Pistons’ Malachi Flynn Scores 50 Off The Bench In Shocking Performance

Detroit Pistons reserve player Malachi Flynn delivered an improbable 50-point performance Wednesday night in a 121-113 loss to the Hawks. In doing so, he became the third player in NBA history to score 50 points off the bench.

Flynn was reserved as he celebrated his accomplishment in the locker room after the game.

“Right now, it’s tough, because at the end of the day, you want to win,” Flynn said. “But it does feel good to kind of take in the moment. I’m sure a couple of days from now, it will feel really good.”

Between his bench role and the Pistons’ disastrously bad 13-63 record, Flynn’s 50-point performance may be the most unlikely in the league’s history. In 34 minutes, he shot 18-for-25 from the field with five three-pointers; the second-highest scoring player on the team had 11 points.

In a season almost completely devoid of high points, the Pistons can take some sort of solace in Flynn’s big night, but the team’s problems remaining crippling and outstanding. Cade Cunningham, who did not play Wednesday, has begun playing at a high level, but fellow young talent Ausar Thompson has struggled to produce, even when he has been healthy.

The Pistons have some draft capital in the near future, but not as much as some teams that have already completed their rebuilds. The Thunder and Magic will make the playoffs this year with younger teams and more first-round draft picks in the near future. The Spurs are at a similar position to the Pistons currently but already have Victor Wembanyama and more draft capital. The way forward for Detroit is profoundly unclear in this context.

Flynn, who has not scored more than 20 points in a game all season, is not the answer to the Pistons’ mounting problems as a franchise, but as an individual, he will forever be a footnote in the team’s sordid 2023-24 season. He led the team in an otherwise obscure loss to a superior team, which softened the blow of a 63rd loss in a long-lost season.