January 22, 2024, was a significant day in the NBA. In Philadelphia’s victory over San Antonio, Joel Embiid scored 70 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and assisted five times. Later that night, Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a career-high 62 points in a loss against the Hornets. This is only the fourth occasion in NBA history that two players have scored 60 points on the same night. The last time it occurred was in 1978. Towns’ performance fell short of breaking into the top 15 highest scoring performances in NBA history, but Embiid is now one of only nine players to score at least 70 points in a single game.
Who has scored the most points in a game in NBA history? Wilt Chamberlain has the record for most points scored in an NBA game, with 100. Kobe Bryant is second with 81 points. Other than Chamberlain and Bryant, the only NBA players to score 70 points in a single game are David Thompson (73), Elgin Baylor (71), David Robinson (71), Donovan Mitchell (71), Damian Lillard (71), Devin Booker (70), and Joel Embiid (70).
Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to have recorded multiple 70-point performances. Throughout his career, he played six such games.
