most points in a nba finals game 1 since 1972

Since 1971-72, LeBron James has posted the most points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, with 51 points versus the Warriors on May 31, 2018.

Interpreted as:

most points by a player in a NBA finals game 1 since 1972

	NAME	PTS	DATE	SEASON	SERIES	TM		OPP	MIN	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	TS%	OREB	DREB	TOV	PF	+/-
1	LeBron James L. James	51	5/31/2018	2017-18	NBA Finals	CLE	@	GSW	48	8	8	1	1	19	32	59.4	3	7	42.9	10	11	90.9	69.2	4	4	5	2	-13
2	Allen Iverson A. Iverson	48	6/6/2001	2000-01	NBA Finals	PHI	@	LAL	52	5	6	5	0	18	41	43.9	3	8	37.5	9	9	100.0	53.4	2	3	3	0	+6
3	LeBron James L. James	44	6/4/2015	2014-15	NBA Finals	CLE	@	GSW	46	8	6	0	0	18	38	47.4	2	8	25.0	6	10	60.0	51.9	0	8	4	2	-3
4	Shaquille O'Neal S. O'Neal	44	6/6/2001	2000-01	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	PHI	52	20	5	1	0	17	28	60.7	0	0		10	22	45.5	58.4	6	14	4	3	-6
5	Shaquille O'Neal S. O'Neal	43	6/7/2000	1999-00	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	IND	44	19	4	0	3	21	31	67.7	0	0		1	6	16.7	63.9	6	13	2	2	+18
6	Kobe Bryant K. Bryant	40	6/4/2009	2008-09	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	ORL	38	8	8	2	2	16	34	47.1	0	1	0.0	8	8	100.0	53.3	1	7	1	1	+25
7	Michael Jordan M. Jordan	39	6/3/1992	1991-92	NBA Finals	CHI	vs	POR	34	3	11	2	0	16	27	59.3	6	10	60.0	1	1	100.0	71.1	2	1	1	0
8	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander S. Gilgeous-Alexander	38	6/5/2025	2024-25	NBA Finals	OKC	vs	IND	40	5	3	3	0	14	30	46.7	3	6	50.0	7	8	87.5	56.7	0	5	2	2	+3
9	Kevin Durant K. Durant	38	6/1/2017	2016-17	NBA Finals	GSW	vs	CLE	38	9	8	0	0	14	26	53.8	3	6	50.0	7	8	87.5	64.4	2	7	0	1	+16
10	Kevin Durant K. Durant	36	6/12/2012	2011-12	NBA Finals	OKC	vs	MIA	46	8	4	0	1	12	20	60.0	4	8	50.0	8	9	88.9	75.1	1	7	2	2	+15
11	Shaquille O'Neal S. O'Neal	36	6/5/2002	2001-02	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	NJN	40	16	1	1	4	12	22	54.5	0	0		12	21	57.1	57.6	2	14	5	2	-3
12	Michael Jordan M. Jordan	36	6/2/1991	1990-91	NBA Finals	CHI	vs	LAL	40	8	12	3	0	14	24	58.3	1	1	100.0	7	9	77.8	64.4	2	6	4	5
13	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar K. Abdul-Jabbar	35	4/28/1974	1973-74	NBA Finals	MIL	vs	BOS	46	14	5	1	3	14	28	50.0				7	9	77.8	54.8	2	12		1
14	Stephen Curry S. Curry	34	6/2/2022	2021-22	NBA Finals	GSW	vs	BOS	38	5	5	3	0	12	25	48.0	7	14	50.0	3	4	75.0	63.5	0	5	2	3	-9
15	Anthony Davis A. Davis	34	9/30/2020	2019-20	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	MIA	38	9	5	0	3	11	21	52.4	2	4	50.0	10	10	100.0	66.9	3	6	1	1	+23
16	Stephen Curry S. Curry	34	5/30/2019	2018-19	NBA Finals	GSW	@	TOR	40	5	5	1	0	8	18	44.4	4	9	44.4	14	14	100.0	70.4	1	4	3	4	-9
17	Shaquille O'Neal S. O'Neal	34	6/6/2004	2003-04	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	DET	45	11	1	0	1	13	16	81.3	0	0		8	12	66.7	79.9	5	6	6	4	-8
18	Adrian Dantley A. Dantley	34	6/7/1988	1987-88	NBA Finals	DET	@	LAL	43	4	4	0	0	14	16	87.5	0	0		6	7	85.7	89.1	1	3	2	3
19	Tim Duncan T. Duncan	33	6/16/1999	1998-99	NBA Finals	SAS	vs	NYK	44	16	2	2	2	13	21	61.9	0	0		7	10	70.0	65.0	3	13	1	3	+12
20	Michael Jordan M. Jordan	33	6/3/1998	1997-98	NBA Finals	CHI	@	UTA	46	3	2	0	2	13	29	44.8	1	2	50.0	6	8	75.0	50.7	1	2	0	3	+1
21	Isiah Thomas I. Thomas	33	6/5/1990	1989-90	NBA Finals	DET	vs	POR	38	7	6	1	0	13	27	48.1	2	3	66.7	5	6	83.3	55.7	1	6	2	3
22	James Worthy J. Worthy	33	6/2/1987	1986-87	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	BOS	40	9	10	2	0	16	23	69.6	0	2	0.0	1	4	25.0	66.6	4	5	3	1
23	Hakeem Olajuwon H. Olajuwon	33	5/26/1986	1985-86	NBA Finals	HOU	@	BOS	38	12	2	1	3	14	23	60.9	0	0		5	9	55.6	61.2	7	5	2	5
24	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar K. Abdul-Jabbar	33	5/4/1980	1979-80	NBA Finals	LAL	vs	PHI	41	14	5	0	6	14	21	66.7	0	0		5	5	100.0	71.1	1	13	3	4
25	Julius Erving J. Erving	33	5/22/1977	1976-77	NBA Finals	PHI	vs	POR	43	5	4	3	0	14	24	58.3				5	5	100.0	63.0	1	4		3

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More Cavaliers Stats

Team Leaders

PPG

29.0

Mitchell

RPG

8.8

Mobley

APG

5.9

Mitchell

Team Rankings

ORTG

118.4

5th

DRTG

114.3

13th

NETRTG

4.0

9th

3P%

35.8

15th

2025-26 Conference Standings

	TEAM	W	L	PCT	GB
2	Celtics	35	19	.648	5.5
3	Knicks	35	20	.636	6.0
4	Cavaliers	34	21	.618	7.0
5	Raptors	32	23	.582	9.0
6	76ers	30	24	.556	10.5

Schedule

DATE	MATCHUP			TIME (ET)
Thu 2/19	BKN	@	CLE	7:00 PM
Fri 2/20	CLE	@	CHA	7:00 PM
Sun 2/22	CLE	@	OKC	1:00 PM
Tue 2/24	NYK	@	CLE	7:30 PM
Wed 2/25	CLE	@	MIL	8:00 PM

Last Game

Wizards

14 - 39

113

Final

138

Cavaliers

34 - 21

Wed 11 Feb 2026

NBA 2025-26 Leaders

PPG Leaders

32.8

Dončić

31.8

Gilgeous-Alexander

29.3

Edwards

RPG Leaders

12.3

Jokić

11.9

Towns

11.5

Clingan

APG Leaders

10.7

Jokić

9.6

Cunningham

8.6

Dončić

SPG Leaders

2.1

Leonard

2.0

Wallace

2.0

Maxey

BPG Leaders

2.7

Wembanyama

2.0

Sarr

2.0

Mobley

3PM Leaders

4.5

Curry

3.7

Porter

3.6

Mitchell

TS% Leaders

69.9

Jokić

69.8

Williams

68.0

Ayton

NBA 2025-26 Rankings

ORtg Rankings

122.2

120.7

120.0

119.4

118.4

118.1

DRtg Rankings

107.8

109.2

111.7

112.4

112.8

113.2

NetRtg Rankings

11.6

8.0

7.2

6.3

6.0

5.2

Tank Leaderboard

12-44

14-39

15-41

15-40

15-38

18-38

NBA Fantasy 2025-26

FanDuel Points Leaders

2,586.3

Maxey

2,516.9

Johnson

2,493.6

Gilgeous-Alexander

DraftKings Points Leaders

2,662.5

Johnson

2,614

Maxey

2,587.5

Jokić

USG% Leaders

37.7

Dončić

36.8

Brown

33.5

Leonard

MPG Leaders

38.6

Maxey

37.3

Thompson

36.7

Durant

FanDuel PTS/MIN Leaders

1.59

Dončić

1.53

Gilgeous-Alexander

1.43

Leonard

DraftKings PTS/MIN Leaders

1.70

Dončić

1.53

Gilgeous-Alexander

1.49

Johnson

NBA 2025-26 Betting

Best Record ATS

35-20

33-22

32-24

30-23-1

31-24

31-23

Worst Record ATS

21-35

21-32

22-31

23-32

23-30

23-30-1

NBA 2025-26 Standings

	Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Pistons	40	13	.755
2	Celtics	35	19	.648	5.5
3	Knicks	35	20	.636	6.0
4	Cavaliers	34	21	.618	7.0
5	Raptors	32	23	.582	9.0
6	76ers	30	24	.556	10.5
7	Magic	28	25	.528	12.0
8	Heat	29	27	.518	12.5
9	Hornets	26	29	.473	15.0
10	Hawks	26	30	.464	15.5
11	Bulls	24	31	.436	17.0
12	Bucks	23	30	.434	17.0
13	Nets	15	38	.283	25.0
14	Pacers	15	40	.273	26.0
15	Wizards	14	39	.264	26.0

	Western	W	L	PCT	GB
1	Thunder	42	14	.750
2	Spurs	38	16	.704	3.0
3	Nuggets	35	20	.636	6.5
4	Rockets	33	20	.623	7.5
5	Lakers	33	21	.611	8.0
6	Timberwolves	34	22	.607	8.0
7	Suns	32	23	.582	9.5
8	Warriors	29	26	.527	12.5
9	Trail Blazers	27	29	.482	15.0
10	Clippers	26	28	.481	15.0
11	Grizzlies	20	33	.377	20.5
12	Mavericks	19	35	.352	22.0
13	Jazz	18	38	.321	24.0
14	Pelicans	15	41	.268	27.0
15	Kings	12	44	.214	30.0