Malachi Flynn’s NBA career has always felt like it was stuck in neutral. On Wednesday night, he exploded a 50-point game off the bench for the Detroit Pistons in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Step aside, Tony Delk and Corey Brewer! The NBA now has a new emperor when it comes to the most random 50-point scoring game in league history.
Flynn finished with 50 points, five assists, six rebounds, and three steals. He shot 18-of-25 from the floor, 5-of-9 from three-point range, and 9-of-12 from the foul line. Flynn nearly doubled his previously career-high of 27 points in a single game. This is a stunning and frankly hilarious scoring outburst from a player just barely hanging onto his place in the league, and it feels like it could only happen against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks beat the Pistons, 121-113, because everyone beats Detroit this year. The loss drops the Pistons to 13-63 overall, the worst record in the NBA.
Nothing says “NBA in early April” like a 50-burger from Malachi Flynn. Watch the highlights of his incredible performance here:
Flynn is averaging 5.2 points per game for his career. This is just unbelievable. The Hawks also surrendered a 73-point game to Luka Doncic earlier this season. Atlanta’s defense ranks No. 27 overall in efficiency this year out of 30 teams.
Flynn has never really made a name for himself in the NBA. The 6’1 point guard transferred from Washington State to San Diego State for his final year of college ball and exploded into one of the most productive players in the country. He parlayed that season into becoming a first round pick, with the Toronto Raptors selecting him No. 29 overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Flynn has come off the bench for almost the entirety of his career, and he’s never really been a scorer. Toronto finally traded Flynn this year, including him in the blockbuster deal that sent OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks for R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. He played only 14 games for the Knicks before he was traded again, this time being sent to the Detroit Pistons in a trade that netted New York veterans Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanović.
Now he joins the list — and my opinion, tops it — of the most 50-point games in NBA history. A few other performances to consider:
