevin Durant is now seated one slot and one 40-point performance ahead of Stephen Curry. With one of the best mid-range shooters in the history of the NBA and effective play at all three levels, Durant has developed into one of the greatest scorers in NBA history since making his debut in 2007–08. Throughout his career, Durant has won four scoring titles, two NBA titles, and two MVP awards in the Finals, and an MVP. He is currently performing at a high level.
Even with his amazing ability to score, Durant has never finished a game with 60 points in his career. Though he has nine times scored 50 points or more, his career best of 55 points came in 2021–22 while playing for the Brooklyn Nets. In a defeat to the Hawks, Durant shot 67.9% from the field, including 8–10 from three, to set a career-best.
Durant is still one of the league’s top scorers in 2023–24, starting the season with an average of 27.3 points per game on 51.3% shooting. Even though he hasn’t yet reached 40 points this season, it won’t be long until he does and keeps rising on this list until retiring.
7. Stephen Curry – 64 40-Point Games
There is some gap between the bottom half of the list as we move up to the top seven players who have averaged 40 points per game over the previous 40 seasons. Having played in 64 40-point games since making his NBA debut in 2009–10, Stephen Curry is ranked seventh. With the most made three-pointers in NBA history, four championships, two MVPs, and an MVP in the Finals, Curry is the best shooter in NBA history.
Throughout his career, Curry has averaged 24.7 points per game. He has also scored 50 points in 12 games, and in one, he scored 60 points. In that 2020–21 campaign, he scored 62 points in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. He hit eight of his sixteen three-point tries and finished with a 58.1% field goal percentage in the game, which ended in a 137-122 victory.
One of the NBA’s most potent offensive players, Stephen Curry is still just 35 years old. He is averaging 31.0 points per game on 54.3% shooting, and he has already had two games with 40 points or more in 2023–24. Before his tenure in the NBA is over, I think Curry will move up this list a few more slots because he doesn’t appear to be slowing down or showing symptoms of ageing.
8. Dominique Wilkins – 56 40-Point Games
One former NBA icon who may lose his spot in the future years is Dominique Wilkins. Wilkins is the team’s record holder for the most 40-point games scored, having spent 54 of his 56-point games as an Atlanta Hawk. He averaged 24.8 points per game and shot 46.1% from the field throughout the course of his 17-year career.
Wilkins was able to surpass the 50-point mark six times in his career, culminating in 56 games with 40 or more points. In the 1985–86 and 1986–87 seasons, he scored 57 points in two different games, which was his best-ever performance in the NBA. Against the Nets in 1985–86, he scored 56.8% of the game to score 57 points against them. To overcome the Bulls in 1986–87, he once more scored 57 points in a matchup with Michael Jordan. He made 19 of 21 foul shots and hit 67.9% from the field this time.
9. Damian Lillard – 55 40-Point Games
Damian Lillard has done about everything an NBA player could want to in their career over the course of the previous 11+ seasons. In 2013, he was voted Rookie of the Year. He has participated in seven All-Star games, being selected to seven All-NBA Teams. With an average of 25.2 points per game on 43.9% shooting from the field and 37.2% from three over his career, Lillard has emerged as one of the NBA’s finest three-point shooting point guards ever.
Lillard’s 55-point performances are far more complex than that. In addition, Lillard has scored 50 points in 15 different games and 60 points in 5 separate games. He scored 71 points against the Houston Rockets in 2022–2023 to set a career high. Lillard led the Trail Blazers to a 131-114 victory over the Rockets in that game, shooting 57.9% from the field overall and 59.1% from three.
Lillard has a fantastic chance to keep moving up this list in 2023–2024. He is currently a member of the Milwaukee Bucks’ combo that, together with Giannis Antetokounmpo, is perhaps the finest in the NBA. Giannis takes the defence’s attention, so there should be no shortage of possibilities for Lillard to grab 40 points, waiting for him to do so.
10. Russell Westbrook – 50 40-Point Games
Russell Westbrook ranks 10th in terms of games with 40 points since 1983–84. Westbrook’s career scoring average since 2008–09 has been 22.3 points per game with an overall field goal percentage of 43.8%. Being more than simply a scorer, Westbrook has broken the record established by Oscar Robertson four times and averaged a triple-double in a season.
In addition to his 50 games with 40 points or more, Westbrook has five games with 50 points or more. When he played the Portland Trail Blazers with the Thunder in 2017, it set a record for him in any game. Westbrook would score 58 points on this particular night on 53.8% shooting from the field and only 3-9 from three. In addition, he had three steals and nine assists, but the Thunder lost 126-121 against the Trail Blazers.
Despite the impression that Westbrook is nearing the conclusion of his career, his time with the Los Angeles Clippers has given him the opportunity to reverse time and resume his high level of production. Now that he plays on a team featuring James Harden, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard—three other previous All-Stars—it could be too late for him to continue moving up this list.
