The NBA playoffs are the next level in basketball, where strength increases and stakes are the best.
Playoff matchups are opportunities to shine the brightest on the biggest stage in front of the NBA world seen by the biggest stars.
It’s also a bit difficult for players to get huge scores. For example, Kobe Bryant’s insane 81-point game came during the regular season, as well as Wilt Chamberlain’s famous 100 points.
The bars of individual games of high-scoring in the playoffs are a little lower due to very intense defense. It may not be surprising that Michael Jordan is ranked number one.
This is a breakdown of the greatest playoff performances of all time…
Michael Jordan announced himself in the basketball world in Game 2, the first round of playoff game against the Boston Celtics in 1986, setting a record that remains in place almost 40 years later.
It wasn’t enough to stop the Chicago Bulls from losing 135-131 in double overtime.
After the game, Larry Bird famously said: “I didn’t think anyone could do what Michael did to us. He’s the most exciting and great player in the game today. I think that’s just God disguised himself as Michael Jordan.”
The record that Michael Jordan defeated belonged to La Lakers legend Elgin Baylor, the previous number one overall draft pick in 1958.
Four years later, he proved why it was a clever choice, setting up an NBA record at the time, still ranked second in the playoffs all-time.
Baylor’s 61 points were also the Lakers’ match against the Boston Celtics, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Eastern Conference Juggernaut, who won the series and title.

The biggest playoff game of the recent season came from Donovan Mitchell for the Utah Jazz against the Denver Nuggets.
Mitchell’s 57 points came into the NBA bubble in 2020, but like the big performances of Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan, the Denver Nuggets won 135-125, did not stop him from finishing on the losing side.
The Jazz blew the lead in the 3-1 series. This marked the beginning of that team’s ending, with Mitchell leaving for the Cavaliers in 2022.
The 56-point markers have been reached separately four times in the history of the NBA playoffs, each by a different player.
The major scores of Jordan, Baylor and Mitchell were losses, but all four players with 56 points led their teams to victory and shared the honor of winning the most points in an NBA playoff victory.
player | year | team | Score |
Jimmy Butler | 2023 | Miami Heat | 119-114 (w) vs. Bucks |
Charles Berkley | 1994 | Phoenix Suns | 140-133 (W) vs Warriors |
Michael Jordan | 1992 | Chicago Bulls | 119-114 (W) vs. heat |
Wilt Chamberlain | 1962 | Philadelphia Warriors | 121-104 (w) vs Syracuse |