To keep from flooding this list with a number of performances from Wilt Chamberlain in his remarkable 1961-62 season, let me set some my one ground rule first:
One game per player.
With that out of the way, we can get started with the top 5 regular season scoring performances in Warriors’ Franchise History.
Honorable Mentions:
Antawn Jamison – 51 points
Bernard King – 50 points
Phil Smith – 51 points
Jamal Crawford – 50 points
5. Joe Barry Carroll vs Utah Jazz – 52 points (March 5, 1983)
Despite a rap as one of the players’ responsible for the poor state of the Warriors in the 1980s, Carroll is one of just seven Warriors to score more than 50 points in a regular season game (the others are all mentioned in this article). He had his best season with the team in 1982-83, scoring 24.1 points a game to go with 8.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.4 steals.
In a 127-121 win late in the season against the Utah Jazz, Carroll put up a career high 52 points while also pulling down 14 rebounds. It was his best game as a Warrior and the only time he scored 50 or more for the franchise. While he never met the expectations that came with being the number one overall pick for Golden State back in 1980, the “Joe Barely Cares” nickname certainly didn’t fit on this night.
4. Stephen Curry at New York Knicks – 54 points (February 27, 2013)
Easily the freshest game in fan memory on this list, Stephen Curry entertained the the famed Madison Square Garden’s crowd last season. Curry’s 2013 was his best season to date, as he stated his case for being considered one of the top 10 players in the NBA, and his 54 points at MSG put his name next to greats like Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and the Warriors’ own Rick Barry.
En route to his personal best scoring total, Curry notched a franchise-record 11 three-pointers made on just 13 attempts. While the NBA record fore long-range makes is 12, Curry owns the highest percentage of players who have made at least 11 in a single game. Despite the 109-105 loss, Curry used the absence of David Lee and Andrew Bogut to make this his “statement game.”
3. Purvis Short vs New Jersey Nets – 59 points (November 17, 1984)
Despite 9 seasons with the franchise, wing-man Purvis Short went to playoffs with the Warriors just once. Incidentally, it was his final year in Oakland, because he moved on to the Houston Rockets the following year. The struggles of the Warriors during that time often makes it easy to forget what Short accomplished during the mid-80s. He posted consecutive seasons of 25+ points per game, while twice scoring 57 or more points in 1984.
The game itself isn’t particularly remarkable, either. The opposing Nets, who won the game 131-114, would finish 42-40 and be swept out of the playoffs in the first round. It was also just the 11th game of the season for both teams. But Short’s .840 true-shooting percentage on the way to 59 points remains one of the most impressive accomplishments in Warriors history. He would finish 20-28 (.714) from the field and a near-perfect 15-16 (.938) from the free throw line.
2. Rick Barry vs Portland Trail Blazers – 64 points (March 26, 1974)
A year before the franchise’s first and only NBA championship in the Bay Area, star forward Rick Barry had one of the most under-appreciated seasons of all time (many of his achievements are often overlooked league-wide). He scored more than 25 points per game, in addition to 6+ assists and rebounds, all while shooting nearly 90% from the free throw line. While the league’s limited playoff format left the Warriors out of the post-season that year (they finished 5th, at 44-38), Barry did have some pretty impressive performances along the way, including his 64-point performance against Portland in the 2nd-to-last game of the season.
Barry would connect on 30 field goals to help the Warriors defeat the Trail Blazers 143-120, becoming, at the time, just the third player to eclipse the 63-point mark, joining Chamberlain and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor. It would remain the highest scoring total of Barry’s impressive career. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to push Golden State into the playoffs, as they had been eliminated from contention just a few days before.
1. Wilt Chamberlain vs New York Knicks – 100 points (March 2, 1962)
Any number of Wilt’s impressive scoring numbers from his days with the Philadelphia Warriors in the early 1960s could top this list. Of course, none is as iconic, nor will they remembered as well, as his 100-point night against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was the highlight of a season in which he averaged 50.4 and 25.7 rebounds per game, marks no player in today’s NBA could hope to challenge.
The Warriors would end up winning that game 169-147, in an odd finish that saw the Warriors playing the foul-game while ahead in the 2nd half to extend the game. It was a game that spoke to Wilt’s off-court celebrity as much as it did about his legendary basketball abilities. The story goes that Wilt arrived to the game in his personal Cadillac, rather than the team bus, which he had driven all the way to Hershey from New York. After the game, Wilt held up a piece of paper with “100” written on it, which became the record night’s iconic image.
Truth be told, Wilt’s performance may not be nearly as impressive as the number itself indicates. With the irregular fouls and the game long-since decided, most of Wilt’s final 20 or so points had little meaning. But nothing will change the fact that he will likely be the only player to reach the mark for a very long time. It’s been more than half a century since, and the closest anyone else has gotten is Bryant’s 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Even if it ever is surpassed, Wilt, and his 100 points will always be stuff of NBA legend.
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