2016-17 NBA Fantasy Recap: Top 10 individual performances

10 – That’s the record amount of players who dropped 50+ points in a single outing this season.

117 – That’s the record amount of triple-doubles notched this season.

2 – That’s how much I scored in my last Intramural basketball game.

So, yeah. TAKE THAT FOR DATA.

The 2016-17 season was packed with absurd individual performances, and I parsed through all of them to generate this top-10 list.

Disclaimer: Whether or not the player’s team won the game did not factor into the construction of this list. Remember, we are fantasy basketball owners – it doesn’t matter to us.

No. 1: Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker: 03/24 vs. the Boston Celtics

Stats: 70 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 3PMs, 3 steals, 1 block, and 5 turnovers, shooting 21/40 (53%) from the field and 24/26 (92%) from the line

Comments: Hard to argue against this one. That’s 68 more than I put up in my IM game. Booker became just the 7^th player in NBA history to register 70 points. Not bad for a 20-year-old.

No. 2: Houston Rockets guard James Harden: 12/31 vs. the New York Knicks

Stats: 53 points, 16 rebounds, 17 assists, 9 3PMs, and 8 turnovers, shooting 14/26 (54%) from the field and 16/18 (89%) from the line

Comments: The Beard dominated this game in every way possible. Afterwards, Knicks’ point guard Brandon Jennings summed the performance up perfectly: “It was like NBA 2K numbers.”

No. 3: New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis: 10/26 vs. the Denver Nuggets

Stats: 50 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers, shooting 17/34 (50%) from the field and 16/17 (94%) from the line

Comments: To reach the 50 mark is exceptional. To do so and come only one block shy of an extremely rare 5x5 game... that’s just ridiculous.

No. 4: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook: 03/29 vs. the Orlando Magic

Stats: 57 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 3PMs, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers, shooting 21/40 (53%) from the field and 9/11 (82%) from the line

Comments: Can you believe we made it this far without mentioning Westbrook? This performance was absurd. 57 points is the most in a triple-double in NBA history.

No. 5: Houston Rockets guard James Harden: 01/27 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

Stats: 51 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists, 6 3PMs, 2 steals, 1 block, and 5 turnovers, shooting 16/28 (57%) from the field and 13/14 (93%) from the line

Comments: Yeah, Harden also did this.

No. 6: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook: 04/09 vs. the Denver Nuggets

Stats: 50 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 3PMs, 1 steal, and 2 turnovers, shooting 17/32 (53%) from the field and 11/11 (100%) from the line

Comments: This was the pinnacle of Russell’s insane season. Not only did the Brodie post these ridiculous numbers, he also hit a 36-foot game-winner and broke Oscar Robertson’s single-season triple-double record. Just a day at the office.

No. 7: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard: 04/08 vs. the Utah Jazz

Stats: 59 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 9 3PMs, 1 steal, 1 block, and 0 turnovers, shooting 18/34 (53%) from the field and 14/16 (88%) from the field

Comments: NO TURNOVERS. How is it possible to drop 59 points and not commit 1 turnover? And AGAINST THE JAZZ? I didn’t know it was possible to score at all against them.

No. 8: Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins: 12/20 vs. the Portland Trail Blazers

Stats: 55 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 3PMs, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers shooting 17/28 (61%) from the field and 16/17 (94%) from the line

Comments: It was a Boogie night in Sacramento, with the big man notching a career-high and helping the Kings rally in the fourth quarter. This was also the game that Cousins was temporarily ejected from.

No. 9: Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler: 01/02 vs. the Charlotte Hornets

Stats: 52 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 3PM, 3 steals, 1 block, and 2 turnovers, shooting 15/24 (63%) from the field and 21/22 (95%) from the line

Comments: Talk about efficiency. Jimmy got buckets this night.

No. 10: Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns: 11/30 vs. the New York Knicks

Stats: 47 points, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, and 4 turnovers, shooting 15/22 (68%) from the field and 17/20 (85%) from the line

Comments: KAT had a few ridiculous 40-point games. This was the most impressive.

Note: Klay Thompson’s 60-point game, Draymond Green’s 10-steal game, and Rudy Gobert’s 25-rebound game did not make this list. That should tell you everything you need to know about this season.

And one more time for good measure...

TAKE THAT FOR DATA.