The Washington Wizards continue to drop games in which Bradley Beal drops 40 or more points. Has any team with such a prolific scorer been this bad before?
The Washington Wizards just dropped a game in overtime to the Milwaukee Bucks despite a 55-point effort from their last star standing Bradley Beal. That’s almost the most mind-blowing sentence I have ever read.
The point of the game is to score points, so you would think that when your best player scores an insane amount of points that means your team pretty much always wins. However, while your logic is somewhat sound you are incorrect.
There are actually a lot of reasons that someone might score a ton of points and your team still loses, and more on that in the coming slides, but it’s not at all a rarity in the NBA. Even from its very inception.
The Washington Wizards are 1-8 this season when Bradley Beal scores 40 or more points, so that got me wondering how many other teams in the history of the game had a below .500 percent record when their star went off on a scoring tear, and what I found really shocked me.
Some of the players on this list are absolutely the backbone of the NBA. They’re the best players to ever play the game, and they happened to land on this list, so that should tell you something about how complicated our seemingly simple sport really is.
Some of those same names had other seasons where their team managed to win more than half their games when they scored 40 or more points too, so that complicates things even further. Being on this list isn’t necessarily the greatest thing, but it isn’t an indictment of the player by any means. Sometimes games are just unwinnable because the matchup is so one-sided.
To their credit, these following NBA greats racked up a TON of losses when they scored 40 or more points for their respective teams but always managed to pull out more wins than losses every season they had multiple 40+ point outbursts: Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson (not in the playoffs), Russell Westbrook (also not in the playoffs), Tiny Archibald, George Gervin, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West.
Some of those guys are just straight up scorers and put up 40 or more points on the regular, so it wasn’t no thing to them to win or lose said game. It was just the normal course of basketball.
Also as a note: Trae Young‘s Atlanta Hawks this season have gone 5-5 when he put up 40 and I was tempted to include him, but ultimately he didn’t fit the bill (yet). They went 0-1 last season in his sole 40+ point performance, interestingly enough.
Also left off this list is Ricky Davis on the 2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers. A truly sub par team, Davis only put up 40+ in three games, so it was too small a sample size to include him, but I was surely tempted.
So where does Beal and the 2019-20 Washington Wizards squad fit into this whole mess of teams unable to capitalize on the scoring outburst of their players? Here are the twelve guys throughout the history of the NBA that have had such bad luck (or sub par rosters).
1. Michael Jordan 1989-90
To be fair to the GOAT, Michael Jordan, he had many many seasons where he put up more than 40 points in multiple games. And in most seasons, that was exactly what he needed to do for his team to win a majority of their games.
However, in the 1989-90 NBA season, the Chicago Bulls wound up having the league’s scoring leader and failed to capitalize on his insane ability to put the ball in the hoop. Jordan would end up averaging 32.5 points per game on the season.
But the Bulls still managed to play well, finishing with a winning record at 47-35 and the now famous “Shot on Ehlo” that kicked off the most dominant team ever: the 90’s Bulls. The Bulls would obviously go on to win six championships during Michael Jordan’s tenure.
Jordan put up fifteen 40+ point efforts during the 1988-89 season, and the Bulls only managed to win seven of them, and they did even worse in the five games he put up 50 or more going just 2-3 in those games.
At the end of the season Doug Collins was fired as the Chicago Bulls head coach and was replaced by an unproven Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen took the next step in his development, and the rest is history.
Number of games with 40+: 15
Record: 7-8 (.467)
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)
3. Bernard King 1984-85
Bernard King was one of the most phenomenal players not named Magic Johnson or Larry Bird to play in the NBA in the 80’s. He averaged 22.5 points on 51.8 percent field goal shooting during his illustrious 14-season career with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, and Washington Bullets.
But it was with the Knicks where he would put in a lot of work on the scoring end without much return. In thirteen 40+ point performances in the 1984-85 NBA season, his team could only secure a win in six of those games.
Bernard King only appeared in 55 games in that season, and still managed to put up thirteen insane scoring performances, that’s just how good he was playing. But it was an unfortunate incident on March 25th that saw King injure his knee and be sidelined for the rest of the season. He would miss the entire next season too and never score over 30 points per game again.
But in that season, King averaged a league-leading 32.9 points per game, including a 60-point Christmas Day performance against the New Jersey Nets. The Knicks would stumble to a 24-58 record to finish the season, and even the heroics of King couldn’t help them win while he was available.
Number of games with 40+: 13
Record: 6-7 (.462)
4. Bob McAdoo 1973-74
Oh yes, this guy again. Bob McAdoo had it bad in 1975-76 with the Buffalo Braves, but he had it even worse with the 1973-74 Buffalo Braves before that. In this season, Doo managed to put up nine games of 40+ points.
The Braves could only win four of those games, despite the big man’s best efforts. McAdoo would finish second in the league in MVP voting this season despite leading the league with 30.6 points per game and appearing in 74 games for the Buffalo Braves.
Who did he lose the vote to? His teammate, of course.
Ernie DiGregorio was a rookie that season and took home the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, having led the league in assists and free throw percentage. Fun fact, every starter on the 1974-74 Buffalo Braves team was among the league’s top ten in at least one statistical category.
And somehow they only wound up with a 42-40 record and lost in the first round to the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics. Still, it was a successful season for the team who hadn’t seen a season without 60 or more losses since being added to the league three years before.
Poor Bob McAdoo put up so many numbers for this team only to lose so many games, and they only manged to win four of the nine games he put up 40+ points, even dropping his 52-point effort on February 22nd against the champion Celtics.
Number of games with 40+: 9
Record: 4-5 (.444)
5. Wilt Chamberlain 1962-63
Wilt Chamberlain is obviously one of the best known names in the entirety of the basketball world, and it’s entirely earned. He’s most famously known for dropping 100 points in a single game, all by himself. A record that stands virtually no chance of being broken (though Kobe certainly tried).
He put up an astonishing, but not at all rare for him, 51 games with 40+ points. This included three 70+ efforts, nine 60+ efforts, and thirty 50+ efforts.
At 7’1″, he was often described as a man among boys, so his scoring can be explained in some small way with this, but these record numbers are still eye-popping even 40+ years later.
But it was the 1962-63 NBA season with the San Francisco Warriors that Chamberlain had maybe his most frustrating season. In those 51 games he dropped 40 or more, his team only managed to win 22 of them.
It was their inaugural season in the San Francisco Bay Area, and they finished with a record of 31-49, failing to qualify for the postseason. The Warriors would quite obviously be renamed the Golden State Warriors. This was the only season in Chamberlain’s 14-year career that he did not make the playoffs.
Wilt the Stilt would win two NBA championships, four Most Valuable Player awards, seven All-NBA First Team Nominations, seven scoring titles, eleven rebounding titles, and he would even led the league in assists one season (1968) in his illustrious and historic career.
Number of games with 40+: 51
Record: 22-29 (.431)
6. Jerry Stackhouse 2000-01
Jerry Stackhouse was a professional scorer as soon as he entered the league in 1995. But it was the 2000-01 season that would see him have his highest scoring season, averaging 29.8 points per game for the Detroit Pistons in his age 26 season.
Stack managed eight games that season with 40+ points and his team, which featured Ben Wallace and Corliss Williamson, only managed to secure wins in three of those games. They would limp to a 33-49 record and would not qualify for the playoffs.
This was the first season where Pistons legend Joe Dumars took over the reigns as the general manager. He would go on to build the 2004 NBA championship roster, which Stack was not a part of as he was with our very own Washington Wizards.
And before you criticize the guy, he also averaged 5.1 assists in the 2000-01 season, the most in his career, so he was definitely sharing the rock.
Stackhouse managed to put up a 57-point effort against the Chicago Bulls towards the end of the season and his team won, but they dropped two of his 46-point efforts earlier in the season.
Jerry Stackhouse was a two-time NBA All-star, but never won an NBA championship. He played for eight different teams in his career. Stackhouse currently coaches the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Number of games with 40+: 8
Record: 3-5 (.375)
7. Gilbert Arenas 2004-05
Ah yes, one of our very own. Gilbert Arenas was insane on the offensive side of the ball as most Washington Wizards fans know. In his career, he averaged 20.7 points per game on 42.1 percent shooting from the field and even added 5.3 assists per game too.
It was the 2004-05 NBA season where Agent Zero was robbed the most. Across six games of 40+ points, the Washington Wizards could only manage two victories. That team featured Larry Hughes, Antawn Jamison, Kwame Brown, and Brendan Haywood.
This season was several years before the locker room gun incident that saw Arenas suspended, and Hibachi was playing perhaps the best basketball of his career averaging 25 or more points per game from 2004-2007. With Arenas at the helm, the Washington Wizards would go 45-37 and go on to lose in the conference semifinals to the Miami Heat in four straight games.
It was a 20-win improvement over the previous season for our Washington Wizards, and there was an air of optimism in D.C. It was also the first time the Wizards made the playoffs after the name change from the Bullets.
Still, it seems the Wizards played better when Arenas shared the ball. In the eight games Agent Zero had nine or more assists, they went 6-2.
Number of games with 40+: 6
Record: 2-4 (.333)
8. David Robinson 1994-95
David Robinson, “The Admiral” as some know him, is an interesting dude. But the guy could flat-out ball, and when he was eventually paired with Tim Duncan, the “Twin Towers” were one of the most formidable duos in the late 90’s to the early 2000’s.
But before that could happen, there was the 1994-95 NBA season, and a San Antonio Spurs team that featured Avery Johnson, Vinny Del Negro, and Dennis Rodman. Among that crew, David Robinson had his second highest scoring season, just one year removed from leading the league in points per game in the 1993-94 season.
He averaged 27.6 points per game and managed to help the Spurs earn a 62-20 final record, good enough for the league’s best record. Unfortunately, in the games he managed to score 40 or more points, his team just couldn’t win.
In the six games he scored that much, the Spurs only won two of those games. But everyone in the league knew Robinson’s importance to the team, and he snagged his only MVP award of his 15-season career.
They wouldn’t win one this season, but Robinson’s Spurs won two championships, one in 1999 and one in 2003.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about David Robinson is that he played his entire career for the San Antonio Spurs, a true rarity especially in this day and age.
Number of games with 40+: 6
Record: 2-4 (.333)
9. Earl Monroe 1967-68
The great Earl Monroe is a Washington Wizards legend, and unfortunately the second Washington Wizard on this list. Earl “The Pearl” is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, four-time NBA all-star, NBA champion (1973), and has his jersey retired by our very own Washington Wizards as well as the New York Knicks.
But even this legend has had his trials and tribulations. and in the 1967-68 season his team managed to lose five of the six games in which he scored 40 or more points. It was his rookie season and he averaged 24.3 points per game, appearing in all 82 games for the Baltimore Bullets.
Losing a ton of games the season before helped them land Earl the Pearl at second overall in the draft, and even while they only managed a 36-46 season, his flashy play helped get the D.C. area interested in Bullets basketball again. Jimmy Walker was selected over him.
He took home Rookie of the Year honors that season, and lead the team in scoring, but the Bullets would still wind up in last place. They would eventually be come to known as the Washington Bullets and then, finally, the Washington Wizards.
Of the many impressive performances by Earl Monroe that season, his 56-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers was the highest scoring one. The team lost by three in the effort.
Number of games with 40+: 6
Record: 1-5 (.167)
10. Kevin Love 2013-14
Remember when Kevin Love was an up and coming player? Seems only like yesterday.
But he came into the league 12 whole years ago and it was the 2013-14 season where he had a half-dozen 40+ point efforts. Mostly known for his rebounding prowess, he’s also come to be more and more well-known for his silky smooth shot from the power forward position.
And it is a treat to see, with Love averaging 37 percent from behind the arc on 4.6 three-point attempts per game. But it was the 2013-14 season that saw Love average his most points per game, pouring in 26.1 a game over 77 contests.
His team could only pull out one measly win in the six games he put up 40 though, as love was surrounded by Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, and Corey Brewer with Nikola Peković down low. They would only manage a 40-42 season and would not qualify for the playoffs.
Kevin Love would go on to be a five-time NBA all-star and an NBA champion (2016), among many other accolades, and it will be interesting to see what he can do with the remaining years of his career.
Love’s highest scoring effort in the 2013-14 campaign was a 45-point outburst against the Los Angeles Clippers on December 22nd. The team lost by four.
Number of games with 40+: 6
Record: 1-5 (.167)
11. Kemba Walker 2018-19
Kemba Walker is having a fantastic season with the Boston Celtics and it will be interesting to see him in the playoffs with a good team around him, finally. He really carried the Charlotte Hornets for eight seasons.
Nothing is more evident of that fact than the 2018-19 NBA season that saw Kemba put up seven 40+ point efforts. The result of all that scoring? One win.
Yep, the Hornets somehow managed to squander this scoring phenom’s work, including a 60 point performance on November 17th against the Philadelphia 76ers. Very ouch.
Kemba had his best scoring season of his career last season with the Hornets, averaging 25.6 points and was helped by an insane 31.5 percent usage rate. That means despite having five guys on the floor, one of every three possessions (essentially) ended with Kemba scoring or turning it over or missing a shot, and so on.
The Hornets would only manage a 39-43 record and would fail to qualify for the playoffs last season. Kemba Walker would leave the franchise and sign with the Boston Celtics in this past offseason.
It’s interesting to note that in two games of 40+ points this season with the Boston Celtics, the C’s are 0-2. The trend continues for poor Kemba.
Number of games with 40+: 7
Record: 1-6 (.143)
12. Bradley Beal 2019-2020
Here he is, and are we surprised? Yes, if you take out Ricky Davis’s 0-3 season, the 1-8 record Bradley Beal has suffered at the hands of this Washington Wizards squad is in fact historically bad.
Some come close but none do it better than the Washington Wizards when it comes to blowing opportunities, as they say.
Beal is on an insane scoring tear, putting up 53 then 55 points in the past two games, eclipsing his previous career highs. It just hasn’t come with a win except for once on November 15th against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It’s hard to say exactly why he sits at the bottom of this list, but Washington Wizards fans should be concerned about the overall lack of skill on this roster despite the optimism of a John Wall return. Even if he does come back at around the same level as when he was injured, it’s a large load to carry as I’m sure Bradley Beal can attest to after all this.
In games where Beal averages 10 or more assists, the team is 3-2, but that’s probably a better indicator of whether or not the team around him is playing well. More often than not, they aren’t.
And perhaps the biggest hole on this Washington Wizards squad is on the defensive side of the basketball, with the Wizards giving up the most points in the entire league. Beal is probably also a little bit at fault there, perhaps not considering it worth the effort to give his energy on that side of the ball, but it’s hard not to understand his reasoning as the other team gets dunks and threes at will.
The scary thing is that this nine-game sample can get much, much worse. It’s already pretty bad with nine whole games as a sample size, and we have over a quarter of the season left to go. Let’s hope the Washington Wizards can really turn this trend around and not embarrass the fan base any longer.
Number of games with 40+: 9
Record: 1-8 (.111)