Morning After: Who has Lee joined in the BCL's 40-point club?

MIES (Switzerland) - Week 2 action in the 2024-25 Basketball Champions League concluded on Wednesday, and there were plenty of highlights on a four-game evening. This is what we learned last night.

Saben Lee joins the 40-point club

The biggest story of the night were, of course, Saben Lee's 43 points for Manisa Basket against FMP SoccerBet in Belgrade.

He tied the BCL's all-time scoring mark with his performance, getting to double digits early on with easy buckets in transition and fast breaks. Once the defense was able to slow him down, he broke them down for a series of drives, finishing either with long two pullups or getting all the way to the rim.

In the second half, when it was obvious he was feeling hot, FMP did their best to stay attached and make it interesting heading down to the wire.

That's when Lee unlocked another aspect of his game, hitting three gigantic three-pointers for Manisa to open up what was a 10-point lead with just over a minute to play.

He went 13-of-21 from the field, 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, making 14-of-18 shots from the free throw line, too. Perhaps the unsung part of his brilliance is the fact that he did not turn the ball over once in his 35 minutes on the floor.

Saben is now the first player in BCL history to open up his account in the competition with two +30-point games.

Manisa Basket are up to 2-0, with a pair of wins in Spain and Serbia, looking like a team capable of big things. That is, if they manage to keep Lee on board, as rumors of lucrative offers for the guard are getting louder by the minute.

Who was the other player to get 43?

Back in January 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 1.83m (6ft 0in) tall guard tortured Banvit Bandirma'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.

Anybody else in the 40-point club?

Of course. Back on December 6, 2016 - just two months into BCL Season 1 - two players scored 40+ points in a single game. Rion Brown was the first one to ever do it in this competition, scoring 40 for Kataja from Finland against Maccabi Rishon LeZion with 9 three-pointers on the day.

Later that day, Jimmy Baron knocked down 10 threes and counted to 42 to help Neptunas Klaipeda to a win over Muratbey Usak Sportif from Turkiye.

His 10 made three-pointers made are a record which still stands today, later tied by Steven Gray of Peristeri in 2020.

Later in Season 1, in early 2017, Martin Zeno went crazy for CSM CSU Oradea, tying the record with 42 points of his own against none other than aforementioned Rion Brown and Kataja.

Nobody reached the 40+ territory until 2023. Then, in the Play-Ins in January, Braian Angola went unconscious trying to save Pinar Karsiyaka's season.

The shooting guard ended up with 41 points, still the highest number for any player in an elimination game in the BCL.

Finally, last season Mindaugas Kuzminskas had the only 40-point game in the Round of 16, ever. On March 5, 2024, the Lithuanian legend had 40 points for AEK Betsson BC against Hapoel Holon, but it was not enough to help AEK's cause in the battle for the Quarter-Finals.