With the Dallas Mavericks set to take on the Boston Celtics for the NBA title, here are some key storylines to watch.
The Boston Celtics are all over the NBA Finals record books.
Boston is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most championships, and it will have a chance to regain the top spot for itself with its 2024 NBA Finals matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
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With so many trips between the Celtics and Lakers, it’s no surprise that players from both squads also hold individual Finals records.
Here are some of the individual, single-game Finals records entering this year’s championship series:
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Who has scored the most points in an NBA Finals game?
Elgin Baylor never won a championship during his Hall of Fame playing career, but he still holds an NBA Finals record.
The Lakers forward erupted for 61 points in Game 5 of the 1962 Finals against the Celtics. He played all 48 minutes, shot 22-for-46 overall and made 17 of 19 free throw attempts in a 126-121 win. Though the Lakers wound up losing the series in seven games, Baylor holds the Finals record for most points in a series with 284.
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Baylor is one of just seven players to ever score 50 or more points in a Finals game. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the most recent star to reach that number, doing so in a series-clinching Game 6 win for the Milwaukee Bucks over the Phoenix Suns in 2021.
Who has the most 3-pointers in an NBA Finals game?
The best 3-point shooter in NBA history is also the best 3-point shooter in NBA Finals history.
Steph Curry holds the all-time and single-game records for most 3-point attempts and makes in the NBA Finals. He set the single-game marks in Game 2 of the 2018 Finals, where the Golden State Warriors guard went 9-for-17 from 3-point range in a 122-103 rout over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Along with the nine 3-pointer game, Curry also drained seven 3s in six Finals contests, two of which came in the 2022 Finals against the Celtics.
Who has the most rebounds in an NBA Finals game?
Just like his team won most of their Finals matchups, Bill Russell edged Wilt Chamberlain for the most rebounds in an NBA Finals game.
Russell has two Finals games with 40 rebounds. The first came in 1960 against the St. Louis Hawks and the second came against the Lakers in Game 7 of the 1962 Finals. By comparison, Chamberlain’s highest rebounding total for a Finals game was 38, a number he reached twice.
Russell and Chamberlain have an overwhelming presence in the Finals rebounding records. The two centers combined for 73 of the top 100 single-game rebounding outputs in Finals history: 48 from Russell and 25 from Chamberlain.
Who has the most assists in an NBA Finals game?
It should come as no surprise that Magic Johnson’s name is all over the NBA Finals assists records.
There have been just six times in Finals history that a player has tallied 19 or more assists in a game, and five of them came from Johnson. His highest total came in Game 3 of the 1984 Finals, where he dished out 21 assists in a 137-104 win over the Celtics.
Who has the most turnovers in an NBA Finals game?
Along with the most assists in an NBA Finals game, Johnson also holds the record for most turnovers in a Finals game.
Johnson turned it over 10 times against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of the 1980 Finals, which came during his rookie season. The Lakers star struggled with his turnovers and shooting, but he still picked up a triple-double in a 108-103 victory.
Johnson also holds the second-highest mark for turnovers in a Finals game. He turned it over nine times in the Sixers’ Game 4 clincher over the Lakers in the 1983 Finals.
Who has the most steals in an NBA Finals game?
Seven is a significant NBA Finals number for Robert Horry.
First and foremost, Horry won seven championships in his career. The first two came with the Houston Rockets, the middle three came with the Lakers and the last two came with the San Antonio Spurs.
On top of that, Horry holds an NBA Finals record involving the number seven. He became the first and only player in league history to pick up seven steals in a Finals game, doing so in Game 2 of the 1995 Finals. The Rockets won that game 117-106 en route to a sweep over the Orlando Magic.
Who has the most blocks in an NBA Finals game?
The 2009 Finals did not go Dwight Howard’s way, but he still made some history during the series.
The Magic center set an NBA Finals record with nine blocks in a Game 4 loss to the Lakers. He also added 16 points and 21 rebounds, but Orlando fell 99-91 and lost the series in the following game.
Prior to Howard’s nine-block performance, five Hall of Famers shared the Finals record with eight blocks in a game: Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon and Bill Walton.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article was published in June 2022.
