Top-10 Individual Performances in NBA Playoffs History | 2000s Edition

The NBA, more so than other sports, is dominated by individuals.

Stars can be the difference between winning and losing. Just as Jimmy Butler fueled the Miami Heat’s upset of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, so too have others carried their respective teams across the finish line with legendary performances.

Though we remember the great performances by Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and others, we’re confining the best moments in the new century. Don’t get angry or upset that you don’t see their names listed below.

Here’s a look at the top 10 most dominant individual performances, both in a single game and single series, in the NBA since 2000.

Top 10 Individual Single-Game Performances

Performances are based on a combination of factors, including the player’s impact, Game Score (via Basketball Reference), and the game’s importance.

Here is the top 10 individual single-game performances in the NBA:

10. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

2023 Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Game 4 vs Milwaukee Bucks

The top-seeded Bucks threw everything they had at Butler and the Heat in the must-win Game 4 in Miami. But Butler put forth a performance for the ages, scoring 56 points on 19-for-28 shooting, plus nine rebounds in the Heat’s 119-114 win.

It was Butler’s first 50-point postseason game, and he tied for fourth-most points in a playoff game while producing a game score of 48.2, which was the best of his career. Thanks to Butler’s heroics, Miami stunned Milwaukee in five games.

9. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets

2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, Game 5 vs Milwaukee Bucks

With his team down superstars James Harden and Kyrie Irving due to injury, Durant produced one of the greatest performances in NBA history in the pivotal game at Barclays Center. He scored 49 points while adding 17 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, and even two blocks while playing every second of Brooklyn’s 114-108 win.

Durant was one of only three Nets to score in double-figures, and he produced a game score of 50.4, the best of his career and third-highest in the playoffs since 1984. Durant’s heroics, unfortunately, get forgotten since Brooklyn lost the series in seven games to the Bucks.

8. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors

2023 Western Conference quarterfinals, Game 7 vs Sacramento Kings

With his team facing first-round elimination on the road against a bitter rival, Curry authored a performance for the ages. He became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points in a Game 7 while also adding eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal in Golden State’s 120-100 win.

Curry made 20 of Golden State’s 43 field goals and scored 42 percent of its points. It was his first 50-point playoff performance, and he also produced the second-highest game score (36.8) in a playoff game and highest of any postseason win in his career.

7. Shaquille O’Neal, Los Angeles Lakers

2001 NBA Finals, Game 2 vs Philadelphia 76ers

The Lakers were behind 1-0 after Allen Iverson‘s legendary performance (more below) in Game 1, yet Shaq produced arguably the greatest game of his life in LA’s nine-point win in Game 2.

O’Neal had 28 points and 20 rebounds while also setting career highs in assists (nine) and blocks (eight) and even adding a steal in the Lakers’ 98-89 win. It started an exceptional series from the Hall of Famer where he went on to win the first of his three Finals MVPs.

6. Allen Iverson, Philadelphia 76ers

2001 NBA Finals, Game 1 vs Los Angeles Lakers

This game is memorable for Iverson’s now-iconic step-over of former Lakers guard Ty Lue, but let’s not forget Iverson’s performance for the ages in Philadelphia’s 107-101 OT win. He scored 48 points – 45 percent of the Sixers’ points – while adding six assists, five rebounds, and five steals in an eye-popping 53 minutes.

Perhaps more remarkable, Iverson’s heroics stymied LA’s otherwise perfect run through the NBA playoffs that year. The Lakers finished the postseason 15-1, the most dominant playoff run at the time.

If not for Iverson’s heroics in Game 1, LA would’ve swept through the playoffs in 15 straight games, which no team has ever done.

5. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

2016 Western Conference Finals, Game 6 vs Oklahoma City Thunder

The 73-win Warriors were surprisingly facing elimination on the road against the rival Thunder. But Thompson unleashed a shooting performance for the ages, knocking down an NBA-record 11 three-pointers and scoring 41 points in the Dubs’ season-saving 108-101 win.

Thompson and fellow Splash Brother Steph Curry combined for 66.7 percent of the Warriors’ points that night, and the Warriors held off the Thunder in Game 7 in Oakland to clinch the West.

4. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Game 5 vs Detroit Pistons

The Pistons were the class of the East in the mid-2000s by virtue of their six straight conference finals, two NBA Finals trips, and 2004 championship. James and the Cavs were the upstarts that had been eliminated by Detroit the year prior and seemed destined to fall victim to the Pistons again in 2006 after falling behind 2-0.

But James played the game of his young life at the Palace of Auburn Hills on May 31, 2007. He scored 48 points on 18 of 33 shooting, including 25 straight at one point, while adding nine rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in Cleveland’s stunning 109-107 victory.

The Cavs sunk the Pistons in Game 6, qualifying for their first NBA Finals appearance and James’ first of 10 championship-round appearances to date.

3. Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors

2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, Game 7 vs Philadelphia 76ers

Leonard had the series of his life against the 76ers in 2019 and capped it with one of the most dramatic shots in basketball history. In the decisive game, Leonard scored 41 points along with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals and hit the game-winning, fall-away jumper over Sixers star Joel Embiid that touched every inch of the rim before finally falling.

Leonard and the Raptors defeated Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals before capping off the dream run by stunning the heavily-favored Warriors in the Finals.

2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

2016 NBA Finals, Game 5 vs Golden State Warriors

The Cavaliers were facing elimination at the hands of the Warriors for the second straight year then were tied at halftime at Oracle Arena. But James put his team on his back and started the most famous comeback in NBA Finals history.

James scored 41 points, tied with Kyrie Irving for the team-high, adding 16 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks, and three steals, leading the Cavs to a 112-97 victory in Game 5.

It was the first of three other-worldly performances from James that helped the Cavs turn around a 3-1 series deficit against the 73-win Dubs and deliver the first pro-sports championship to Cleveland in 52 years.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

2021 NBA Finals, Game 6 vs Phoenix Suns

The Bucks superstar capped Milwaukee’s first title in 50 years with a 50-point, 14-rebound, five-block performance in the decisive game. Antetokounmpo, so maligned for his inconsistent free-throw shooting throughout the Bucks run, went 17-for-19 from the line, while also shooting 64 percent from the field.

Antetokounmpo produced a game score of 42 and became the first player in NBA history to produce a 50-point double-double in a series-clinching game.

Top 10 Single-Series Individual Performances

10. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

2020 Western Conference quarterfinals vs Utah Jazz

The 2020 playoff bubble in Orlando was a strange scene, but Murray was one of the breakout stars of the tournament, especially thanks to his exceptional first round against Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz.

Murray was the perfect scoring complement to Nikola Jokić, averaging 31.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game against the Jazz. But he saved his best for the series’ last four games, averaging 39.8 points per game and posting a pair of 50-point performances, and a 42-point output in Game 5.

Led by Murray’s offense, Denver turned around a 3-1 series deficit and defeated Utah in seven games en route to the Western Conference Finals.

9. Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

2023 Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs Milwaukee Bucks

Butler’s 56-point game was historic, but it wasn’t the only exceptional performance in Miami’s upset of Milwaukee. Butler scored 25-plus in each of the series’ five games and surpassed 30 points in each of the Heat’s four wins.

After putting the Heat on his back in Game 4, Butler then willed his team back from down 16 in the fourth quarter with a 42-point, eight-rebound, four-assist performance in Miami’s stunning 128-126 win that carried the East’s No. 8 seed to the next round.

8. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors

2023 Western Conference quarterfinals vs Sacramento Kings

Curry was exquisite in the seven-game series, and the defending-champion Warriors needed every ounce of his brilliance to persevere past the upstart Kings.

He averaged 33.7 points, five rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 39 minutes per game over seven games and scored at least 30 points in each of Golden State’s four wins. With Golden State trailing 2-0 and minus Draymond Green due to suspension, Curry scored 36 points and had six rebounds in Game 3 and then capped the series for the ages with the first 50-point performance in Game 7.

7. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

2009 NBA Finals vs Orlando Magic

Once Shaq left LA, Bryant was tasked with scoring, and he did a ton of it, proven by his consecutive scoring titles between 2005-2007. But Bryant also came up large in key moments.

He played in seven Finals and won five championships, including two without Shaq.

But his best performance in the Finals, or any playoff series, came against Dwight Howard and the Magic in 2009. Bryant scored at least 29 points in each of the five games, averaging 32.4 points, 7.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds, plus 1.4 blocks and steals per game to boot.

Buoyed by Bryant’s excellence, LA won the title in five games for the first of its consecutive championships between 2009-2010.

6. LeBron James, Miami Heat

2013 NBA Finals vs San Antonio Spurs

The 2013 Finals may be remembered for the Heat’s stunning Game 6 comeback, but it was arguably the best single-series performance of James’ legendary career, too. James averaged 25.3 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists per game over the series, with two triple-doubles, and scored 32 points and 10 rebounds over the final four contests.

James averaged 22.5 game score over the seven games and 43 minutes per game, helping Miami claim its third, and most recent, NBA title.

5. Shaquille O’Neal, Los Angeles Lakers

2000 NBA Finals vs Indiana Pacers

It’s hard to remember, but there was a time when O’Neal’s status as a winner was in doubt. He and the Magic were swept away by the Rockets in 1995, then after he signed in LA, the Lakers failed to win even a conference-final game in his first three seasons there.

But making his first Finals appearance in Forum blue-and-gold, Shaq put forth a performance for the ages, averaging 38 points, 16.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 2.3 assists, and one steal per game in the six-game series win. He scored at least 30 points in every game, produced three 30-plus point game scores, and shot 61.1 percent for the series.

The six-game win started a run of three straight championships, and four Finals appearances in five seasons, for the Lakers. Shaq won the Finals MVP in all three championship years.

4. Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors

2017 NBA Finals vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Durant may be trolled for ring-chasing, but he is perhaps the best big-game player in NBA history, a fact that was cemented during the first of his consecutive Finals MVPs.

Durant averaged 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 blocks, and one steal over 39 minutes per game to boost the Dubs past the Cavs after Cleveland stunned Golden State in the 2016 Finals. With Durant, the Dubs went 8-1 against the Cavs in the Finals over a two-year span and reached the championship round all three seasons he was there.

3. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

2006 NBA Finals vs Dallas Mavericks

Wade was largely flying solo through the playoffs in 2006 with a supporting cast headlined by the past-his-prime Shaquille O’Neal and a cast of role players. But the superstar guard for Miami produced a performance for the ages and saved his best for last by averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 steals over 43.7 minutes per game in the Finals against Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, and the Mavericks.

Wade averaged 39.3 points per game after Miami fell behind 2-0 in the series and capped the run with 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks in the Heat’s 95-92 win in Game 6 that brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Florida for the first time.

2. Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors

2019 Eastern Conference semifinals vs Philadelphia 76ers

Leonard only spent one year north of the border and played just 24 postseason games as a member of the Raptors, but his performance in the second round against the Sixers was one for the ages.

The superstar forward averaged 34.7 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and 1.3 blocks in 40 minutes over seven hard-fought games. He had four double-doubles, including a 45-and-11 performance in Game 1, and capped the series with his dramatic fall-away jumper over Sixers star Joel Embiid that hit all parts of the rim and went in.

Leonard went on to win his second NBA Finals MVP and deliver the Raptors their first title ever with a six-game win over the heavily-favored Warriors.

1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

2016 NBA Finals vs Golden State Warriors

Despite playing against the 73-win Warriors, the pressure was almost entirely on James, who had returned to Cleveland vowing a championship for the embattled city. The Cavs fell to Golden State in the 2015 Finals then appeared headed for another championship-round flameout after falling behind in the series, 3-1.

But James put the Cavs on his back over the final three games. The superstar averaged 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, three blocks, and three steals per game over Cleveland’s final three victories, sealing it with a 27, 11, and 11 triple-double in the Cavs’ 93-89 win in Game 7.

James’ heroics helped the Cavs win their only title to date and Cleveland’s lone pro-sports championship since 1964.

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