The story of the greatest week in NBA History includes rivals, upsets and unicorns.
There have been many phenomenal events in the NBA.
For instance, Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game in 1962. Or Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006. Or Michael Jordan’s second 3-peat in the late 90s.
But there has never been anything (or maybe there was) like this one week in early 2024.
Joel Embiid
It all started on the evening of Jan. 22, when the Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid decided he wanted to bully the San Antonio Spurs’ next legend (potentially), Victor Wembanyama.
Embiid wanted to show the highly touted 20-year-old he’s still the top unicorn around the league.
And JoJo did so by dropping 70 points as the 76ers routed the Spurs 133-123.
By achieving this feat, Embiid becomes the ninth player in NBA history to score 70 or more points. He also set Phili’s franchise record for most points in a single game.
Via NBA.com:
“From the time I started playing, Kobe was my guy,” Embiid said. “He’s the reason why I started playing basketball. It’s funny, on the same night, he got 81 and that was my favorite player.”
Karl Anthony-Towns
On the same night, but a few states away, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl Anthony-Towns, who was playing against the Charlotte Hornets, also set out on a campaign to beat his franchise’s most points in a game record.
Though he didn’t get that 70 piece like his rival, Embiid, he did get a hefty portion with 62 points, beating the franchise record of 60 bones that he set two years ago.
However, his big accomplishment was ruined as the Timberwolves lost to the Hornets, despite carrying a 15-point lead for the majority of the game.
The upset happened because his team relied on him too much and didn’t share the basketball, which allowed the Hornets to erase the deficit in the fourth quarter to overtake the game 128-125.
Via Bally Sports North:
“It was an absolute disgusting performance of defense and immature basketball all the way through the game,” Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch said. “This is what happens when you have this type of approach.”
Luka Doncic
Then, a few days later on Jan. 26, the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic unlocked some special stuff as he dueled his good friend, Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks.
Luka took 33 shots, made 25 of them and ended the game with 73 points, becoming the 10th player in NBA history to score 70 or more points in a game.
He also became the second player to score more than 70 points this century. The first was Kobe Bryant.
Additionally, with this accomplishment, he breaks the franchise record of 60 points, something he set a couple of years ago in 2022.
To go with his 73-piece, Luka Doncic also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished 7 assists, making him the only player in the NBA to register a 70-point, 10-rebound, 7-assist stat line.
The Mavs went on to defeat the Hawks 148-143.
“He is the game plan,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd told reporters after the game. “His ability to make shots, create shots, find open guys, he did that at a high-level tonight.”
Devin Booker
On this same day, the Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker also did something spectacular.
In a game against the Indiana Pacers, he dropped 62 points. However, Like KAT, the big game was spoiled as his team lost the match.
Though scoring 62 is special, the franchise record of 70 points that he set back in 2017 wasn’t broken. So, it’s not that remarkable.
But the significant thing about Booker’s season-high is that when it’s combined with Luka’s, it becomes one of the most special events in NBA history as it’s the fifth time two players scored 60 or more points in the same night.
And when you combine all four of the performances, it becomes the first time in NBA history that four players scored at least 60 points in the same week.
This is why this specific week was the greatest week in NBA history.
