On Nov. 16, 1960 (IST), Los Angeles Lakers forward Elgin Baylor became the first player to do something that's only been done 11 times in NBA history.
In a 123-108 victory over the New York Knicks, Baylor erupted for a career-best 71 points as he shot 28-for-48 from the field and 15-for-19 from the charity stripe, adding 25 rebounds to boot. At the time, Baylor set an NBA scoring record as he became the first player in league history to score 70 or more points in a game.
Over the past 60 years, there have only been 10 other instances in which a player scored 70 or more points, six of which came from legendary centre Wilt Chamberlain, who still holds the record for most points in an NBA game with 100. The most recent instance of a player scoring 70 or more points occurred on Mar. 24, 2017, when 20-year-old Devin Booker scored 70 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics.
| Player | Date | Team | Opponent | Points |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Mar. 2, 1962 | Philadelphia Warriors | New York Knicks | 100 |
| Kobe Bryant | Jan. 22, 2005 | Los Angeles Lakers | Toronto Raptors | 81 |
| WIlt Chamberlain | Dec. 8, 1961 | Philadelphia Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | 78 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Jan. 13, 1962 | Philadelphia Warriors | Chicago Packers | 73 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Nov. 16, 1962 | San Francisco Warriors | New York Knicks | 73 |
| David Thompson | Apr. 8, 1978 | Denver Nuggets | Detroit Pistons | 73 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Nov. 3, 1962 | San Francisco Warriors | Los Angeles Lakers | 72 |
| Elgin Baylor | Nov. 15, 1960 | Los Angeles Lakers | New York Knicks | 71 |
| David Robinson | Apr. 24, 1994 | San Antonio Spurs | Los Angeles Clippers | 71 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | Mar. 10, 1963 | San Francisco Warriors | Syracuse Nationals | 70 |
| Devin Booker | Mar. 24, 2017 | Phoenix Suns | Boston Celtics | 70 |
Over the course of his Hall of Fame career, Baylor recorded 17 games of 50 or more points, including five in the 1960-61 season. In fact, Baylor finished with 52 points just 10 days later on Nov. 26 (IST) and, five days after that, scored 51 points.
Baylor finished Nov. 1960 averaging 38.5 points and 21.4 rebounds over 15 games. He would finish the 1960-61 season averaging 34.3 points and 19.8 rebounds over 70 games, good for second and fourth in the league, respectively.
While injuries caused his career to come to an early end, Baylor retired in the opening months of the 1971-72 season, having scored 23,149 points over 14 seasons.
Also on Nov. 16 (IST)…
- In 1964, Chamberlain scored 62 points in a win over the Cincinnati Royals as a member of the Warriors
- In 1995, Houston Rockets centre Hakeem Olajuwon became the third player in NBA history to surpass 3,000 career blocks. Olajuwon is the league's all-time blocks leader with 3,830.
- In 1995, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf finished with 30 points, 20 assists and eight rebounds in a Denver Nuggets win over the Phoenix Suns. It is one of only 15 games in NBA history in which a player recorded 30 or more points and 20 or more assists.
- In 2005, 19-year-old Dwight Howard became the youngest player in league history to score 20 points and grab 20 rebounds in a game, finishing with 21 points and 20 rebounds in an Orlando Magic win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.
