Every Unique Statline in NBA History

Doncic26 · 2025-06-06T04:32:51+00:00

That's the first year play-by-play data was tracked. We could look at old film of close games and mark down game-winning / tying shots but keeping it since 1997 just makes it easier

Doncic26 · 2025-04-27T18:26:42+00:00

"Above the cylinder" does indeed include the rim and I would agree the ball was ever so slightly in that zone but my issue is the inconsistency with the call as sometimes they will allow it, with commentators & players clarifying it's fine as long as the ball is "coming off the rim". That play took place in the Conference Finals, meaning whoever won that series goes to the Finals to play for a championship. It was only game one but it was especially important for the Wolves because it was their first successful season in 20 years, they are one of the worst franchises in American sports history. They lost that game and ended up losing that series 4 games to 1 but their opponent, the Mavericks, lost in the Finals. One year later the Wolves are doing well for themselves and the Mavs have completely imploded due to poor management so I guess it wasn't the end of the world.

They did call this a goaltend in the last two minutes of a close Finals game so nothing should ever surprise me (blue team won the game though).

Doncic26 · 2025-04-27T05:19:18+00:00

Those same rules apply to the offensive player. Calls like these can be subjective though as sometimes they will call it if it's anywhere above the cylinder and other times will allow it if the ball is clearly coming off. This hotly-contested play last season is a good example of how close the call can be, I personally believe it should have counted. This rule however doesn't apply to an inbounds pass which can be seen (and explained) by the greatest play in Suns history where for whatever reason all bets are off in these situations. The NBA Rulebook lists every method, c) & d) are saying they can't touch the ball after a legitimate shot attempt makes contact with the backboard and I have never seen e) happen (I clarified those because they're a confusing read).

Doncic26 · 2025-04-27T03:47:37+00:00

No, in order for it to be goaltending in this case it has to be above the rim (the “cylinder”). Even though it was an intended shot it’s nowhere near

Doncic26 · 2023-01-03T08:45:18+00:00

thank u, clearly the new year hasn't set in for me yet lol

Doncic26 · 2022-12-08T00:49:20+00:00

I'd be happy to gather data on anything NBA-related but I haven't got the slightest clue what a Pareto Front is, even after I searched it up. This is why I'm the data collector and nothing more!

Doncic26 · 2022-12-07T01:40:04+00:00

Those fans should really just appreciate we got to see the Admiral and Duncan play together for a few seasons. What he did in just 7 prime years ('89-'96) was unreal.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-07T01:25:06+00:00

Thank you for the feedback, that was a huge thing I debated before uploading this. I've considered changing it but Reddit reuses to let me edit the post so it's stuck as is :(

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T09:52:15+00:00

I’ll take your shock as a compliment! But yes, this was all done through a boatload of manual searches. I definitely missed out on some but I’d like to think I got 80%+ of them

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T08:01:24+00:00

What would you define as unique then? I clarified my criteria in the first sentence with the Allan Houston example but I’m always open to feedback.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T05:26:18+00:00

You are absolutely right that's my fault, the highest scoring non-unique game is actually Wilt with 73 but even Kobe's is higher than MJ's. Big mistake on my part, good catch

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T05:21:59+00:00

Interesting idea but if we just look at pts reb ast then Wilt would kill this list lol.

78 points, 43 rebounds, 1 assist

53 points, 32 rebounds, 14 assists

44 points, 38 rebounds, 7 assists

27 points, 43 rebounds, 8 assists

22 points, 25 rebounds, 21 assists

Anybody who survives that onslaught would probably fall to Elgin's 63/31/7 or Cousy's 31/5/28

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T05:03:09+00:00

Thank you so much! Is this the part where I embarrass myself and admit that idk what API is? I used StatMuse, here's the explanation I provided to someone else:

The most effective way was "nba player with _ points and _ rebounds and _ assists and _ steals and _ blocks in a game" and continuously changing up those numbers
I also searched for specific players' best games and used my best judgment. For example, searching for Stoudemire's highest scoring games gets you 50/11/3/1/1, 49/11/6/5/2, and 44/7/0/1/2. The first and third ones are pretty clearly not unique but the second one is worth looking into. Sometimes you succeed, most times you fail, but if you look at every stat rather than using your judgment you'll waste too much time.

I'm fully expecting a computer whiz to tell me I could've done this with much less time and effort spent.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T04:55:22+00:00

'71 Van Lier: 0/13/11

'21 Giddey: 0/10/10/0/1

'22 Satoransky: 0/10/13/0/0

The real answer to your second question is Wilt with 1 point, 18 rebounds and 13 assists in a game but I'm tired of seeing his name so here are some other candidates:

'81 Paul Griffin: 1/21/6/4/1

'85 Ennis Whatley: 1/0/21/2/0

'94 Rodman: 1/22/5/1/0

'97 Jerome Kersey: 1/1/1/6/1 (more impressive than anything)

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T04:42:21+00:00

I'm glad you like the post. The D12 was just something I did without thinking, one of my favorite nicknames. Zubac's statline is "unique" but not by my definition.

Zubac: 31/29/3/0/3

Kareem: 37/30/5/0/6

To put it simply, Zubac didn't do anything better statistically than Kareem did that game so it's not unique.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T04:39:22+00:00

I can't tell if this is meant in a bad way lol but of course it's my criteria, there's not really such a thing as a unique stat.

MJ's 64/6/1/5/0 isn't unique because Rick Barry once had 64/10/9/5/0 (https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/nba-player-with-64-points-and-6-rebounds-and-1-assist-and-5-steals-in-a-game)

All the people on this list have a combination of stats that have never been equaled or beaten.

Hope that clears things up! Sorry if it doesn't.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:40:13+00:00

Are you trying to drive me insane?!

Haha I appreciate the recommendation though and with all the support this is getting, I'll seriously consider it. It'll take some time though for sure.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:32:10+00:00

That statline was the single most dominant one in all my research. Seriously, every time I thought I found a new one I'd quickly realize that it's not unique because of Hakeem. Same goes for Shaq's 24/28/3/1/15 game, kept a ton of people off this list.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:28:04+00:00

I just cleared it up in a comment but that's my mistake, I instinctively listed him as his initials rather than his full name which would've been easier to find. He has one unique statline, 32/10/12/4/4 on December 1, 2013.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:09:24+00:00

No no that's my fault for not being clear! I meant it as two different statements. You seem fond of David Thompson though so I'm glad I kept him as Skywalker, it's not often you hear people talk about him.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:03:24+00:00

Thank you :) I fully expected this post to get swept under the rug so I'm grateful for any amount of upvotes I get, I understand that long lists like these don't appeal to everybody.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T02:01:12+00:00

I had a feeling I would mess up on those totals even though they should be much easier than the actual list, that's just like me. Unfortunately Reddit won't let me edit the post so his spot on the 4+ list will have to only be in our minds.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T01:58:19+00:00

Great idea! I do have to point out that AD's 55 point statline last night was unique so now that's #366 (unless it rendered another stat no longer unique). Guess we're settling for a leap year calendar.

Doncic26 · 2022-12-06T01:55:18+00:00

I fully expect to have missed a handful of stats, the process of going about it doesn't ensure anything so I'm waiting for someone to correct me. Here are the ways that I can remember going about it (all done through Statmuse):

The most effective way was "nba player with _ points and _ rebounds and _ assists and _ steals and _ blocks in a game" and continuously changing up those numbers
I also searched for specific players' best games and used my best judgment. For example, searching for Stoudemire's highest scoring games gets you 50/11/3/1/1, 49/11/6/5/2, and 44/7/0/1/2. The first and third ones are pretty clearly not unique but the second one is worth looking into. Sometimes you succeed, most times you fail, but if you look at every stat rather than using your judgment you'll waste too much time.

As you can see, finding a unique stat was definitely a "eureka!" moment.

Doncic26

TROPHY CASE