40-Point Games After Age 30: Curry Passes Jordan with 45, Bryant Has 30, James and Durant Miss Top Five

There is a saying that turning 30 is a major milestone for men. Players who can score 40 or more points multiple times after turning 30 are all true superstars. This count only includes regular-season games, and a player's age is calculated on the day of each game. Only games played after a player's 30th birthday are included. Let's see who has recorded the most 40-point games after turning 30.

Here is the top 10 ranking: Kevin Durant, who is approaching 38, ranks 10th with 23 games; Rick Barry ranks ninth with 24 games; Alex English and LeBron James are tied for seventh with 25 games each; and Larry Bird ranks sixth with 27 games.

It is somewhat surprising that James and Durant did not make the top five. Durant has maintained elite scoring ability even after major injuries, never averaging fewer than 26 points per game in a season. James' ability to maintain his form is among the best in history, and he also averaged 30 points per game in a season with the Lakers. However, while the record for 40-point games after age 30 does not belong to James, the record after age 40 does. He is currently the first player in NBA history to score 40 points more than once after turning 40, a record that will be extremely difficult to break.

Now for the top five. Fourth and fifth are tied, with Kobe Bryant and James Harden both recording 30 games.

Bryant scored 1,296 total points in those 30 games, averaging 43.2 points. Before his Achilles injury, Bryant was one of the league's premier shooting guards, and in the 2012-13 season at age 34, he produced one of the best stretches of his career. Unfortunately, he suffered an Achilles tear that season. After returning, he recorded only two more 40-point games, including his 60-point performance in his final game. He remains the oldest player in NBA history to score 60 points in a single game.

Harden also has 30 games, with an even higher average of 45.8 points. Many of Harden's 40-point games after age 30 came during the 2019-20 season with the Rockets, when he was still the league scoring champion. Last season, the 36-year-old Harden scored 41 and 55 points in consecutive achievements, raising his total of 40-point games after age 30 from 28 to 30 and tying Bryant. In the 41-point game, he also recorded 14 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the oldest player in NBA history to post a 40-point triple-double. In the 55-point game, he set the Clippers' single-game scoring record.

The third-place player may surprise some people: Damian Lillard, with 31 games. He has scored 1,388 total points, averaging 44.8 points and 6.5 three-pointers per game. After turning 30, Lillard has six 50-point games, including a 71-point performance against the Rockets in the 2022-23 season. Although he missed the entire previous season because of an Achilles injury, his elite shooting ability suggests he can still deliver spectacular scoring performances after returning.

When discussing scoring records, how could Michael Jordan be left out? After turning 30, he recorded 44 games with 40 or more points, scoring 1,951 total points and averaging 44.3 points with a 56.5% field-goal percentage. Jordan's dominance is even more impressive because he retired twice after turning 30, leaving fewer seasons to accumulate statistics, yet he still produced 44 40-point games and six 50-point games. After his first comeback, he won three straight scoring titles and three straight championships; after his second comeback with the Wizards, he scored 43 points at age 40. Without those two retirements costing him nearly five seasons, this record could have exceeded 50 games.

The No. 1 player is Curry, with 45 games. He has scored 2,055 total points, averaging 45.7 points and 8.8 three-pointers per game, with shooting splits of 57.6%, 54.2% and 93.5%, an extraordinary level of efficiency. After turning 30, Curry often carried the Warriors' offense and had more games where he needed to produce huge scoring totals. Although the Warriors missed the playoffs last season, Curry scored 46 and 49 points in consecutive games against the Spurs before the season interruption, tying Jordan's total of 40-point games after age 30. He then scored 48 points with 12 three-pointers against the Trail Blazers, officially reaching 45 games and passing Jordan for the most in NBA history.

Even more remarkably, Curry also has 10 50-point games after turning 30, which is also the most in NBA history. In terms of explosive scoring ability, Curry has established himself among the greatest ever.