Did Lamont Butler just play the best game ever in the UK-U of L basketball rivalry?

In an age of polarization, Lamont Butler was so good Saturday, he even made in-state rivals Kentucky and Louisville see things the same way.

After the UK point guard went a perfect 10-for-10 from the field and scored 33 points to lead Kentucky to a 93-85 win, new Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey offered a rave review.

“Lamont Butler was magnificent,” Kelsey said.

Noting that many of Butler’s six made 3-pointers stopped U of L runs, Kelsey said, “We had momentum and he stopped the momentum with a lot of those 3s.”

First-year Kentucky coach Mark Pope — who, as a former UK player, has some feel for Cats-Cards lore — sought to put Butler’s brilliance in historical context.

“I mean, Lamont Butler just gave us one of the all-time greatest performances in the history of this super special game,” Pope said. “Like, of all time.”

So was Butler’s showing — which also yielded three rebounds and six assists — the best individual performance ever in a Kentucky-Louisville game?

Let’s work through that.

Butler’s output was only the sixth UK-Louisville game in which a player scored 30 points or more.

Interestingly, three of the other players who went for at least 30 in a Cats-Cards contest — Kentucky’s Kenny Walker (32 points in 1984-85) and Derrick Miller (34 in 1988-89), and Louisville’s Russ Smith (30 in 2011-12 regular-season meeting) — did so in losing efforts.

The other players besides Butler to reach 30 points in a winning effort in Wildcats-Cardinals matchups — Kentucky’s Tony Delk (30 points in an 89-66 win in 1995-96) and Antonio Reeves (30 points in a 95-76 victory last season) — did so in blowouts.

Just scoring 30 points does not automatically land one on the list of best games played in the UK-U of L rivalry.

In chronological order, here is one opinion of the 10 best individual performances in Kentucky-Louisville games — and an ultimate judgment on where Butler’s showing stands.

Lancaster Gordon, 1982-83

The Louisville guard scored 24 points and made four steals as U of L rallied from 37-30 down at halftime for an 80-68 overtime win over Kentucky in the 1983 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in Knoxville. In a clutch performance, Gordon scored U of L’s final basket of regulation and its first four points of OT.

Kenny Walker, 1984-85

Even in a losing cause (see above) at Freedom Hall, the 6-8 UK forward added 15 rebounds to his 32 points. That double-double, on 14-for-25 shooting, makes Walker the only player whose team lost on this list.

Rex Chapman, 1986-87

The Kentucky freshman guard dazzled in his introduction to the Cats-Cards rivalry. Chapman utilized the then-new 3-point rule to make five of eight treys and scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half to ignite UK to an unimaginable 85-51 bludgeoning of Louisville at Freedom Hall.

Samaki Walker, 1994-95

Louisville’s big man recorded the only triple-double produced in a UK-U of L contest — 14 points, 10 rebounds, 11 blocked shots — to spark the unranked Cards to an 88-86 upset of the No. 5 Cats at Freedom Hall.

Patrick Sparks, 2004-05

UK’s point guard scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the final 7:28 to rally Kentucky, which trailed 32-16 at the half, to a 60-58 win at Freedom Hall. Sparks secured the victory by going to the foul line with UK down 58-57 and 0.6 seconds left in the game and sinking three free throws.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 2011-12

The Kentucky forward produced a monumental double-double — 24 points and 19 rebounds — to lead UK to a 69-62 win over U of L at Rupp Arena.

Anthony Davis, 2011-12

In New Orleans, in the only Final Four meeting between Cats and Cards to date, the Kentucky freshman big man dominated a 69-61 UK win. Davis finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, but his shot-altering impact on the game was best reflected in U of L’s 24-for-69 shooting from the field.

Quentin Snider, 2016-17

In a point guard matchup with future NBA star De’Aaron Fox, the Louisville junior improbably came out on top, leading the No. 10 Cardinals to a 73-70 win over the No. 6 Wildcats at the KFC Yum Center. Snider went for 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, while Fox had 21 points, two rebounds, three assists and four turnovers.

Tyrese Maxey, 2019-20

Kentucky freshman Maxey hit nine of 14 shots, four of five treys and had 27 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 19 UK to a 78-70 overtime win over Chris Mack’s No. 3 Cards at Rupp Arena.

Lamont Butler, 2024-25

Butler’s performance Saturday at Rupp Arena featured the extreme offensive efficiency of making 10 of 10 shots, including six of six treys. As U of L’s Kelsey noted, it included multiple shots that blunted Louisville runs. With six assists and three rebounds, Butler contributed in ways other than scoring.

This all came in a close game in what was a significant moment in the Cats-Cards rivalry, what with both teams breaking in new head coaches and Louisville getting a fresh chance to turn a rivalry Kentucky has dominated.

Given that context, Lamont Butler did in fact turn in the best individual performance ever in a UK-U of L men’s hoops game.

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