James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving will look to break some franchise records.
The Brooklyn Nets are going for broke this season, trading a haul of draft picks and bench players to pair James Harden with Kevin Durant and, eventually, Kyrie Irving. If Harden’s first game as a Net was any indication of what is to follow, several franchise offensive records could fall.
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With all three of these players capable of scoring 50 points if required to, they could rewrite the Nets’ record books by shattering the previous marks for most points scored in one game by one player.
These are the three best individual scoring performances in Nets history, which their Big Three should be looking to top.
3. Ray Williams, 4/17/1982 vs. Pistons, 52 points
In what would be the final game of the season against Isaiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, and the Pistons, the late Williams, who had his moments with both the Knicks and the Nets, got 52 points the hard way, making 21 of his 34 shots from the field while making just one three-point attempt. The 21 made shots in a single game remain a Nets record to this day, and it’ll be hard to see that record falling anytime soon, given how much the modern game revolves around the three-point line and foul line.
While Mike Newlin also scored 52 points in a 1979 win against the Boston Celtics, he needed overtime to help him accomplish that feat, while Williams put up 52 in a game that saw New Jersey put up 147 points against one of the toughest defenses of that era, giving him a slight edge over Newlin when the degree of difficulty is factored in.
Williams, who remained a key part of a Nets team that made a playoff run in ’82, didn’t get much of a chance to inscribe his name in the Nets lexicon, as he ended up with the then-Kansas City Kings after his record-setting performance before making a return to the Knicks. While his offensive production was siphoned away after his trip to Kansas City, Williams set a franchise record that stood for 30 years, ensuring that his name will always be fondly remembered in the annals of Nets lore.
2. Kyrie Irving, 1/31/2020 vs. Bulls, 54 points
Irving is such a mercurial talent that even though he has only played in 27 games with the Nets, he owns three of the top 14 scoring performances in franchise history, including two separate 50-point performances. Not even a full year ago, Irving showed exactly how lethal he can be, as he completely eviscerated the Bulls, making 19 of his 23 shots, draining seven of his nine three-point attempts, and sinking nine of his 10 attempts from the foul line. That mark remains the most in a game since the Nets moved to Brooklyn.
Irving somehow managed to improve upon his fantastic opening night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in which he put up 50 in his first game as a Net. While the 2019-20 Bulls played tissue-soft defense, that shouldn’t mask the fact that Irving showed that his mind-bending handles and sweet stroke from deep are capable of taking over a game single-handedly, and that ability to go supernova will serve Brooklyn well.
When Irving is healthy and in the lineup, he can and will stand out, even on a court that will feature Durant and Harden on it at the same time. While he might not have the ball in his hands as much, he should be able to make his mark by putting the ball in the basket and coming through in the clutch on a Nets team that is eyeing a ring.
1. Deron Williams, 3/4/2012 vs. Bobcats, 57 points
While the very end of his time with the Nets was a bit of a mess, Williams helped legitimize the franchise when he was traded to New Jersey and chose to stick around as they made the move to Brooklyn. Williams broke the single-game record for points in a game by totaling 57 against a listless Bobcats squad, with an assist from a Charlotte team that was in the middle of a season that would see them finish with just seven wins in 66 games.
Williams didn’t have the most efficient day at the office, as he went just 16-29 from the field in his 38 minutes on the floor, but Williams clearly found a matchup that he could exploit that day, and he continued to hammer the Bobcats with his signature blend of incisive court vision, shot-creating ability, and intuition.
While Williams was unable to lead the Nets anywhere close to a championship, which is ultimately what he was brought to town to do, he was able to maintain his status as an elite offensive point guard for several years, all the while setting several Nets records that remain in place to this day. Nets fans need to put aside their distaste for the end of the Williams era, as he was the last truly great player they had in New Jersey and their first star in Brooklyn.
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