Right now LeBron James is on a 3-game streak of 35 points or more, something that has been done by three other players this season, and Kevin Durant doing it twice. However, it isn’t remotely close to LeBron’s longest such streak, and there are a few NBA greats with impressive scoring stretches like Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Along with James, they are the only players in NBA history to have scoring streaks of 35 points or more than have gone on for more than seven games. If there’s one player who is likely to join or surpass them at some point, it can only be Durant, although Anthony did have six games in a row last season with 35 points or more.
Wilt Chamberlain – 9
The 1964-1965 season was the one Wilt Chamberlain got traded by the San Francisco Warriors to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer and cash ($150,000, which is around $1.1 million today). Chamberlain wasn’t scoring like in the 1961-1962 season which will never return, but he did pretty well early on for the struggling Warriors, including a nine-game streak of 35 points or more from November 15 to December 1. The streak began with a 62-point performance against Cincinnati and also included scoring 50 in a loss to Detroit, 63 in a loss to the 76ers and ended with 56 points against Baltimore. He averaged 34.7 points per game that season to lead the league in scoring again.
LeBron James – 9
The 2005-2006 season was the first in which LeBron James led the Cavs to the playoffs, losing to the Detroit Pistons in the conference semifinals. As the season was winding down, he went on a nine game 35 points or more streak from March 22 to April 8, part of a winning run for Cleveland, winning 12 of 13 games. He began the streak with a triple double and 37 points against Charlotte, peaking in the middle of it with 46 points against the Mavs followed by 47 against the Heat, beating the eventual finalists. James averaged a career best 31.4 points per game that year.
Michael Jordan – 10
The 1986-1987 season was the first in which Jordan finished with the scoring title, doing quite well for himself with 37.1 points per game. The Bulls didn’t start the season all that great, but Jordan himself was on fire from the first moment, having a unique streak of 35 points or more from November 26 to December 12. In that streak, he had nine consecutive games of 40 points or more. The Bulls played nine of the 10 games on the road, and actually lost seven of those games.
Kobe Bryant – 13
Kobe Bryant averaged 30 points per game for the first time in his career in the 2002-2003 season, on his way towards a third consecutive NBA title. He scored 35 points or more in 13 consecutive games between January 29 and February 23. That included 11 games of 40 points or more, with nine of them coming in a row. He had two games of over 50, scoring 51 in a win over the Nuggets and 52 points in double overtime win over the Rockets, playing 54 minutes.