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Newspaper Media Era - Elgin Baylor 71 Point Game
Elgin Baylor and his Los Angeles Lakers played against the New York Knicks where Elgin accumulated a total of 71 points and 25 rebounds in the game. In November 1960, this was the most points ever scored by a single player in a NBA game. Most people have begun to forget about this game because the lack of game tape. There is barely any media about this event taking place. The newspaper was the main source for news on sports events at the time, and unwatchable games can soon be easily forgotten. -
Newspaper Era - Wilt Chamberlain 78 Point Game
Wilt Chamberlain is most commonly known in the Media for his 100 point game, but most don't realize he has 4 of the top 5 highest scoring games in NBA history. On December 8th 1961, Wilt tallied up a point total of 78 with 43 rebounds along with it but the game ended in a loss to the Lakers.
This game was very big in the media because the two highest scorers at the time in NBA history both had incredible stat lines in a Triple OT match up. Elgin Baylor finished with 63 points and 31 rebounds. -
Newspaper Era - Wilt Chamberlain 100 Point Game
This was only seen in person, no video footage was taken, and only 4,124 people witnessed this game. You could only trust the score keepers for the game, and the people who witnessed it in person.
"In Philadelphia, there was little fanfare in The Philadelphia Inquirer or The Philadelphia Bulletin, which both had a box on the front page announcing the achievement with a story in the sports section. The Philadelphia Daily News had no mention on its cover." - Wikipedia -
David Thompson 73 point game
This was the highest scoring game since Wilt's 100 point game. David scored 73 points with all 2 pointers and 17 FT's. Most of the top scores go unseen on the media from back in the 20th century besides Wilt. Most don't realize that he wasn't the only one making this much impact in the NBA. David was a shooting guard, most of the players from the 20th century scored a lot of points as Big Men. This was a big turning point for the NBA's media and the future of scoring leading into the modern era. -
Modern Shift (The 3 Point Line)
On October 12 1979 the NBA introduced the 3 point line, this elevated scoring by a small amount at first. This was because a lot of people didn't recognize it as a high percentage shot like it is today. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics was the first player to ever make a 3 pointer. Now, just like Wilt's 100 point game it is seen that Stephen Curry's career 3 point record is unbeatable (3,810). Stephen Curry is one of the most famous players in history with 58 Million Followers. -
Social Media Era- Kobe Bryant 81 Point Game
This was the first game with such high scoring that was able to be promoted on Social Media. With the likes of Facebook, Youtube, and Myspace still being relatively new you didn't see a ton of this game on the media but people were definitely talking about it. Unlike Wilt's 100, there is videos upon videos of game tape for this game and there is no question it actually happened. Kobe was already the biggest face in the NBA, but this made his dominance even more relevant to the media. -
Devin Booker - 70 Point Game
Devin Booker was the first to recreate the iconic Wilt "100" Photograph. This was a major shift in the media. To this day Devin Booker is still the youngest player to score 70 points in one game. This brought him to superstar level. He was a great young player but that is what he was recognized as, but after this day he was a household name beyond Phoenix. His stardom was heard across the world. Wilt made this possible, he proved to young players that this much scoring is possible. -
Damian Lillard and Donovan Mitchell 71 Point Games
These happened a month apart, in 2023 high scoring games were at an all time high. More and more people started watching the NBA because of this. Donovan and Dame proved that it is still possible to score to a high degree on great shooting efficiency, 3 point shooting was at the forefront for them both. Media for this was incredible all over Socials. Unlike for Wilt, there was constant updates throughout each game for what was going on, even if you didn't watch live you knew what was happening. -
Luka Doncic 73 and Joel Embiid 70 Point Games
These are two of the biggest names in the NBA today, tallying up a total of 16.3 Million Instagram followers. They are franchise players. Post game interviews and social media posts for both Luka and Joel allows them to continue their social media followings beyond just one game.
Whereas Wilt could play a game, and get interviewed for the Newspaper and then the story is forgotten soon after. The shift in the way media is represented is drastic from 1962 to the present day.