7:30 p.m. ET, NBC & Peacock<\/a>), but the lore of Game 7 in the NBA Playoffs extends well beyond those two teams. As such, here are some quick facts to know about Game 7s in NBA lore, as well as a complete guide to everything Game 7 in NBA history, too.<\/p>\nEditor\u2019s note: Statistical support provided by Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of the NBA. All statistics and records are through the 2025 NBA Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Game 7: Did you know?<\/p>\n
Jayson Tatum prints a vintage Game 7 masterpiece with 51 points to send Boston to the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 There have been 155 Game 7s in NBA history.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Home teams have a record of 115-40 (.742) in Game 7s.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Every active NBA franchise has played at least one Game 7.<\/p>\n
\u2022 There have been 20 Game 7s in the NBA Finals, with home teams holding a 16-4 record. The most recent Game 7 in the NBA Finals came last season, when the host Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The first Game 7 in NBA history took place on April 6, 1948, when the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors) defeated the St. Louis Bombers 85-46 in the Semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Bill Russell won all 10 Game 7s in which he played, the most victories without a loss for a player.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The record for most points by a player in a Game 7 is 51, set by the Boston Celtics\u2019 Jayson Tatum against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The record for most points by a player in Game 7 of the NBA Finals is 42, set by the Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 Jerry West against the Boston Celtics in 1969.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 LeBron James has scored the most total points in Game 7s with 279 \u2013 one more than Jerry West. (James has played eight Game 7s and West played nine.)<\/p>\n
\u2022 Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has served as a head coach in a record 16 Game 7s. Pat Riley (11) and Larry Brown (10) rank second and third, respectively, in most Game 7s coached.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Red Auerbach won all eight of his Game 7s as a head coach, the most victories without a loss for a head coach. No other head coach has won more than two Game 7s without a loss.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ten players have recorded a triple-double in a Game 7: Jerry West, Larry Bird, James Worthy, Scottie Pippen, Russell Westbrook (two), Rajon Rondo (two), Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Nikola Joki\u0107 (two) and Chris Paul. West, Worthy and James are the only three players to have a triple-double in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The first Game 7 in the NBA Finals took place in 1951, when the Rochester Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) defeated the New York Knicks 79-75. In that series, New York lost the first three games before winning the next three games to force a Game 7.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In addition to the New York Knicks in the 1951 NBA Finals, three other teams have rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7 (though none won the series): Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz in the 1994 Western Conference Semifinals; Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks in the 2003 Western Conference First Round;
and Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference First Round.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ray Allen played in a record 11 Game 7s. Paul Pierce and Bill Russell each played in 10 Game 7s.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The First Round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs had five Game 7s, a record for any round in a season. A record three
Game 7s were played on one day (May 3, 2014).<\/p>\n
\u2022 The record for most Game 7s in a single season is five, which happened in 1993-94, 2013-14 and 2015-16.<\/p>\n
\u2022 There have been at least three Game 7s in each of the last eight seasons (2017-18 \u2013 2024-25).<\/p>\n
\u2022 There has been at least one Game 7 road winner in each of the last 10 seasons (2015-16 \u2013 2024-25).<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Boston Celtics have played a record 37 Game 7s \u2013 or nearly 24% of all Game 7s in NBA history. Boston has a record of 27-10 (.730) in Game 7s.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Los Angeles Lakers have a record of 16-8 (.667) in Game 7s \u2013 15-1 at home and 1-7 on the road. Their one home loss in Game 7 came against the Boston Celtics in the 1969 NBA Finals. The Lakers\u2019 one road victory in Game 7 came against the Sacramento Kings in overtime in the 2002 Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n
Team-by-team records in Game 7s<\/p>\n
TEAM
\nOVERALL<\/p>\n
HOME<\/p>\n
ROAD<\/p>\n
W
\nL
\nPCT
\nW
\nL
\nPCT
\nW
\nL
\nPCT<\/p>\n
Atlanta Hawks
\n5
\n9
\n0.357
\n4
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n9
\n0.100<\/p>\n
Boston Celtics
\n27
\n10
\n0.730
\n22
\n6
\n0.786
\n5
\n4
\n0.556<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Nets
\n1
\n3
\n0.250
\n0
\n2
\n0.000
\n1
\n1
\n0.500<\/p>\n
Charlotte Hornets
\n0
\n2
\n0.000
\n0
\n0
\n\u2014
\n0
\n2
\n0.000<\/p>\n
Chicago Bulls
\n4
\n6
\n0.400
\n3
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n6
\n0.143<\/p>\n
Cleveland Cavaliers
\n6
\n2
\n0.750
\n4
\n0
\n1.000
\n2
\n2
\n0.500<\/p>\n
Dallas Mavericks
\n5
\n3
\n0.625
\n3
\n0
\n1.000
\n2
\n3
\n0.400<\/p>\n
Denver Nuggets
\n5
\n5
\n0.500
\n4
\n2
\n0.667
\n1
\n3
\n0.250<\/p>\n
Detroit Pistons
\n5
\n5
\n0.500
\n4
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n5
\n0.167<\/p>\n
Golden State Warriors
\n7
\n5
\n0.583
\n3
\n2
\n0.600
\n4
\n3
\n0.571<\/p>\n
Houston Rockets
\n7
\n6
\n0.538
\n5
\n3
\n0.625
\n2
\n3
\n0.400<\/p>\n
Indiana Pacers
\n4
\n7
\n0.364
\n1
\n0
\n1.000
\n3
\n7
\n0.300<\/p>\n
LA Clippers
\n4
\n6
\n0.400
\n3
\n2
\n0.600
\n1
\n4
\n0.200<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Lakers
\n16
\n8
\n0.667
\n15
\n1
\n0.938
\n1
\n7
\n0.125<\/p>\n
Memphis Grizzlies
\n0
\n3
\n0.000
\n0
\n1
\n0.000
\n0
\n2
\n0.000<\/p>\n
Miami Heat
\n7
\n5
\n0.583
\n6
\n3
\n0.667
\n1
\n2
\n0.333<\/p>\n
Milwaukee Bucks
\n3
\n9
\n0.250
\n2
\n1
\n0.667
\n1
\n8
\n0.111<\/p>\n
Minnesota Timberwolves
\n2
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n0
\n1.000<\/p>\n
New Orleans Pelicans
\n0
\n2
\n0.000
\n0
\n1
\n0.000
\n0
\n1
\n0.000<\/p>\n
New York Knicks
\n7
\n9
\n0.438
\n5
\n3
\n0.625
\n2
\n6
\n0.250<\/p>\n
Oklahoma City Thunder
\n8
\n5
\n0.615
\n8
\n1
\n0.889
\n0
\n4
\n0.000<\/p>\n
Orlando Magic
\n2
\n2
\n0.500
\n1
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n2
\n0.333<\/p>\n
Philadelphia 76ers
\n6
\n12
\n0.333
\n5
\n2
\n0.714
\n1
\n10
\n0.091<\/p>\n
Phoenix Suns
\n4
\n6
\n0.400
\n3
\n3
\n0.500
\n1
\n3
\n0.250<\/p>\n
Portland Trail Blazers
\n2
\n2
\n0.500
\n1
\n0
\n1.000
\n1
\n2
\n0.333<\/p>\n
Sacramento Kings
\n2
\n5
\n0.400
\n1
\n2
\n0.333
\n1
\n3
\n0.250<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs
\n4
\n7
\n0.364
\n3
\n2
\n0.600
\n1
\n5
\n0.167<\/p>\n
Toronto Raptors
\n3
\n3
\n0.500
\n3
\n2
\n0.600
\n0
\n1
\n0.000<\/p>\n
Utah Jazz
\n3
\n3
\n0.500
\n1
\n0
\n1.000
\n2
\n3
\n0.400<\/p>\n
Washington Wizards
\n6
\n4
\n0.600
\n4
\n0
\n1.000
\n2
\n4
\n0.333<\/p>\n
St. Louis Bombers (inactive)
\n0
\n1
\n0.000
\n0
\n1
\n0.000
\n0
\n0
\n\u2014<\/p>\n
TOTALS
\n155
\n155
\n0.500
\n115
\n40
\n0.742
\n40
\n115
\n0.258<\/p>\n
Note: Teams listed may have played in different cities or had different names for some Game 7s played.<\/p>\n
Game 7 career leaders<\/p>\n
LeBron James fulfills his promise to Cleveland and brings the Cavaliers their first NBA championship ever in a classic Game 7.<\/p>\n
Most Points In Game 7s<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nPTS
\nGAMES<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n279
\n8<\/p>\n
Jerry West
\n278
\n9<\/p>\n
Elgin Baylor
\n263
\n9<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n244
\n9<\/p>\n
Wilt Chamberlain
\n220
\n9<\/p>\n
Larry Bird
\n216
\n8<\/p>\n
Jayson Tatum
\n187
\n7<\/p>\n
Paul Pierce
\n186
\n10<\/p>\n
Bill Russell
\n186
\n10<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry
\n185
\n6<\/p>\n
Most Points Per Game In Game 7s<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nAVG
\nG
\nPTS<\/p>\n
Luka Don\u010di\u0107
\n40.5
\n2
\n81<\/p>\n
Kevin Durant
\n36.2
\n5
\n181<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n34.9
\n8
\n279<\/p>\n
Michael Jordan
\n33.7
\n3
\n101<\/p>\n
Allen Iverson
\n32.5
\n2
\n65<\/p>\n
George Gervin
\n32.0
\n3
\n96<\/p>\n
Kevin Johnson
\n31.0
\n3
\n93<\/p>\n
Yao Ming
\n31.0
\n2
\n62<\/p>\n
Jerry West
\n30.9
\n9
\n278<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry
\n30.8
\n6
\n185<\/p>\n
Most FGs Made In Game 7s<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nFGM
\nG<\/p>\n
Jerry West
\n104
\n9<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n100
\n9<\/p>\n
Elgin Baylor
\n98
\n9<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n91
\n8<\/p>\n
Wilt Chamberlain
\n87
\n9<\/p>\n
Larry Bird
\n77
\n8<\/p>\n
Bill Russell
\n68
\n10<\/p>\n
Patrick Ewing
\n66
\n7<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry
\n64
\n6<\/p>\n
2 tied
\n63
\n7<\/p>\n
Most 3PM In Game 7s<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\n3PM
\nG<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry
\n32
\n6<\/p>\n
Jayson Tatum
\n23
\n7<\/p>\n
Ray Allen
\n22
\n11<\/p>\n
Kevin Durant
\n21
\n5<\/p>\n
Danny Ainge
\n18
\n9<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n16
\n8<\/p>\n
Draymond Green
\n15
\n6<\/p>\n
Paul Pierce
\n15
\n10<\/p>\n
JJ Redick
\n15
\n6<\/p>\n
Klay Thompson
\n15
\n5<\/p>\n
Triple-doubles in Game 7<\/p>\n
Nikola Jokic finishes with a triple-double (21 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists) as the Nuggets hang on in Game 7 to advance to the second round.<\/p>\n
DATE
\nPLAYER
\nROUND
\nTEAMS
\nSTATS<\/p>\n
May 5, 1969
\nJerry West
\nNBA Finals
\nLakers vs. Celtics
\n42 PTS, 13 REB, 12 AST<\/p>\n
May 13, 1984
\nLarry Bird
\nConference Semis
\nCeltics vs. Knicks
\n39 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST<\/p>\n
June 21, 1988
\nJames Worthy
\nNBA Finals
\nLakers vs. Pistons
\n36 PTS, 16 REB, 10 AST<\/p>\n
May 17, 1992
\nScottie Pippen
\nConference Semis
\nBulls vs. Knicks
\n17 PTS, 11 REB, 11 AST<\/p>\n
May 15, 2011
\nRussell Westbrook
\nConference Semis
\nThunder vs. Grizzlies
\n14 PTS, 10 REB, 14 AST<\/p>\n
May 26, 2012
\nRajon Rondo
\nConference Semis
\nCeltics vs. 76ers
\n18 PTS, 10 REB, 10 AST<\/p>\n
June 9, 2012
\nRajon Rondo
\nConference Finals
\nCeltics at Heat
\n22 PTS, 10 REB, 14 AST<\/p>\n
May 3, 2014
\nRussell Westbrook
\nFirst Round
\nThunder vs. Grizzlies
\n27 PTS, 10 REB, 16 AST<\/p>\n
May 2, 2015
\nBlake Griffin
\nFirst Round
\nClippers vs. Spurs
\n24 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST<\/p>\n
June 19, 2016
\nLeBron James
\nNBA Finals
\nCavaliers at Warriors
\n27 PTS, 11 REB, 11 AST<\/p>\n
April 27, 2019
\nNikola Joki\u0107
\nFirst Round
\nNuggets vs. Spurs
\n21 PTS, 15 REB, 10 AST<\/p>\n
Sept. 2, 2020
\nChris Paul
\nFirst Round
\nThunder at Rockets
\n19 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST<\/p>\n
Sept. 15, 2020
\nNikola Joki\u0107
\nConference Semis
\nNuggets at Clippers
\n16 PTS, 22 REB, 13 AST<\/p>\n
Player and coach appearances in Game 7s
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/russell-chamberlain.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Between the two of them, Wilt Chamberlain (right) and Bill Russell appeared in a combined 19 Game 7s in their career.<\/p>\n
Most Game 7s Played<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nGAMES<\/p>\n
Ray Allen
\n11<\/p>\n
Al Horford
\n10<\/p>\n
Paul Pierce
\n10<\/p>\n
Bill Russell
\n10<\/p>\n
Danny Ainge
\n9<\/p>\n
Elgin Baylor
\n9<\/p>\n
Wilt Chamberlain
\n9<\/p>\n
Robert Horry
\n9<\/p>\n
Dennis Johnson
\n9<\/p>\n
Joe Johnson
\n9<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n9<\/p>\n
Robert Parish
\n9<\/p>\n
Wes Unseld
\n9<\/p>\n
Jerry West
\n9<\/p>\n
Most Game 7s Won<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nWINS<\/p>\n
Bill Russell
\n10<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n9<\/p>\n
Ray Allen
\n7<\/p>\n
Tom Heinsohn
\n7<\/p>\n
Al Horford
\n7<\/p>\n
Robert Horry
\n7<\/p>\n
Dennis Johnson
\n7<\/p>\n
Danny Ainge
\n6<\/p>\n
Larry Bird
\n6<\/p>\n
Jaylen Brown
\n6<\/p>\n
Sam Cassell
\n6<\/p>\n
Bob Cousy
\n6<\/p>\n
Derek Fisher
\n6<\/p>\n
John Havlicek
\n6<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n6<\/p>\n
K.C. Jones
\n6<\/p>\n
Kevin McHale
\n6<\/p>\n
Robert Parish
\n6<\/p>\n
Frank Ramsey
\n6<\/p>\n
Marcus Smart
\n6<\/p>\n
Wes Unseld
\n6<\/p>\n
Most Game 7s Won Without A Loss<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nWINS<\/p>\n
Bill Russell
\n10<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n9<\/p>\n
Tom Heinsohn
\n7<\/p>\n
Bob Cousy
\n6<\/p>\n
Derek Fisher
\n6<\/p>\n
K.C. Jones
\n6<\/p>\n
Frank Ramsey
\n6<\/p>\n
Raja Bell
\n5<\/p>\n
Jim Loscutoff
\n5<\/p>\n
Satch Sanders
\n5<\/p>\n
Most Game 7s Coached<\/p>\n
COACH
\nGAMES<\/p>\n
Doc Rivers
\n16<\/p>\n
Pat Riley
\n11<\/p>\n
Larry Brown
\n10<\/p>\n
Phil Jackson
\n9<\/p>\n
Red Auerbach
\n8<\/p>\n
K.C. Jones
\n8<\/p>\n
Erik Spoelstra
\n8<\/p>\n
George Karl
\n7<\/p>\n
Dick Motta
\n7<\/p>\n
Don Nelson
\n7<\/p>\n
Gregg Popovich
\n7<\/p>\n
Most points in a Game 7 (non-NBA Finals)<\/p>\n
Steph Curry delivers with 50 points — the most in any Game 7 in NBA history — to lead the Warriors past the Kings and into the West semifinals.<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nPTS
\nTEAM (OPPONENT)
\nDATE
\nROUND<\/p>\n
Jayson Tatum
\n51
\nBoston Celtics (vs. Philadelphia 76ers)
\nMay 14, 2023
\nConference Semifinals<\/p>\n
Stephen Curry
\n50
\nGolden State Warriors (at Sacramento Kings)
\nApril 30, 2023
\nFirst Round<\/p>\n
Kevin Durant
\n48
\nBrooklyn Nets (vs. Milwaukee Bucks) (OT)
\nJune 19, 2021
\nConference Semifinals<\/p>\n
Sam Jones
\n47
\nBoston Celtics (vs. Cincinnati Royals)
\nApril 10, 1963
\nDivision Finals<\/p>\n
Dominique Wilkins
\n47
\nAtlanta Hawks (at Boston Celtics)
\nMay 22, 1988
\nConference Semifinals<\/p>\n
Kevin Johnson
\n46
\nPhoenix Suns (vs. Houston Rockets)
\nMay 20, 1995
\nConference Semifinals<\/p>\n
Luka Don\u010di\u0107
\n46
\nDallas Mavericks (at LA Clippers)
\nJune 6, 2021
\nFirst Round<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n45
\nCleveland Cavaliers (at Boston Celtics)
\nMay 18, 2008
\nConference Semifinals<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n45
\nCleveland Cavaliers (vs. Indiana Pacers)
\nApril 29, 2018
\nFirst Round<\/p>\n
Charles Barkley
\n44
\nPhoenix Suns (vs. Seattle SuperSonics)
\nJune 5, 1993
\nConference Finals<\/p>\n
Allen Iverson
\n44
\nPhiladelphia 76ers (vs. Milwaukee Bucks)
\nJune 3, 2001
\nConference Finals<\/p>\n
Most points in a Game 7 (NBA Finals)<\/p>\n
Jerry West was a 12-time All-NBA performer who knew how to elevate his game when the lights shined the brightest.<\/p>\n
PLAYER
\nPTS
\nTEAM (OPPONENT)
\nDATE<\/p>\n
Jerry West
\n42
\nLos Angeles Lakers (vs. Boston Celtics)
\nMay 5, 1969<\/p>\n
Elgin Baylor
\n41
\nLos Angeles Lakers (at Boston Celtics) (OT)
\nApril 18, 1962<\/p>\n
Bob Pettit
\n39
\nSt. Louis Hawks (at Boston Celtics) (2 OT)
\nApril 13, 1957<\/p>\n
Tom Heinsohn
\n37
\nBoston Celtics (vs. St. Louis Hawks) (2 OT)
\nApril 13, 1957<\/p>\n
LeBron James
\n37
\nMiami Heat (vs. San Antonio Spurs)
\nJune 20, 2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Take a look back at some great Game 7 plays in NBA history. \u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,198054,178621,105],"class_list":["post-420569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-nba-game-7","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}