Most Points in a Single NBA Game

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most points in a single NBA game, scoring 100 for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. It is the only triple-digit game in league history, and no one has come within 18 points of it in the six decades since.

Single-game scoring is where basketball’s rarest individual feats live. A great scoring night is one thing; crossing 70, let alone 80, is a different universe, and only one man ever reached 100. Here is the full leaderboard of the highest-scoring games in NBA history, the stories behind the biggest nights, and why Chamberlain’s mark is considered untouchable. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points

On March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a 169-147 Warriors win over the Knicks. He made 36 of 63 field goals and, remarkably for a career-poor free-throw shooter, 28 of 32 from the line. There is no video footage of the game, only a famous photograph of Chamberlain holding a handwritten “100” sign, which adds to its legend.

The number has never been seriously threatened. Scoring 100 in a single night would require an almost impossible mix of volume, efficiency, pace and opportunity, which is why it is routinely cited as the most unbreakable record in the sport.

The full leaderboard of highest-scoring games

The table below ranks the highest-scoring individual games in NBA history. Chamberlain appears multiple times, a sign of just how dominant he was as a scorer.

Points	Player	Team	Date
100	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	Mar 2, 1962
81	Kobe Bryant	Los Angeles Lakers	Jan 22, 2006
78	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	Dec 8, 1961
73	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	Jan 13, 1962
73	Wilt Chamberlain	San Francisco Warriors	Nov 16, 1962
73	David Thompson	Denver Nuggets	Apr 9, 1978
73	Luka Doncic	Dallas Mavericks	Jan 26, 2024
72	Wilt Chamberlain	San Francisco Warriors	Nov 3, 1962
71	Elgin Baylor	Los Angeles Lakers	Nov 15, 1960
71	David Robinson	San Antonio Spurs	Apr 24, 1994
71	Donovan Mitchell	Cleveland Cavaliers	Jan 2, 2023
71	Damian Lillard	Portland Trail Blazers	Feb 26, 2023

Chamberlain occupies five of the top eight spots. Beyond him, the list runs from 1960s and 1970s giants like Elgin Baylor and David Thompson to modern stars, including Luka Doncic’s 73-point night in 2024, the highest total by any player in nearly two decades.

Kobe Bryant’s 81: the modern benchmark

Kobe Bryant’s 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on January 22, 2006 is the closest anyone has come to Chamberlain and the standard by which modern scoring outbursts are measured. Bryant scored 55 in the second half alone, dragging the Lakers back from an 18-point deficit to a win. Unlike Chamberlain’s 100, Bryant’s game is preserved on video and came in the three-point era, which makes it feel more tangible to today’s fans.

For more on the players who piled up points across entire careers rather than single nights, see our leaderboard of the most points in NBA history.

The modern 70-point club

For years, 70-point games seemed to belong to another era. Then they returned in a rush: Donovan Mitchell scored 71 in January 2023, Damian Lillard matched it a month later, and Luka Doncic went for 73 in January 2024. The rise of high-volume, three-point-heavy offenses has made huge individual totals more achievable again, even if 100 remains out of reach.

These outbursts often come from the league’s best all-around stars, the same players who anchor championship teams and dominate the most points in NBA history list, and who often lead the most assists in NBA history rankings when they set up teammates instead.

Why the record matters

Single-game scoring records capture something a season total cannot: one player, one night, an unstoppable run. Chamberlain’s 100 sits at the summit as a number that feels almost mythical, precisely because it has stood alone for so long. The gap between 100 and everything else, even Bryant’s brilliant 81, is what makes it basketball’s defining scoring record. The dominance of these scorers also fuels the teams behind the best regular-season records in NBA history.

The short version: Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the Knicks in 1962 for the most points in a single NBA game, a record that still stands. Kobe Bryant’s 81 in 2006 is second and the modern high, with Luka Doncic’s 73 in 2024 the best of the current era, through the 2025 season.