The 10 Best Individual Championship Performances Since 2020
Everyone who plays sports dreams of stepping up on their sport's biggest stage as a kid, hoping to make history en route to a championship. Sam Reinhart got to fulfill that dream on Tuesday night.
The Florida Panthers center scored four goals in his team's 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, helping his team secure back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. Reinhart's four goals matched the most ever scored in a Final game, with five other players scoring that many goals in one since it began in 1914.
(It should be noted that Reinhart's last two goals came against an empty net, but both of those goals were outside the Oilers' attacking zone.)
As Reinhart and the Panthers celebrate in South Florida, let's take a look at the 10 best individual championship performances since 2020. There are two caveats to this list. The performance had to have come in a series-clinching game (MLB, NBA, NHL) and the player had to have won the title. LSU QB Joe Burrow vs. Clemson (2020 National Championship Game)
After an eight-touchdown performance in LSU's semifinal win, Burrow nearly matched that in the national championship game against Clemson. He completed 31 of 49 passes for 463 yards for five touchdowns to go with 58 rushing yards and a rushing score.
Burrow actually had to help LSU climb out of an early 10-point deficit against the defending national champs, leading three straight touchdown drives in the second quarter. His 29-yard scamper before halftime highlighted a 95-yard drive that gave the Tigers a 28-17 lead.
Burrow then sealed the win with a pair of TD passes in the second half, capping off the best passing season in college football history. Alabama WR DeVonta Smith vs. Ohio State (2021 National Championship Game)
The Heisman winner set title game records for receptions (12) and receiving touchdowns (three) — and he did it all in one half. His final grab came in the second quarter, but it was a huge one. Smith ran right past an Ohio State defender while hauling in a 42-yard strike from Mac Jones to give Alabama a 35-17 lead going into halftime.
The star wideout suffered a finger injury early in the second half that forced an early exit. But the damage was already done, as he put a bow on one of the best wide receiver seasons in college football history. He finished the game with 215 receiving yards as well, helping Alabama win, 52-24. Milwaukee Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Phoenix Suns (2021 NBA Finals, Game 6)
In his first NBA Finals appearance, Antetokounmpo had already dropped multiple 40-point performances heading into Game 6 against the Suns. He also made two big plays in the clutch in the Bucks' Game 4 and 5 wins, getting a game-sealing block in the former and a game-sealing dunk in the latter.
Still, the two-time MVP saved his best for last in the 2021 NBA Finals. Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in the Bucks' 105-98 win over the Suns, making 16 of 25 shots from the field and shooting an impressive 17 of 19 from the free-throw line. Thirty-three of those points came in the second half, with Antetokounmpo scoring 13 of the Bucks' final 21 points to help them pull away late. He also had 14 rebounds and five blocks in that game.
A day later, Antetokounmpo celebrated the win by ordering 50 chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A. Atlanta Braves OF Jorge Soler vs. Houston Astros (2021 World Series, Game 6)
Soler had already lived up to the billing as a worthy trade deadline acquisition for the Braves before Game 6. He hit 14 homers in 55 regular-season games for Atlanta, and while he was quiet at the plate in the NLDS and NLCS, Soler hit two major homers in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series. His Game 4 home run came as a pinch-hitter, and served as the game-winning run.
The slugger had another homer in him for Game 6. With the game scoreless in the third inning, Soler crushed a three-run shot off Astros pitcher Luis Garcia that cleared the train tracks at Minute Maid Park and went 446 feet. Soler walked in his next at-bat and later scored thanks to Freddie Freeman's home run that made it a 5-0 game en route to a 7-0 win for the Braves.
Soler went 6-for-20 at the plate in the 2021 World Series, with his homer helping him earn World Series MVP. Los Angeles Rams WR Cooper Kupp vs. Cincinnati Bengals (Super Bowl LVI)
Kupp arguably had one of the best seasons for a wide receiver in the 2021 regular season, becoming the first player in 16 years to win the receiving triple crown (lead the league in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns). But he arguably saved his best performance for last.
The Rams' star receiver had eight receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns in their 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI. Kupp's first touchdown came in the second quarter, an 11-yard grab that gave the Rams a 13-3 lead at the time. However, Los Angeles found itself trailing for much of the second half. With Cincinnati holding a 20-16 lead late in the fourth quarter, Kupp rushed for a seven-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 play before grabbing four receptions for 39 yards on Los Angeles' penultimate drive. The final catch was a one-yard touchdown grab that gave the Rams the lead with less than 1:30 remaining.
To no surprise, Kupp wound up winning MVP of Super Bowl LVI. Golden State Warriors PG Stephen Curry vs. Boston Celtics (2022 NBA Finals, Game 6)
Curry's best performance of the 2022 NBA Finals came in Game 4. He scored 43 points in that game to help the Warriors get a comeback win and prevent them from going down 3-1 in the series against the Celtics.
When the series returned to TD Garden two games later, Curry had another stellar performance in him. The Warriors' star went off for 34 points, adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Following one of his six made 3-pointers in that game, Curry sensed that the Warriors were close to capturing another title, pointing at his ring finger.
Curry capped off Game 6 by scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, holding off the Celtics' late rally to lift the Warriors to a 103-90 win. He won his first Finals MVP as a result, averaging 31.2 points per game in the series. Argentina striker Lionel Messi vs. France (2022 World Cup final)
The 2022 World Cup final had two performances that could've met this list, but we're only picking winners here. Messi and Kylian Mbappe were arguably the two best players in the world when Argentina and France met in 2022. They certainly played like it, too. Messi opened up the scoring, netting a goal in the 23rd minute. After Argentina took a 2-0 lead late in the first half, Mbappe gave France two necessary goals to send the game to extra time. He scored a penalty kick in the 80th minute before netting a pass from Marcus Thuram.
In extra time, it appeared Messi had notched the win for Argentina when he scored in the 108th minute. However, Mbappe scored on another penalty kick in the 118th minute after a handball was called on Argentina.
In penalty kicks, Messi and Mbappe each scored in the opening round. But France missed on its next two shots, allowing Argentina to win the penalty kicks, 4-2. Messi won his first World Cup and received the Golden Ball for the tournament, while Mbappe became the second player to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Boston Celtics F Jayson Tatum vs. Dallas Mavericks (2024 NBA Finals, Game 5)
Offensively, Tatum didn't have the best series in the 2024 NBA Finals when the Celtics took a 3-1 lead. But he stepped up in all facets in the Celtics' 106-88 win over the Mavericks in Game 5. He had 16 points and nine assists in the first half to help give his team a 21-point edge. He added to his scoring total in the second half, finishing the game with 31 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and two steals to help the Celtics seal their 18th title. PSG midfielder Desire Doue vs. Inter Milan (2025 UEFA Champions League Final)
Doue proved that he wasn't too young for the big stage in the 2025 UEFA Champions League Final. The then-19-year-old midfielder scored two goals in PSG's 5-0 win over Inter Milan in May, with the brace giving his side a 3-0 lead by the 63rd minute. As he won man of the match, Doue became the youngest player to ever score a brace in a UEFA Champions League Final. He also became the second player to ever score a goal and dish out an assist in a UEFA Champions League Final. Florida Panthers C Sam Reinhart vs. Edmonton Oilers (2025 Stanley Cup Final, Game 6)
Reinhart joined a group of select few with his four-goal performance in Game 6 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final. He became the sixth player to score four goals in a Stanley Cup Final game, the first to do so since 1957. He also became just the second player to score four goals in a series-clinching Stanley Cup Final game, and the first player to do so since 1922.
The four goals Reinhart scored in Game 6 gave him seven in the series. Not only was that the most in the series, but it was also the most in a Stanley Cup Final since Wayne Gretzky scored seven goals in the Oilers' 1985 series win.
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