NightlyHoops
NBA games · Jan 3, 2026
NBA · Regular season · Saturday, Jan 3, 2026

Best and worst NBA performances, Jan 3, 2026

13 NBA players finished far above or below their usual on Jan 3, 2026, led by Jaylen Brown (season-high 50 points).

Showing: Regular seasonUsual: each player's games before Jan 3
141ELIGIBLEScored, with 12+ usual minutes or 20+ played
9ABOVE USUAL
4BELOW USUAL
6FEWER MINUTES
about 7EXPECTED BY DESIGNPer list, above and below, on an ordinary night
How to read this

The Above and Below lists hold games further from the player's usual than at least 95 in 100 comparable games, so an ordinary night still fills both lists. 141 eligible games on this night, so about 7 would land in each list even on an ordinary night. Fewer minutes than usual shows minutes only, never a score. Each list runs from the largest Game Score change down. How the score works

01

Above their usual

9 players · largest change first

Jaylen BrownBOS @ LAC · 50 PTS · 18-of-26 FG · 35:06 MIN Usual 29.5 PTS in 33.8 MIN · Game Score 39.8 against a usual 20.4 Season-high 50 points (previous high 42)▲ 99Very rare · above usualLuke KornetSAS vs POR · 23 PTS · 10-of-12 FG · 31:06 MIN Usual 8.3 PTS in 24.7 MIN · Game Score 25.8 against a usual 10.7 Season-high 23 points among the games the source holds (previous high 20)▲ 99Very rare · above usualNaz ReidMIN @ MIA · 29 PTS · 10-of-15 FG · 25:06 MIN Usual 14.0 PTS in 26.7 MIN · Game Score 25.2 against a usual 10.8 2nd-best Game Score of 35 games this season▲ 96Unusual · above usualMax ChristieDAL vs HOU · 24 PTS · 10-of-13 FG · 34:54 MIN Usual 11.9 PTS in 28.3 MIN · Game Score 23.1 against a usual 9.0 Best Game Score of the 33 games the source holds this season▲ 98Rare · above usualDyson DanielsATL @ TOR · 20 PTS · 9-of-13 FG · 34:12 MIN Usual 11.5 PTS in 34.1 MIN · Game Score 26.0 against a usual 12.1 Best Game Score of 36 games this season▲ 97Unusual · above usualNikola VučevićCHI vs CHA · 28 PTS · 11-of-15 FG · 34:00 MIN Usual 16.1 PTS in 30.2 MIN · Game Score 27.1 against a usual 13.9 Matched the season high of 28 points▲ 95Unusual · above usualDonovan ClinganPOR @ SAS · 24 PTS · 9-of-12 FG · 34:18 MIN Usual 10.8 PTS in 26.4 MIN · Game Score 24.8 against a usual 12.4 Season-high 24 points (previous high 22)▲ 95Unusual · above usualSandro MamukelashviliTOR vs ATL · 13 PTS · 8 AST · 5-of-10 FG · 31:54 MIN Usual 10.4 PTS · 1.7 AST in 20.9 MIN · Game Score 21.5 against a usual 9.2 Season-high 8 assists (previous high 7)▲ 96Unusual · above usualMore minutes than usualClint CapelaHOU @ DAL · 8 PTS · 5 STL · 4-of-8 FG · 26:48 MIN Usual 3.7 PTS · 0.4 STL in 11.1 MIN · Game Score 14.0 against a usual 4.8 Season-high 5 steals (previous high 1)▲ 97Unusual · above usualMore minutes than usual
02

Below their usual

4 players · largest change first

03

Fewer minutes than usual

6 players · minutes only, no score

04

Not scored

Played, with no score shown

  • 7 players with fewer than 10 games this season and no usable last season: 3 with no last season, 1 with under 20 games last season, 3 on a new team
METHOD

Game Score against each player's own usual line. How rare a gap is comes from NBA regular-season games of 2023-24 and 2024-25, checked on 2025-26. How the score works