The Ten Greatest Individual Performances since 1986.

I dont know if anyone posted this, but it comes from the cavs site. Top ten performances post-1986. They have Dream listed as 1 with his quadruple double!

http://realcavsfans.com/?p=974

June 14th, 2009
The Ten Greatest Individual Performances since 1986.

top10Sometimes a player just flat-out dominates a basketball game. There’s nothing you can do to stop him, phase him, or even slow him down. Over the past 23 seasons, the fans have been treated to quite a few of these spectacular performances. Therefore, I felt it necessary to celebrate the ten greatest NBA regular season statlines since the 1986-87 season.

#10.

Drexler Dethrones Kings — 11/01/1996.

A 34 year old Clyde Drexler opened up the 1996-97 season with a bang to say the least. In the first game of the season, in front of a Houston crowd that cheered him on over a dozen years earlier in college, Drexler almost did the impossible–record a quadruple double. Drexler posted the necessary 10 steals, but was one assist shy of the feat as he led his team to victory with a triple double.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199611010HOU.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On January 10th, 1986, Drexler was also just short of a quadruple double, recording 26 points, 11 assists, 10 steals, and 9 rebounds against the Milwaukee Bucks.

#9.

Milwaukee No Match for Malone — 1/27/1990.

Karl Malone dominated this particular game, attempting 26 shots, thirteen more than anyone else who played that night. However, no one would dare call Malone a ball hog, as he sank 21 of them en route to 61 points. Malone also added 19 made free throws and 18 total rebounds.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199001270UTA.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On May 4th, 1999, Karl Malone scored 29 points on 84.6% shooting, tallying a triple double with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.

#8.

O’Neal Feels at Home — 3/6/2000.

In the coziest road game known to man, Shaquille O’Neal led his Lakers to victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the Staple’s Center. In a Mantle/Maris-like race, O’Neal showed Malone how easy it was to tally 61 points, only he decided to one-up-him (technically five-up him) in the rebound category with an astounding 23. Shaq made 24 field goals that evening compared to only 23 field goals combined from the Clippers starting five.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200003060LAC.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On November 20th, 1993, the Sultan of Swat recorded 15 blocked shots to go along with his 24 points and 28 rebounds as the Magic survived the Nets.

#7.

Bird Blazin’ against Portland — 3/15/1992.

The Hick from French Lick felt no mercy for the Trailblazers or Clyde Drexler in this late season matchup. Drexler had one of his best games of the season, recording 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Bird, however, wouldn’t let Drexler or Portland get the last word in as he scored 49 points, bested Drexler in all four categories, and led the Celtics to victory with a triple double in this double OT thriller.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199203150BOS.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On March 16th, 1990, Bird recorded a 46 point performance to highlight his 10 assists and 8 rebounds. This time, however, he was nearly perfect, missing only one free throw and recording zero turnovers.

#6.

Stockton Spurns Spurs — 1/15/1991.

The Spurs and Jazz entered this January game with the same number of wins–24. John Stockton wanted to ensure that it was his team that advanced to 25 wins first with a performance that commanded three more assists to get to that magic number. With 20 points, 28 assists, and 8 steals, Stockton needed only 12 shot attempts to completely control this game, as his Jazz cruised to victory.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199101150UTA.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On January 3rd, 1989, Stockton gave Houston fits as he scored 26 points on 75% shooting while recording 24 assists, 6 steals, and only one turnover.

#5.

James Delivers 52 on Set Stage — 2/4/2009.

While David Stern may not recognize LeBron James’ triple double in Madison Square garden, it’s one that Cavalier fans certainly won’t forget. With all of the media buzzing in New York City after Kobe’s big performance, James stepped up and delivered. As if scoring 52 points on better than 50% shooting wasn’t hard enough, LeBron led his team with 11 assists and 2 blocks.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200902040NYK.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: While I run the risk of coming off as a homer for placing this performance fifth, it’s more about the type of player LeBron is that nets him a top 5 spot. In the 23 season span I’m covering, on only 12 occasions has a player recorded 50 or more points and 9 or more assists in a game. Michael Jordan was the only other player to do it more than once (he did it twice), as LeBron James accomplished this feat an astounding five times.

#4.

Jordan Bests Cavaliers — 3/28/1990.

While it pains me to write about how Jordan demolished the Cavaliers yet again, the greatness of this performance cannot be downplayed. With little help alongside him, Jordan outscored the rest of his teammates combined, accounting for 59.0% of his team’s points as he led them to an overtime win. In addition to the 69 points, Jordan also grabbed an absurd 18 rebounds, 10 more than anyone else on his team.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199003280CLE.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On January 15th, 1989, Jordan tortured the Boston Celtics to the tune of 42 points, 11 assists, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals. Jordan also went 16-17 from the free throw line.

#3.

Admiral Sinks Clippers — 4/24/1994.

Up only 2 points going into the fourth quarter, David Robinson capped off the perfect night. Scoring an outlandish 71 points, Robinson accounted for 63.4% of his team’s points while taking only 47.1% of the Spurs shots. Robinson also added 14 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks in a game that saw him outscore the Clippers entire starting five. By 33 points.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199404240LAC.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On February 17th, 1994, David Robinson recorded the almighty quadruple double in a win over the Detroit Pistons. Robinson scored 34 points and added the bare minimum 10 assists, blocks, and rebounds in order to accomplish the feat.

#2.

Mamba Strikes Raptors for 81 — 1/22/2006.

In a night that most NBA fans will not soon forget, Kobe Bryant handed in of the most dominant performances in the history of the game. Kobe’s 81 points marked the second most in an NBA game, second to only Wilt’s 100. Bryant single-handedly took over the game, and given his supporting cast, it couldn’t have happened too soon. At the end of the night it took Bryant only 42 minutes and one game to score 81 points. With three points on the night, Kwame Brown had scored 82 points over his last 13 games played and 352 minutes of action.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200601220LAL.html

Camakazee’s rating:

Honorable Mention Performance: On January 7th, 2003, Kobe unloaded for 45 points on 12 made three pointers, tying an NBA record for most threes in a game.

#1.

Hakeem Haunts Warriors — 3/3/1990.

While David Robinson’s quadruple double only got honorable mention as #3 on the list and Hakeem fell 52 points shy of matching Kobe’s offensive output at #2, Olajuwon walks away with #1 honors given the well roundedness of his game. I would even go as far as to suggest that this may be the most well rounded statline in an NBA basketball game. Going to the free throw line only twice, Olajuwon made his 29 points more appealing by grabbing 18 rebounds, blocking 11 shots, dishing out 10 assists, and recording 5 steals. Oh, and he didn’t record a turnover the entire game. The NBA officially reviewed the tape and came to the conclusion that Olajuwon only recorded 9 assists (sound familiar?), but still credited him with the 10 assists for his career statistics. Regardless, this, ladies and gentlemen, is about as close as you can get to a quintuple double.