Career Scoring Highs in College & NBA For Most Prolific Professional Hoopers
In Michael Jordan's heyday, the lame joke was that the only coach who could contain him was his college mentor (Dean Smith). Jordan's 17.7-point average in three seasons from 1981-82 through 1983-84 with North Carolina paled in comparison to his 15-year NBA mark (30.1). Can the wisecrack be inherited by Devin Booker with Kentucky coach John Calipari and Donovan Mitchell regarding Hall of Fame mentor Rick Pitino?
Booker, scoreless in his first UK game (vs. Grand Canyon), also went without a point seven contests later against Texas. In fact, one-and-done Booker tallied a grand total of 54 points in his 13 lowest-scoring outings as UK freshman in 2014-15. But two seasons later in a performance worthy of ginning up brassy-and-sassy supermodel's undivided attention, Booker erupted for 51 second-half points when finishing with 70 for the Phoenix Suns in a game at Boston, giving him the highest differential (51) between his NBA high and college high (19) among players scoring more than 60 in an NBA tilt. As for Mitchell, he went scoreless in three games in 2015-16 (vs. Georgia Tech, Hartford and Duke).
Booker, who already is the Suns' franchise leader in 30-point outbursts, and boffo bubble-boy Damion Lillard are two of only seven players in NBA history with multiple games scoring 59 or more points, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Jordan, James Harden and Elgin Baylor. Booker was 25 when he became the fifth-youngest NBA player to reach 9,000-point plateau, joining LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Bryant in that celebrated circle. Bradley Beal, who scored 57 of his 60 points for Washington Wizards in first three quarters of game against the Philadelphia 76ers, tallied a modest college-career high of 22 in his lone campaign with Florida in 2011-12 (against both Wright State and Stetson in pre-conference competition).
One for the books was Pete Maravich of the New Orleans Jazz outscoring five former backcourt All-Americans with the New York Knicks (Butch Beard/Ticky Burden/Walt Frazier/Dean Meminger/Earl Monroe), 68-41, in a memorable outing during Pistol's seventh NBA season. Among former major-college players erupting for more than 60 points in an NBA game, following is a look at the difference between their career highs in the pros and college:
| NCAA DI Player | Major-College Career High (Date) | NBA Career High > 60 (Date) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Booker | 19 with Kentucky (11-25-14 & 12-20-14) | 70 with Phoenix Suns (3-24-17) | 51 points |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 52 with Kansas (12-5-56) | 100 with Philadelphia 76ers (3-2-62) | 48 |
| Donovan Mitchell | 29 with Louisville (1-24-17) | 71 with Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2-23) | 42 |
| Jalen Brunson | 31 with Villanova (four times as senior in 2017-18) | 61 with New York Knicks (3-29-24) | 30 |
| Michael Jordan | 39 with North Carolina (1-29-83) | 69 with Chicago Bulls (3-28-90) | 30 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 33 with Syracuse (4-5-03) | 62 with New York Knicks (1-24-14) | 29 |
| Karl Malone | 40 with Louisiana Tech (12-5-83) | 61 with Utah Jazz (1-27-90) | 21 |
| David Robinson | 50 with Navy (3-12-87) | 71 with San Antonio Spurs (4-24-94) | 21 |
| James Harden | 40 with Arizona State (11-30-08) | 61 with Houston Rockets (1-23-19 & 3-22-19) | 21 |
| Damian Lillard | 41 with Weber State (12-3-11) | 61 with Portland Trail Blazers (1-20-20 & 8-11-20) | 20 |
| Jerry West | 44 with West Virginia (12-1-59) | 63 with Los Angeles Lakers (1-17-62) | 19 |
| Stephen Curry | 44 with Davidson (11-18-08 & 12-6-08) | 62 with Golden State Warriors (1-3-21) | 18 |
| David Thompson | 57 with North Carolina State (12-5-74) | 73 with Denver Nuggets (4-9-78) | 16 |
| Elgin Baylor | 60 with Seattle (1-30-58) | 71 with Los Angeles Lakers (11-15-60) | 11 |
| George Mikan | 53 with DePaul (3-12-45) | 61 with Minneapolis Lakers (1-20-52) | 8 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 53 with Louisiana State (12-18-90) | 61 with Los Angeles Lakers (3-6-00) | 8 |
| Rick Barry | 59 with Miami FL (2-23-65) | 64 with Golden State Warriors (3-26-74) | 5 |
| Pete Maravich | 69 with Louisiana State (2-7-70) | 68 with New Orleans Jazz (2-25-77) | -1 point |
NOTE: Joe Fulks (Murray State) and George Gervin (Eastern Michigan) each scored 63 points in an NBA game but their schools weren't classified as major colleges when they played for them.