The 25 best individual performances that still ended in defeat

History is told by the winners. That tends to hold true for sports as well. Most people don't remember the team that loses, unless it does so in all-time heartbreaking or embarrassing fashion, like Chris Webber's ill-fated timeout for Michigan's Fab Five or the Atlanta Falcons' utter meltdown against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. It's a shame, too, because some of the best individual efforts in history have come in defeat. So with that in mind, let's take a look at some of the greatest all-time individual efforts that weren't enough to propel teams to victory.

Murray and the Nuggets were a revelation in the 2020 NBA Playoffs, twice rallying from 3-1 series deficits to win in seven games, first against the Jazz, then again versus the Clippers. In that Jazz series, Murray went off for 50 points in Game 4, making 18-of-31 from the floor, including 9-of-15 from three-point range. The Jazz still won the game to take a 3-1 series lead, but no matter, Murray simply went out and scored 50 points again in Game 6, in even more efficient fashion, to force a Game 7 that the Nuggets won. The outburst in Game 4, even though it ended in defeat, was Murray's breakout performance as a pro.

As a general rule, basketball tends to lend itself to individually great performances that don't end in wins. The very nature of the sport sets up that dynamic any time a clearly superior team is matched against a foe that happens to have the best overall player. That was the case in 1986 when Michael Jordan and the Bulls faced off against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Jordan had missed most of the season with a broken leg, yet Chicago somehow staggered into the postseason with a 30-52 mark. The 1985-86 Celtics were an all-time great team, and they swept Chicago in three games. Jordan made them work for it, though, especially in Game 2, a 135-131 overtime loss for the Bulls. He went off for 63 points, shooting 22-of-41 from the field and 19-of-21 from the line. Incredibly he did all of this without attempting a single three-pointer. His efforts went for naught thanks to, among other things, 36 points from Larry Bird. Still, the Boston Garden crowd had to respect the effort — and the rest of the league was officially on notice.

You battle and carry your team through the playoffs, performing magnificently in what is arguably the most pressure-packed position in sports. Your team gets all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose, 3-0. But hey, at least you get awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. That's what happened to Giguere in 2003. He was otherworldly for the entire postseason, with five shutouts and a .945 save percentage. Included in that run was a Game 1 performance against the Red Wings that saw him make 63 saves on 64 shots in a triple-overtime thriller that kick-started a stunning sweep of the league's highest-scoring team. One presumes Giguere didn't do too much celebrating with his newly earned trophy.

Game 4 of the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinals was the ultimate battle of wills. The Penguins and Flyers tallied a goal apiece in regulation, then played four scoreless overtimes before Keith Primeau finally ended things at 12:01 of the fifth OT. Tugnutt saved 70 of 72 shots for the game and is the only goalie in the last 30 years — and possibly ever, according to Hockey Reference — to lose a playoff game while making at least 70 saves and allowing two or fewer goals.That's probably not much consolation to him, for the Penguins went on to lose to Philly in six games.

Quick, name all the players since the ABA-NBA merger to have a 45-point, 25-rebound playoff game as a member of the losing team. I'll help you. Hakeem Olajuwon. That's it. That's the list. Olajuwon went off for 49 and 25, in fact, in a do-or-die Game 6 against the Seattle SuperSonics, but his Herculean effort went for naught. Tom Chambers and Dale Ellis were unstoppable for Seattle, scoring 37 and 36 points, respectively, and Olajuwon's teammates simply couldn't provide enough support to push the series to a decisive Game 7. Do you think The Dream likes the distinction of having a singularly great performance in a loss? Me either.

The first 27 games of Bonds' postseason career yielded one home run, a .196 batting average and a .618 OPS. Not great! His numbers in the 2002 World Series against the Angels? Those seem like misprints all the way across the board. In 30 plate appearances, Bonds hit four homers and two doubles, walked 13 times, including seven intentional free passes, and struck out a grand total of three times. All of that adds up to the following: .471 batting average; .700 on-base percentage; 1.294 slugging percentage; and a 1.994 OPS. Go pop in "MLB The Show," set the difficulty level to rookie and try to put up those numbers for seven games with one player. You will fail miserably. In fact, you probably won't come close. Now imagine someone doing that in real life. Oh, the Giants lost in seven, and Bonds retired without ever winning a championship. Having said that, Anaheim feels like one of the more forgettable champions in recent memory. Bonds' performance was anything but.

Many call it the greatest single-game pitching performance in baseball history, and it's hard to blame them. On May 26, 1959, Haddix was untouchable for 12 full innings, setting down all 36 Milwaukee Braves hitters he faced in order. Unfortunately the Pirates could do nothing to provide him with any run support, and finally in the 13th inning things came undone. Felix Mantilla reached on an error, Hank Aaron was intentionally walked, and Joe Adcock doubled (it was actually a home run, but ruled as such because Aaron passed Adcock on the bases) to win the game. Haddix's final line? He went 12 and 2/3 innings; one hit, one walk, one loss.

Romo's career was defined by his inability to win in the playoffs, but he was certainly capable of posting spectacular numbers. One of his all-time best individual performances came in —what else — a loss. The Cowboys and the Broncos did battle on Oct. 6, 2013, and Romo went off in a big way. He threw for 506 yards and five touchdowns, outdueling Peyton Manning in the process. It still wasn't enough. The Cowboys lost, 51-48, and in the process Romo became only the second quarterback in league history to lose a game in which he threw for at least 500 yards and five touchdowns. The other? Matthew Stafford, only one year earlier.

If you thought Tony Romo's hard-luck loss was bad, Manning somehow has him beat. After all, Romo's big numbers came at home against a team that played in the Super Bowl that season. Manning had an even bigger game, on the road, against a mediocre team, and his team still couldn't come away with a victory. Manning became the first, and is still the only quarterback in league history to lose a game in which he threw six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The day was Nov. 1, 2015, and the New Orleans Saints somehow managed to win the game, 52-49. It bears repeating: Manning is the only quarterback in the history of the league to lose a game with those numbers. Rough.

Simpson delivered a singular performance on Thanksgiving Day, 1976. His Bills went into Detroit to face the Lions, and Simpson went off to the tune of 273 yards and two touchdowns. Incredibly not only did Buffalo lose, but the game wasn't even all that close. Detroit jumped out to a 20-0 lead and more or less cruised to a 27-14 victory. Simpson is the only running back in NFL history to post a game of at least 250 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. One imagines that Gary Marangi's 4-21, 29-yard passing effort had something to do with the Bills' overall futility.

Lakers-Celtics is one of the best rivalries in sports, and if you're talking to an older basketball fan, it might be the best. The games are always heated and intense, the championship battles frequently end up in a Game 7, and the list of players on each side is usually a who's who of the league's biggest stars. No one had a bigger night in Game 7 of the 1969 Finals than West. "The Logo" went off for 42 points — more than the next two highest-scoring Lakers combined — and almost willed Los Angeles to a title. He threw in 13 rebounds and 12 assists for good measure, and no player in Finals history has managed as many points on the way to a triple-double while still coming up short in the game. West's Lakers lost, 108-106, and he received the Finals MVP Award, something he probably wasn't dying to put in his trophy case at home.

Philly fans at the Wells Fargo Center probably thought that their beloved Flyers were well on their way to forcing a decisive Game 7 against the hated Penguins in their 2018 Eastern Conference First Round series. Sean Couturier was a man on a mission, accounting for two goals and two assists as Philly took a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately the Penguins responded with five straight goals, and though Couturier never gave in, scoring his third of the game to close the deficit to 7-5, the Penguins closed the door with an empty-netter, and Couturier's three-goal, two-assist tour de force went for naught. 

Pity anyone that went up against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Playoffs for most of the 1980s. It was typically a losing proposition. Dominique Wilkins' Atlanta Hawks pushed the Celtics to the brink in the 1988 Eastern Conference semifnals, but they had to win Game 7 in Boston Garden to advance — never an easy task. Wilkins was up to the challenge, scoring 47 points, but unfortunately for Atlanta he was more of a one-man band. Bird, on the other hand, tallied 34 but was joined in his effort by Kevin McHale, who posted 33, as well as balanced help from Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. Despite Wilkins' heroics, the Celtics prevailed, 118-116.

Ferraro's Islanders were in dire straits against the Capitals, as they attempted to close out their Patrick Division semifinal series in 1993. About halfway through the third period, the Caps were up 5-1, with Ferraro having the only New York goal to that point, and looked to be cruising into Game 6. Ferraro made everyone at the Capital Centre sweat, though, notching a natural hat trick in just under eight minutes of game time to bring the Isles to within 5-4. Washington staved off his one-man rally, though, and notched an empty-net goal to provide the final margin. Ferraro's feat of scoring four goals in a playoff loss was matched in 2023 by both Joe Pavelski and Leon Draisaitl - on consecutive days, no less - but neither man's performance was as frantic and desperate as Ferraro's.

April 9, 1978 was a good day for NBA fans who loved scoring outbursts. George Gervin and David Thompson were locked in a tight race for the league's scoring title, and both set out to go off on the season's final day. Gervin had the advantage of knowing what he needed to do, having seen Thompson post 73 points earlier in the day. He took on the task with gusto, knocking down 23-of-49 shots from the field, and 17-of-20 from the line — in 33 minutes, no less. His 63 points were just enough to edge Thompson for the scoring crown, but the one thing he didn't get that day was a win for the Spurs. They fell to the New Orleans Jazz in a rout, 153-132, but the outcome of the game seems like something of an afterthought.

Pity David Thompson—he did everything he could to win a scoring title and ostensibly win his team a game, but he came up empty on both counts. Thompson knew he had to post a big number to wrest the scoring title from George Gervin, and his 73 points on 28-of-38 shooting and 17-of-20 from the line seemed like it would be enough. Alas, Gervin set out knowing what number he had to reach, and his 73 points were enough to top Thompson for the title by the slimmest of margins. To make matters worse, Thompson's Nuggets lost to the Pistons, 139-137, though they did have a longer playoff run than Gervin and the Spurs.

Maybe the Pirates, the franchise on the wrong end of Harvey Haddix's imperfect perfect game, deserved a little karmic payback. They were thoroughly dominated by Los Angeles' Rich Hill on Aug. 23, 2017. Hill dominated the Pirates, retiring the first 24 batters he faced, until Jordy Mercer reached on an error to start the ninth inning. Hill escaped that situation with his no-hitter intact, but still, the Dodgers could not score any runs. Josh Harrison saw to it that Hill would be the hard-luck loser when he homered to lead off the bottom of the 10th, with the ball barely clearing the fence. Hill's masterpiece had an ugly ending, but the fact that he went nine full innings and into the 10th without throwing 100 pitches is something of a miracle in modern baseball.

Thomas and the Pistons were looking to close the door on the Lakers, up 3-2 in their 1988 NBA Finals clash. Thomas had scored 14 points in the third quarter for Detroit, and then he rolled his ankle and briefly left the game. He came back in and scored 11 more before the quarter was up. Thomas finished with 25 in the third quarter and 43 for the game, but the Lakers wound up winning, though not without some foul-related controversy. The Pistons, with Thomas' ankle still very much affecting him, were unable to hold off Los Angeles in Game 7, and Thomas' injury and subsequent effort merely went down as a great performance in defeat.

Hank Gathers' on-court death in the 1990 WCC Tournament was and remains a shocking, tragic moment in sports history. Gathers' Loyola Marymount and high school teammate, Bo Kimble, decided to honor his friend in the 1990 NCAA Tournament by shooting the first free throw of each game left-handed. He made all three attempts, and his performance against UNLV in the West Regional Final, after Loyola went on a Cinderella run, earned him nothing but plaudits. Though the Runnin' Rebels were perfectly suited to exploit Loyola's run-and-gun attack, they could do nothing to stop Kimble. He finished a 131-101 loss with 42 points and 11 rebounds and an-court tribute that will never be forgotten.

Everyone else in this gallery of hard-luck losers turned in their great performances in the context of a team sport. Bob May stared down Tiger Woods at his unbeatable peak and nearly did the unthinkable. May, the definition of a journeyman, matched Woods shot for shot in the final round of the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla and, in fact, managed to fire a 66 to Woods' 67 for the day. Problem was, Woods had started the round one shot ahead of May, so that score only got them to a three-hole playoff where Woods won by a single stroke. May was one of the only golfers who didn't crumble against Woods in 2000, and the fact that he pushed him to the absolute brink with clutch shot after clutch shot garnered him plenty of respect and plaudits.

Russell Westbrook is one of the NBA's best players of the last 20 years, no question. But he does have a reputation for being something of a relentless gunner despite his well-known ability to fill a stat sheet. He was in rare form against former (and current, again) teammate James Harden and the Rockets on April 19, 2017 in the Western Conference Playoffs. Westbrook became the only player to post a playoff triple-double with at least 50 points while still losing the game. He totaled 51 points, 13 assists and 10 boards, but in true Westbrook fashion, he did it on a rather inefficient 17-of-43 from the field. Thunder fans probably didn't much care, correctly figuring that Westbrook putting the team on his back was the only way they had a prayer against the Rockets. Oklahoma City lost the game, 115-111, and the series in five games.

The 1988 Western Conference semifinals ended up a seven-game classic between the Jazz and Lakers. Los Angeles prevailed but not because of a lack of effort from John Stockton. The point guard, only a few years into his career, stared down Magic Johnson and turned in an all-time great individual performance in Game 5. He finished with 23 points and an astounding 24 assists while also playing all 48 minutes. His efforts went for naught, however, as the Lakers pulled out the win, 111-109.

Most players are so nervous when taking part in a Super Bowl that they just want to play a clean game without any major mistakes. In Super Bowl V, Howley was nothing short of spectacular for the Cowboys defense. He intercepted two Baltimore Colts passes and forced a fumble. That was enough to earn him MVP honors for the game, becoming the first non-quarterback and first defensive player to win the award. The problem was that Dallas lost the game, 16-13, despite holding a 13-6 lead at the outset of the fourth quarter. The performance also made Howley the epitome of the concept of a player from the losing side winning the MVP Award.

Most sports fans will not soon forget J.R. Smith's colossal mental blunder at the end of Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. Smith tried to run out the clock after rebounding a missed free throw, thinking that the Cavaliers had the lead when, in fact, the game was tied. Golden State ended up winning comfortably in overtime, but the whole episode overshadowed an all-time performance by LeBron James. Knowing that Cleveland's only chance to make the series competitive was to steal a game in Oakland, James went off, scoring 51 points while shooting 60 percent from the field. He dished out eight assists and grabbed eight rebounds for good measure, but all anyone remembers from that game is Smith's blunder — which is a shame.

I'm very sorry to do this, Buffalo fans, but these two deserve a sort of joint award for what happened in the 2021 Divisional Round. The Bills lost to the Chiefs in overtime, 42-36, primarily because head coach Sean McDermott failed to call for a squib kick with Buffalo having just taken a 36-33 lead with 13 seconds left. You know what happened after that. Allen is the only player in league history to lose a playoff game while throwing for at least 325 yards, at least 4 touchdowns, while also not turning the ball over. Davis? He had 8 catches for 201 yards and 4 touchdowns. He's also the only player in league history to lose a playoff game with at least 8 catches, at least 200 receiving yards, and at least 4 touchdown catches. Congratulations, guys?