2. Bob McAdoo 1975-76
Bob McAdoo played 14 seasons in the NBA and made an appearance in the all-star game five times. He’s the holder of a league MVP (1975) and a two-time NBA champion.
He averaged 22.1 points per game in his career, but he averaged over 30 per game from 1973-1976. It was in one of these seasons, the 1975-76 season with the Buffalo Braves, that Doo put up fifteen 40+ point games, the same as Jordan later, and his team failed to capitalize similar to the 1988-89 Bulls.
Under head coach Jack Ramsay, McAdoo led the league in scoring that season at 31.1 points per game, and while they struggled in games where Doo went off for some reason, they ended with a 46-36 record. They would go on to lose in the second round to the Boston Celtics.
McAdoo averaged 42.7 minutes per game that season, and the team’s second leading scorer Randy Smith contributed 21.8 points per game in their semi-successful season.
The Buffalo Braves would be sold in 1978 and moved to San Diego where they would be called the Clippers. Then they were moved a final time to Los Angeles, giving birth to this year’s potential favorite to win it all.
Number of games with 40+: 15
Record: 7-8 (.467)