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When the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night time (10 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App), the crew and the NBA will rejoice the fiftieth anniversary of the Lakers’ 33-game profitable streak within the 1971-72 season, considered one of the unbreakable information in NBA historical past. It was Jan. 7, 1972, when the Lakers beat the Hawks 134-90 to run the streak to 33 video games earlier than falling in Milwaukee two nights later.
Within the 75-year historical past of the NBA, there have solely been 5 20-game profitable streaks inside one season, a sign of simply how uncommon such a run is. To border what it takes to place collectively one thing even shut, take into account the final two.
The 2015-16 Warriors began 24-0, and all they’d was the very best regular-season crew ever, ending 73-9. The 2012-13 Miami Heat received 27 in a row, and all they’d was LeBron James on the peak of his bodily powers in addition to three different Corridor of Famers (Ray Allen, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade) enjoying in excellent concord.
But the 1971-72 Lakers, led by Corridor of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich (Elgin Baylor had retired 9 video games into the season, actually simply earlier than the streak started), posted a file that has remained comparatively secure.
Here’s a have a look at a few of the particular person information which have stood and sure will stand the take a look at of time as unbreakable, even 25 years from now when the NBA celebrates its one hundredth season.
Season
• Wilt Chamberlain‘s complete 1961-62 season is basically written in statistical concrete, by no means to be duplicated. He averaged 50.4 factors per recreation, the very best ever — and nobody is shut. Michael Jordan is the one participant in addition to Chamberlain to common greater than 37. Chamberlain averaged 39.5 photographs per recreation, the very best ever — and nobody is shut. Nobody else has averaged greater than 30. Elgin Baylor as soon as averaged 29.7, Jordan and Allen Iverson every averaged 27 as soon as.
One other mark certain to face endlessly is his 48.5 minutes per recreation common. He was by no means substituted out that season; he solely missed eight minutes of 1 recreation after he was ejected within the fourth quarter. He reached a mean of greater than 48 minutes as a result of he performed seven additional time video games. He was miraculously virtually by no means in foul bother, averaging a career-low 1.5 a recreation.
• Rasheed Wallace‘s 41 technical fouls. Recreation 7 of the 2000 Western Convention finals lives in infamy in Portland due to controversial whistles. Wallace’s relationship with officers went from unhealthy to worse, and it performed out the next season as he racked up a file 41 technicals on the best way to 18 ejections. In 2006, the NBA put in new guidelines that referred to as for suspensions as soon as a participant reaches 16 for a season, and it has in all probability iced Wallace’s file for good. He is third all time in technical fouls with 317 over his 16 seasons, behind solely Karl Malone, who had 332, and Charles Barkley, who had 329.
• Walt Bellamy‘s 88 video games. In 1968-69, Bellamy began with the New York Knicks and performed 35 video games. Then he was traded to the Detroit Pistons and, due to an unbalanced scheduling quirk, performed 53 video games there to succeed in 88 for the season. Gamers have performed greater than 82 video games 41 instances, most not too long ago when Josh Smith performed 83 in 2014-15 for the Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets. Second to Bellamy is Tom Henderson, who performed 87 video games between the Bullets and Hawks in 1976-77.
Profession
• Moses Malone‘s 6,731 offensive rebounds. While you embrace his ABA numbers, it is 7,382. That is 2,500 greater than second-place Artis Gilmore and a pair of,100 greater than Robert Parish when solely the NBA numbers. He has the 2 highest offensive rebounding video games in historical past with 21 and 19. The present lively chief in offensive rebounds is Dwight Howard, who continues to be 2,600 behind Malone.
• John Stockton‘s 15,806 profession assists. Stockton led the league in assists 9 consecutive seasons from 1987 to 1996. He’s almost 4,000 forward of No. 2 all time, Jason Kidd, and 5,000 forward of No. 3, Chris Paul. At 36 years outdated, Paul is averaging a league-leading 9.9 APG this season. He’d should preserve that up till he was 42 years outdated to go Stockton. The previous Utah Jazz legend owns the 4 highest help seasons in historical past and 7 of the highest 10. He had 31 video games of 20 assists or extra. Stockton can also be the all-time chief with 3,265 profession steals, which is sort of 600 greater than Kidd at No. 2.
• A.C. Green‘s 1,192 consecutive video games. The run lasted 16 consecutive seasons with 4 completely different groups from 1986 to 2001. Inexperienced handed Randy Smith, who performed 906 consecutive video games from 1972 to 1982. The longest latest streak was that of Utah Jazz ahead Joe Ingles, who performed in 384 consecutive video games from 2015 to 2021. Tristan Thompson performed 447 consecutive video games with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2011 to 2017.
• LeBron James‘ 1,067 consecutive regular-season video games (and counting) of double-digit scoring. James began the streak in 2007 and has had a couple of shut calls, together with final season when he hit a 3-pointer to succeed in 10 factors solely after badly spraining his ankle in a recreation after which leaving for the locker room. Earlier this season, he left a recreation with an belly damage after scoring 10 factors. James handed Jordan, who had the earlier file of 866 consecutive video games, in 2018. The one ongoing streak that was shut belonged to James Harden, however that ended final season at 450 video games after he needed to depart a recreation with a hamstring damage. James has scored fewer than 10 factors in two playoff video games in the course of the span, the final in 2014 when he scored seven factors in opposition to the Indiana Pacers.
• Hakeem Olajuwon‘s 3,830 blocks. Mark Eaton‘s file of 5.56 blocks per recreation in a season is far-fetched, too, however Olajuwon’s quantity is gigantic. He is greater than 500 forward of second-place Dikembe Mutombo, who’s nearer to ninth place than first on the listing. To match Olajuwon, a participant would wish to play each recreation for 15 seasons and common 3.1 blocks a recreation. There are solely three lively gamers who’ve averaged 3 blocks in a season even as soon as (Myles Turner, Serge Ibaka and Hassan Whiteside).
Recreation
• Scott Skiles‘ 30 assists. This file has already stood the take a look at of time, as it has been on the books for greater than 30 years courting to Dec. 30, 1990. He was caught on 29 assists, the file held by Kevin Porter from 1978, for six minutes within the fourth quarter earlier than getting the file dime with a minute to play. Skiles, who averaged 8.4 assists per recreation that season and later had a 20-assist recreation, scored 22 factors that night time (and the Orlando Magic scored a team-record 155 factors in a win over Denver). The closest anybody has come not too long ago was in 2017, when Rajon Rondo had a 25-assist recreation with New Orleans. Over the previous 10 seasons, Rondo and Russell Westbrook are the one gamers to have greater than 22 assists in a recreation.
• Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 factors. The 60-year anniversary of this feat, achieved March 2, 1962, is arising, and there is a good chance the one hundredth anniversary will come with out it being touched. Chamberlain had a 78-point recreation earlier that season (in a triple-overtime loss to the Lakers when Elgin Baylor put in 63 factors) and two 70-point video games the next yr. The important thing was on the line, the place he was 28 of 32. He was a profession 51% free throw shooter, and it was simply the best-percentage free throw night time for him in that magical season. Second-most ever, after all, have been the 81 factors Kobe Bryant scored in 2006 taking 17 fewer photographs (46 to Wilt’s 63). Since Bryant, Devin Booker is the one participant to succeed in 70 in a recreation, nonetheless 30 factors shy of Chamberlain’s file.
• Wilt Chamberlain’s 55 rebounds. This occurred Nov. 24, 1960, in a recreation Chamberlain later mentioned was one of the exhausting of his profession. The opponent was Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics, who received by three factors. It broke Russell’s file of 51 rebounds set the earlier season. Chamberlain and Russell have the 12 highest-rebound video games in historical past. Solely two different gamers have had 40 (Nate Thurmond and Jerry Lucas) in historical past. There have solely been a couple of 30-rebound video games previously 20 years, the latest being one from Enes Freedom, who had 30 in a recreation final season. To place in perspective how unlikely this file is to be damaged, there have been fewer than 50 cases of a crew having no less than 56 rebounds in a regulation recreation this season. The Jazz had 68 in a December win over the Hornets (Rudy Gobert pulled down 21 of them), matching the season excessive the Grizzlies set in a November win over the Kings (no Memphis participant had greater than 12).
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