The 12 Best Individual NBA Playoff Performances Over the Past 30 Years

8. Dirk Nowitzki, 5/17/2011

In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki sure had a rough road to his one and only NBA championship.

He had to deal with LeBron James and the Miami Heat's Big Three in the Finals, but before doing so, he was forced to down the Oklahoma City Thunder, which he and his Dallas Mavericks accomplished in five games. We could agree that Game 5 was the Conference Finals clincher, but Game 1 set the tone for the series.

Correction: Dirk set the tone for the series.

In the confines of the American Airlines Center, the German star unloaded 48 points in just under 41 minutes. He was 12 of 15 from the field and a ridiculous 24 of 24 from the free throw line. That caused his true shooting percentage to soar to 93.9%. With an offensive rating of 185, Nowitzki played to a Game Score of 46.5 and his Mavericks captured the win by a score of 121-112.