The recent 60-point game from Stephen Curry fell short in defending the pride of his franchise against the Atlanta Hawks. The Golden State Warriors talisman became the third player to score 60+ points in a game and still end up on the losing side. This setback drew parallels with the record of Wilt Chamberlain as the late great stood alone in this regard.
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In the last 15 days, the NBA witnessed several instances of individual excellence but team failure. At first, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 62 points in a home defeat to the Charlotte Hornets. Soon after that, the 62-point away performance from Devin Booker against the Indiana Pacers faced a similar fate. Recently, the Splash Brother became the latest addition to the list following the defeat to the Hawks.
This is the first season in NBA history where multiple players have scored more than 60 points in a loss.
It’s happened three times in the last 15 days
(h/t @statmuse) pic.twitter.com/T2WZX84BH7
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 4, 2024
This marked Booker’s second-ever career defeat despite scoring 60 points in an NBA game. The Suns guard had to witness a similar outcome in 2017 following an exceptional 70-point game against the Boston Celtics. However, Towns and Curry entered the list for the first time making them the 10th and 11th players in history respectively to face the forgettable result.
Despite these recent setbacks, Chamberlain’s record remained untouchable as the 2x champion had faced this outcome 11 times in his career. Thus, the center alone surpasses the total amount of such outcomes faced by active players in this campaign. After all, the Philadelphia-born had lost thrice in his lifetime despite scoring 70 points or more in a game.
The majority of his disappointments occurred in the early 1960s with both the setbacks after registering 70+ points happening against the Los Angeles Lakers. Particularly in December 1961, the 7ft 1″ icon registered a 78-point performance, the third-highest individual points scored in a single game. Yet, his Warriors lost to the LA franchise before witnessing a repeat of it eleven months later.
These instances reveal both sides of the competitive league since its inception. Talented individuals such as Chamberlain have always made their names known to NBA followers with their endeavours. Despite the isolated brilliance, the defeats put into perspective the importance of a team in securing a win. At times, even the greatest ones had to suffer due to the lack of effort from their teammates with the 4x MVP remaining the unluckiest of the lot.
An unwanted record for Wilt Chamberlain
The 13x All-Star succumbed to the competition of the league time and again despite his excellence. He remains the NBA player with the most defeats even after scoring 50 or more points in a game with a total of 37 defeats. The closest to him in this regard are the modern greats, Michael Jordan with 8 and Kobe Bryant with 7.
Amongst the active players, James Harden only resembles this record as the point guard had to face the outcome six times. The recurring names of Curry and Booker reappear as the NBA guards have fallen short of a victory despite remarkable performances on several occasions. The 4x champion has lost a total of four such matches with the 4x All-Star undergoing a similar fate 5 times.
This puts into perspective the unlucky fortune of Chamberlain as the 1960 ROTY stays an exception in this regard. His competitive spirit was never enough to help his franchises achieve triumph further emphasizing the necessity of building a great team around a great player. Despite the tough lesson, the organizations seemingly forget about it at times even to this day.
