List of National Basketball Association Top Individual Game Scores

This is a list of the top 25 individual game scores attained by a player in the National Basketball Association. An unofficial statistic, these performances are analyzed and quantified by how impressive the all-around game is by the Hollinger Game Score formula devised by APBRmetrics statistician John Hollinger. It is a very similar measure to Player Efficiency Rating in that it focuses upon how effective and efficient a player's performance is, except that it does not factor in time played in the game and other tangibles, such as the strength of the opponent, the strength of the opponent's defense, the strength of the primary defender, and the location at which the game is played. For more on the Game Score formula, see the main article on John Hollinger.

In order to obtain the score of a player's performance, the entire box score is needed, so it is impossible to calculate a score for a game before the 1978 season, and at the moment, before the 1986-87 NBA season. So, this list currently entails all games played in the past 21 NBA seasons.

Here are the top 25 Hollinger Game Scores since the 1986-87 season (past 21 seasons). Michael Jordan leads the list, with 14 of the 27 top performances.

Rank Score Date Player Opponent Minutes FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Off Reb Def Reb Tot Assists Steals Blocks Turnovers Fouls Points
1 64.6 3-28-1990 Michael Jordan at Cleveland Cavaliers 50 23-37 2-6 21-23 7 11 18 6 4 1 2 5 69
2 63.5 1-22-2006 Kobe Bryant vs Toronto Raptors 42 28-46 7-13 18-20 2 4 6 2 3 1 3 1 81
3 60.2 1-27-1990 Karl Malone vs Milwaukee Bucks 33 21-26 0-0 19-23 9 9 18 2 3 0 2 2 61
4 54.7 4-3-1988 Michael Jordan at Detroit Pistons 42 21-27 0-1 17-19 2 2 4 6 2 2 1 4 59
5 51.8 4-24-1994 David Robinson at Los Angeles Clippers 44 26-41 1-2 18-25 4 10 14 5 0 2 8 2 71
6 51.2 2-26-1987 Michael Jordan vs New Jersey Nets 37 16-25 0-0 26-27 1 7 8 3 3 2 3 4 58
6 51.2 11-3-1989 Michael Jordan vs Cleveland Cavaliers 47 19-31 1-2 15-17 3 11 14 6 3 1 0 3 54
8 50.9 3-16-2007 Kobe Bryant at Portland Trail Blazers 50 23-39 8-12 11-12 1 6 7 3 3 0 2 3 65
9 50.4 11-28-1992 Reggie Miller at Charlotte Hornets 38 16-29 4-11 21-23 1 4 5 8 1 0 0 1 57
10 50.0 3-24-1990 Tom Chambers vs Seattle SuperSonics 42 22-32 0-0 16-18 1 5 6 4 1 2 1 5 60
11 49.8 4-29-1992 Michael Jordan at Miami Heat 43 20-30 0-0 16-18 1 4 5 5 4 2 2 3 56 First Round Playoffs
12 49.7 4-12-1987 Michael Jordan vs Indiana Pacers 42 19-27 0-0 15-18 2 2 4 8 4 2 3 2 53
12 49.7 12-20-2005 Kobe Bryant vs Dallas Mavericks 33 18-31 4-10 22-25 3 5 8 0 3 0 2 3 62
14 49.6 11-30-1988 Charles Barkley vs Portland Trail Blazers 41 13-16 0-1 15-20 9 13 22 5 6 1 3 2 46
14 49.6 12-13-1994 Willie Burton vs Miami Heat 43 12-19 5-8 24-28 4 4 8 3 1 2 1 2 53
16 49.5 3-6-2000 Shaquille O'Neal at Los Angeles Clippers 45 24-35 0-0 13-22 7 16 23 3 0 0 4 2 61
17 48.6 4-20-1986 Michael Jordan at Boston Celtics 53 22-41 0-0 19-21 2 3 5 6 3 2 3 4 63 First Round Playoffs
17 48.6 12-23-1992 Michael Jordan at Washington Bullets 42 22-37 6-8 7-8 0 2 2 10 3 1 1 3 57
18 48.0 1-16-1993 David Robinson vs Charlotte Hornets 40 20-28 1-2 11-15 3 11 14 3 0 7 2 3 52
20 47.9 1-21-1989 Michael Jordan vs Phoenix Suns 41 20-28 0-0 13-15 1 13 14 8 2 1 4 4 53
21 47.8 4-16-1987 Michael Jordan vs Atlanta Hawks 41 22-38 0-3 17-21 5 5 10 1 4 1 3 3 61
22 47.7 3-7-1996 Michael Jordan vs Detroit Pistons 38 21-28 2-4 9-10 2 9 11 2 6 0 4 3 53
23 47.6 3-4-1987 Michael Jordan at Detroit Pistons 43 22-39 0-0 17-18 3 4 7 3 3 3 5 0 61
24 46.9 3-18-1988 Michael Jordan vs Boston Celtics 42 19-32 1-2 11-11 2 3 5 9 5 1 1 4 50
25 46.8 12-22-1989 Karl Malone at Charlotte Hornets 43 22-28 0-0 8-12 3 14 17 3 2 0 2 3 52
26 46.7 1-15-1989 Michael Jordan vs Boston Celtics 41 13-23 0-3 16-17 1 8 9 11 8 0 2 2 42
26 46.7 3-23-1996 Hakeem Olajuwon vs Minnesota Timberwolves 44 16-23 0-0 14-18 7 12 19 8 3 3 6 3 46

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