Only 13 players have scored 70 or more points in a single game entering the 2023-24 season. Now, owing to Joel Embiid’s 70-point night against the Spurs and Luka Doncic’s 73-point performance against the Hawks just four days later, that historic club has grown to 15 times.

Last season’s initial group of 13 included Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell, as well as Devin Booker, Kobe Bryant, David Robinson, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain (six times).

 

Doncic’s historic outing pushed him into a tie for the fourth-most points scored in a single game in NBA history, while Luka tormented the franchise that drafted him.

Luka’s performance was not only one of the finest in terms of overall scoring, but it was also one of the most efficient in NBA history.

The Slovenia native scored 73 points on 25 of 33 shots, including 8 threes on 13 attempts. He also missed only one free throw, finishing 15 for 16 for a true shooting percentage of 91.2%.

That is by far the most efficient 70-point game in NBA history, which is remarkable since when someone has a hot hand like these 15 performances, they rarely pass up opportunities.

Luka, on the other hand, was looking for his teammates, recording 7 assists, 10 rebounds, and a steal in 45 minutes of play, enough to secure a 5-point victory.

However, because to his ability to spread the wealth, Doncic joins the prestigious group of 70+ scorers with only a few field goal attempts.

To compare, how would this ranking look for players who played during the three-point line era if they all took the same number of shots?

Doncic – 89 points

Mitchell – 89 points

Booker – 81 points

Lillard – 76 points

Robinson – 74 points

Embiid – 74 points

Bryant – 67 points

Doncic delivered this record accomplishment during his fourth consecutive season of considerably increasing his points per game from the previous season, as he presently averages 34.4 points, 9.4 assists, and 8.6 rebounds per game.

While he has always seemed to play third fiddle in the MVP race behind Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, this is the best season Doncic has ever had to bring the award back to the forward position if he keeps up his current pace. And Luka will have plenty of reasons to maintain his output in the first half of the season, as the Dallas Mavericks are now in eighth position in the Western Conference, with a lot of talented teams to compete with.

Despite having Doncic and Kyrie Irving as a 1-2 punch, the Mavs have continued to struggle to overcome the mountain of mediocrity during the regular season, and they are on track to begin the playoffs on the road once more assuming they even make it past the play-in round.

What is often overlooked is Doncic’s youth, as he will just be 25 by the end of February and still has three years of team control on his rookie agreement. However, capitalising on young talent in the NBA is the textbook method for creating a championship window, and only number 77 knows how long the Mavericks have to take advantage of his early prime.