You do not need a chart to tell you that Klay Thompson scoring 37 points in a quarter of basketball is completely absurd. But this chart will help you understand just how absurd that performance really was.
This chart shows just how fast Klay Thompson put up 37 points
Most elite scorers need three times as much clock.
This chart shows every 35-point or better game by an NBA player this season, with minutes played on the x axis. As you can see, Klay’s 37 points in 12 minutes in the third quarter of the Warriors’ win over the Kings on Friday is a bit ... out of place.
Some facts from this exercise:
* Only one player has scored 35 points in less than 30 minutes this season (Lou Williams, 36 points in 29 minutes). Klay dropped 37 in 9 minutes and 44 seconds.
* Klay tied Mo Williams for the highest-scoring game of the season to date (52). Klay did it in 11 fewer minutes.
* Klay played 33 minutes total. Only four guys have scored 37 points or more in 33 or fewer minutes, other than Klay: Kobe Bryant (44 in 31), James Harden (44 in 32), DeMarcus Cousins (39 in 32) and Russell Westbrook (38 in 33). Again, Klay scored 52 in 33 and hit 37 in less than 10 minutes of game clock.
* Only once in Basketball-Reference.com’s records (since 1985-86) has a player scored 50 or more points in less than 33 minutes: Kobe, with 51 points in 31 minutes in 2003.
Good job, Klay Thompson.
