Kareem’s Final 50-Point Game
On this day in 1975, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recorded the 10th and final 50-point game of his career, tallying 50 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 122-108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. At the time, Abdul-Jabbar was just the fourth different player in NBA history to record a 50-point triple-double. He and Wilt Chamberlain remain the only centers to record such a game.
Abdul-Jabbar made 18 of his 30 shots from the field (60.0%) and 14 of his 16 free throws (87.5%). He and James Harden (Jan. 30, 2018) are the only players in NBA history to record a 50-point triple-double with shooting percentages of at least 60% from the field and 85% from the free throw line.
Fast and Furious
On this day in 2022, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid scored 50 points and grabbed 12 rebounds despite playing just 27 minutes in a 123-110 win over the Orlando Magic. It’s the fewest minutes played in a 50-point, 10-rebound game in NBA history. The only player to record less playing time in a 50-point game is Klay Thompson, who saw 30 fewer seconds of action (26:33 versus 27:03).
Embiid shot 17-23 from the field (73.9%) and made 15 of his 17 free throws. No other player in NBA history has made at least 15 field goals and 15 free throws in a game while playing fewer than 30 minutes.
Wilt’s Record Streak
On this day in 1963, the San Francisco Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain scored 35 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in a loss to the St. Louis Hawks. It was his last of 126 consecutive 20-point games, the longest such streak in NBA history. Chamberlain also owns the second-longest streak of 20-point games:
126 — Wilt Chamberlain (Oct. 19, 1963–Jan. 19, 1963)
92 — Chamberlain (Feb. 26, 1963–March 18, 1964)
79 — Oscar Robertson (Oct. 22, 1963–Oct. 20, 1964)
72 — Michael Jordan (Dec. 29, 1987–Dec. 6, 1988)
72 — Kevin Durant (Nov. 23, 2015–Nov. 9, 2016)
Chamberlain recorded at least 10 rebounds in each of those 126 games. No player other than Chamberlain has recorded more than 42 straight 20-point, 10-rebound games.
100 Triple-Doubles
On this day in 1964, the Cincinnati Royals’ Oscar Robertson recorded his 100th career triple double, compiling 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a loss to the St. Louis Hawks. Robertson reached that mark in just 277 games, by far the fastest of the five players with at least 100 career triple-doubles:
277 — Oscar Robertson
656 — Magic Johnson
736 — Russell Westbrook
1,026 — Jason Kidd
1,324 — LeBron James
This was one of 22 career 40-point triple-doubles for Robertson, six more such games than any other player in NBA history:
22 — Oscar Robertson
16 — James Harden
13 — Russell Westbrook
7 — Wilt Chamberlain
6 — LeBron James
6 — Luka Doncic
The Joker’s Wild
On this day in 2022, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic had 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 130-128 victory over the LA Clippers. Jokic became just the fourth center in NBA history to record at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists in a game, a feat he repeated less than two months later (a total of eight instances):
Wilt Chamberlain (Feb. 13, 1963)
Chamberlain (March 3, 1963)
Chamberlain (March 7, 1964)
Chamberlain (March 18, 1968)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Jan. 19, 1975)
Alvan Adams (Feb. 22, 1977)
Nikola Jokic (Jan. 19, 2022)
Jokic (March 6, 2022)
This was Jokic’s 10th triple-double of the season, the fifth of six straight seasons in which he’s reached that mark. He’s tied with Oscar Robertson for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Great stuff Justin! Keep it up
- Blazers History @77Blazers