Who Holds the NBA Record for Most 3s in a Game? The Jaw-Dropping Answer

I still remember exactly where I was when Klay Thompson went nuclear against the Bulls back in 2018. I was watching with a group of friends, and by the third quarter, we'd all fallen silent, just staring at the screen in disbelief. He was pulling up from everywhere, and the net wasn't just snapping—it was practically screaming. That night, he tied the record, and it felt like witnessing a force of nature. It got me thinking, who actually holds the NBA record for most 3s in a game? The answer, as it turns out, is a piece of basketball history that still makes my jaw drop. It's not just one player; it's a tie between two of the most explosive shooters the game has ever seen: Klay Thompson and his fellow "Splash Brother," Stephen Curry. Both have drained an unbelievable 14 three-pointers in a single game.

The sheer volume of that number is what gets me. Fourteen. In a 48-minute game, that’s a three-pointer roughly every three and a half minutes if you spread it out. But of course, it doesn't happen like that. It comes in flurries, in torrents. For a shooter to get that hot, to have the green light, the stamina, and the sheer audacity to keep firing—it’s a perfect storm. Klay did it first on October 29, 2018, against my hometown Chicago Bulls. He was 14-of-24 from deep. I remember watching that game, and after his tenth, you just knew he was hunting the record. The arena had that electric buzz, the kind where every person in the building is standing for every possession. Then Steph matched him just a few years later, on November 8, 2021, against the Atlanta Hawks, going 14-of-19. Steph's efficiency that night was just otherworldly. As a fan of the game, you have to appreciate these moments. They're not just stats; they're performances.

This pursuit of greatness, of pushing the body and the game to its absolute limit, isn't unique to the NBA. You see it in leagues across the world, where players are constantly assessing their physical and mental boundaries. It reminds me of a recent quote from the PBA, the Philippine Basketball Association. After a win, a player named Heading discussed his own cautious approach to returning to peak form. He said, "But as we kinda ramped up things for myself on the court, we will just continue to assess the situation, continue to assess how my body is feeling, try not to rush into anything that is too soon." That mindset—the careful, deliberate management of one's capabilities—is what allows for those record-shattering explosions. A player like Klay or Steph doesn't just wake up and hit 14 threes. It's the product of thousands of hours of practice, of understanding their mechanics, and most importantly, of listening to their bodies to know exactly when they can unleash hell.

I have to be honest, as much as I admire Steph's wizardry, Klay's performance against the Bulls is the one that's seared into my memory. Maybe it's because it was the first time I saw the record fall live, or maybe it's the sheer, stoic focus he displayed. There was no excessive celebration, just a business-like demeanor as he ran back on defense after each bomb. It was a masterclass in being in the zone. That's the thing about the NBA record for most 3s in a game—it represents a player transcending the sport for a brief, glorious window. It’s a level of offensive firepower that was unimaginable two decades ago. The game has evolved, and these two warriors are at the absolute forefront of that evolution.

So, when someone asks that question—who holds the NBA record for most 3s in a game?—the jaw-dropping answer is a testament to two of the greatest shooters in history sharing a mountaintop. It’s a record that feels both untouchable and tantalizingly breakable, perhaps by one of them on another magical night. For us fans, all we can do is wait, watch, and hope we’re lucky enough to witness the next chapter. Because when a shooter gets that hot, it’s pure basketball magic.