Earlier this year, Luka Doncic scored a career-high 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks and Devin Booker poured 62 against the Indiana Pacers on the same night. Their incredible performances prompted Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan to predict that we’d see a 100-point performance before the season concluded.
On the latest episode of the Run It Back podcast, the veteran was reminded of his prediction, which seems unlikely to come true, and was asked to pick a player most likely to score 100 in a game. DeRozan thought about it and picked 76ers superstar Joel Embiid to become only the second man after Wilt Chamberlain to hit triple-figures in an NBA game.
Explaining why he picked the six-time All-Star and former MVP, DeRozan said,
“Gotta be somebody who can get to the free-throw line at a high level, somebody who can shoot a lot of threes… I’d say a healthy Joel Embiid could get it.”
Chandler Parsons opined that Embiid wouldn’t shoot enough three-pointers to get the record, and Luka Doncic was a likelier candidate by DeRozan’s parameters. Embiid and Doncic are excellent picks. The Sixers’ big man and the Mavs’ guard have been in the top 2 in scoring in the League for the past 3 seasons.
Both are on TheShockNews of 10 players who’ve scored 70 points in an NBA game. In the last five regular seasons, only Damian Lillard has had more games with 50 points (10) than Embiid (8) and Doncic (7). It’ll take a Herculean effort to score 100 points, but among active players, it is a common belief in the NBA fraternity that these two players are the most likely to break Wilt Chamberlain’s longstanding record.
While people around the league back Joel Embiid and Luka Doncic, one player believes he can break Wilt the Stilt’s record himself.
Damian Lillard backs himself to get 100 points in a game
Speaking of Lillard, the Milwaukee Bucks guard has already declared his candidacy to become the second player to score 100 points in a game. During an appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three Podcast in 2023, the then-Portland Trail Blazers superstar claimed that he and Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry could score 100 points in a game if they tried. He said,
“I am not sure we will see [a 100-point game], but it’s definitely possible, I was on the fence about it until that game because I had 71 in regulation… When I really thought about it, I was like Steph Curry could definitely score 100 points. I could score 100 points.”
Lillard and Curry meet DeRozan’s two requirements to beat the 100-point record. Both are elite three-point scorers and can draw fouls and get to the free-throw line at will if they want. While Lillard is part of the 70-point club, Curry’s best scoring performance is 62, which is an impressive feat but not in this context.
Lillard’s confidence is commendable but Chamberlain’s record has stood for 62 years for a reason. A player would need a near-perfect performance, while also playing most of if not the entire game to stand a chance of getting close to triple figures. It hasn’t happened yet, but the possibility cannot be ruled out, given the offensive talent in the league.