The 10 Most Dominant NBA Finals Performances Of All Time

Virtually all of the most legendary basketball players of all time cemented their status as one of the greats thanks to their ability to rise to the moment in the NBA Finals. Those battles for a championship have spawned some awe-inspiring performances, and none of them stand out more than occasions where one player was able to dominate a single game in truly impressive fashion.

Attempting to rank the best individual performances in an NBA Finals game is a fairly subjective venture, but it’s a bit easier to quantify things with the help of the “game score” metric famed basketball analyst John Hollinger dreamed up in the hopes of distilling a player’s contributions into a digestible number.

The nature of the formula, which incorporates the turnovers that weren’t officially tracked until the NBA kicked off its season in 1978, means it can only be used to evaluate games that took place after that point.

As a result, there’s a chance this omits standout performances from the likes of Elgin Baylor, Rick Barry, and Jerry West  (the men who hold the first, second, and fourth spots, respectively, when it comes to the most points scored in an NBA Finals game).

With that said, these are the best individual performances in an NBA Finals game in the Game Score Era based on the data compiled by Basketball Reference.

LeBron James: Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals (42.5)

Stat line: 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 blocks

Before we dive in, I should probably put the game score in perspective: one of 40 or more is generally considered the threshold for what most people would consider a head-turning performance (Michael Jordan somewhat unsurprisingly holds the record for the highest one recorded in any game at 64.6 with the help of a 69-point double-double against the Cavaliers in 1990).

Cleveland also factors into the most dominant performance in NBA Finals history courtesy of—who else?—LeBron James, as he needed to help his team crawl out of a 3-1 hole against the Warriors in 2016.

He did so with back-to-back 41-point performances that contributed to wins in Game 5 and Game 6, and he really went off in the latter as the Cavs got their second decisive win in a row.

The King rightfully earned Finals MVP honors after Cleveland capped off the comeback and brought the first professional championship of any kind back to the city for the first time in over 50 years.

I’m not going to double-dip with players as far as dedicated entries are concerned, but LeBron also has the 5th (41.3), 9th (39.2), 10th (39.1), and 18th (36.2) highest game score in Finals history.

Giannis Antetokounmpo: Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Finals (42)

Stat line: 50 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and 5 blocks

The Suns pulled out to a 2-0 lead against the Bucks in the NBA Finals in 2021, but Milwaukee had the chance to put things away in Game 6 after winning the next three games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo made sure they did exactly that while ensuring the Bucks wouldn’t have to head back to Phoenix for a Game 7 by exploding for 50 points and tying the record Bob Pettit set in 1958 for the most scored in a series-clinching victory.

The big man. who also scored 42 points in Game 2 and 41 in Game 3, firmly earned Finals MVP honors for his efforts as Milwaukee won its first title in 40 years.

Those other two performances were also respectively responsible for the 17th (36.7) and 13th (37.4) highest game scores in the Finals.

Jimmy Butler: Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals (42)

Stat line: 40 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks

Jimmy Butler put the Heat on his back while leading them to the NBA Finals in “The Bubble” after the NBA resumed its season during the pandemic, and he continued to carry them once they met the Lakers in the Finals.

He peaked in Game 3 while leading Miami to its first win of the series with his triple-double in the team’s 115-104 victory, and that wasn’t the only time he went off during the showdown.

The 35-point triple-double he had in a do-or-die Game 5 is also good enough for the 4th spot on this list (41.3), and while it kept Miami alive, Los Angeles was able to close things out in six.

Tim Duncan: Game 1 of the 2003 NBA Finals (40.8)

Stat line: 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 blocks, and 3 steals.

Tim Duncan may be one of the least electric superstars in NBA history (complimentary), but he didn’t need to play a flashy game to make his presence known on the court.

He certainly checked that box by coming out of the gate scorching hot when the Spurs met the Nets in 2003 with the triple-double he had in Game 1 (a 101-89 victory for San Antonio).

Duncan may have failed to surpass that performance, but New Jersey still struggled to stop the eventual Finals MVP in a series the Spurs won in six games.

Kevin Durant: Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals (39.8)

Stat line: 43 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block

You might think Steph Curry would be the first member of the Warriors to show up on this list (he’ll be making an appearance), but that honor actually goes to Kevin Durant.

This is the first game score to fall under the aforementioned threshold of 40, but KD’s performance was certainly nothing to scoff at.

His contributions helped give the Warriors what turned out to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead over the Cavaliers before they capped off the sweep to beat Cleveland in the Finals for the second year in a row and firm up the Golden State dynasty that secured three titles in four years.

Magic Johnson: Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals (39.6)

Stat line: 42 points,15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block

The Lakers pulled out to a 3-2 lead over the 76ers with a win in Game 5 in 1980, but they also suffered a huge loss after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar went down with an ankle injury in the second half.

The man who’d been the leading scorer for Los Angeles in four of its first five games didn’t end up making the trip to Philadelphia for Game 6, but they got a boost from the rookie sensation who rose to the occasion while helping them clinch the first of five championships they’d take home during the Showtime Era.

Michael Jordan: Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals (38.9)

Stat line: 55 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists

You had to know it was only a matter of time until Michael Jordan made an appearance, and while it may have taken longer than you might think, that moment has arrived.

As you can probably guess, His Airness led the Bulls in scoring during their first three games against the Suns in 1993, and that was once again the case when he notched a series-high 55 to give Chicago a 3-1 lead.

Phoenix was able to stay alive with a win in Game 5, but the Bulls eked out a win in Game 6 to cap off the three-peat.

If you’re curious, he also has the 16th-best game score at 36.9.

Shaquille O'Neal: Game 1 of the 2000 NBA Finals (37.9)

Stat line: 43 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks

You may also be surprised to see Shaq on this list instead of Kobe Bryant (who actually doesn’t have any standout performances on the game score front), but his presence is a testament to the impact he had while helping the Lakers pull off a three-peat of their own.

They kicked off that dynasty against the Pacers in 2000, and O’Neal ushered in the series with authority with a double-double that ensured Indiana was going to go all in its ultimately unsuccessful attempt to shut him down during a showdown where the Finals MVP averaged 38 points.

Steph Curry: Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals (37.2)

Stat line: 47 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals

I told you we’d get to him eventually.

This is the first instance to feature a player who had a big game in a losing effort, as Steph Curry had to step his game up to make up for the absence of Klay Thompson and did exactly that by drilling six threes en route to scoring 47 points.

However, it still wasn’t enough against a Raptors team that got the comfortable 123-109 victory to take a 2-1 lead in a series it would win in six games.

Charles Barkley: Game 2 of the 1993 NBA Finals (37)

Stat line: 42 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block

Michael Jordan and the Bulls may have had the edge in the Finals in 1993, but Charles Barkley still did what he could in his quest for the first of the zero championship rings he ended up getting.

This is another situation where we’ve got a guy who had an impressive game but still ended up on the losing team, which had a little bit to do with the fact that Jordan scored as many points as Sir Charles and came just one assist short of a triple-double (when I was talking about him also being in 16th place, that was the game in question).

That had to be an impressively frustrating development for Barkley, who played his best game of the series but still found himself on the wrong end of a 111-108 result.