In modern NBA basketball, stars can score 50+ points to dominate the headlines in the regular season, but the superstars who can score in the playoffs are the superstars that people recognize, and players like those who can only perform in the regular season are completely sensational, and there is no point at all. Today, the author will take you to take stock of the 9 players who scored more than 55 points in the playoffs, each of whom is a famous person in NBA history.
10. Rick Barry, 55 points in the playoffs
Rick Barry, one of the greatest white players of the last century, not only proved that white people can fly in the slam dunk contest, but also led the team to the NBA championship in 1975, and is a well-deserved legend. However, compared to Barry's championship period, his fame period can be said to be earlier, the second year he was drafted by the Warriors, he led the team to the playoffs with an average of 35.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, and then scored 55 points against the 75ers in the Finals on April 18, 1967.
9. Michael Jordan, 55 points and 56 points in the playoffs
Michael Jordan, who is widely regarded as the god of basketball. As for why he is so godly, it is because of his super performance in the playoffs, not only leading the team to establish a three-consecutive dynasty twice, but also giving super performances in the game every time. In 87-88, Jordan made his debut, winning the regular season scoring title, the Defensive Player of the Year award, the All-Star MVP and the regular season MVP and other awards, and even scored 55 points against the Cavaliers in the playoffs on May 1, 1988, even if he unfortunately lost to the Pistons in the second round, but people still remembered him.
In the 91-92 season, the second year of Jordan's first three-game championship dynasty, Jordan directly swept the Heat with an average of 45 points per game in the first round, and even scored 56 points on April 29, 1992, invincible. In the 92-93 season, Jordan completed his first three-game winning streak, averaging 41 points per game in the Finals, and his 55-point performance in a single game on June 16 directly established the name of his basketball god. In the 96-97 season, the second year of Jordan's second triple championship, in order to prove to the world that he still has the strength to build a triple championship, Jordan once again showed his super playoff scoring ability on April 17, 1997, and led the team to victory with another 55 points. With 55 and 56 points alone, Jordan completed four times alone, and can only praise the god of basketball as the god of basketball.
8. Allen Iverson, 55 points in the playoffs
As a legend at the beginning of the last century, super scorer Allen Iverson naturally also had a record of 55 points in the playoffs. It was since the peak of 2001, the first round of the 02-03 season playoffs against the Hornets, which was later known as the Pelicans, with an average of 34.8 points per game to lead the team to a 4-2 difficult pass, and on April 20, that round of the series, Iverson exploded directly to score 55 points. Unfortunately, when facing the Pistons in the second round, Iverson missed the game with an ankle injury, which ended the 75ers' playoff journey.
7. Damion Lillard, 55 points in the playoffs
Cousin Damion Lillard, known as "Coach Leigh", is also a super scorer, averaging 30 points and 8 assists per game in his peak season, leading the team to the Western Conference finals. Although the playoff performance is a little worse than the regular season, it is also a ball-holding core that can carry the team, and on June 1, 2021, in the first round against the Denver Nuggets, they defeated them with a 55-point super performance. Even in the final round, no one will question his scoring ability.
6. Wilson Chamberlain, 56 points in the playoffs
As a man who can score 100 points in a single game in the regular season, Wilson Chamberlain's scoring ability in the playoffs is also explosive, leading the team to win two NBA championships, not to mention that in the 61-62 season, he led the team to the championship with an average of 35 points and 26.6 rebounds per game, of which the 56 points cut on March 22, 1962 is a masterpiece that proves his scoring ability.
5. Charles Barkley, 56 points in the playoffs
Known as the "flying pig" Charles Barkley has no championship for life, but he is also known as a superstar, the strong scoring ability is one side of the proof, in the 93-94 season, although Barkley was affected by injuries and the regular season statistics were not good, but he averaged 27.6 points and 13 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and scored 56 points on May 4, 1994. Although he was eventually eliminated by the defending champion Rockets in the second round, it has already proved that he is super strong.
4. Jimmy Butler, 56 points in the playoffs
Like Lillard, Jimmy Butler is also one of the few players on the list, as a famous playoff player, Butler averaged only 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the peak season of the regular season, but in the playoffs, he can average 27 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Last year, Butler led the Heat all the way to the Finals, and scored 56 points on April 24, 2023, directly proving his playoff superstar strength.
3. Donovan Mitchell, 57 points in the playoffs
Another active player on the list, Donovan Mitchell does not have any substantive honors, and he only averaged 28.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game in the peak season of the regular season, but in the playoffs, he was able to cut an average of 30+ per game, and even said that he averaged 36.3 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game in the 19-20 season. On August 17 of that season, Mitchell scored 57 points.
2. Elgin Baylor, 61 points in the playoffs
The uncrowned king Elgin Baylor can be described as the treasure of the Lakers, although he has never led the Lakers to a championship, but his strength is a first-class strong, the peak playoff average can score 38.1 points and 15.3 rebounds per game, and even cut a staggering 61 points on April 14, 1962. It is also worth mentioning that his strength and retirement laid the foundation for the subsequent dynasty of the Lakers.
1. Michael Jordan, 63 points in the playoffs
That's right, in addition to the previous three 55 points and one 56 points, Jordan also scored 63 points once on April 20, 1986, leading the leaderboard. It was Jordan's second year in the league, and in order for the team to go further, he burst out with endless potential, although he led the team to play back and forth against the king Celtics, but in the end he was eliminated 0-3.