It's safe to say that Steph Curry grabbed hold of this season's Most Valuable Player title back in January. But where are the other top players in the runner-up race?
ESPN.com is committed to providing a weekly ranking of the best players in the league at the moment.
Every week until the end of the season, we will be identifying the top 20 players. Past achievements and forecasts for the future are irrelevant. Long-term injured players (Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler) don't count.
Only those who play best basketball right now, this season. And which of them - if there are any capable at all - will compete with Curry for the top spot?
Let's discuss this.
Note: bookmaker quotes are taken from Ladbrokes.com
1. Stephen Curry
Golden State Warriors point guard.
Real Plus-Minus: 10.35 (1st place). Quotes on MVP: 1-100
Last season, he became the league's most valuable player, perhaps not the best. And now he has achieved recognition in both paths.
He is the best sniper in the history of the game, and it is not only the range of his throw that remains elusive. The fact is that he does not pull on the blanket as much as most modern stars on the perimeter do. His teammates always make their throws, even when Steph throws 30s per game. He influences the team's play like no other.
2. LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers, light forward.
RPM: 8.30 (5th place). Quotes on MVP: 30-1
But still, if you put him in any team in the league, the playoffs - and in most cases the fight for the championship - are guaranteed to her. The same cannot be said for any other player, not even Curry.
3. Kevin Durant
Oklahoma City Thunder, light forward.
RPM: 5.96 (11th place). Quotes on MVP: 20-1.
Somehow, people are oblivious to one of the greatest, one of the most irrepressible scorers in NBA history. People call him "Robin" or "Number 2" after his hurricane partner (see fourth place), not realizing that he is still the leader of "Thunder".
He again scores more than half of his shots and has a career-high 8.1 bounces per game. These are numbers that should clear your doubts.
4. Russell Westbrook
Oklahoma City "Thunder" point guard.
RPM: 9.22 (2nd place). Quotes on MVP: 28-1.
An incredible miracle of nature, which carries with its outstanding athleticism not only the point guard of the opponent, but the entire defense as a whole. He goes hiking for a triple double in every game. Westbrook is the most rebounding PG since Jason Kidd.
Just look at his performance in February: 25.2 points, 12.2 assists, 8.6 rebounds per game. His height is 191 centimeters.
5. Kawhi Lenard
San Antonio Spurs, light forward.
RPM: 8.93 (3rd place). Quotes on MVP: 18-1.
Remember 2004: for seven games, Metta World Peace (then just Ron Artest) played as a true candidate for the MVP - tenacious, instilling fear in the opponent and throwing powerful three-ruble notes - thereby raising the Pacers into the NBA elite. This is Kawhi Lenard, playing at a level worthy of the MVP race throughout the current season.
6. Chris Paul
Los Angeles Clippers point guard.
RPM: 7.26 (6th place). Quotes on MVP: 100-1.
If you are the third point guard in the current NBA, then you are the best but a handful of players. With Griffin dropping out due to injury (and his own stupidity), Paul was forced to unleash his inner scorer and that saved the Clippers season.
If Curry hadn’t been hitting howitzer shots from a distance, and Westbrook hadn’t been an alien from another planet, Chris could have remained the best playmaker on Earth.
7. Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers point guard.
RPM: 2.65 (51st place). Quotes on MVP: 150-1.
He has a terribly low real plus or minus, despite the fact that Damian makes the public regret for all the mistrust in him: he was not taken to the league right after school, left outside the top five in the draft, and also not taken to the All-Star Game. ...
Lillard is averaging 33.7 points per game after a stellar weekend. More importantly, he squeezes the juice out of his own team to deliver some of the best interactions in the league and compete for the playoffs.
8. Anthony Davis
New Orleans Pelicans Heavy Forward.
RPM: 3.31 (35th place). Quotes on MVP: 150-1.
The shock of moving from Monty Williams' defensive, disciplined basketball to Alvin Gentry's explosive approach knocked Davis down a couple of spots. He looks like he's just waking up from a nap, even though he's averaging 28 points per game and hitting 20 rebounds twice in February.
With Steph seizing power, Anthony may never rise above the league as much as expected, but he can probably stake out the mythical status of "best big man".
9. Kyle Lowry
Toronto Raptors point guard.
RPM: 7.12 (8th place). Quotes on MVP: 150-1.
I've always liked Lowry and his toughness, but I've always hesitated to rate him as the elite of the league. No more. Now Toronto is winning, their the best player should get what they deserve.
Frustrated by his faded playoff performance recent years, he dropped excess weight, which was always with him, and began to improve from game to game. In February, he scored 43 versus Irving, 27 versus Rose, 25 versus Reggie Jackson and 30 versus Lillard - all of which he screams "I deserve it!" Accepted.
10. James Harden
Houston Rockets, attacking defender.
RPM: 4.97 (17th place). MVP quotes: 40-1.
Like Davis, Harden has lost some of his brilliance. His numbers are still wild, but frequent losses, absurd ball control and lack of ability to use Howard knocked Harden off the list of annual contenders for the title of MVP and sent him to the squad of regular regulars of the stellar weekend.
Hopefully, the performance of one actor in the Houston Theater did not deprive him of his ability to coexist and interact well with other top-level players.
The rest of the dozen
11. DeMarcus Cousins
Sacramento Kings, center
I've never been one of those people who hate rebels, so I love it when the Boogeyman's mind bursts out. But if he took out a little aggression and added a little discipline, he could knock on the door of a top-5 club, even in a league dominated by perimeter players. Its indicators are even ridiculous, they humiliate all other centers on planet Earth.
12. Paul George
Indiana Pacers, light forward.
Earlier this season, George climbed into the top five, but his realization has failed in the last three months. His three-point shooting numbers were rolling head over heels, and this is a small part of his problems. Still, it's nice to see him back and remain an elite player.
13. John Wall
Washington Wizards point guard.
He's the most dealing and assisting among the splendor of today's shot-oriented point guards. If his perimeter partner Bradley Beale had been healthy, things in the capital would have been different. I expect him to play even better in light of the fact that he needs to lead the Wizards spurt to advance to the playoffs.
14. Draymond Green
Golden State Warriors, heavy forward.
Many people quote him in the top ten, and I will not deny him attention. But, for all his brilliance, I doubt that he would have kept the given level in another team under a different system. It doesn't matter though, because it fits perfectly where it is. Last week, 14 rebounds, 14 assists, six steals, four blocks and 23 swear words in one interview underlined his superiority.
15. Clay Thompson
Golden State Warriors, attacking defender.
I had to put Thompson right behind Green because it would be unfair to see him as a third wheel. He's great, arguably the second best sniper (and versatile player as well) in the league. I've said it before, but this guy is half the best backcourt in the world.
16. LaMarcus Aldridge
San Antonio Spurs, heavy forward.
His numbers have dropped, but Aldridge is part of one of the best teams league. You cannot criticize him for choosing victories over personal statistics.
17. Dwyane Wade
Miami Heat, attacking defender.
He is still the maestro, the leader, the winner and the main reason the Heat fight for the home court advantage in the first round.
18. DeAndre Jordan
Los Angeles Clippers, center.
The only complaint against him is his free throws. But Wilt, Shaq, Dwight, and other big men before him were attacked in the same way. You can't be too cruel to him.
19. Pau Gasol
Chicago Bulls, center.
Rose is constantly being treated, Butler is out for a long time, and what is Gasol doing? Passing like a magician, averaging six assists per game in February, plus 18 points and 11 rebounds.
20. Kyrie Irving
Cleveland Cavaliers point guard.
If he defended just a little better than the orange traffic cone, he would be higher on this list. Still, he's an incredible attack finisher, the best lead in the league, and an unstoppable scorer.
The playoffs are a crucial part of the NBA season. Previously, American Sports wrote as well as did. In this article, we bring to your attention a selection of the most important records set in the NBA playoffs.
Records in one meeting of the NBA playoffs:
Michael Jordan earned the most points in the playoffs - 63, in 1986 in the match "" against "". Clay Thompson scored the most accurate three-pointers (in the match "" - "" in 2016).
Wilt Chamberlain made the most rebounds in a match - 41. Magic Johnson and John Stockton have the most assists - 24. Allen Iverson has the most interceptions - 10 (in Philadelphia's 1999 game against Orlando). Mark Eaton, Hakim Olajuwon and Andrew Bynum made 10 blocks in one match. Most losses - 13 - were made by James Harden in the match between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in 2015.
Career records:
Derek Fisher
Derek Fischer played the most games in the NBA playoffs - 259. Tim Duncan has the most minutes on the court - 9174. Of course, Michael Jordan scored the most points - 5987. Michael also leads the average number of points in the playoffs (33.5), the largest number of meetings with 50 or more points (8), 40 or more points (38) and 30 and more glasses (109). At the same time, Jordan is the only one who has never scored less than 15 points in the playoffs (in 179 games; players who have played at least 25 playoff games are counted).
Jordan scored the most free throws (1463), and Shaquille O'Neal took the most free throws with 2317.4104 rebounds on Bill Russell's account, Tim Duncan scored the most double-doubles - 164.30 triple-doubles were scored by Magic Johnson , and he gave 2346 assists.
395 interceptions on the account of Scotty Pippen, 557 block shots were made by Tim Duncan. Hakim Olajuvon is the leader in terms of the average number of block shots - 3.3. Most of the losses - 700 - were made by LeBron James. Karim Abdul-Jabbar has a record 797 fouls.
NBA Playoff Finals Records:
If we take into account only the final meetings, then the record for the number of points scored belongs to Elgin Baylor - 61 in the Lakers-Celtics game in 1962. Michael Jordan leads the final streak with 41 points average in the 1993 series.
Jerry West scored the most points in his career in the NBA finals - 1679. He also scored more than 40 points per match 10 times. Michael Jordan is the only one in final matches never scored less than 20 points. Michael has 35 games with 20 or more points (including basketball players with 15 or more matches).
Bill Russell made 1,718 rebounds in the final games, Magic Johnson made 584 assists, 102 steals and 8 triple doubles. Karim Abdul-Jabbar hit 116 blocks.
Bill Russell has 11 championship titles, while he participated in the final of the playoffs for 10 seasons in a row.
Team achievements:
The Boston Celtics have won the NBA Playoffs a record 17 times, 8 times in a row. The Los Angeles Lakers have made 31 playoffs in the final. The Chicago Bulls have won all 6 of their finals.
The Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic have made the playoff finals twice, but never won. The Denver Nuggets made the playoffs 20 times, but never made it to the finals, and the Phoenix, with 28 playoffs, never became a champion.
Charlotte Bobcats / Hornets have made the fewest playoffs. The Golden State Warriors have missed 35 playoffs and the Los Angeles Clippers have not made the playoffs for 15 straight seasons.
The Boston Celtics have won the NBA championship 17 times: 1957, 1959-1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986 and 2008.
Highest score in the NBA:
The highest aggregate score was 370 when the Detroit Pistons defeated the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in Denver, Colorado, USA on December 13, 1983. Overtime was played after 145: 145 in regular time.
The maximum accumulator score in the main time was 320 when the Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 162-158 in Denver, Colorado on November 2, 1990.
Most points per game:
Individuals won Wilt Chamberlain, who scored a record 100 points in Philadelphia v New York at Hershey, PA on March 2, 1962. This includes 36 field points and 28 free throws from 32 attempts. and record number 59 points from the middle of the site.
Chamberlain's record number of free shots is equal to the number of shots by Adrian Dantley in Utah's game against Houston in Las Vegas, Nevada in January 1984.
Wilt Chamberlain (nicknamed "Stilt") scored the most points in a season - 4029 -. The record was set in the 1961/62 season, Chamberlain played for the Philadelphia Warriors ».
The highest number of effective shots from a field in a season - such a record was set by Wilt Chamberlain (USA), who in the 1961/62 season. made 1597 accurate throws... During this time he played for the Philadelphia Warriors club
The most free throws were made by Carl Mellone (USA), who scored 9,443 free throws in 1,405 appearances for Utah Jazz between 1985 and 2003.
Wilt Chamberlain has made the highest number of field goal scores in an NBA match (36 assists). The record was set on March 2, 1962, in an NBA championship match between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks.
The record for the number of accurate three-point shots per season belongs to the Orlando Magic player Denis Scott, who in the 1995/96 season. scored 267 3-pointers.
Wilt Chamberlain, who played for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1961/62 season, holds the record for the highest average player performance in a season of 50.4 points.
Most NBA wins in a season:
The Chicago Bulls won 72 NBA victories in the 1995/1996 season, the highest in a single NBA season.
Most NBA Games:
Robert Parish played 1,611 games in 21 sessions for the Golden State Warriors (1976-1980), Boston Celtics (1980-1994), Charlotte Hornets (1994-1996) and the Chicago Bulls ( 1996 -1997).
The record for the most games played in a single season is 79. It belongs to Wilt Chamberlain, who played for Philadelphia in 1962. During this period he was on the court record number time - 38882 min. Chamberlain is also unique in that he has never been fined in his 1,045-game career.
Most points in the NBA:
Karim Abdul-Jabar brought his teams 38387 points in the NBA games, of which 15837 points from the field during the calendar games (24.6 points per game on average) and 5762 points in the final games of the "playoffs"
Michael Jordan has the highest points per game average for a group of players with more than 10,000 points at 31.7 points per game, who reached 26,290 points in 748 games for the Chicago Bulls from 1984 to 1997.
The highest average playoff points per game is 33.6 and belongs to Michael Jordan, who earned 5307 points in 158 games from 1984 to 1997.
Jordan has made the most endorsement deals than any other basketball player.
The record for the highest average performance in an NBA career - 30.1 points belongs to Michael Jordan (USA). H has 32,292 points in 1,072 games for the Chicago Bulls (1984-1998) and the Washington Wizards (2001-2003).
The record for the number of points in the All-Stars matches belongs to Michael Jordan (USA), who scored 262 points. In his 14th match in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on February 9, 2003, Michael scored 20 points.
Most assists in his career were provided by John Stockton (USA). From 1984 to 2003, Stockton, with the Utah Jazz, had 15,585 assists in 1,475 games.
The record for the number of rebounds (23,924 in 1,045 matches) in his career belongs to Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain achieved this result while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors (1959-1962), San Francisco Warriors (1962-1965), Philadelphia 76ers (1965-1968) and Los Angeles Lakers (19968 -1973).
The most block shots in his NBA career were made by Hakim Olajuwon (3380 blocks in 1238 games), who played for the Houston Rockets (1984-2000) and the Toronto Raptors (2001-2002). In fact, according to unofficial data, this record belongs to Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain. The thing is that in their time this type of statistics was not calculated.
The most steals (3216 in 1475 matches) were made by John Stockton (USA), playing for Utah Jazz from 1984 to 2003.
Largest Victory Pool:
The record winning stock is 68 points. He was recorded playing the Cleveland Cavaliers v Miami Heat (148: 80) on December 17, 1991.
Best NBA Winning Streak
The Los Angeles Lakers won a record 33 straight games between November 5, 1971 and January 7, 1972 in the 1971/1972 season.
Youngest NBA Player:
Jermaine O "Neal was 18 53 days old when he first entered the NBA court in the Portland Trail Blazers v Denver Nuggets on December 5, 1996. O" Neil played 3 minutes and shot well, earning 2 points on his debut.
Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers November 5, 1996 at the age of 18 years 63 days first entered the NBA court. He played for 6 minutes. And he made an unsuccessful throw.
Oldest NBA Player:
Robert Parish of the Chicago Bulls played at the age of 43 years 231 days on April 19, 1997, making him the oldest player in the NBA regular season.
The largest number of matches played in a row in the NBA - such a record belongs to AC Green (USA), who appeared on the court 1177 times from November 19, 1986 to March 20, 2001.
The largest number full games for the NBA season is 79. They were played by Wilt Chamberlain (USA) for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1961/62 season. Chamberlain was on the site for a record total time of 3882 minutes.
Tallest NBA player:
Gheorghe Mureson (Mureshan) of Washington Wizards is 2.31m tall. He first played for the team in 1994. He was born in Transylvania (Romania) in 1971, and his growth is due to the peculiarities of the action of the pituitary gland. He has a nickname - "Gitz", which translates as "Little Gheorghe".
Nicknamebasketball players
Ilgauskas - Z-Man
LeBron James - King James
Ronald Murray - Flip
Damon Jones - DJ
Jason Terry - Jet
Jerry Stackhouse - Stack
Dwayne Wade - Flash
Kenyen Martin - K-Mart
Carmelo Anthony - Melo
Ben Wallace - Big Ben
Rashid Wallace - Sheed
Richard Hamilton - Rip
Antonio McDice - Dice
Dale Davis - D-Square
Jason Richardson - J-Rich
Byron Davis - B-Diddy
Robert Trailor - Tractor
Chris Bosch - CB4
Maurice Peterson - Mo-Pete
Paul Pierce - The Truth
Mehmet Okur - Memo
Andrey Kirilenko - AK-47
Matt Harpring - Harp
Chris Anderson - Birdman
Tom Gugliott - Googs
Michael Stewart - Yogi
Michael Olovokandi - Kandi man
Mat Bonner - Red Rocket
Wally Scherbyak - Wally World
Eric Piatowski - Pike
Stromile Swift - Stro
Tracey McGrady - T - Mac
Rafer Allston - Skip To My LOu
Katino Mobley - The Cat
Walter McCarthy - Ice
Lamar Odom - The Goods
Kobe Bryant - The Show
Edie Jones - EJ
Damon Stoudmeier - Mighty Mouse
Jason Williams - J-Dub
Shaquille O "Neil - The Diesel
Harry Payton - The Glove
Alonzo Mourning - Zo
Kevin Garnett - KG and Big Ticket
Fred Hoiberg - The Mayor
Troy Hudson - T-Hud
Vince Carter - Vinsanity
Jason Kidd - J-Kidd
Richard Jefferson - RJ
Desmon Mason - D - Mase
Quentin Richardson - Q - Rich
Stephen Marbury - StarBury
Steve Francis - Franchise
Allen Iverson - The Answer
Jamaal Mashburn - Monster mash
Amare Staudemeyer - STAT
Sean Marion - The Matrix
Tim Thomas - Dog
Brian Grant - The General
Zach Randolph - Z-Bo
Darius Miles - D-Miles
Vitaly Potapenko - Ukraine Train
Tim Duncan - The Teacher
Nick Van Axel - Nick The Ouick
Brent Barry - Bones
Glen Robinson - Big Dog
Ray Allen - Ray Ray
Yao Ming - Dynasty
Grant Hill - The Gift
Kobe
Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant held last fight in a career. He scored 60 points, spending 42 minutes on the court, Kobe converted 22 of 50 from the field (6 of 21 from beyond the arc) and 10 of 12 from the line.
At 37 years and 235 days, he became the oldest player in NBA history to record at least 50 points per game.
The previous oldest basketball player to score 60 points per game was Wilt Chamberlain, who with the Lakers scored 66 points against Phoenix in 1968/69 at age 32 and 172 days.
Bryant (twice), Chamberlain (three times) and Tom Chambers are the only players to achieve 60 points per game while over 30.
Kobe became the NBA record holder for points scored in a farewell match.
Karim Abdul-Jabbar recorded 7 points in his last meeting, Magic Johnson - 8, Larry Bird - 12, Michael Jordan - 15, Wilt Chamberlain - 23. At the same time, everyone, except Jordan, played farewell games in the playoffs
60 points is the fifth best in Bryant's career.
Golden State
In an NBA regular season match reigning champions Golden State Warriors beat Memphis at home (125: 104).
This victory was the 73rd for the Californians in the current NBA regular season. Thus, they surpassed the legendary record of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, which won 72 meetings in the 1995/96 season.
Note that Main coach Warriors Steve Kerr played basketball for Chicago in the 1995/96 season.
Also on account of the team from Auckland, a number of other notable achievements:
- 54 wins in a row at home
34 away wins this season
24 victories at the start of the championship
1077 realized three-pointers
Never lost twice to the same team
Never lost twice in a row
Golden State leader Stephen Curry in a duel against Memphis implemented 10 three-point shots, bringing their total number for the season to 402. Note that before this season, no player in history has not implemented even 300 long-range shots.
In addition, Curry entered the so-called club 50/40/90, as a player who converted 50% of shots, 40% of shots from long distance and 90% of shots from the foul line at the end of the season. The club includes basketball players such as Larry Bird, Steve Nash, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant.
In addition, Curry is one of only three players in history to score 50% from the field, 45% from beyond the arc and 90% from the foul line.
Curry has averaged 30.1 points per game in the current regular season, making him the first to win the championship scorer title for the first time. His achievement is notable in that he spent an average of 34.2 minutes on the court, becoming the first player in NBA history to score more than 30 points in less than 35 minutes on the court on average.
100 points in basketball is considered a grandmaster. However, such performance was not always a guarantee of victory. The history of this game knows of cases when both teams far exceeded the 100-point bar. If we take into account only professional teams, then the largest basketball score was recorded in the game between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets, which on December 13, 1983, scored 370 points for two. It is noteworthy that the remaining 9 places in the top are also occupied by representatives of the NBA, indirectly answering the question of where they play the brightest and most productive basketball.
Top 10 Biggest Accounts in Basketball History
10. Boston Celtics - Minneapolis Lakers 173: 139 (02/27/1959). It is extremely difficult to score 312 points for two, even with several overtimes. However, in the 1959 regular season match, Boston and Minneapolis managed to meet the basic 48 minutes. To a greater extent this achievement belongs to the Celtics players, who literally defeated their opponents, providing a difference of 34 points.
The most productive player of the meeting was Tom Hinson, who brought the Bostonians 43 points. In total, 13 basketball players from both teams overcame the 10-point mark. And one of them, Bob Cosey, made 28 more assists. By the way, Bob held the title of the most passing player for 8 years - from 1953 to 1960.
9. San Antonio Spurs - Denver Nuggets 161: 153 (07.11.1990). Unlike the previous match, which saw a clear favorite, the battle that took place in early November 1990 between San Antonio and Denver was uncompromising. Each team won two quarters, and the third 12-minute was decisive, which the Spurs managed to win with a 16-point handicap.
The hero of the meeting was the player of "San Antonio" David Robinson, nicknamed the Admiral, who collected 43 points, and also made 9 rebounds, 5 block shots and 4 assists. Interestingly, Robinson played for the Spurs throughout professional career, eventually receiving the honor of becoming a member of the NBA Hall of Fame.
6-8. Phoenix Suns - Denver Nuggets 173: 143 (10.11.1990). 1990 was truly a year effective records in the world of basketball, and almost every time one of the participants was the Denver Nuggets. This time, the rival of the Denver team was Phoenix, which did not postpone the matter indefinitely and literally terrorized the opponent's ring in the first two quarters, gaining 107 points. Having slightly tempered the ardor in the second half of the meeting, "Suns" nevertheless calmly brought the match to victory.
In addition to the unimaginable score, this match was marked by another record. Phoenix coach Cotton Fidzimons has won 700 career victories, becoming only the 7th coaching to surpass that mark.
6-8. Cincinnati Royals - San Diego Rockets 165: 151 (03/12/1970). Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-1970 season. demonstrated excellent performance, which peaked in the period from February to March, when the team averaged 127 points per game. This trend was not only confirmed in the match with the San Diego Rockets, but became even more evident. The Royals scored an astonishing 165 points, with the main spurt coming in the first quarter, in which the Rockets were beaten 18 points apart.
This game was one of the last in the Cincinnati Royals jersey for team legend Oscar Robertson. Over the course of 10 years, he averaged 29.3 points, made 10.3 assists and made 8.5 rebounds. In April 1970, Big O was sold to the Milwaukee Bucks.
6-8. Philadelphia Warriors - New York Knicks 169: 147 (03/02/1962). The game between the Warriors and the Knicks, held on March 2, 1962, will forever go down in American basketball history as Chamberlain's stoop point match. Center "Philadelphia" Wilt Chamberlain scored exactly 100 points - an NBA record, which is considered by many experts to be eternal. When, after 2 quarters, Wilt had 41 points, his teammates decided to play exclusively for him so that he could beat his own achievement of 79 points.
The final result exceeded even the wildest expectations. At the end of the match, the spectators in the stands chanted only one phrase: "Give the ball to Chamberlain!" Having scored the hundredth point a minute before the end of the game, the main character Matcha simply stopped in the center of the court, not even trying to increase the record, since he did not want to spoil the round figure. The photo of Chamberlain holding a sign with the characteristic "100" inscription is considered one of the greatest images in NBA history.
4-5. Phoenix Suns - New Jersey Nets 161: 157 (07.12.2006). The most productive match of the new era is the match between the Suns and the Nets, which took place in the 2006-2007 season. The game ended only after the second overtime, while the leader changed 34 times during the meeting. After the meeting, Phoenix Suns coach Michael D'Anthony stated that it was Best game that he has ever seen.
To score 318 points for two, the teams were primarily helped by the inspirational play of their leaders - Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. The first scored 42 points, made 13 assists and made 6 rebounds, the second was no less impressive - 38 points, 14 assists and 14 rebounds. The difference of 4 points between the performance of Nash and Kidd, in fact, became decisive, since this was the handicap observed in the final protocol of the match.
4-5. Denver Nuggets - San Antonio Spurs 163: 155 (11/01/1984). In the 1983-1984 season. The Denver Nuggets have established themselves as the most offensive force among the Western Conference teams. At the same time, the Nuggets did not differ in particularly reliable defense, so the matches with their participation turned out to be extremely productive. Perhaps the most striking proof of this fact is the match between Denver and San Antonio, in which each team scored over 150 points, without using a single overtime for this.
The first two quarters went to the Nuggets, who created a comfortable 18-point handicap. The Spurs did not give up and cut the gap by half, however, they could not snatch the final victory or at least transfer the game to overtime. The most productive player of the meeting was Kiki Vandeweghe, having realized 21 shots out of 30 attempts.
3. Golden State Warriors - Denver Nuggets 162: 158 (02.11.1990). The largest non-overtime score was recorded in the Warriors v Nuggets match on November 2, 1990, as part of the regular season. For one of the most productive teams in history - Denver - this was the first home game of the 1990-1991 season. and the introduction of new head coach Paul Westhead to the local public.
In the match, both teams involved a total of 22 players, and 21 of them were able to hit the opponent's basket at least once, while 12 basketball players scored more than 10 points. The pinnacle of the match was Golden State Warriors light forward Chris Mullin, 38 points ahead of Orlando Woolridge of the Nuggets.
2. San Antonio Spurs - Milwaukee Bucks 171: 168 (03/06/1982). 3 overtime is a rather rare occurrence in the NBA, even given the uncompromising nature of most fights in the regular season and especially in the playoffs. The match between San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks, which ended with a unique score, belongs to such a match. 337 points for two is the second highest figure among professional teams not only in America, but also in the world.
Throughout the game, the opponents kept very close to each other, so the main time did not reveal the winner. Also, two overtimes turned out to be a draw, and only in the third added five-minute interval did the Spurs manage to break away by 3 decisive points. Most of all, this was facilitated by George Gerwin, who scored 50 points, 24 of which in extra time.
1. Detroit Pistons - Denver Nuggets 186: 184 (12/13/1983).
Many basketball fans today associate Detroit with a defensive team that sometimes only needs to score 80 to win. However, in the 1983-1984 season. it was a brightly attacking team with an average performance of 117 points. An even more reckless team was the Denver Nuggets, which averaged 123 points per game. Therefore, it is not surprising that fate chose these particular teams in order to forever inscribe their names in the NBA book of records.
370 incredible points for two might not have happened if three seconds before the end of the fourth quarter of Isaiah Thomas did not give hope to the Pistons with his accurate shot. This was followed by 3 overtimes, as a result of which Detroit managed to snatch the victory in this historic game. It is difficult to say if anyone in the future will be able to infringe on this record. At least, over the past 30 years since then, no one has even come close to such numbers.