Who Has the Most 60 Point Games in NBA History?

We take a look at which NBA players have had the most 60 point games throughout their careers.

60 Point Games in NBA History

In NBA history, there have been many great players who have scored 60 or more points in a game. However, there are only a handful of players who have done it multiple times. In this article, we will take a look at the players who have the most 60 point games in NBA history.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan holds the record for the most 60 point games in NBA history. He has achieved this feat a total of 8 times throughout his illustrious career. The closest player to him in this category is Wilt Chamberlain, who has 7 60 point games to his name. Kobe Bryant is currently in third place with 6 60 point games.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant has the most 60-point games in NBA history with eight. He is followed by Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan, who both have seven. Chamberlain also holds the record for the most points in a game with 100, which he scored in 1962 against the New York Knicks.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most 60 point games in NBA history with 32. He is followed by Michael Jordan with 31 and Kobe Bryant with 28.

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor has the most 60 point games in NBA history with 8 games. He is followed by Kobe Bryant with six games, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan with five games each, and Rick Barry and James Harden with four games each.

James Harden

It’s no secret that James Harden is one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA today. In fact, he’s currently second in the league in scoring, averaging nearly 35 points per game. But what many people don’t know is that Harden has also been historically great when it comes to putting up big numbers in a single game. In fact, he currently ranks fourth all-time in 60 point games, with eight such performances to his name.

Here’s a look at the top five players in NBA history with the most 60 point games:

1) Kobe Bryant – 10
2) Wilt Chamberlain – 9
3) Michael Jordan – 9
4) James Harden – 8
5) Elgin Baylor – 7

Most 60 Point Games in a Season

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most 60 point games in an NBA season. He did it twice. The first time was in the 1961-62 season when he had four 60 point games. The second time was in the 1962-63 season when he had seven 60 point games. Michael Jordan is second on the list with five 60 point games in the 1986-87 season. Kobe Bryant is third with four 60 point games in the 2005-06 season.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American former professional basketball player and the principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls. His biography on the official NBA website states: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels’ national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick. He quickly emerged as a league star and entertained crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from factory building rooftops,[5] earned him nicknames such as “Air Jordan” and “His Airness”. He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.[6] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, followed by titles in 1992 and 1993. Though temporarily retired after his father’s murder in 1993, Jordan returned for two more NBA seasons from 1995 to 1998 with renewed success, winning three additional championships (1996–1998) as well as an Olympic gold medal at Barcelona in 1992.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant, with eight 60-point games, is the only player in NBA history with more than five in a single season. He did it twice: in 2005-06, when he scored 62 against the Dallas Mavericks, and again in 2006-07, when he scored 60 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most 60-point games in an NBA season with seven. He accomplished the feat during the 1961-62 season while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors. The only other player in NBA history to record more than four 60-point games in a single season is Kobe Bryant, who did it five times.

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor had the most 60-point games in a season with 8 games. He accomplished this feet in the 1961-62 season while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. Additionally, Wilt Chamberlain has the most career 60-point games with 31 games.

James Harden

Harden holds the record for the most 60-point games in a single season, with four such games. He accomplished this feat during the 2019-20 season. Harden also has the second-most career 60-point games, with five.

Most 60 Point Games Career

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most 60-point games in an NBA career with 32 games. He is followed by Kobe Bryant with 8 games, and Michael Jordan with 7 games.

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan has the most 60+ point games in NBA history with 8 of them. Interestingly, Wilt Chamberlain has the second most with 6, despite playing in an era where defense and player cooperation were more common, and points were harder to come by. Kobe Bryant follows with 5 60+ point games.

Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant, who played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, is the NBA player with the most 60-point games in his career. He has a total of 8 60-point games, 3 of which came in a single season (2006-2007). Other prolific scorers with multiple 60-point games include Wilt Chamberlain (6), Michael Jordan (5), and Rick Barry (4).

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain holds the record for the most 60-point games in an NBA career with 32. He also holds the single-game record with his 100-point performance against the New York Knicks in 1962. Michael Jordan is second on the career list with 31 60-point games, while Kobe Bryant is third with 28.

Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor is an American retired basketball player, former general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers. He played 14 seasons as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers, appearing in eight NBA Finals. Baylor was a gifted shooter, strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer. Renowned for his acrobatic style of play, Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his trademark hanging jump shots. The No. 1 draft pick in 1958, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, 11-time NBA All-Star, and a 10-time member of the All-NBA first team, he is considered one of the game’s all-time greatest players. In 1977, Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

James Harden

In basketball, a 60-point game is regarded as the pinnacle of individual scoring performance. Though it’s a benchmark that’s been reached nearly 100 times in NBA history, it still remains one of the sport’s rarest feats.

So far, only five players have tallied 60 or more points in multiple games: Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Rick Barry and James Harden. Of those five, only Bryant, Jordan and Harden have done it since 1975.

Harden’s most recent 60-point effort came on Jan. 23, 2018, when he scored 61 points in a Houston Rockets win over the New York Knicks. It was the second time he’d reached the 60-point plateau in his career; he first did it on Jan. 13, 2017, when he had 60 points and 11 assists in overtime win against the Orlando Magic.

Bryant holds the record for most 60-point games with six. He had four straight seasons with at least one 60-point game from 2006-07 to 2009-10 — a stretch during which he averaged more than 30 points per game each season. The future Hall of Famer also holds the mark for most points in a single game with 81, a feat he accomplished on Jan. 22, 2006, against the Toronto Raptors.

Chamberlain had 31 60-point games over his illustrious career — an NBA record that may never be broken — including seven during the 1961-62 season alone. That year, Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points per game — another NBA record — en route to leading his Philadelphia Warriors to an NBA championship