By Dionysis Aravantinos/ info@eurohoops.net
LeBron James’ 57 point (!) performance on Friday, November 3rd against the Washington Wizards and James Harden’s 56 point performance as well were the latest 50+ points game in the association. Players like Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Stephen Curry, LeBron James have given the fans a show over the years.
Some of the best players in NBA history have had the ability to score 50+ points on multiple occasions. However, there have been some players that have scored 50+ points just once in their career, who had the ‘hot’ hand and the day belonged to them.
These non-all-stars players who have shocked the entire league once they hit 50 plus points. Eurohoops brings you the five most unexpected players to score 50 or more points in an NBA game and guess what! Two of them played also in Europe.
Tracy Murray – 50 points
– Career stats: 9.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
– 50+ point performance: February 10th, 1998 (50 points)
With an average of only 9.0 points per game throughout his NBA career, Murray was not identified as a scorer in the association. However, Tracy Murray played 14 seasons, with eight (8) different teams in the NBA and became an NBA champion in 1995 with the Houston Rockets.
A role player who most of the times started off the bench, had a night to remember on February 10th, 1998 when the Washington Wizards visited Oakland to play against the Golden State Warriors. In his first start of the season, Murray used that opportunity to showcase his skills, as he went off for 50 points on 18/29 shooting from the field, and came up just six points short of Earl Malone’s franchise record.
Tracy Murray in 2004 decided to take his talents to Greece to play for Panathinaikos (2004-05) and PAOK (2005-06). In the two seasons in Greece, the American guard managed to average 8.3 points per game in the 22 games he participated.
Corey Brewer – 51 points
– Career stats: 9.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG
– 50+ point game: April 11th, 2014 (51 points)
Even though he was considered a star in College, Corey Brewer did not exceed expectations in the NBA and became a role player for the Minnesota Timberwolves. A career scorer of 9.1 points per game, Brewer shocked the world once he scored 51 points in a 112-110 Timberwolves win over the Houston Rockets. Shooting 19/30 (63.3%) from the field and making 11/15 free-throws helped him reach the 50-point mark. On Kevin Love’s absence, he was indeed something more than just a role player.
According to ESPN’s Ryan Feldman, Corey Brewer joined some elite company in his career-night. “Brewer is the sixth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in a game without having previously scored 30 points in a game. In his seventh NBA season, Brewer is the most experienced player ever to score 50 points without having previously scored 30.” This stat shows how unexpected was his performance as in his career he had never scored 30 points or more!
Terrence Ross – 51 points
– Career stats: 8.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG
– 50+ point game: January 25th, 2014 (51 points)
Even though he is considered an athletic guard, and is also a slam dunk champion, he is not considered a scoring guard. In just his second year in the NBA, Terrence Ross managed to score 51 points (!) against the Los Angeles Clippers, tie the Toronto Raptors’ franchise record and put his name next to Vince Carter’s. His previous career-high was just 26 points, and on January 25th, 2014 Ross managed almost to double it. It is also interesting to note that in the closing seconds of the game he missed a free-throw that would have given him the Raptors’ scoring franchise record.
In the game, the 23-year old at the time made ten (10) three-pointers and was a 16/29 from the field. This performance came out of nowhere, as no one expected. He was averaging only 9.3 points per game, and suddenly he scored 51 points, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50+ points after averaging less than 10 points per game the particular season.
Andre Miller – 52 points
– Career Stats: 12.5 PPG, 6.5 APG
– 50+ point game: January 30th, 2010 (52 points)
Andre Miller played 17 seasons in the NBA and was an experienced point guard who used his size, his playmaking skills and abilities to post up smaller defenders to help his team. Miller was never an All-Star, but he was one point-guard who knew his role, could be effective for his team and help his teammates on and off the court. In his career, he managed to tally over 16,000 points and 8,000 assists. And he is arguably the best player in this list.
Even though he was not a scoring point guard, his best scoring season came in the 2007-08 season where he averaged 17.0 points per game. His best scoring game, however, was in 2010 with the Portland Trail Blazers going up against the Dallas Mavericks with him scoring 52 (!) points. The 34-year old at the time was really efficient as he shot 22/31 from the field, making just one three-pointer in the game in one try and also shooting 7/8 from the free-throw line. Miller was posting up smaller defenders, shooting from 1-4.5 meters and getting to the free-throw line as well. One scoring performance that went down in NBA history as one unexpected 50+ point game.
Tony Delk – 53 points
– Career stats: 9.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG
– 50+ point game: January 2nd, 2001 (53 points)
Perhaps the player who was the most unlikely one to score 50+ points is Tony Delk. A career scorer of just 9.1 points per game who was never a big-time scorer, on the overtime game on January 2nd, 2001 caught fire as he scored 53 points against his former team the Sacramento Kings, on 20/27 (!) field goal shooting. His best scoring year was also in 2000-01 as he averaged 12.3 points a contest. Delk was never a star in the NBA, but he managed to play ten seasons in the association and have a 53-point performance that will be written in NBA history.
On August 2006, he finished his NBA career and moved to Greece, Athens to play for Panathinaikos. In Athens, he lasted only a year as he was cut in 2007, citing compatibility issues. However, he played 32 games with the Greek team in 2006-07, averaging 9.5 points per game and winning the Greek Championship, the Greek Cup, and the EuroLeague title.
Delk played for seven NBA teams and later on in his career was also an assistant coach at Kentucky and New Mexico. His career highlights, the 53-point performance, his contribution in the EuroLeague title in 2007 – in a very limited role – and the NCAA championship in 1996.