On Wednesday, Malachi Flynn made NBA history by becoming one of the most unexpected players to score 50 points in a single game. Flynn scored 50 points on 18 of 25 shots (5 of 9 from outside the arc) in 34 minutes off the bench for the Detroit Pistons. He also added six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and five assists. It was insufficient, though, to keep the Pistons from falling to the Atlanta Hawks 121-113.
With his current performance, Flynn is only the third bench player in NBA history to score 50 points or more without shooting from the field, behind only Jamal Crawford’s 51 points on April 9, 2019.
He was seven points short of the franchise high for the Pistons.
Malachi Flynn’s incredible night and career at glance
Cade Cunningham, with 43, was the closest a Pistons player had come to 50 thus far this season. Flynn’s scoring total surpasses his previous career high of 27 points as well.
It’s just not often to see Flynn, a player, get 50 points in a game. He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 29th overall choice in the 2020 NBA Draft, although he has never established himself as a reliable starter. His freshman year, when he averaged 7.5 points and 19.7 minutes per game, was his most fruitful season.
Flynn has played just 12.3 minutes each game on average. He spent an additional two and a half seasons as a Raptor.
To put it another way, Flynn scored 4.4% of his career points and 14.9% of his points for the season on Wednesday.