Joel Embiid On Pace To Become Most Efficient Scorer In NBA History By Joining Exclusive Club With Historic 70-Point Game

by Grayson Weir

Published on January 23, 2024 5:34 pm

1 min read

Joel Embiid joined a very exclusive club against the Spurs on Monday night. He is now one of just nine players to ever score 70 points or more in a single NBA game.

Elgin Baylor, Lakers: Nov. 15, 1960 — 71 points
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: Dec. 8, 1961 — 78 points
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: Jan. 13, 1962 — 73 points
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: March 2, 1962 — 100 points (allegedly)
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: Nov. 3, 1962 — 72 points
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: Nov. 16, 1962 — 73 points
Wilt Chamberlin, Warriors: March 10, 1963 — 70 points
David Thompson, Nuggets: April 9, 1978 — 73 points
David Robinson, Spurs: April 24, 1994 — 71 points
Kobe Bryant, Lakers: Jan. 22, 2006 — 81 points
Devin Booker, Suns: March 24, 2017 — 70 points
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers: Jan. 2, 2023 — 71 points
Damian Lillard, Blazers: Feb. 26, 2023 — 71 points
Joel Embiid, 76ers: Jan. 22, 2023 — 70 points

As cool as it is to drop 70 points, especially in the modern era, Embiid reached an even more impressive mark with his dominant outing against San Antonio. He is on pace to become the most efficient scorer in NBA history!

Joel Embiid has the highest per-minute scoring average of all-time.

Chamberlin, who averaged 50.4 points during the 1961/62 season, holds the record for per-game scoring. However, in large part because of overtimes, he played 48.5 minutes per outing that year.

Prior to this week, Chamberlin was also the most successful scorer per minute in league history. That changed with Embiid’s 70-pointer on Monday!

With his career-high performance, the 76ers‘ 7-foot-tall 29-year-old is now averaging 36.1 points per game in an average of just 34.3 minutes per game. That rate, should it continue, would convert to the highest mark in NBA history.

It translates to an average of 38 points per 36 minutes.