What does Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dirk Nowitzki have in common? They are the oldest players to hit 30, 40, and 60 points in a single NBA game at the latter stages of their careers. An amazing feat as many of the players featured on this list were over 35 when they reached these records.
Michael Jordan can add being the oldest player to score over 40 points in a game to his legacy of six NBA titles and his Olympic Gold medal. Kobe Bryant is the oldest player to score over 60 points in a single game at 37, not only did Bryant do it well over 30 years of age, but he did it in his final game as a pro.
The following list will feature the oldest players in NBA history to score 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 pointsrespectively in a single game. Like we noted before some of the names that will be featured in this list include greats like MJ and the Black Mamba.
Oldest NBA player to score 20 points
The eight-time NBA all-star Vince Carter scored over 20+ points in a single game, 21, against the Miami Heat while playing for the Atlanta Hawks at the age of 42 and 37 days. Carter retired from basketball in June of 2020.
Oldest NBA player to score 30 points
While playing for the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki scored 30 points in a game against the Phoenix Suns at the age of 40 and 294 days. Nowitzki scored well over 30,000 points in his NBA career and won 1 NBA title in 2011.
Oldest NBA player to score 40 points
What can be said about Michael Jordan that hasn’t been said already. At the age of 40, MJ hit for 40+ points while suiting up and coming back from retirement for the Washington Wizards against the then New Jersey Nets. Air Jordan was 40 years old.
Oldest NBA player to score 50 points
At 39 years of age, Jamal Crawford scored 50+ points in a game for the Phoenix Suns against the Dallas Mavericks. Crawford played until last year where he suited up for the Brooklyn Nets, and was an NBA sixth man three times in his career.
Oldest NBA player to score 60 points
Talk about going out with a bang! The great Kobe Bryant said his goodbye to professional basketball with a 60+ point performance for the Lakers against the Utah Jazz. Kobe was 37 and gave the fans a show they won’t soon forget. We all know what happened afterward and the sports world is still recovering from the loss of one of the NBA’s and world sports most charismatic figures.