This Date in NBA History (Nov. 15): Brandon Jennings joins elite company with 55-point game in rookie season

Scott Rafferty

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This Date in NBA History (Nov. 15): Brandon Jennings joins elite company with 55-point game in rookie season image

On Nov. 15, 2009 (IST), Brandon Jennings joined some elite company.

In only the seventh game of his NBA career, Jennings led the Milwaukee Bucks to a victory over the Golden State Warriors with a game-high 55 points, doing so on 21-for-34 shooting from the field, 7-for-8 from 3-point range and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. In the process, he became only the ninth player in NBA history to score 50 points in a game as a rookie.

The others to do it? George Mikan, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Earl Monroe, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Allen Iverson.

Jenning started the game cold, missing his first three shot attempts, resulting in an early seat on the bench. He proceeded to score all 55 of his points over the final three quarters, 29 of which came in the third quarter alone.

"I was scoreless after the first quarter and really struggling," Jennings said after the game. "I just started getting in the groove and felt really good in the third quarter."

Jennings went on to average 15.5 points, 5.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game on .371/.374/.817 shooting splits in his rookie season. He finished third in Rookie of the Year voting and made the All-Rookie First Team alongside Darren Collison, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans and Taj Gibson.

Jennings last played in the NBA in 2017-18 with the Bucks. He has career averages of 14.1 points and 5.7 assists per game. 

Also on Nov. 15...

  • 1955: Seven-time All-Star Jack Sikma was born in Kankakee, Illinois.
  • 1969: Seven-time All-Star Jo Jo White made his NBA debut.
  • 1984: Moses Malone scored 51 points in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.
  • 2003: Tracy McGrady scored 51 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.
  • 2006: Peja Stojakovic became the first NBA player ever to start a game by scoring 20 consecutive points for their team.

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Scott Rafferty

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Scott Rafferty is an experienced NBA journalist who first started writing for The Sporting News in 2017. There are few things he appreciates more than a Nikola Jokic no-look pass, Klay Thompson heat check or Giannis Antetokounmpo eurostep. He's a member of the NBA Global team.