Devin Booker now owns the record for highest-scoring playoff debut
Although Devin Booker had zero playoff experience coming into this year, you kind of felt because of his playing style and demeanor that he was built for the postseason.
Booker has made history in the 2020-21 playoffs by having the best scoring debut in postseason history, beating Rick Barry‘s 1967 record.
He wasn’t the only player to make history in this postseason, either, as Trae Young posted the third-highest scoring playoff debut in league history, trailing just Booker (2020-21) and Barry (1966-67), and surpassing LeBron James (2005-06) by 61 points to take his spot on the list.
Note: Julius Erving scored 518 points in his first NBA playoffs, which actually would have put the Hall-of-Famer in third place on this list, but because he was already a sixth-year pro by then with five ABA playoff runs under his belt, we’re not counting him for our purposes.
Below, you can check out the 25 highest-scoring playoff debuts in league history, a list filled with various familiar names as well as some surprising ones.