NBA on MLK Day: History and records
Jayson Tatum put up 51 points against the Hornets on MLK Day in 2023.
On Monday, Jan. 15, the NBA will continue its tradition of using the game of basketball to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with various activities on and off the court to promote unity, togetherness and equality.
The NBA has played games on MLK Day every year since the holiday was first observed in 1986 – with the only exception being the 1998-99 season, which did not begin until Feb. 5 after the holiday had passed. In total, there have been 367 NBA games played on MLK Day, with another 11 games set for 2024.
Below is a look at some of the standout games, individual performances and records from MLK Day games throughout NBA history.
Most Points Scored (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | POINTS | FGM | 3PM | FTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Lillard | POR vs. GSW | 1/20/20 | 61 | 17 | 11 | 16 |
| Kemba Walker | CHA vs. UTA | 1/18/16 | 52 | 16 | 6 | 14 |
| Jayson Tatum | BOS @ CHA | 1/16/23 | 51 | 15 | 7 | 14 |
| Gilbert Arenas | WAS vs. UTA | 1/15/07 | 51 | 14 | 7 | 16 |
| LeBron James | LAL vs. HOU | 1/16/23 | 48 | 16 | 5 | 11 |
| Devin Booker | PHX @ SAS | 1/17/22 | 48 | 18 | 5 | 7 |
| Blake Griffin | LAC vs. IND | 1/17/11 | 47 | 19 | 0 | 9 |
| Michael Jordan | CHI @ WAS | 1/15/96 | 46 | 16 | 3 | 11 |
| James Harden | HOU vs. IND | 1/19/15 | 45 | 12 | 7 | 14 |
| Dominique Wilkins | ATL @ NYK | 1/18/88 | 45 | 16 | 0 | 13 |
Damian Lillard holds the record for the most points ever scored on MLK Day when he scored a then-career-best 61 points in the Blazers’ 129-124 overtime win over the Warriors in 2020. In total, there have been 24 40-plus point games on MLK Day and four 50-plus games, but Lillard is the only one to reach 60 on the holiday. You can read more about Lillard’s masterpiece and more standout performances in MLK Day lore here.
Damian Lillard sets a franchise record for points with 61, including a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime as the Blazers get by the Warriors.
Most Points Scored (Team)
| TEAM | MATCH UP | DATE | POINTS | OPP POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | GSW vs. SEA | 1/16/89 | 146 | 117 |
| Indiana Pacers | IND vs. GSW | 1/15/90 | 144 | 105 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | LAL vs. HOU | 1/16/23 | 140 | 132 |
| LA Clippers | LAC vs. HOU | 1/18/16 | 140 | 132 |
| LA Clippers | LAC vs. IND | 1/17/22 | 139 | 133 |
| Boston Celtics | BOS vs. LAL | 1/20/20 | 139 | 107 |
While the Warriors hold the mark for the most points scored by any team on MLK Day, the two Los Angeles teams (Lakers in 2023, Clippers in 2016 and 2022) were part of the three highest-scoring games with 272 combined points scored.
Most Games Played (Team)
| TEAM | GAMES |
|---|---|
| New York Knicks | 37 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 33 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 32 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 32 |
| Washington Wizards | 32 |
| Golden State Warriors | 30 |
| Houston Rockets | 30 |
The NBA has played on MLK Day in 37 of the 38 years since the holiday was first observed in 1986 (missing only the 1998-99 season), and the New York Knicks have been on the schedule all 37 of those years. That streak will continue in 2024 as the Knicks host the Magic (3 ET, NBA League Pass), which will mark their 35th time hosting an MLK Day game.
Two cities with significant meaning in King’s legacy are Atlanta (32 games) and Memphis (23 games) as they mark King’s birthplace and hometown (Atlanta) and the site of his assassination in 1968 (Memphis). Both the Hawks and Grizzlies have extensive celebrations planned to honor King this holiday weekend and both teams will be featured in the TNT doubleheader on Monday.
With the exceptions of 1998 and 2017, the Hawks have hosted a game on MLK Day every season since 1994. With the exceptions of 2002 and 2017, the Grizzlies have hosted a game on MLK Day every season since relocating to Memphis.
Highest Winning Percentage (Team)
| TEAM | GAMES | WINS | LOSSES | WIN PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | 30 | 21 | 9 | 0.700 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 32 | 22 | 10 | 0.688 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0.647 |
| New York Knicks | 37 | 23 | 14 | 0.622 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | 20 | 13 | 0.606 |
| Boston Celtics | 25 | 15 | 10 | 0.600 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 22 | 3 | 9 | 0.591 |
| Denver Nuggets | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0.588 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0.556 |
| Utah Jazz | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0.524 |
| Washington Wizards | 32 | 16 | 16 | 0.500 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0.500 |
| Chicago Bulls | 29 | 14 | 15 | 0.483 |
| Brooklyn Nets | 25 | 12 | 13 | 0.480 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 19 | 9 | 10 | 0.474 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0.462 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 24 | 11 | 13 | 0.458 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 |
| Phoenix Suns | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.450 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 32 | 14 | 18 | 0.438 |
| Indiana Pacers | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0.423 |
| Toronto Raptors | 19 | 8 | 11 | 0.421 |
| Miami Heat | 17 | 7 | 10 | 0.412 |
| Houston Rockets | 30 | 12 | 18 | 0.400 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 25 | 10 | 15 | 0.400 |
| Sacramento Kings | 20 | 8 | 12 | 0.400 |
| Detroit Pistons | 28 | 11 | 17 | 0.393 |
| Orlando Magic | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.389 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 23 | 8 | 15 | 0.348 |
Note: These are franchise records that include previous locations for certain teams, such as Seattle (OKC), Vancouver (Memphis) and New Jersey (Brooklyn).
While the New York Knicks have the most wins of any team in MLK Day history (23), it is the Golden State Warriors that hold the highest win percentage on the holiday as they have gone 21-9 in 30 games on MLK Day. The Warriors will look to build on that mark on Monday when they visit the Grizzlies (6 ET, TNT).
Most Rebounds (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | REB | OREB | DREB | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwight Howard | HOU @ LAC | 1/18/16 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 36 |
| Erick Dampier | GSW vs. UTA | 1/19/04 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 18 |
| Michael Cage | LAC vs. DAL | 1/18/88 | 23 | 7 | 16 | 7 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | POR @ ORL | 1/17/22 | 22 | 4 | 18 | 21 |
| Tristan Thompson | CLE vs. NYK | 1/20/20 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 13 |
| Dikembe Mutombo | ATL vs. NJN | 1/15/01 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 11 |
| Walker Kessler | UTA @ MIN | 1/16/23 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 20 |
| Hassan Whiteside | POR vs. GSW | 1/20/20 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 17 |
| Anderson Varejao | CLE vs. DAL | 1/20/14 | 21 | 4 | 17 | 18 |
| Joakim Noah | CHI vs. LAL | 1/20/14 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 17 |
| DeAndre Jordan | LAC @ DET | 1/20/14 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 16 |
| Donyell Marshall | UTA vs. HOU | 1/15/01 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 26 |
| Moses Malone | ATL @ WAS | 1/16/89 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 20 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL @ WAS | 1/15/18 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 27 |
| Greg Monroe | DET @ ATL | 1/19/15 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 16 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | POR @ HOU | 1/20/14 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 27 |
| Zach Randolph | MEM vs. NOP | 1/20/14 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 23 |
There have been 17 games in which a player grabbed 20 or more rebounds on MLK Day, with Dwight Howard holding the record with a 26-rebound performance for Houston in 2016. In addition to his 26 rebounds, Howard added 36 points, four assists, one steal and one block in a loss to the LA Clippers.
Howard’s performance was one of eight 20-20 games recorded on MLK Day, with the others belonging to Walker Kessler, Jusuf Nurkic, Donyell Marshall, Moses Malone, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph.
Most Assists (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | AST | PTS | REB |
| Mark Jackson | DEN vs. NJN | 1/20/97 | 22 | 21 | 7 |
| John Stockton | UTA @ IND | 1/16/95 | 19 | 15 | 2 |
| Magic Johnson | LAL vs. HOU | 1/16/89 | 18 | 17 | 13 |
| Magic Johnson | LAL vs. HOU | 1/18/88 | 17 | 39 | 5 |
| Jason Kidd | DAL @ BOS | 1/18/10 | 17 | 13 | 4 |
| Ish Smith | PHI @ NYK | 1/18/16 | 16 | 16 | 7 |
| Chauncey Billups | DET vs. BOS | 1/16/06 | 16 | 13 | 3 |
| Micheal Williams | MIN vs. LAC | 1/18/93 | 16 | 20 | 3 |
| Muggsy Bogues | CHH @ PHX | 1/15/90 | 16 | 5 | 1 |
It’s only been 92 times in NBA history that a player has finished with at least 20 assists and 20 points in the same game. Mark Jackson is the only player to do so on MLK Day when he finished with 22 assists, 21 points, seven rebounds and just two turnovers in a Knicks win over the Nuggets in 1997.
The list above shows the nine instances in which a player dished out more than 15 assists on MLK Day. Magic Johnson is the only player with more than one such game, including one of only 20 total triple-doubles ever posted on MLK Day, when he finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 18 dimes on Jan. 16, 1989.
Most Steals (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | STL | PTS | REB | AST | BLK |
| Kyrie Irving | BOS vs. MIA | 1/21/19 | 8 | 26 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Micheal Williams | MIN vs. LAC | 1/18/93 | 7 | 20 | 3 | 16 | 0 |
| Tom Chambers | SEA vs. IND | 1/18/88 | 7 | 27 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| Scottie Pippen | CHI vs. PHI | 1/17/94 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
Only four players have recorded more than six steals on MLK Day, a group led by Kyrie Irving, who swiped a career-best eight steals to go with 26 points and 10 assists to lead Boston to a 107-99 win over Miami in 2019.
Most Blocks (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | BLK | PTS | REB | AST | STL |
| Shaquille O’Neal | ORL @ PHL | 1/18/93 | 8 | 38 | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Patrick Ewing | NYK vs. CHI | 1/15/90 | 8 | 33 | 12 | 5 | 1 |
| Theo Ratliff | PHI vs. SAC | 1/19/98 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| Josh Smith | ATL vs. BOS | 1/15/07 | 7 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Elton Brand | LAC vs. UTA | 1/16/06 | 7 | 35 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| Shaquille O’Neal | LAL vs. ORL | 1/19/98 | 7 | 35 | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| Andris Biedrins | GSW vs. CHI | 1/18/10 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| Wayne Cooper | DEN vs. SAC | 1/16/89 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Bismack Biyombo | CHA vs. HOU | 1/21/13 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Al Horford | ATL vs. SAC | 1/17/11 | 7 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 0 |
| Rony Seikaly | MIA @ WAS | 1/15/90 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
It’s our first MLK leaderboard with a tie at the top as Shaquille O’Neal (1993), Patrick Ewing (1990) and Theo Ratliff (1998) each posted an eight-block game on the holiday. Shaq stuffed the stat sheet in his MLK Day debut during his rookie season in Orlando, finishing with 38 points, 16 rebounds, eight blocks, three assists and two steals in a 124-118 overtime loss to Philadelphia.
Most 3-Pointers Made (Player)
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | PTS | MIN |
| Damian Lillard | POR vs. GSW | 1/20/20 | 11 | 20 | 55 | 61 | 45 |
| Klay Thompson | GSW @ LAL | 1/21/19 | 10 | 11 | 90.9 | 44 | 27 |
| JJ Redick | LAC vs. HOU | 1/18/16 | 9 | 12 | 75 | 40 | 39 |
| Bryn Forbes | SAS @ PHX | 1/20/20 | 8 | 11 | 72.7 | 24 | 33 |
Lillard splashed an MLK Day record 11 3-pointers in 20 attempts on his way to an MLK Day record 61 points in a 129-124 overtime win over Golden State. While 20 players have made at least seven 3-pointers in an MLK Day game, only four players above have posted more than seven triples.
While Lillard has the most 3s made, Klay Thompson has the most scorching 3-point performance the holiday has seen as he made 10 3-pointers in just 11 attempts on his way to a 44-point game in just 27 minutes in a 130-111 win over the Lakers.
Triple-doubles
| PLAYER | MATCH UP | DATE | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Anderson | MIN vs. UTA | 1/16/23 | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Luka Doncic | DAL vs. OKC | 1/17/22 | 39 | 20 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
| Jimmy Butler | MIA vs. TOR | 1/17/22 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Aaron Gordon | ORL @ NYK | 1/18/21 | 36 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Simmons | PHI @ BKN | 1/20/20 | 42 | 34 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 2 |
| Russell Westbrook | HOU vs. OKC | 1/20/20 | 38 | 32 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL vs. CHI | 1/20/20 | 31 | 28 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Luka Doncic | DAL @ MIL | 1/21/19 | 33 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Draymond Green | GSW vs. CLE | 1/16/17 | 35 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 5 |
| Nicolas Batum | POR vs. WAS | 1/21/13 | 41 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 2 |
| Boris Diaw | CHA @ PHI | 1/17/11 | 40 | 25 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| Derrick Rose | CHI @ MEM | 1/17/11 | 40 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Kobe Bryant | LAL vs. VAN | 1/15/01 | 46 | 26 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Antoine Walker | BOS @ MIN | 1/15/01 | 43 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Darrell Walker | WAS vs. ORL | 1/21/91 | 39 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Price | CLE vs. SAN | 1/15/90 | 40 | 25 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Jackson | NYK vs. SAN | 1/16/89 | 40 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Magic Johnson | LAL vs. HOU | 1/16/89 | 42 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 0 | 0 |
| Nate McMillan | SEA vs. IND | 1/18/88 | 39 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| Mark Jackson | NYK vs. ATL | 1/18/88 | 43 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
There have been 20 triple-doubles recorded on MLK Day, with Mark Jackson and Luka Doncic being the only players with multiple triple-doubles on the holiday. Ben Simmons (34) has the most points scored in an MLK Day triple-double, while Russell Westbrook (32) recorded the only other 30+ point triple-double on MLK Day. Giannis Antetokounmpo holds the mark for the fewest minutes played (31) in an MLK Day triple-double.
Tune in on Monday for the NBA’s 11-game slate to see who makes history in 2024 as the league honors Dr. King.
