MIES (Switzerland) - For the first time in just over a year and only the sixth time in eight seasons of the Basketball Champions League., we witnessed this week a 40-point game.

Mindaugas Kuzminskas is 34, and just returned from a lengthy injury, but showed absolutely no signs of rust this week as he went 14-of-28 shots from the field, 9-of-11 from the charity stripe, while also picking up 11 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive end.

It did not help AEK BETSSON BC though, as they fell 112-108 to Hapoel Holon in triple overtime and abolished their chances of reaching the Quarter-Finals. But Kuzminskas did make the history books with his display.

The Lithuanian forward became the first player with a 40-point double-double in BCL history, and only the sixth player to score 40 or more in a single game in this competition. So, who are the others?

Rion Brown - 40

Back on December 6, 2016, just two months into Season One, Finnish club Kataja traveled to Israel to take on Maccabi Rishon LeZion, carving out an 88-69 win.

It was a one-man show, as Rion Brown hit 9 three-pointers, 6 two-pointers and also made his only free-throw attempt. The boxscore said Brown had 40 points in 39 minutes of work, with 7 rebounds also to his name.

 
Brown was a 25-year-old at the time, and went on to play for JDA Bourgogne Dijon, Promitheas Patras, Panathinaikos, Tofas Bursa, Cedevita Olimpija, Enisey Krasnoyarsk, Agua Caliente Clippers, Nanterre 92 and ADA Blois.

His 17.9 points per game in the 2016-17 BCL remain his highest scoring campaign in any European competition.

Braian Angola - 41

Pinar Karsiyaka knew they had a mountain to climb when they ended up facing UCAM Murcia in the Play-Ins in 2023. They gave it their all, scored 92 points on the road in Spain, but could not eliminate the Spaniards, instead ending their run with a 97-92 defeat.

Braian Angola however played the best basketball game of his career, scoring 41 points in just 33 minutes. He made 7-of-9 two-pointers, 6-of-9 three-pointers, and 9-of-10 free throws, but the rest of his teammates struggled against Murcia's defense, shooting 13-of-30 from two-point range, 3-of-17 from beyond the arc and 16-of-25 from the free-throw line.

 
Angola will turn 30 in a month, and is currently playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. Throughout his career, he was a part of the BCL with Filou Oostende, AEK, Galatasaray and Karsiyaka.

Fun fact: The latest member of the 40-point club, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, was Angola's teammate in that game in Murcia.

Martin Zeno - 42

Another fun fact: The original member of the 40-point club, Rion Brown, witnessed another player join him in the club during a head-to-head matchup. 

Brown's Kataja arrived in Romania in January 2017, setting the stage for CSM CSU Oradea legend Martin Zeno to go crazy. He was 31 at the time, with a reputation of being a double-digit scorer throughout his career.

 
Zeno played all but one minute in that game against Kataja, making 11-of-17 shots from two-point range and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Martin also made a couple of free-throws to tie the then-record of 42 points in a single BCL game, helping Oradea to a 101-91 win.

It was his only BCL season. He was a two-time Romanian champion and the Finals MVP in 2016, leaving Oradea as one of their greatest player ever, to finish his career with Alba Fehervar in 2018-19.

Jimmy Baron - 42

The aforementioned record that Zeno tied was set on the exact same day as Rion Brown got the first ever 40-point game. On December 6, 2016, Brown's record stood for a couple of hours, until Neptunas Klaipeda took on Muratbey Usak Sportif in Lithuania.

Neptunas won the game easily, 103-88, but the fans were on their feet until the final buzzer, enjoying an incredible performance by Jimmy Baron. He was 30 at the time, with an already established reputation as a sharp-shooter, but that night was stratospheric even by his high standards.

Baron knocked down 10 three-pointers in that game, a BCL record which still stands, tied only by Peristeri's Steven Gray in 2020. He also made all 5 of his two-point attempts, and a couple of free-throws to finish with 42 on the night.

 
Soon after the game, Neptunas received a call from Rytas and sent their best scorer to Vilnius for the next 18 months. Baron played a couple of more seasons with Champagne Chalons-Reims in France, before retiring in 2020.

However, it was only the beginning for Jimmy, who is now a part of the famous Gregg Popovich coaching tree. Baron joined the San Antonio Spurs as a shooting coach in 2023.

Keifer Sykes - 43

Baron's and Zeno's record was broken on January 22, 2019. Sidigas Avellino were playing their final months of high-level international basketball, and Keifer Sykes gave the fans something to be proud of for the rest of their lives.

The 183cm/6'0'' tall guard tortured Banvit's defense for all 40 minutes in Turkiye, hitting 10-of-14 from inside the arc and 6-of-10 from beyond to collect a BCL record of 43 points in a single game.

It was not enough, as Banvit picked up a 96-88 win.

 
Sykes had only played in the second division in Turkiye before that season, but his short stint with Avellino in the BCL opened up a lot of doors for the guard.

His CV includes spells at EA7 Emporio Armani Milano, Panathinaikos, Guangzhou Long Lions, South East Melbourne Phoenix, Indiana Mad Ants, the Indiana Pacers, Motor City Cruise, Long Island Nets, and Windy City Bulls afterwards.

Sykes turned 30 in December and is still active in the NBA G League, with the Windy City Bulls.