best individual games by BPM

[Mike G]

Game BPM at b-r.com goes back to 1985, so covers the Jordan era to the present. Unlike Game Score, it doesn't ignore defense (Pts by opponent), minutes played, or strength of opponent.
I've concluded that contributions (in a game or a series or a season) attributed by BPM are not proportional to the BPM * minutes, since an average performance is zero in BPM. Zero contribution -- toward winning and away from losing -- seems to be roughly -5.25 BPM.

What I am calling bpmG adds 5.25 to gBPM, which then is multiplied by min/48 -- the player's fraction of appearance in a regulation NBA game.
bpmG = (gBPM+5.25)*min/48
Here then are the 30 top playoff games in the last 41 years:

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bpmG+    player        Date      tm   opp   min  TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM
39.4  Damian Lillard 6/01/2021   Por  Den   52   .97   55   6  10   1   3   1   31.1
36.8   Vince Carter  5/11/2001   Tor  Phl   45   .83   50   6   7   1   4   1   34.0
34.9   LeBron James  5/09/2009   Cle  Atl   43   .73   47  12   8   1   1   1   33.7
32.7   James Harden  5/07/2023   Phl  Bos   47   .85   42   8   9   4   1   1   28.1
30.2   Terry Porter  5/19/1992   Por  Uta   38  1.02   41   6   7   3   0   1   32.9

29.9   Kevin Durant  6/15/2021   Brk  Mil   48   .82   49  17  10   3   2   3   24.6
29.8   LeBron James  5/20/2009   Cle  Orl   41   .71   49   6   8   2   3   2   29.6
29.4  Manu Ginóbili  5/17/2005   SAS  Sea   37   .87   39   4   6   2   0   1   32.9
29.3   Nikola Jokić  5/14/2024   Den  Min   41   .77   40   7  13   2   1   0   29.0
29.2   Jayson Tatum  5/14/2023   Bos  Phl   42   .75   51  13   5   2   0   0   28.1

bpmG+    player        Date      tm   opp  min   TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM
28.9  Penny Hardaway 5/01/1997   Orl  Mia   48   .68   41   7   4   4   3   1   23.6
28.6  Draymond Green 6/19/2016   GSW  Cle   47   .96   32  15   9   2   0   2   24.0
28.2   Jimmy Butler  5/27/2022   Mia  Bos   46   .69   47   9   8   4   1   1   24.2
28.0  Ja. Richardson 4/22/2010   Phx  Por   37   .90   42   8   2   3   0   0   31.1
28.0  Michael Jordan 5/13/1989   Chi  NYK   39   .65   40  15   9   6   1   3   29.2

27.8   Ray Allen     4/30/2009   Bos  Chi   59   .73   51   5   3   3   0   3   17.4
27.8   Devin Booker  5/05/2023   Phx  Den   42   .91   47   6   9   3   1   3   26.5
27.6   Tim Duncan    6/04/2003   SAS  NJN   44   .69   32  20   6   3   7   1   24.9
27.5   Paul Pierce   5/03/2002   Bos  Phl   44   .82   46   4   6   1   1   0   24.8
27.5  Dirk Nowitzki  5/14/2001   Dal  SAS   47   .66   42  18   2   6   1   3   22.8

bpmG+    player        Date      tm   opp  min   TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM
27.3   Nikola Jokić  5/13/2025   Den  OKC   44   .81   44  15   5   2   0   2   24.5
27.2  Michael Jordan 4/20/1986   Chi  Bos   53   .63   63   5   6   3   2   4   19.4
27.1   James Harden  5/21/2015   Hou  GSW   41   .75   38  10   9   3   1   2   26.5
27.1  Kawhi Leonard  5/03/2017   SAS  Hou   38   .93   34   7   8   3   1   2   29.0
27.1  Michael Jordan 4/29/1992   Chi  Mia   43   .74   56   5   5   4   2   2   25.0

26.9   Ja Morant     4/22/2023   Mem  LAL   42   .70   45   9  13   0   0   3   25.5
26.8 Khris Middleton 6/17/2021   Mil  Brk   42   .89   38  10   5   5   0   4   25.4
26.8   Nikola Jokić  4/25/2019   Den  SAS   38   .68   43  12   9   2   1   2   28.6
26.8   Buddy Hield   5/04/2025   GSW  Hou   37  1.10   33   3   3   1   2   0   29.5
26.7  Allen Iverson  5/13/1999   Phl  Orl   44   .54   33   5   5  10   2   2   23.9

I found some 475 games of roughly 20+ bpmG+ in playoffs.
70 players have had more than one such game:

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#    player   total      #    player  total      (with 2)  total
44  LeBron   1004.6      5 * Magic    115.2      Lillard    60.0
36  Jordan    797.8      5   Billups  109.9      Morant     51.1
14  Leonard   314.1      5   Pippen   109.4      RaLewis    50.8
13  Jokić     297.3      5   George   108.4      BDavis     47.4
12  Nowitzki  266.7      5   Penny    107.6      Carmelo    45.9
12  Wade      252.7      5   Mitchell 105.9      Ewing      45.8
9   Barkley   205.3      4   RAllen   100.4      Payton     44.5
9   Paul      204.7      4   Tatum     92.4      Brunson    44.3
9   Kobe      201.0      4   Ginóbili  91.9      KJohnson   44.2
9   Shaq      194.8      4   Booker    88.0      Finley     44.0
8   Harden    193.1      4   Edwards   86.8    * Laimbeer   43.5
8   Butler    189.1      4 * Bird      83.5      Hornacek   43.5
8   Duncan    178.2      4   TPrince   82.8      Lowry      42.5
8   Durant    177.6      3   Carter    82.1      Westbrook  41.6
8   Curry     171.2      3   Draymond  69.0      Terry      41.5
7   Reggie    152.2      3   JMurray   67.8      DWhite     41.4
7   Olajuwon  150.6      3   KMalone   65.9      DeWilliams 41.1
7   Drexler   148.5      3   THardaway 64.5      Webber     41.1
6   Iverson   141.7      3   Kyrie     62.4      Haliburton 40.7
6   Pierce    137.0      3   Dončić    59.4      McGrady    40.7
6   Kidd      125.1      3 - Rondo     67.2      Gibson     40.1
6   Garnett   124.8                              KThompson  40.1
6   Giannis   124.8                              DRobinson  40.0
6 * Isiah     122.1                              JBrown     38.7
5 - Stockton  109.3                     

- means 'out of order' (spreadsheet booboo)
* indicates player was active before 1985 and might rank higher.
https://www.sports-reference.com/stathe ... 5B2%5D=bpm

Year by year best playoff game by this measure:

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yr   bpmG    best    tm   opp   min  TS%  Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM   rk
86   27.2   Jordan   Chi  Bos   53  .63   63   5   6   3   2   4   19.4   22
87   25.9  Olajuwon  Hou  Sea   53  .63   49  25   2   2   6   2   18.2   45
88   26.3   Jordan   Chi  Cle   42  .76   44   5   4   4   2   4   24.8   39
89   28.0   Jordan   Chi  NYK   39  .65   40  15   9   6   1   3   29.2   15
90   25.0   Magic    LAL  Phx   45  .69   43   6  10   2   0   3   21.4   64

91   23.9   Jordan   Chi  LAL   36  .84   33   7  13   2   1   4   26.6   
92   30.2   TPorter  Por  Uta   38 1.02   41   6   7   3   0   1   32.9    5
93   26.4   Jordan   Chi  NYK   39  .75   54   6   2   2   1   2   27.3   36
94   24.3   RMiller  Ind  NYK   39  .68   39   0   6   1   0   0   24.7   
95   24.7   KJohnson Phx  Hou   48  .79   43   6   9   3   0   1   19.4   72

yr   bpmG    best    tm   opp   min  TS%  Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM   rk
96   25.3   Pippen   Chi  Orl   41  .86   27   6   7   2   1   4   24.4   56
97   28.9  AHardaway Orl  Mia   48  .68   41   7   4   4   3   1   23.6   11
98   26.2   Shaq     LAL  Sea   37  .77   39   8   7   0   5   0   28.8   40
99   26.7   Iverson  Phl  Orl   44  .54   33   5   5  10   2   2   23.9   30
00   24.6   RMiller  Ind  NYK   45  .74   34   5   1   4   1   1   21.0   73

01   36.8   Carter   Tor  Phl   45  .83   50   6   7   1   4   1   34.0    2
02   27.5   Pierce   Bos  Phl   44  .82   46   4   6   1   1   0   24.8   19
03   27.6   Duncan   SAS  NJN   44  .69   32  20   6   3   7   1   24.9   18
04   23.7   Kobe     LAL  SAS   45  .64   42   6   5   3   1   0   20.0   
05   29.4  Ginóbili  SAS  Sea   37  .87   39   4   6   2   0   1   32.9    8

yr   bpmG    best    tm   opp   min  TS%  Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM   rk
06   24.6  Nowitzki  Dal  Mem   48  .62   36   9   5   0   1   1   19.3   75
07   26.7   LeBron   Cle  Det   50  .61   48   9   7   2   0   2   20.4   31
08   25.4   Paul     NOH  Dal   41  .67   35   3  10   4   1   1   24.5   54
09   34.9   LeBron   Cle  Atl   43  .73   47  12   8   1   1   1   33.7    3
10   28.0 JRichardson Phx Por   37  .90   42   8   2   3   0   0   31.1   14

11   26.2   Rose     Chi  Atl   38  .71   44   5   7   1   1   2   27.9   41
12   26.3   Rondo    Bos  Mia   53  .75   44   8  10   3   0   3   18.6   37
13   24.2   LeBron   Mia  SAS   45  .70   37  12   4   2   0   2   20.6   
14   22.1   Harden   Hou  Por   42  .84   34   4   6   4   0   4   20.0   
15   27.1   Harden   Hou  GSW   41  .75   38  10   9   3   1   2   26.5   23

yr   bpmG    best    tm   opp   min  TS%  Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO   gBPM   rk
16   28.6  Draymond  GSW  Cle   47  .96   32  15   9   2   0   2   24.0   12
17   27.1   Leonard  SAS  Hou   38  .93   34   7   8   3   1   2   29.0   24
18   25.6   LeBron   Cle  GSW   48  .69   51   8   8   1   1   5   20.3   50
19   26.8   Jokić    Den  SAS   38  .68   43  12   9   2   1   2   28.6   28
20   26.4   Leonard  LAC  Den   39  .59   30  11   9   4   2   1   27.3   35

21   39.4   Lillard  Por  Den   52  .97   55   6  10   1   3   1   31.1    1
22   28.2   Butler   Mia  Bos   46  .69   47   9   8   4   1   1   24.2   13
23   32.7   Harden   Phl  Bos   47  .85   42   8   9   4   1   1   28.1    4
24   29.3   Jokić    Den  Min   41  .77   40   7  13   2   1   0   29.0    9
25   27.3   Jokić    Den  OKC   44  .81   44  15   5   2   0   2   24.5   21

final column: For some reason I ranked only the top 81

[Mike G]

Top 40-ish Regular Season games since 1986, chronologically:

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bpmG   player      date      tm   opp   min  TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO    BPM   rk
29.2   Magic    12/21/1986   LAL  Hou   42   .76   38   8  16   3   1   2   28.1   37
29.1   Jordan    4/12/1987   Chi  Ind   42   .76   53   4   8   4   2   3   28.0   40
32.2   Jordan    3/18/1988   Chi  Bos   42   .68   50   5   9   5   1   1   31.5   15
32.2   Jordan    4/03/1988   Chi  Det   42   .83   59   4   6   2   2   1   31.6   13
37.6   Jordan    3/28/1990   Chi  Cle   50   .73   69  18   6   4   1   2   30.8    1

30.7   Drexler  11/24/1991   Por  SAS   40   .71   48   6   3   6   3   1   31.6   21
32.5   Jordan   12/23/1992   Chi  Was   42   .70   57   2  10   3   1   1   31.9   10
32.2  W Burton  12/13/1994   Phl  Mia   43   .85   53   8   3   1   2   1   30.7   14
34.2   Jordan    3/07/1996   Chi  Det   38   .82   53  11   2   6   0   4   38.0    3
29.6  Sprewell   1/21/1997   GSW  Dal   46   .74   46   6  10   5   1   3   25.6   32

bpmG   player      date      tm   opp   min  TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO    BPM   rk
33.0   Webber    1/05/2001   Sac  Ind L 50   .51   51  26   5   3   2   4   26.4    7
29.7   Francis   2/17/2001   Hou  Cle   37   .79   35  10   4   5   0   2   33.3   31
30.2   R Allen   4/14/2002   Mil  Cha   44   .90   47   4   4   3   0   3   27.7   24
31.4   E Jones  12/14/2002   Mia  GSW   41   .88   38   6   4   5   0   0   31.5   19
30.1   Duncan    3/04/2003   SAS  Phx L 44   .80   35  21   8   2   4   2   27.6   26

29.5   McGrady  11/14/2003   Orl  Den L 42   .81   51   6   5   2   2   4   28.5   33
32.4   McGrady  12/02/2004   Hou  Dal L 50   .61   48   9   9   2   3   2   25.9   11
30.1   McGrady   3/28/2005   Hou  Uta   38   .79   44   6   4   5   1   0   32.8   25
34.0   Kobe      1/22/2006   LAL  Tor   42   .74   81   6   2   3   1   3   33.6    4
29.1   LeBron   11/21/2007   Cle  Min   39   .76   45   8   5   3   2   3   30.6   39

bpmG   player      date      tm   opp   min  TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO    BPM   rk
33.7  Ginóbili   2/13/2008   SAS  Cle   41   .96   46   5   8   3   1   1   34.2    5
30.0   Paul      2/20/2008   NOH  Dal   41   .67   31   5  11   9   0   1   29.9   28
31.8   Paul     12/20/2008   NOH  Sac   36   .79   34   4   9   8   0   1   37.1   17
30.1   Wade      2/28/2009   Mia  NYK   41   .67   46   8  10   4   4   2   30.0   27
33.0   Wade      3/09/2009   Mia  Chi   50   .83   48   6  12   4   3   5   26.4    6

29.1  Nowitzki  11/03/2009   Dal  Uta   39   .69   40  11   5   2   5   0   30.6   38
32.9   Irving    1/28/2015   Cle  Por   39   .68   55   4   5   2   0   3   35.2    8
29.8   Irving    3/12/2015   Cle  SAS   47   .78   57   3   5   4   0   2   25.2   30
29.2   Lowry     2/26/2016   Tor  Cle   43   .81   43   5   9   4   0   2   27.4   36
30.4  I Thomas  12/20/2016   Bos  Mem   38   .94   44   3   6   2   1   1   33.2   22

bpmG   player      date      tm   opp   min  TS%   Pt  Rb  As  St  Bk  TO    BPM   rk
35.8   Lillard   4/08/2017   Por  Uta   42   .72   59   6   5   1   1   0   35.7    2
31.5   Harden    1/30/2018   Hou  Orl   46   .79   60  10  11   4   1   5   27.6   18
32.1   Jokić    10/20/2018   Den  Phx   31  1.11   35  11  11   4   1   0   44.4   16
30.4   Tatum     1/23/2022   Bos  Was   33   .83   51  10   7   0   0   1   38.9   23
31.2   Embiid   11/13/2022   Phl  Uta   37   .77   59  11   8   1   7   5   35.2   20

29.9   Dončić   12/27/2022   Dal  NYK   47   .74   60  21  10   2   1   4   25.3   29
32.3   Dončić   12/25/2023   Dal  Phx   44   .83   50   6  15   4   3   4   30.0   12
29.3   Embiid    1/22/2024   Phl  SAS   37   .69   70  18   5   1   1   1   32.8   35
29.3   Curry     4/01/2025   GSW  Mem   37   .75   52  10   8   5   1   2   32.8   34
29.1   Jokić    11/12/2025   Den  LAC   34   .92   55  12   6   1   1   2   35.8   41
32.7   Jokić    12/25/2025   Den  Min   43   .90   56  16  15   0   2   5   31.2    9

L = a lost game
This list is drawn from a search for min>28 and BPM>25. It turned up 520 games, of which 430 are >20.0 bpmG, and 175 are >25.0. I doubt any other parameters would reveal 25+.

Number of games of >20.0 bpmG, best game, and rank of that game:

Code: Select all

#       player      best   rk      #   player          best   rk
27  Michael Jordan  37.6    1      2   Eddie Jones     31.4   19
23  Stephen Curry   29.3   34      2  Latrell Sprewell 29.6   32
21  Nikola Jokić    32.7    9      2   Dirk Nowitzki   29.1   38
20  LeBron James    29.1   39      2   Gilbert Arenas  28.6   54
15  James Harden    31.5   18      2   Anthony Davis   27.2   89
12  Chris Paul      31.8   17      2 Tyrese Haliburton 27.1   94
12  Antetokounmpo   26.7  104      2   Shai G-A        26.9   97
10  Damian Lillard  35.8    2      2  Donovan Mitchell 25.3  154
9   Manu Ginóbili   33.7    5      2  Hakeem Olajuwon  24.4  208
8   Tracy McGrady   32.4   11      2   Kemba Walker    24.3  215
6   Kyrie Irving    32.9    8      2   Reggie Miller   23.1  262
6   Luka Dončić     32.3   12      2   Mikal Bridges   22.8  280
6   Joel Embiid     31.2   20      2  Mookie Blaylock  22.7  284
6   Paul George     26.4  113      2   Mike Conley     22.6  291
5   Tim Duncan      30.1   26      2  Danilo Gallinari 22.1  312
5   Vince Carter    28.8   44      2   David Wesley    22.1  318
5   Kawhi Leonard   25.2  158      2   Hersey Hawkins  22.1  321
5   Tim Hardaway    24.8  182      2   Bobby Portis    21.6  344
4   Kobe Bryant     34.0    4      1   Willie Burton   32.2   14
4   Dwyane Wade     33.0    6      1   Isaiah Thomas   30.4   22
4   Clyde Drexler   30.7   21      1   Steve Francis   29.7   31
4   Jayson Tatum    30.4   23      1   Jalen Brunson   28.8   48
4   Ray Allen       30.2   24      1   Pascal Siakam   28.7   49
4   Kyle Lowry      29.2   36      1   Deron Williams  28.7   50
4 Russell Westbrook 28.8   45      1   Joe Dumars      28.3   60
4   Fred VanVleet   28.6   53      1  Andrei Kirilenko 27.7   73
4  Shaquille O'Neal 26.9   99      1  Carmelo Anthony  27.6   78
4   David Robinson  26.4  110      1   Terry Mills     27.2   88
4   Kevin Durant    24.7  186      1   Ron Harper      26.9  100
3   Chris Webber    33.0    7      1   Dee Brown       26.8  102
3   Magic Johnson   29.2   37      1   Hedo Türkoğlu   26.7  103
3  Chauncey Billups 28.6   55       Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf 26.4  109
3   John Stockton   28.5   56      1   Jimmy Butler    26.3  115
3  Stephon Marbury  28.2   63      1   Gerald Wallace  25.9  126
3   Paul Pierce     28.0   65      1   Mo Williams     25.8  130
3   Larry Bird      27.9   67      1   Otto Porter     25.7  133
3   Klay Thompson   27.7   74      1  Alonzo Mourning  25.7  134
3  Charles Barkley  27.3   86      1   Brandon Ingram  25.6  138
3   Karl Malone     27.1   93       Karl-Anthony Towns 25.3  157
3  Terrell Brandon  25.1  170      1   Allen Iverson   25.2  161
3   Gary Payton     24.9  174      1   Victor Oladipo  25.1  165
3   Scottie Pippen  24.6  199      1   Patrick Ewing   25.1  167
3   Mark Price      23.3  256      1   Miles Bridges   25.1  169

Of 105 one-timers, only the best are listed.