Most Points in an NBA Finals Game

Elgin Baylor holds the record for the most points in an NBA Finals game, scoring 61 for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 1962 Finals. It remains the only 60-point game in Finals history and one of just six 50-point performances ever on the sport’s biggest stage.

Scoring is harder in the Finals than at any other time: defenses tighten, rotations shorten and every possession is scrutinized. That is exactly why the highest-scoring Finals games are so revered, and why the list of 50-point nights is so short. Here is the full leaderboard of the most points in an NBA Finals game, the stories behind the biggest performances, and why Baylor’s 61 endures. All figures are through the 2025 season.

The record holder: Elgin Baylor’s 61 points

On April 14, 1962, Elgin Baylor scored 61 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in Game 5 of the Finals, leading the Lakers to a win in Boston Garden against the mighty Celtics. Baylor’s total came without a three-point line, built entirely on mid-range jumpers, drives and free throws against one of the greatest defensive teams ever assembled.

The Lakers ultimately lost the series in seven games, but Baylor’s Game 5 remains the individual high-water mark of Finals history. No player has come within six points of it in the six decades since.

The full leaderboard of Finals scoring games

The table below ranks the only six 50-point games in NBA Finals history.

Points	Player	Team	Opponent	Year
61	Elgin Baylor	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	1962
55	Michael Jordan	Chicago Bulls	Phoenix Suns	1993
55	Rick Barry	San Francisco Warriors	Philadelphia 76ers	1967
53	Jerry West	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	1969
51	LeBron James	Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors	2018
50	Bob Pettit	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics	1958

Every player on the list is an all-time great, and four of the six games came against the Boston Celtics, a testament to how often the Celtics reached the Finals in that era.

Jordan, Barry and the 55-point games

Michael Jordan scored 55 against the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 Finals, the highest total of the modern shot-clock, three-point era, on his way to a third straight title. Rick Barry matched that number back in 1967 against the Philadelphia 76ers, in a series his Warriors lost. Their 55s sit clearly behind Baylor but well ahead of everyone else, underlining how enormous 61 truly was. These same names dominate our broader leaderboard for the most points in a single NBA game.

LeBron James and the only modern 50

LeBron James is the sole player from the last four decades on the list, scoring 51 in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals against Golden State. It was a virtuoso performance in a losing cause, as Cleveland fell in overtime after a late miscue and were swept. That James is the only modern name here shows how much harder 50-point Finals games have become. His scoring across a full career anchors the most points in NBA history leaderboard.

Why the record matters

A 50-point Finals game requires a superstar to carry a team against the best defense it will face all year, under the brightest lights in the sport. That only six players have ever done it, and only one has passed 60, is what makes Baylor’s 1962 masterpiece so untouchable. The players who reach these heights are the same ones who fuel deep title runs, from the NBA Finals back to their college days on the most NCAA basketball championships list.

The short version: Elgin Baylor scored 61 points in the 1962 NBA Finals for the all-time record, ahead of Michael Jordan and Rick Barry at 55 each. LeBron James’s 51 in 2018 is the only modern 50-point Finals game, all through the 2025 season.