The Greatest NBA Performances In Losses

The Game YOUNG KING James Shocked The World With 56 Points 🔥 EPIC Highlights vs Raptors!

On this date in NBA history (March 20th), LeBron James, James Harden, and Julius Randle each scored 56 or more points in a game. When I post about each of these performances on social media later today, I can guarantee at least one person will respond with one of my least favorite phrases:

"THEY LOST THO!"

If not that one, then maybe just an "L" or "Who won tho?"

I'm not saying Julius should be celebrating and taking postgame photos with the team while holding a piece of paper that says his career-high point total (Who would do that? Never mind; more about that later).

Still, I don't see an issue with people acknowledging his impressive career-high performance without some troll reminding him that his team lost.

What happened to "Valiant effort in defeat?"

I'm kidding about that specific quote, but I'm serious about praising individual efforts regardless of the team's result, especially since so many career highs and best performances have resulted in losses.

And I'm not just talking about your "average" NBA player (shout out Quentin Grimes on his career-high 46 in a loss earlier this week); I'm talking about All-Stars and Hall of Famers like Westbrook, Hakeem, King, and David Thompson.

Did you know that five 70-point performances were in losses?

Let's revisit some of those games along with many of the greatest "they lost tho" performances, starting with that "never mind" from above.

RUINED FRANCHISE NIGHTS

The following are career-high-scoring performances that are also franchise-best totals.

BOOKER'S FRANCHISE-BEST 70

DEVIN BOOKER SCORES 70 POINTS YOUNGEST IN NBA HISTORY! | March 24, 2017

• DATE: MARCH 24, 2017
• STATS: 70 PTS (21/40 FG, 4/11 3PT, 24/26 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: BOS 130 - PHO 120

On March 24th of 1990, Tom Chambers scored a Suns' franchise-record of 60 points against the (Bring back the) Seattle SuperSonics.

On March 24th of 2017, 20-year-old Devin Booker broke Tom's franchise record with 70 points against the Boston Celtics.

His 51 2nd-half points were the most any opponent has ever scored against the Celtics. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to get the win.

That didn't stop the Suns from celebrating in the locker room and posting a team photo with Book holding a 70 card.

When Boston's Jae Crowder saw the social post, he replied, “I’ve never seen so many guys happy after a ‘L’.”

BOOKER: "It is weird because we've all been winners most of our life. But at the same time, the way our season's gone right now, we're kind of looking for something to celebrate. And that meant a lot to see my veterans happy. Tyson cheering me on. Dudley had 10 assists tonight looking for me every time downcourt. It is sometimes, but you have to see the beauty in it. At the end of the day, history was made and I couldn't do it without my team so they're gonna celebrate."

SKYWALKER'S FRANCHISE-BEST 73

# 49 Spike TV Greatest Moments in NBA History

• DATE: APRIL 9, 1978
• STATS: 73 PTS (28/38 FG, 17/20 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: DET 139 - DEN 137

You probably know the story about the 1978 scoring title showdown between David Thompson and George Gervin. Skywalker scored 73 points on the season's final day, tying him with Gervin's 27.2 average. Ice then needed 58 to break the tie. He responded by scoring 53 in the first half and finished with 63 (23/49 FG, 0 3PTS).

What many don't know is Thompson's franchise-best 73 came during a two-point loss. The closest any Nugget has come to this output was earlier this season, when Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 56 in a loss.

KAT'S FRANCHISE-BEST 62

EVERY POINT From Karl-Anthony Towns' 62-PT CAREER-HIGH Performance! 🔥 | January 22, 2024

• DATE: JANUARY 22, 2024
• STATS: 62 PTS (21/35 FG, 10/15 3PT, 10/14 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: CHA 128 - MIN 125

When Karl-Anthony Towns scored 60 in a win against the Spurs in 2022, he did the Wilt photo with the point total.

Two years later, he went off for 44 first-half points, 14 in the third, and just 4 in the 4th quarter. The four were enough to give him a new career high, but the Hornets outscored the Wolves 36-18 in the final quarter and ruined his night.

KAT: “Having a night like that on a loss doesn't feel very good or historic."

COACH FINCH: "It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball all through the game."

BEAL'S FRANCHISE-BEST 60 (55 & 53)

Bradley Beal Goes For A Career-High 60 PTS

• DATE: JANUARY 6, 2021
• STATS: 60 PTS (20/35 FG, 7/10 3PT, 13/15 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: PHI 141 - WAS 136

Bradley Beal's three highest-scoring games came in losses: 60, 55, 53. The 53 and 55 came on back-to-back nights during the Wizards 2020/21 season, when Beal scored 40+ in 10 games and only got to celebrate one of them with a win.

His 60, which tied Gilbert Arenas' franchise record, came the following season when things weren't much different.

BEAL: "I'm pissed off. I'm mad. Any of my career highs, they've been in losses. So I don't give a damn. You can throw it right out the window with the other two or three I've had."

After scoring 57 in the first three quarters, Beal only made a single field goal in the fourth and a pair of free throws in the final meaningless seconds.

CARDIAC KEMBA'S FRANCHISE-BEST 60

Kemba Walker Drops A Career High 60 In Match Up 76ers | November 17, 2018

• DATE: NOVEMBER 17, 2018
• STATS: 60 PTS (21/34 FG, 6/14 3PT, 12/12 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: PHI 122 - CHA 119 (OT)

There have only been three 50-point games in Hornet's history: 60 (Kemba), 52 (Kemba), and 50 (LaMelo Ball). Two of those three were in losses.

On the night of Kemba's 60, he scored more points than the rest of his teammates combined, and that effort was ruined by a game-winning three from the recently acquired Jimmy Butler.

Kemba's backup only managed two points on 1-of-4 shooting. Who was that backup? Tony Parker in his one-and-only non-Spurs season.

FOX'S FRANCHISE-BEST 60

De’Aaron Fox ERUPTS For New CAREER-HIGH 60 PTS!🏆| November 15, 2024

• DATE: NOVEMBER 16, 2024
• STATS: 60 PTS (22/35 FG, 6/10 3PT, 10/11 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: MIN 130 - SAC 126 (OT)

Imagine scoring a franchise and career-high 60 points, following it up with 49, getting traded two months later, and having a season-ending surgery a couple of months after that.

That's what happened during De'Aaron Fox's roller-coaster season that started in Sacramento and ended in San Antonio -- the land of tanking and churros (please watch the Charles Barkley video).

Fox did everything he could, scoring 26 of his 60 points in the 4th and OT

But it was Anthony Edwards who took over down the final stretch, scoring or assisting on five buckets in the final five minutes.

FOX: "I wanted this game to end in the fourth quarter, so I don't even want to have the opportunity for 60, but my teammates wanted me to keep going... At the end of the day, that type of performance, that type of accomplishment, is nothing to just breathe over and let go. It’s definitely cool.”

WESTBROOK'S FRANCHISE-BEST 58

Russell Westbrook CAREER HIGH 58 Points in OKC! | 03.07.17

• DATE: MARCH 7, 2017
• STATS: 58 PTS (21/39 FG, 3/9 3PT, 13/16 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: POR 126 - OKC 121

I'm not a fan of combining Sonic records with Thunder records. If you are, you can say Westbrook's career-high of 58 points tied Fred Brown's 1974 output. If you aren't, we can say Russ has the franchise record.

This loss came during his MVP season when he led the league in scoring (31.6) and became the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a whole season. He did it thrice in the following four seasons and made the near-impossible sound routine.

Russ also scored 57 a few weeks after the 58, and this time, he got the win.

MORE RUINED CAREER NIGHTS

The following are career-high-scoring performances in losses.

BRUNSON'S 61

Jalen Brunson ERUPTS For New CAREER-HIGH 61 PTS! 🔥 | March 29, 2024

• DATE: MARCH 29, 2024
• STATS: 61 PTS (25/47 FG, 5/13 3PT, 6/6 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: SAS 130 - NYK 126 (OT)

Imagine scoring a career-high 61 and finishing just two points away from breaking Carmelo Anthony's franchise record of 62 points and not even being the Player of the Game.

Rookie Victor Wembanyama finished with a career-high 40 points to go with 20 boards, 7 assists, and a clutch three in OT for the winning Spurs.

DIVINCENZO: "I think what he did tonight showed you that he’s one of the best guards in the East. Every single night, whatever it takes to win, he does that. Tonight, it was almost.”

BRUNSON: “That stuff is washed out the window with a loss. It doesn’t really matter.”

KING'S 60 ON CHRISTMAS

Bernard King (60pts/5asts) vs. Nets (1984)

• DATE: DECEMBER 25, 1984
• STATS: 60 PTS (19/30 FG, 22/26 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: NJN 120 - NYK 114

One Knick who knows the feeling of scoring 60 in a loss is the "King of New York" Bernard King, who scored his career-high 60 points 40 years earlier than Brunson. King's loss was extra painful because the 6-point loss came against the New Jersey Nets on Christmas.

KING: “Whether I scored 15 points or 60 in a game, the bottom line was: Did we win? Scoring 60 points may take on an added flavor, but in that moment, I felt total dejection. There was no excitement."

If that wasn't bad enough, the Knicks went into the new year with five more straight losses despite King's career and league-leading scoring (32.9). Then, his season ended early after suffering a leg injury that caused him to miss the following season.

JOKIC'S 60-POINT TRIPLE DOUBLE

Nikola Jokic's HISTORIC 60 Point TRIPLE-DOUBLE vs Timberwolves | April 1, 2025

• DATE: APRIL 1, 2025
• STATS: 61 PTS (18/29 FG, 6/11 3PT, 19/24 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: MIN 140 - DEN 139

This must have felt like a cruel April Fools Day joke. Jokic recorded the third 60-point triple-double in NBA history, tied Wilt Chamberlain for most triple-doubles in a season by a center (31), and left with a loss.

Anthony Edwards: "Nikola Jokic, bruh. Oh my God. He might be the best basketball player I've ever seen up close besides myself to myself. He's incredible. The MVP race is tough. He had 60. Crazy."

Most Denver fans reading this are probably cursing Russell Westbrook's name right now since he blew a layup and committed a (questionable) foul in the final seconds. But I don't want to put all the blame on Russ when the entire Nuggets bench scored a total of 14 points in a double OT game.

The loss also means Jokic's top two highest-scoring games and the franchise's top three all happened in a loss: 73 (David Thompson), 61 (Jokic), and 56 (Jokic).

JULIUS RANDLE'S 57

Julius Randle Makes Knicks FRANCHISE HISTORY In CAREER-HIGH Performance! | March 20, 2023

• DATE: MARCH 20, 2023
• STATS: 57 PTS (19/29 FG, 8/14 3PT, 11/13 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: MIN 140 - NYK 134

Here we go with another career-high from a Knick in a loss. The 57 was the first 50-point game by a Knick since Melo's 62 in 2014 and the fifth-most points at MSG. The All-NBA 3rd Teamer also tied his career-high in threes (8) and scored a franchise-record 26 points in the third quarter. As for the final quarter, he had just four points.

THIBS: "It's a shame to waste a performance like that."

GOBERT: "We got shooters, baby!"

Well, they also now have Randle and were on a 13-game win streak when Randle played.

MICHAEL REDD'S 57

Michael Redd Career-High 57 Pts vs Jazz | Nov 11, 2006 | VintageDawkins

• DATE: NOVEMBER 11, 2006
• STATS: 57 PTS (18/32 FG, 6/12 3PT, 15/17 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: UTA 113 - MIL 111

Before Giannis started breaking Bucks records, 2nd-round pick Michael Redd had the franchise record with 57 points. 42 of those 57 came during the 2nd half, which included a game-tying three over Deron Williams with seven seconds left in regulation.

The Jazz responded with a Matt Harpring layup with 1.9 seconds left, and then Redd missed the potential game-winner at the buzzer.

The 57 is also the second most points ever scored by a 2nd-round pick.

THE DREAM'S 52

Hakeem Olajuwon (52pts/18rebs) (Career High) vs. Nuggets (1990)

• DATE: APRIL 19, 1990
• STATS: 52 PTS (21/34 FG, 10/13 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: DEN 130 - HOU 127 (OT)

Considering Hakeem Olajuwon has some of the craziest stat lines in NBA history -- including a quadruple-double (two if you count the one the NBA took away because they accused the Rockets of stat padding) -- you would think he would have had a higher career-high in points.

Then you look back at the career highs of many great centers and realize the low to mid-50s were normal.

• Kareem: 55
• Moses: 53
• Dream: 52
• Ewing: 51
• Mourning: 50

I couldn't find any postgame quotes, but I'm positive Dream wasn't happy with his performance after the game, especially since he fouled out with 8 seconds remaining in OT and committed 11 turnovers.

NO LOVE FOR LOVE'S 51

Kevin Love 51 Points vs Thunder

• DATE: MARCH 23, 2012
• STATS: 51 PTS (16/27 FG, 7/11 3PT, 12/16 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: OKC 149 - MIN 140 (DOUBLE OT)

Big-boned Kevin Love on the Wolves was a favorite in fantasy leagues. Here are some of his best games in Minny.

• 51 PTS, 14 REB (7/11 3PT)
• 42 PTS, 14 REB (8/9 3PT)
• 31 PTS, 31 REB
• 37 PTS, 23 REB
• 32 PTS, 22 REB

That 51 was a then franchise-high, and it came in a loss against the young OKC BIG3 of Kevin Durant, Love's college teammate Russell Westbrook, and 6th Man James Harden.

Love had to put up some monster numbers to keep them in the game since they played without Ricky Rubio, Michael Beasley, and Nikola Pekovic. And with the game tied at 113, he knocked down a three with a second left in regulation to force OT.

KD forced a second OT with a three of his own, and then the Thunder took over the second extra session by outscoring the Wolves 20-11.

Russ finished with a then career-high 45 points, and KD had 41, including the clutch threes near the end of regulation and the first OT. Harden had 25 points and 6 assists off the bench.

"They had to play perfect to the end," Said JJ Barea, who had his first career triple-double (25/14/10). "It took them two overtimes to beat us, and they're the best team in the West."

Love: "Sometimes this game is crazy. If we would have won, you would have looked at the other side and saw 45 and 40 in a loss."

THEY SCORED HOW MANY?

The following are career-high-scoring performances in losses from guys you wouldn't expect to score 50.

MALACHI FLYNN's 50

Malachi Flynn EXPLODES For CAREER-HIGH 50 Points! 👏👀 | April 3, 2024

• DATE: APRIL 3, 2024
• STATS: 50 PTS (18/25 FG, 5/9 3PT, 9/12 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: ATL 121 - DET 113

The only memorable things from the Pistons 2023/24 season were how long fans had to wait to get free wings (28 games) and Malachi Flynn joining Nick Anderson and Jamal Crawford as the players in NBA history to score 50 off the bench.

The 50 was almost double his previous career high (27) and made him the player with the lowest career scoring average (5.2) to score 50.

I know what you are thinking: Trae Young's defense is awful. Guess what? Trae didn't play in this game!

FLYNN: “It’s tough because at the end of the day, you want to win. But it does feel good to kind of take in the moment. I’m sure a couple of days from now, it will feel really good.”

TERRENCE ROSS' 51

Terrence Ross ties Raptors franchise record with 51 points!

• DATE: JANUARY 25, 2014
• STATS: 51 PTS (16/29 FG, 10/17 3PT, 9/10 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: LAC 126 - TOR 118

What do Vince Carter and Terrence Ross have in common? They both won NBA dunk contests, and at one time, they shared the franchise record for the most points in a game by a Toronto Raptor.

Aside from matching the franchise record, the 2nd-year Ross also knocked down a career-high 10 threes against the Clippers, who had just two more made threes.

DOC RIVERS: "Ross was great, but we won the game, and that's all we came here for."

TONY DELK's 53

Tony Delk - 53 points (MOST UNLIKELY 50-POINT SCORER)

• DATE: JANUARY 21, 2001
• STATS: 53 PTS (20/27 FG, 13/15 FT, 0/1 3PT)
• FINAL SCORE: SAC 121 - PHO 117 (OT)

Tony Delk is a 6'1" shooting guard who scored 50 points without a single three-pointer! Delk, who averaged a career-best 12.3 points that season, knocked down 20-of-27 shots against his former Sacramento team for his shocking career-high.

DELK: “It was all in the flow. I made nine or ten consecutive shots, and I remember somebody saying, ‘Dude, you’ve got 45 points.’ I was in a zone, which I had to be to score that much volume because I wasn’t the kind of player who commanded 20-to-25 touches a game. Role players don’t get that many touches, and I certainly wasn’t a star like Allen Iverson."

MORE BIG NUMBERS FROM NBA GREATS

THE MYTHICAL WILT

Wilt Chamberlain swishes four 3-point range hook shots in a row!

None of Wilt's numbers -- good or bad-- make sense. If I told you he's lost 37 games when scoring 50+ points, you would probably say his team must always lose when he scores a lot. Then you realize he's scored 50+ points 118 times. FYI: here are the top three players with the most losses while scoring 50.

• Wilt: 37 out of 118 (31%)
• MJ: 8 out of 31 (25%)
• Kobe: 7 out of 25 (28%)

When I say Wilt has the record for most points in a loss (78) and nine of the 13 highest-scoring games in a loss, it, again, sounds terrible. Then I'm reminded that he has five of the eight highest-scoring games in NBA history, and his 100-point game (it did happen) was a win.

Let's move on because discussing Wilt's numbers seems pointless since they seem so unreal.

MICHAEL JORDAN's 64 ON 49 SHOTS

Throwback: Michael Jordan Full Highlights vs Magic (1993.01.16) - 64 Pts, 6 Reb!

• DATE: JANUARY 16, 1993
• STATS: 64 PTS (27/49 FG, 9/11 FT, 1/5 3PT)
• FINAL SCORE: ORL 128 - 124 (OT)

LeBron fanatics and Jordan haters love it when I post about this loss by his Airness. Even though he shot 55%, they can't get over MJ attempting 55 shots, "only" scoring 64 points and dishing out one assist (with a hurt wrist).

MJ: "The points don't make a difference to me. It's just wasted energy in a sense because we didn't finish the game the way we should have... Getting 64 points doesn't mean anything when you lose.''

The real star of this game was rookie Shaquille O'Neal, who had 29 points, 24 rebounds and 5 blocks.

Most FGA over the last 25 years

• Kobe: 22/50 (W)
• Jalen Brunson: 25/47 (L)
• Kobe: 17/47 (L)
• Kobe: 28/46 (W)
• Webber: 24/47 (L)

CHEF CURRY'S 60

Steph Curry Drops Season-High 60 Points! | February 3, 2024

• DATE: FEBRUARY 3, 2024
• STATS: 60 PTS (22/38 FG, 10/23 3PT, 6/6 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: ATL 141 - GSW 134 (OT)

The 35-year-old Curry's eight points in overtime left him two short of tying his career-high of 62 points and eight points short of getting the win.

CURRY: "It sucks to not have something to show for it."

He did have another addition to his untouchable record of games with 10+ threes. As of March 19, 2025, he has 26 of those games. That's the same number as No. 2 through 7 on the list combined.

This game also came during the offensive explosion of the 2023/24 season, when six 60-point games happened (3rd most in NBA history).

WHAT ABOUT THE PLAYOFFS?

I was sticking with regular season games, but we have seen some incredible performances in the Playoffs.

Jerry West was so good in the 1969 NBA Finals that he won Finals MVP even though the Celtics won the Championship. The Celtics were also victorious when Michael Jordan scored a playoff career-high 63 points in the 1986 Playoffs.

The one game that I want to mention here is Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals.

WHY JR SMITH? WHY?

LeBron James' Epic 51 Point Performance | Game 1 Of The '17-'18 Finals

• DATE: MAY 31, 2018
• STATS: 51 PTS (19/32 FG, 3/7 3PT, 10/11 FT)
• FINAL SCORE: GSW 124 - CLE 114 (OT)

Some consider this to be LeBron's greatest game ever. His 51 remains the most points ever scored in an NBA Finals loss. A lot of people will try to blame the game on JR Smith because of his blunder in the remaining seconds of regulation.

KD: ''I don't know what was going through J.R.'s head. He made a great rebound and gave them an opportunity to win the basketball game.''

But what about George Hill's missed free throw before the blunder? And the Cavs were outscored 7-17 in the extra session. And then LeBron suffered a bone contusion in his right hand after reportedly punching a whiteboard.

The good news for LeBron and Smith is they moved on and won a championship together two years later. The bad news for Cavs fans is they did it as members of the Lakers.

I should also mention that I'm the person who first posted the full raw video of JR Smith and LeBron on the bench after the blunder. All I can say is the NBA wasn't too happy with me.

HOW ABOUT OTHER STATS?

Also worth mentioning are a few other performances with exceptional non-scoring statistics that resulted in a loss.

• John Stockton's 27 assists
• Russell Westbrook's 24 assists
• Charles Oakley's 35 rebounds
• Shawn Bradley's 13 blocks

HOW ABOUT HIGHLIGHTS?

As a bonus, here are a few of the greatest plays ever that also came in a loss.

VINCE CARTER'S DUNK ON ZO

Vince Carter Dunks on Alonzo Mourning (Sportscenter Highlights)

BLAKE GRIFFIN DISRESPECTS MOZGOV

T-Mac Gets Extremely DIRTY Commentating Blake Griffin's Mozgov Dunk | The Jump | Dec 28, 2017

GERALD GREEN'S HEAD OVER THE RIM OOP

Gerald Green Windmill Alley-Oop Dunk HD

SHAQ BREAKS THE BACKBOARD

2/7/1993 Shaq breaks Phoenix Suns Rim NBC Sports

I get it. The point of playing the game is to win. But basketball is more fun when you can appreciate and celebrate individual efforts. Rings are great, but Ring culture is awful. So relax with the ring counting and "but they lost tho" comments, and maybe your life will be just 1% more enjoyable.

If looking for March Madness tournament schedules, matchup breakdowns, and expert picks, head to our March Madness section.