NBA Highest Scoring Individual Games of All Time

About This Dataset

The highest individual single-game scoring performances in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game against the New York Knicks on 2 March 1962 is the most iconic statistical achievement in basketball history — a record so far beyond anything since that many consider it permanently untouchable.

Analysis

The top three in Points in a Single Game in 2023 are Wilt Chamberlain (100), Kobe Bryant (81) and David Thompson (73). Wilt Chamberlain tops the list without dominating it, holding 25.4% of what the 5 entities record between them. The other 3 are bunched between 70 and 73 Points in a Single Game. Over 1961–1962 the steepest rise belongs to Wilt Chamberlain: +214.1% (78 → 245).

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

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Wilt Chamberlain leads in Points in a Single Game with 100 in 2023.

📉

Wilt Chamberlain declined most: -7.7% from 1961 to 1962 (78 → 72).

📅

1962 recorded the highest combined total across all categories.

↔️

Gap in 2023: Wilt Chamberlain is 1.4× larger than Joel Embiid.

NBA Highest Scoring Individual Games of All Time

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Data Insights Below

Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

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Data Points

5 categories · 6 years

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Top Value

100

Wilt Chamberlain

Points in a Single Game · 1962

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Metrics

Points in a Single Game

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Period

1961 – 2023

6 years of data

Methodology & source

Data source: Wikipedia
Coverage: 5 entities · 1961–2023 (6 years) · 8 observations
Measure: Points in a Single Game
Last updated: 6 September 2026
Compiled by: The ANYSTAT team, from the source above

How the figures are calculated

Values are shown as reported by the source. Nothing is rescaled, rebased or converted — the only changes are thousand separators and decimals shown to two places.
Missing years are left empty rather than estimated — no interpolation, no carrying a previous year forward.
Change is measured between the first and last year in which an entity actually reported a value, so a series that starts late is not penalised for the years before it existed.
The compound annual rate is (last ÷ first)^(1 ÷ years) − 1, using those same two reported years.
Entities are ranked highest-first on their value in 2023.
An entity that reported nothing in the latest year is still listed — it follows the ranked entities in the table rather than being dropped.

Rankings & Full Data

8 records · Points in a Single Game · ranked by 2023

✓ 8 sourced

#	Category	1961	1962	1978	2006	2017	2023	Change
🥇	Wilt Chamberlain	78	100	—	—	—	—	-7.7%
🥈	Kobe Bryant	—	—	—	81	—	—	—
🥉	David Thompson	—	—	73	—	—	—	—
4	Devin Booker	—	—	—	—	70	—	—
5	Joel Embiid	—	—	—	—	—	70	—