There seems to be something that spreads in the NBA air whenever the calendar flips to January. Before Monday night, there were 39 60-point games in the month of January in NBA history. Now, both Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns have added to that growing list with their impressive scoring performances for the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively, on January 22, 2024.

Embiid and Towns each tallied career-highs in scoring, with the 76ers star dropping 70 points in an out-and-out demolition of the San Antonio Spurs in a 133-123 win, while the Timberwolves star tallied 62 in a losing effort to the Charlotte Hornets. Those two players epitomize the modern NBA better than most. They are versatile big men who can score from multiple levels and handle the ball, but their historic scoring outbursts are as much of a throwback as they come.

Per StatMuse, nearly 50 years have passed since the last time two NBA players scored 60+ points in a single game. The last time that phenomenon happened was back on April 9, 1978, when David Thompson scored 78 points and George Gervin tallied 63 of his own, both in losing efforts. To those counting at home, 16,724 days have passed since the aforementioned date, and a lot of things have changed since then.

For starters, Bill Walton, who is now 71 years old, was still at the top of his game. Then with the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton, whose career was shortened by injuries, was the MVP of that season. Moreover, Wes Unseld, who sadly passed back in June 2020, was the Finals MVP after leading the Washington Bullets to glory.

Meanwhile, George Gervin was the NBA's scoring leader; the Iceman is now 71 years old, 38 years removed from his last playing season in the NBA.

Just to hammer home how much time has passed since two players scored 60 or more on the same day, no active NBA player was born back in 1978. The oldest active NBA player, LeBron James, was born in 1984, while 76ers star Joel Embiid and Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns were born in 1994 and 1995, respectively.

Before April 9, 1978, the last time two players scored 60+ on the same day was on January 17, 1962, so it should be a while until we witness this phenomenon again, if history is any indication.