4th (Tied): Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 36 points

Bucks (vs. 76ers) – March 25, 1970

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the all-time leading scorer in NBA history is on this list. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted him in 1969 after winning a coin toss against the Phoenix Suns for the first pick. At that time, Kareem was regarded as the best player to ever come out of high school after setting multiple school records, specifically in scoring.

There’s no doubt that Kareem took his brilliant scoring game to the pros. He was a prolific scorer for the Bucks heading into the postseason. In his playoff debut, he scored 36 points, to go along with 20 boards. Milwaukee won the series against the Philadelphia 76ers after securing four games to one – a gentleman’s sweep.

Milwaukee eventually lost in the Conference Finals against the eventual champions, New York Knicks. Despite this, that postseason run had proven that Kareem is a lethal scorer, leading his team in scoring throughout the playoffs.

It was indeed a glimpse to what eventually became one of the greatest careers in basketball history.