National Basketball Association

Anthony Davis surpassed Michael Jordan for the best start to a modern NBA season

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:50 p.m. ET

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Andrew Lynch

The New Orleans Pelicans are 0-2 so far in this brand new NBA season, but you can't really blame Anthony Davis for those woes.

After a 45-point outburst against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, Davis is up to 95 points through the first two games of the year — and not a single professional basketball player in the past 50 years can touch that mark. Not LeBron James, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and not even the GOAT, Michael Jordan.

In fact, with 95 points in his team's first two contests, Davis surpassed Jordan's previous mark (91) for the most points by one player in the first two games of any season in modern NBA history.

Jordan set that mark during the 1986-87 season, his third year in the NBA. He tallied 3,041 points on 37.1 points per game in the regular season, both of which stand as career highs for Jordan. Wilt Chamberlain holds the all-time mark for best start to an NBA season, scoring 105 points in the first two games in 1961-62.

Davis probably isn't going to reach such lofty heights this season — although with New Orleans' tragically weak roster, he might have to if the Pelicans plan on winning any games. Davis had a chance to match Jordan through the first three games when his Pelicans took on the Spurs on Saturday. Jordan scored 34 points in his third game in 1986-87, bringing his three-game, season-opening total to 125 points. Davis needed 30 against San Antonio to keep pace, however he could manage only 18.

From there? The sky's the limit for The Brow, if not for his team. No wonder Kevin Durant picked Davis to lead the NBA in scoring this year.

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