NBA fans, especially over the past 15 years, have always been enamored with the offensive side of the ball and particularly scoring. The discussions when it comes to all-time greats in the game of basketball always seem to surround scoring and how much a player averaged for a season, scored in a single game, or how much they have scored in their entire careers. I do not blame them. Highlight reel plays, and scoring outbursts are certainly exciting. It’s just that scoring isn’t the only aspect of basketball, and players have made entire Hall of Fame careers off of being outstanding defenders, passers, and rebounders as well.
The focus of today will be on some of those Hall of Famers and others who got their opportunities on the court due to things other than being a big-time scorer. These players have accumulated the most games with exactly one point scored. Some of them are veterans who stuck around for a while. Others are players that coaches simply could not fix. Scoring exactly one point in a game doesn’t mean you didn’t affect the game in other ways, but it also means that you didn’t convert a single field goal in your time on the court. Being able to accumulate the most of these such games means that they were afforded the opportunity to repeatedly go out on the court despite their offensive shortcomings. It truly is one of the game’s most fascinating statistics.
These are the NBA players with the most games with one point scored in history.
T10. Red Holzman – 29 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Red Holzman was mainly a backup point guard with the Rochester Royals and Milwaukee Hawks from 1949 thru 1954. Holzman was never really known for his scoring, and as a matter of fact, his career high is just 24 points in his rookie season against the Baltimore Bullets when the league was still the BAA. Holzman had just three games in his career with over 20 points, and his career shooting percentage was 31.7%.
You can imagine that with these sorts of numbers, Holzman was either seeing little to no playing time. You would be right, considering he was stuck behind Bob Davis in the rotation for most of his career, who was the far superior scorer and passer. Holzman would go on to become one of the best coaches in New York Knicks history as the brains behind the 1970 and 1973 NBA championships they won. It is safe to say that Holzman’s career as a coach far exceeds that of his as a player.
T10. Mark McNamara – 29 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Mark McNamara was the 22nd overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1982 NBA Draft. Standing at 6’11’’ and weighing 235 pounds, McNamara was thought to be a solid addition to the Sixers. In his rookie seasons, however, McNamara would appear in just 36 games for Philadelphia and see just 5.1 minutes of play. McNamara was not once a double-digit scorer and his career-high for PPG in a season was just 5.5 PPG in 1984.
The big man was seen as a better rebounder and just a big body rather than a potential star or offensive weapon. McNamara’s career–high for points in a game was 22, which just so happens to be his career-high for rebounds and the only time he ever reached 20 points in a game. He would play eight seasons in the NBA for the Sixers, Spurs, Lakers, and Magic before hanging it up in 1991.
T10. Mark West – 29 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Mark West is another big man that broke into the NBA during the 90s and made a long career out of being a good rebounder and solid defender for most of his career. West was the 30th overall pick of the Mavericks in 1983 but was released after one season. Over the next 17 seasons, West would make appearances for the Suns, Pistons, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers, and Bucks as a premier shot-blocker and rebounder.
The best stretch of West’s career would come from 1988 thru 1994 with the Phoenix Suns. During this time, West averaged 7.3 PPG and 6.1 RPG but also added 1.7 BPG, including four straight seasons with 1.8 BPG or better. West’s physicality and defensive ability allowed him to have a career that spanned nearly two decades despite a career-high scoring average of 10.5 PPG in 1990. It truly shows the value of a big man just 30 years ago and how much the game has changed up to today.
9. Tyson Chandler – 31 1-Point Games
Credit: Kevin Jaira-USA TODAY Sports
One of the more well-known names on this list is Tyson Chandler. As a 19-year NBA veteran, Chandler became one of the top defensive bigs in basketball during his prime and, in 2012, won a Defensive Player of the Year award averaging 1.4 BPG as well as 9.9 RPG. On offense, Chandler could finish around the rim and was a legitimate lob threat with great athleticism and a nose for the ball on rebounds.
Chandler was never considered a scorer either, only averaging more than 10.0 PPG in a season four times in 19 years. Chandler played for eight different teams in his career, including the Bulls, Hornets, Mavericks, Knicks, Suns, Lakers, and Rockets. In 2011, he anchored an interior defense that resulted in an NBA championship with the Mavericks in one of the biggest upsets in Finals history. He earned one All-Star selection in his career as well three All-Defensive Team selections.
T8. Tom Hammonds – 32 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Tom Hammonds was the 9th overall selection by the Washington Bullets in the 1989 NBA Draft. Hammonds was an All-ACC player in college in his senior season at Georgia Tech, where he averaged 20.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG that season. For some reason, the offensive ability didn’t translate to the NBA, and he only averaged 10.0 PPG or more once in 1992, a season in which he played just 37 games.
Hammonds’ career-high in the NBA was 31 points, so the ability everybody thought was there had shown itself once or twice. He had just 12 other games in his career with 20 or more points as he played 12 seasons in the NBA with the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Bullets, and Hornets. As a pro, Hammonds has no accolades to speak of, which is surprising for a Top 10 pick with so much potential that just didn’t work out at the next level.
T8. Ben Wallace – 32 1-Point Games
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When it comes to Ben Wallace’s career, the same criticism can be heard time and time again. How can this guy be considered one of the greats with little to no offensive game to speak of? The fact is that Ben Wallace was put on the court to do just a few things. He was meant to get physical with anyone who dared entered his paint and protect the rim at all costs. Wallace did exactly that as a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and one-time blocks champion, and one of the greatest centers of the 2000s.
Wallace wasn’t just a rebounder and defender. He was the heart and soul of the 2004 Detroit Pistons team who upset the Los Angeles Lakers for an NBA title. He was the guy whose energy rubbed off on everyone who shared the court with him, which led to tons of massive success in the NBA. Wallace never averaged double-digits in a season in his career as a scorer, but he didn’t need to. Teams competed at the highest level of play on the broad shoulders of Wallace’s impact on the game that went far beyond scoring.
6. Michael Ruffin – 37 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Michael Ruffin was the 32nd overall pick of the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 NBA Draft, their second offseason beyond the Michael Jordan era. Ruffin would play two seasons with the Bulls, playing 146 games and averaging 2.4 PPG to go with 3.6 RPG. At Tulsa in college, Ruffin wasn’t someone who could light up the scoreboard as much either, but he was a premier shot blocker who averaged 2.5 BPG on each of his final two seasons at school and a great rebounder with 10.0 RPG or more in two out of four years as well.
Ruffin would last a decade in the NBA and play with the Bulls, Sixers, Jazz, Wizards, Bucks, and Trail Blazers. Ruffin even took a year off from the NBA to play overseas in Spain in 2002-03. To show Ruffin’s inability to score the ball, his career-high in points was 14 twice, and he had only two other games in which he reached 10 points. For a player who was there to be more than a scorer and was rarely successful at that, it isn’t hard to see why he is among the all-time leaders in 1-point games.
5. Ervin Johnson – 39 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Coming out of college at New Orleans in 1993, Ervin Johnson was a double-double machine and had the potential to be an all-time great defender with 2.0 BPG in each of his final three seasons at school. He averaged 18.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG, and 2.7 BPG his senior season at college, which became a solid explanation for the SuperSonics drafting him at 23rd overall in 1993. Johnson would spend 13 seasons in the NBA with just four different teams, including the Nuggets, SuperSonics, Bucks, and Timberwolves.
Johnson’s rebounding and shot-blocking ability translated to the NBA nicely for the most part, as he registered six seasons with at least 1.0 BPG and two seasons with 2.0 BPG. His rebounding numbers were solid, going for 6.1 RPG for his career and peaking at 11.1 RPG in 1997. Johnson was never asked to be a scorer, though, as he registered just five total 20-point games in his career and a career-high of 28 points in a game in 1996. Like many other names on this list, Johnson was nabbed for his ability to protect the rim, an art that was truly appreciated during his time.
4. Charles Jones – 41 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
At the No. 4 spot of players with the most games with exactly one point scored is Charles Jones, a 15-year NBA veteran. Jones was another big center standing at 6’9’’ and weighing 215 pounds. He was the 165th overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Jones would skip the first four seasons of his NBA career in order to play overseas in China, Italy, and France. Once he got back, Jones would spend 15 seasons in the NBA for the Sixers, Rockets, Bulls, Bullets, and Pistons.
Jones was a tremendous shot-blocker who averaged 1.6 BPG for his career and recorded five seasons in which he had 2.0 or more BPG. His career-high for points in a game was 17, and he had just 20 games with 10 or more points in his 15 seasons in the NBA. Jones isn’t a household name, nor was he ever an All-Star but he stayed around for 15 years as a physical presence in the paint and one of the better shot blockers in the NBA at his peak.
3. Jason Collins – 43 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Clearly, the theme for this list has been big men with bright futures coming into the league who just weren’t known as scorers. That trend continues with our No. 3 spot on this list and Jason Collins. In his senior season at Standford, Collins wasn’t one lighting up the scoreboard as he averaged 14.5 PPG and 7.8 RPG. In his first six seasons with the Nets, Collins started a majority of their games and was a decent rebounder and defender who just didn’t take shots or was even asked to.
Collins is another big man in the 2000s and 2010s who kept a job for over a decade due to being 7’0’’ tall and weighing around 255 pounds. Collins’ career-high for points in a game was 20 points which he accomplished once, but he did have over 65 games with at least 10 points which are more than many players can say on this list. For his career, Collins played 735 games and averaged 3.6 PPG and 3.7 RPG in total.
2. Chris Dudley – 44 1-Point Games
Credit: Fadeaway World
Chris Dudley is one of the most recognizable faces on this list, but not for his basketball ability. Fans remember Dudley for the infamous clip of Shaq completely destroying him with his signature Black Tornado on a poster dunk only and throwing him to the ground like he was a stuffed animal being tossed around by a child. Dudley got up, threw the ball at Shaq, and fired some expletives his way, which prompted technical fouls and the most minor of skirmishes.
Dudley was a 16-year veteran of the NBA who spent time with the Cavaliers, Nets, Trail Blazers, Knicks, and Suns as his career unfolded. At his peak, Dudley was a decent shot-blocker who could give him team 2.2-2.5 BPG and pull down 8.0-9.0 RPG. His career-high in points was 20 points which he achieved only one time but did have himself 81 10-point games or better in his career.
1. Reggie Evans – 58 1-Point Games
Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Our No. 1 spot belongs to Reggie Evans, who has 14 more 1-point games than our second-place player with 58. Evans was a 13-year NBA veteran who played for the SuperSonics, Sixers, Nets, Nuggets, Kings, Raptors, and Clippers in his career. Evans was as physical as any other player there was during the 2000s and 2010s who was a beat on the glass as a rebounder and wasn’t afraid to dive on the floor for a loose ball or rip them out of the grips of opponents.
Evans enjoyed a career-high of 22 points in his career, which he achieved twice, along with one other career game of 21 points. Evans had 75 10-point games in his career as well, but the offense just wasn’t his forte. Evans had a career-high of 26 rebounds and 14 career games, with at least 20 rebounds in his career, showing he was far more valuable in that aspect of the game than any scoring ability he may have had.
Source: fadeawayworld
