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If we were to compare the NBA league with itself from the past, we'd realize how drastically it has changed. The way players attack and score now is not the same as it was only a few decades ago. Confident scorers in the league shoot from beyond the parameter for that one extra point even with an empty paint. The hunger for dropping big numbers grows and grows.
Now, the claim above doesn't intend to say that the league in the past lacked good scorers. The league has always enjoyed incredible scorers that could explode on any given night for a 40 point game. Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Wilt Chamberlain were notable players from the bygone era that would fall upon their opponents like a curse and score regardless of who defended them.
We can never undermine the impact these players have had on the NBA or their otherworldly scoring abilities. But from 1990s until early 2000s league, defense became a key area of team strategy and big men's influence increased on the court. Attempting often from beyond the parameter was a luxury reserved for a few. In such conditions, it is only natural that individual and team scores across the the NBA teams were not as proportionate as one would expect.
If you look at the stats and team scoring averages of the last 30 years, you'll find that the average points scored per game by a team is at the highest in the last fifty years. In the 2021 NBA season, teams on average scored 112.1 points per game, an unbelievable 18.7 points more than in the 2003-04 season.
NBA players with most losses after scoring 30+
The present league doesn't only have a few specific players capable of dropping 30+ points a game one after the other. Scorers with the potential and skill to do so are spread across the NBA franchises, from Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers to Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, players now attack with a bag full of tricks.
Stephen Curry led the league in the 2020-21 NBA season, scoring 30+ points in 38 games. He was closely followed by Damian Lillard with 35 such games, Bradley Beal with 34, and Luka Doncic with 26. The league had 25 players in the last season who scored at least 10 games where they scored 30+ points.
In acknowledgement of this increase in exceptional scorers in the NBA, we look at five active players to have lost the most number of games despite scoring 30+ points in a game.
Interesting fact: This list is identical to the list of five active leading scorers in the NBA.
#5 Russell Westbrook - 83
Russell Westbrook is an athletic genius. His explosive strength, speed, and aggression are unparalleled. He can dominate any position or stat. Being the leader of the league in triple-doubles really allows Russ to dictate his supremacy without holding back.
In the 2018-19 season, Westbrook recorded 11 consecutive games where he scored 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 10+ assists. Michael Jordan and Elfrid Payton are the only two players other than Russell to had had five or more consecutive games with such stats. Russell has recorded such streaks six times in his career.
The thing we love the most about the NBA is that even after scoring such incredible numbers, an individual cannot guarantee their win. The triple-double king has lost a total of 83 games in his career, where he scored 30+ points, placing him fifth on this list.
#4 James Harden - 84
When the Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was asked who the most unstoppable player in the league was, his answer was James Harden. To understand what makes The Beard such a phenomenal scorer, we have to breakdown his moves.
First things first, Harden is a left-handed shooter. In the NBA, left-handed shooters are scarce, even scarcer are left-handed shooters that are deadly from anywhere on the court. Guarding even an average lefty is tricky, but guarding a lefty who can shoot step-back threes, quick mid-range jumpers, fantastic handles and easy floaters is incredibly difficult.
In the span of his NBA career, Harden has scored 30+ points in 354 games. His ability to dribble past players, create space, drive to the basket, finish from anywhere on the court, and draw fouls make him so good on the offensive end. However, being such a lethal offensive player is not always an air-tight recipe for wins. Harden has lost 84 matches in which he scored 30+ points placing him fourth on this list.
#3 Kevin Durant - 101
Kevin Durant in the movie Thunderstruck is stripped of his skills during the NBA season after shaking hands with a high schooler. Thankfully, such things cannot happen in the real world, for what the NBA would do without Kevin Durant.
Durant is in a different league altogether. In terms of scoring, he is comparable to Jordan, James, and Bryant. In his 884 NBA games, KD has scored 23883 points. It took him 737 games to score 20000 points. A feat that places him above Bryant, Bird, or Karl Malone.
The two-time championship winner, one-time NBA MVP and two-time Finals MVP is perhaps the best player in the league presently. He has averaged 27 points and 7.1 rebounds in his career. No matter how we look at him, he is a winner through and through. But being the best, putting up stellar numbers, and giving your all can also sometimes not be enough in the fierce NBA league. He has lost 101 games where he scored 30+ points.
#2 Carmelo Anthony - 103
Finally, a player on this list that was not part of the famous Oklahoma City Thunder's big three. Carmelo Anthony is the third oldest active player in the NBA. He has appeared in the All-Star 10 times and has won a scoring title.
Melo is a great shooter from inside and outside the parameter. One of the greatest isolation players of our time, he was unbeatable in one-on-one plays. As the league changed, Melo evolved as a player. This year Anthony passed Elvin Hayes to become the 10th leading scorer of all time with 27370 points.
From being a player around whom teams were built to being a role player with the Portland Trail Blazers, Melo has seen everything in the NBA. He ranks second on this list after having lost 103 games despite scoring 30+ points.
#1 LeBron James - 142
If the LA Lakers superstar was a mountain, he'd be an eight-thousander. The man, the myth, the legend - King James is the true ruler of the NBA and has been for over a decade. He is the no. 1 leading scorer in the current league and the no. 3 leading scorer of all time.
If we could rank the best player ever in terms of points scored, LeBron would rank above both Bryant and Jordan. In his exceptional career, LBJ has played for the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and LA Lakers and has won a Championship with all three of these teams.
Proud owner of four championship rings, four NBA MVPs, and four FInals MVPs, Bron has pretty much won everything possible and yet he craves more victories and more accolades. He has teamed up with Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to try and win his second championship with the Lakers.
Over the span of his days in the league, James registered 30+ points in 598 games. 598 games! Those are unbelievable numbers. His greatness, though, does not always cement his victory. Of the 598 games, King James has lost 142 of them.
Guess the Lakers players!
