Listing the all-time top-5 scoring performances in an NBA All-Star game: Featuring Steph Curry, Anthony Davis and more

Stephen Curry celebrates during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
Stephen Curry celebrates during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.

#3 Wilt Chamberlain – 42 points – 1962, St. Louis

Wilt Chamberlain during the 1962 NBA All-Star Game
Wilt Chamberlain during the 1962 NBA All-Star Game

Wilt Chamberlain set the then-NBA record for most points in an All-Star game in this showcase with 42 points – a record that stood for 55 years. Yet he didn't win All-Star game MVP honors because the Western Conference won 150-130, and "The Big Dipper" represented the Philadelphia Warriors from the East.

Bob Pettit won the award with 25 points and 27 rebounds. Chamberlain had 24 rebounds of his own along with one assist in 37 minutes.

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He scored 42 points on an incredible 17-for-23 (73.9%) shooting while making 8 of 16 free throws (50%). (The NBA did not track blocks and steals in 1962, and the 3-point line didn't exist until 1979.)

Chamberlain was in the middle of, arguably, the most statistically impressive season in NBA history. He averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds that season, including a 100-point game in March 1962.

#2 Stephen Curry – 50 points – 2022, Cleveland

Steph Curry during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game
Steph Curry during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game

Steph Curry is the first player on this list so far to win the All-Star Game MVP award for his performance. Team LeBron bested Team Durant 163-160, and Curry earned the award after dropping 50 points. He did so while shooting 17-for-30 (56%) and attempting zero free throws to get to his enormous tally.

The highlight of the evening was Curry's 16 long-range bombs that obliterated the previous All-Star game record (nine) by a whopping seven.

Curry missed his last six shots in a row after his legs got fatigued, so he effectively went 16-for-21 (76%) from beyond the arc until he started missing. He put on a show unlike any other and millions of fans, Hall of Famers and all-time greats had their jaws dropped that evening.

He was so scorching hot that his MVP-caliber teammates were willingly feeding him the ball, and he kept knocking them down, often from beyond 40 feet. The two-time MVP also had five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal in 36 minutes.

#1 Anthony Davis – 52 points – 2017, New Orleans

Anthony Davis celebrates with the 2017 All-Star Game MVP trophy,
Anthony Davis celebrates with the 2017 All-Star Game MVP trophy,

Anthony Davis holds the record for the most points in an NBA All-Star game with 52 points. He did so during the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, and the fans loved that their favorite Pelican went off on their home court.

He broke Chamberlain's 55-year-old record that night, and everyone on the court was excited for Davis to break the record. His teammates fed him the ball, and he kept going in the paint to hammer it down. He attempted four 3-pointers, making none, but he also didn't attempt any free throws.

Davis scored 52 on 26-for-39 (66.7%) shooting while adding 10 rebounds and two steals. He scored a record 30 points in one half and also attempted a record 39 shots in the game. Davis had only one mission in this game, and that was to score buckets, so he registered no assists. The Western Conference won192-182, and Davis was undoubtedly named the All-Star Game MVP.

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