The NBA Revenge Game
We've compiled a handy history with some expert assistance from our friends at Basketball Reference
What are the best Revenge Games we've ever seen in the NBA?
The question has been on my mind a lot lately in the wake of Jimmy Butler's recent return to Miami as a Golden State Warrior and the fast-approaching reunion for Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks when Dončić plays his first game at the American Airlines Center as a Los Angeles Laker next week.
The most memorable Revenge Game that I've ever seen with my own eyes has to be the very first one I ever covered. On March 25, 1994, one month and a day after the Atlanta Hawks stunningly traded Dominique Wilkins to the Los Angeles Clippers, Nique came back to Atlanta and rung up 36 points and 10 rebounds in a wholly unexpected win for the visitors over the East-leading Hawks. It's a game I'll never forget because it was the only game I ever got to cover at the famed Omni ... mere weeks into my NBA beat writing life ... and starred Wilkins after I seemingly grew up watching him.
Yet I wanted to dig a little deeper on the topic with the Butler and Dončić trades soaking up so much of the oxygen around me for the past two months. So I partnered with my pals at Basketball Reference for some answers to my questions.
For the purposes of this discussion, we are defining a Revenge Game as the first time a player faces his previous team after being traded away.
The most points scored in a so-called Revenge Game:
Bradley Beal's 43 points for Phoenix at Washington on Feb. 4, 2024.
The most 3-pointers made in a Revenge Game:
Steve Smith's eight 3s for San Antonio at Portland on Nov. 3, 2001.
The most assists in a Revenge Game:
Mookie Blaylock's 19 dimes for Golden State at Atlanta on Dec. 10, 1999.
The most steals in a Revenge Game:
Blaylock's seven swipes against the Hawks in that same game.
The most rebounds in a Revenge Game:
Charles Barkley's 33 boards for Houston at Phoenix on Nov. 2, 1996.
The most blocked shots in a Revenge Game:
Dikembe Mutombo's nine swats for Philadelphia against visiting Atlanta on March 9, 2001.
There have been five triple-doubles in Revenge Games ... and Dončić is already on this list.
Sacramento's Chris Webber at Washington on Feb. 25, 1999.
Sacramento's Brad Miller against Indiana on Dec. 7, 2003.
San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan against visiting Toronto on Jan. 3, 2019.
Brooklyn's James Harden at Houston on March 3, 2021.
The Lakers' Dončić against visiting Dallas on Feb. 25, 2025.
The Mavericks' Anthony Davis — Dallas' primary return in the ultra-polarizing Dončić deal — had quite a Revenge Game experience in his first visit to New Orleans as a Laker.
Selected by New Orleans with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft before forcing a trade to Hollywood before the 2019-20 season. Davis scored 41 points at Smoothie King Center on Nov. 27, 2019.
The top five Revenge Games in NBA history according to Basketball Reference's Game Score metric:
Phoenix's Beal at Washington (Feb. 4, 2024): 39.1
43 points / 6 assists / 2 rebounds / 2 steals / 0 blocks
Phoenix's Barkley against visiting Philadelphia (March 3, 1993): 37.3
36 points / 9 assists / 17 rebounds / 2 steals / 0 blocks
New York's Karl-Anthony Towns at Minnesota (Dec. 19. 2024): 35.4
32 points / 6 assists / 20 rebounds / 2 steals / 0 blocks
Sacramento's Danny Ainge against visiting Boston (Dec. 27, 1989): 35.0
39 points / 9 assists / 6 rebounds / 1 steal / 2 blocks
Miami's LeBron James at Cleveland (Dec. 2, 2010): 33.7
38 points / 8 assists / 5 rebounds / 1 steal / 1 block
PS — Friendly reminder that James qualified for this list because he officially became a Miami Heatle via sign-and-trade after unforgettably announcing via The Decision that he was leaving his home state Cavaliers in free agency.
PPS — You scroll through all these numbers and can legitimately pose the question: Did Beal have the greatest Revenge Game of all-time? Of course, as we've covered often this season, Beal has a full no-trade clause in his contract and could not have been dealt from Washington to Phoenix without his consent … which naturally dilutes the revenge aspect by some hard-to-quantify degree beyond the box score.
Bonus tidbit on the topic: DeMarcus Cousins scored 37, 41, and 38 in his first three games against Sacramento after the Kings traded him to New Orleans.
And …
We naturally had to enclose the entire list of games Allen Iverson played against Philadelphia for Denver after the 76ers traded him to the Nuggets in December 2006:
PPPS — Dončić has three games left (including two in Oklahoma City) to shake his recent shooting struggles before his encounter with the Mavericks. My colleague
on Friday published his usual well-researched analysis of Dončić's woes … including a 6-for-17 shooting performance Thursday night in a home loss to Golden State that Luka himself described as "unacceptable."