With 2023 just around the corner, fans are already looking back to the 2022 year and remembering a few games that will go down in history. From triple-doubles to career highs, some players certainly made their mark in the league throughout the year. This means it is time to rank the best NBA performances in 2022. On Tuesday night, Luka Doncic recorded just the second 60-point triple-double in NBA history. In an overtime thriller, the guard led the Dallas Mavericks to an important win to stay in the Play-In Tournament zone.
Doncic's career game is already one of the best individual games in recent memory, and it would not be a surprise to see it as an all-time performance.
With that being said, here are the five most ridiculous NBA performances in 2022.
5. Stephen Curry vs. Boston Celtics, June 10
The 2021-22 season cemented the Golden State Warriors as one of the biggest dynasties this century. The team ended up winning its fourth NBA title in the last eight years after defeating the Boston Celtics in seven games.
However, things could have gone very differently in the 2022 NBA Finals. The Celtics were up 2-1 and had already defeated the Warriors in San Francisco. That made Game 4 in Boston a must-win for Golden State. Fortunately for the Dubs, Stephen Curry had one of the best performances in recent NBA Finals history.
The guard scored 43 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while shooting 14-for-26 from the field. He became the second-oldest player to record a 40-point, 10-rebound game in the NBA Finals, just behind LeBron James in 2020. Most notably, he made seven 3-pointers, becoming the only player to make five-plus 3-point shots in four consecutive NBA Finals games.
That game initiated the Warriors' reaction in the series. Instead of going down 3-1, the team tied 2-2 and ended up winning the next two. Curry would win his first Finals MVP trophy, the only major individual award he was missing in his résumé.
4. Joel Embiid vs. Utah Jazz, Nov. 13
Earlier in the 2022-23 season, Joel Embiid had perhaps the best performance of his career, putting his name in the conversation for MVP once again alongside several others including Luka Doncic.
The center put up a career-high 59 points along with 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks in a 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz. Five of his blocks came in the fourth quarter. He became the first player to ever record 50 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks since the 1973-74 season when blocks became an official stat.
This is the fifth-highest-scoring game by a Philadelphia 76er in franchise history. Also, combined with the game the day before, Embiid had a total of 101 points in consecutive games, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Allen Iverson to achieve such a feat. It's not 60 like Luka Doncic, but not far off.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns vs. San Antonio Spurs, March 14
After naming himself “the greatest big man shooter of all time,” Karl-Anthony Towns had the best game of his career which helped his claim.
Against the San Antonio Spurs, he recorded a career-high 60 points and 17 rebounds in a 149–139 win. He shot 19-for-31 from the field, including 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. He scored 32 of his points in the third quarter alone.
Towns became the first player in Timberwolves' history with multiple 50-plus point, 10-plus rebound games. The 2015 No. 1 pick also joined Shaquille O’Neal and Wilt Chamberlain as the only centers in league history to have a 60-point, 15-rebound performance.
2. Nikola Jokić vs. Phoenix Suns, Christmas Day
In 2021, Nikola Jokić became the first reigning MVP to not receive a Christmas Day game since 2008. This season, the NBA selected the Denver Nuggets to play against the Phoenix Suns, and the Joker did not disappoint.
He put up a triple-double with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, just the fourth game in NBA history with such numbers.
In addition to one of the best all-time Christmas Day performances, Jokić helped the Nuggets win 128-125 in an overtime thriller. With such a clutch performance, the Serbian carved his name as an MVP contender with hopes of winning his third trophy in a row.
1. Luka Dončić vs. New York Knicks, Dec. 27
Just two days after Jokić's top Christmas game, Luka Doncic had the best game of his career. The Slovenian scored a career-best 60 points, career-best 21 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks. He was the first player in NBA history with a 60-20-10 triple-double. Dončić also set a new franchise record in points in a single game, surpassing Dirk Nowitzki's 53.
Not only that, Dončić led to an improbable comeback. The Dallas Mavericks were down by nine points with just 33 seconds remaining in the game. After going to the free-throw line with four seconds on the clock, he intentionally missed his second shot since the Mavs needed two points to tie the game. He grabbed his own rebound and made a shot with just one second left.
🚨 CHAOS IN DALLAS 🚨
Luka Doncic INTENTIONALLY MISSES the free throw, gets the rebound and puts it in to send the game to overtime!!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/DITWZEPuBr
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 28, 2022
With that, after struggling for most of the season, Dallas moved three games above .500.
Doncic's outstanding performance will go down as one of the best in NBA history and should be very difficult to match anytime soon.
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