could 50 NBA players have 50-point games this season? (11.22.2025)

James "I'm not letting the Thunder get the No. 1 pick" Harden just dropped 55 on the Hornets. He's now the 7th guy this season to log a 50-point game.

And, somewhat surprisingly, that was Harden's 25th (!) fifty-point game of his career. He leads all active players. The next closest are Dame and Curry, each with 15. Then LeBron at 14.

A few weeks ago, after the Austin Reaves/Aaron Gordon/Lauri Markkanen 50+ point games, I floated the absurd question: Could 50 guys have 50-point games this season?

Now, instead of admitting that I got a little carried away, I’m doubling down. I legitimately think it's possible...

To recap, we’re just shy of the 1/4 mark of the season. Here are the seven guys so far:

1. Jokic

2. Maxey

3. SGA

4. Gordon

5. Reaves

6. Harden

7. Markkanen

Curry and Luka both had 49-point games. Cade had 46 on the night he took 255 shot attempts. So, we're basically at 10.

Now, let's look at the 12 guys most likely to join them.

11. Giannis

12. Wemby

13. Ant Man

14. Booker

15. Durant

16. Mitchell

17. Brunson

18. Jaylen Brown

19. Jalen Williams

20. Banchero

21. Sengun

22. LeBron

Alright! This still feels believable. Now let's add the "guys who've scored 50+ before, and maybe, just maybe they've got another one in them" group:

23. AD

24. Jamal Murray

25. Towns

26. Trae Young

27. Jimmy Butler

28. Embiid

29. Derozan (plays for the Kings)

30. Lavine (also plays for the Kings)

31. Westbrook (seriously, how many of these guys play for the Kings?!)

32. Julius Randle

33. Jrue Holiday

34. Darius Garland

35. Ja Morant

36. CJ McCollum

37. D'Angelo Russell

38. Siakam

39. De'Aaron Fox

And how 'bout guys on the list, who, with a bit of medical help, could join late in the season.

40. Tatum

41. Kyrie

We've got the wind now. Let's keep rollin'!

The "Bad Team, but Somebody's Gotta Score" Guys

41. LaMelo Ball

42. Porter Jr.

43. Cam Thomas

44. Mathurin

45. Kawhi (kind of surprised he slipped all the way here)

Rookies Having Their Big Moment Early

46. Cooper Flagg

47. Kon Knueppel

48. Edgecombe

49. Queen

50. Caleb Love (the guy just knows how to score)

Plays with Jokic so Anything's Possible

51. Braun

52. Cam Johnson

53. Hardaway Jr.

54. Random guy Sam Presti found at the YMCA who averages 2 minutes a game for OKC

Guys Who've Scored 50 Before, But I was Too Shy to List Them Earlier

54. Klay Thompson

55. Kevin Love

Feels Like He's Gotta Have This Big Moment At Some Point, Right?

56. Zion

3-Point Shooters Who Could Get Hot

57. Trey Murphy III

58. AJ Green

59. Royce O'Neale

60. Grayson Allen

Oh, Yeah, What About the Toronto Raptors?

61. Brandon Ingram

And Chet's still floating around. Deni Avdija averages about 26 a game for Portland. Powell or any random guy on the high-scoring Miami Heat. Throw another Sacramento King into the mix, Sabonis, who has scored over 40 before. Same thing with Vucevic in Chicago. Maybe Jalen Duren in Detroit. And doesn't it feel like Paul George has one big "eff you" game left in him, where he drops 60 to silence all of his critics?

I'm not backtracking... at least not yet. 50 players logging a 50-point game. I think it’s gonna happen. See you at the halfway mark for the next updated list.