How difficult is it to be 40+ at least 5 times in a single playoffs? Only 11 players in the NBA, Thanos James has 40+ 8 times in 2018

We have seen many top scorers in NBA history, but even these players are still more difficult to play in the playoffs. After all, the intensity of the game in high-end games is completely incomparable to the regular season. Because of this, it is difficult to score at least 5 times in the playoffs. Looking at NBA history, only 11 players have achieved this feat, and only 2 of them are on the list in active service, including Durant and Curry, both of them are not selected!

11. Elgin Baylor

40+

1961 playoffs 5 times, under Baylor's leadership, the Lakers reached the finals, but in the end they lost to their opponents in the tiebreak. This year, Baylor averaged 38.1 points, 15.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. In 12 games he played, he scored 40+ in five games. The game with the highest score in a single game was the first round of G2 facing the Pistons. In that game, he scored 49 points and 21 rebounds. In addition to scoring, 21 rebounds were also his highest single-game record in this playoffs.

10. Rick Barry

40+

When he was still a second-year rookie, Rick Barry led the team to the playoffs for the first time. Unfortunately, in the final, the team lost to the Philadelphia 76ers led by Chamberlain with a big score of 2-4. Looking at the entire playoffs, Rick Barry averaged 34.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, which is undoubtedly the best performance he has ever had in his playoff career. With 5 40+ times in a single playoff game, G3 in the Finals faced Philadelphia, he even played 55 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists in a single game.

9. Jabbar, who won many championships in his 1977 playoffs five times, has also averaged 30+ games in the playoffs many times. Among them, he averaged 35.2 points per game after entering the playoffs for the first time in the rookie season. In the 1977 playoffs, Jabbar achieved a feat of 40+ in 5 playoffs. That year, he averaged 34.6 points, 17.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 3.5 blocks per game in the playoffs. He had played 40+ in the face of the Trail Blazers and the Warriors. In the series against the Warriors, he even scored 41 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 45 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 1 block, 43 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 44 blocks, 3 assists, 43 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 44 blocks, 43 points, 20 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 assists, and 4 blocks.

8. Olajuwon

5 times in the 1995 playoffs, 40+

In Olajuwon's career, his two peak seasons were undoubtedly the season when he led the Rockets to win consecutive championships. While helping the team defend their title successfully in the 1995 playoffs, he also scored 40+ performances in a single playoffs. That year, Olajuwon averaged 33 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. In addition to G1 scoring 45 points in the first round, he also had 41 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 43 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks.

7. O'Neal

5 times in the 2000 playoffs 40+

If we discuss one of the most dominant individual seasons in NBA history, O'Neal in the 1999-2000 season is definitely worthy of being on the list. That year he won MVP and FMVP, and even averaged 38 points and 16.7 rebounds in the finals. In the entire playoffs, O'Neal scored 40+ five times, and the two best games he performed were G1 and G2 in the finals. In the first game, he scored 43 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 4 blocks in the second game.

6.Brunson

5 times in the 2024 playoffs 40+

As the second player in active service to achieve this feat, Brunson's current achievements are simply beyond everyone's expectations, and he has proved himself to be one of the strongest defenders in the league before this year's playoffs. In the 2024 playoffs, Brunson averaged 32.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game. When the second leader Randle could not play in the playoffs, he led the team to the divisional semi-finals alone. When the team needed him many times, he also scored 40+. In these 5 40+ times, Brunson scored double-double in two games. G4 scored 47 points and 10 assists in the first round, and G6 scored 41 points and 12 assists. At that time, he also achieved 40+ in four consecutive games.

5. Bernard King

6 playoffs in 1984, 40+

In Bernard King's career, he only played in the playoffs for 5 times, and the best performance was in 1984. He played in 12 games in that playoffs, including 6 games, and he also scored 46 points in the first round of G2 and G3. Later, facing the stronger Celtics, Bernard King still scored 43 and 44 points in a single game.

4. Jordan

1989 playoffs 7 times 40+

1990 playoffs 6 times 40+

1993 playoffs 6 times 40+

Jordan is the only player on this list to achieve at least 5 times 40+ at a single season. In these three seasons, although he got the most 40+ in the 1989 playoffs, he averaged "only 34.8 points" this year. Therefore, it can be seen that compared with 1990 and 1993, Jordan's performance was more unstable at that time.. In the 1990 playoffs, Jordan averaged 36.7 points per game, which was the highest record in his playoff career. That year, he was almost able to defeat the Pistons. By the 1993 playoffs, Jordan finally achieved the achievement of helping the Bulls win the championship for three consecutive seasons. He averaged 35.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals per game throughout the playoffs.

3. Iverson

6 times in the 2001 playoffs 40+

As one of the best scorers in the 2000s, Iverson won the scoring champion four times in his career, and one of them came from the 2000-2001 season, and that year he also won the MVP. In the playoffs, Iverson scored stronger scoring performances. He averaged 32.9 points per game throughout the playoffs. During this period, he scored 40+ in 6 games, and in 2 games, he scored 50+. Moreover, these two games were from the series against the Raptors. At that time, he scored 54 points in G2 and scored 52 points in the battle of Tianwangshan.

2. Jerry West

8 40+

In the 1965 playoffs, West averaged 40.6 points per game. In only 3 of the 11 games he played, he failed to get 40+. At that time, against the Bullets in the first round, West scored 40+ in six consecutive games, including 49 points in G1 and 52 points in G2. Against the Celtics, West also had a single performance of 43 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. If it only depends on personal performance, West has been impeccable this year.

1. James

8 times in the 2018 playoffs 40+

2018's "Thanos James" was the strongest form of a basketball player in the minds of many fans. That year, he averaged 34 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1 block per game, and his shooting percentage was as high as 53.9%. James scored 40+ in 8 playoffs and performed a buzzer-beating finale twice. At the same time, although many fans said that James played such luxurious data because of the overall strength of the Eastern Conference, the fact that the overall quality of the Eastern Conference was not good that did not affect the fact that there were many defensive steals in this division that year. For example, the Pacers and Celtics were both teams with the top five in the league's regular season defensive efficiency. Moreover, when James faced the Warriors, he also set a high 51 points in his playoff career, which further showed that he ignored any defense that year.