On This Day (Nov. 6)
Notable events from NBA history that occurred on November 6.
Shaquille O’Neal’s Debut
On this day in 1992, Shaquille O’Neal made his NBA debut with the Orlando Magic. Facing the Miami Heat, O’Neal scored 12 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, and blocked three shots in a 110-100 win. Oh yeah, he also committed eight turnovers and fouled out, but let’s focus on the good stuff.
O’Neal’s 18 rebounds were the highest by a player in his NBA debut since Calvin Natt had 19 boards on Oct. 12, 1979. No player has matched or exceeded O’Neal’s total in his NBA debut since.
O’Neal went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award that season, averaging 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. It was the first of 13 straight seasons in which O’Neal averaged at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Dominique Wilkins 20K
On this day in 1992, Dominique Wilkins scored 30 points in a season-opening loss to the Knicks. In the process, Wilkins became the 17th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points (DeMar DeRozan recently became the 50th player to achieve that milestone).
Wilkins scored 2,121 points that season, the eighth 2,000-point season of his career. Only four players in NBA history have recorded more such seasons:
Karl Malone, 12
Michael Jordan, 11
LeBron James, 10,
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 9
Reggie Miller’s Debut
On this day in 1987, Reggie Miller made his NBA debut with the Indiana Pacers, scoring 10 points in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. He also made the first of his 2,560 career 3-pointers.
After making 61 3-pointers in his rookie season and 98 3-pointers in his sophomore campaign, Miller proceeded to rip off 15 consecutive seasons in which he made at least 100 3-pointers. That ties him with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Miller spent his entire 18-season career with the Pacers. He’s the franchise's all-time leader in games played, minutes, field goals made, field goals attempted, 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, free throws made, free throws attempted, assists, steals, and points.
Chris Mullin’s Debut
On this day in 1985, Chris Mullin scored 15 points in his NBA debut with the Golden State Warriors, a 105-101 win over the Seattle SuperSonics. Mullin shot 6-9 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line, a preview of what was to come.
For his career, the sharp-shooting Mullin had shooting percentages of 50.9% from the field, 38.4% from 3-point range, and 86.5% from the free throw line.
Among qualified players — that is, players with at least 2,000 field goals made, 500 3-pointers made, and 1,200 free throws made* — Mullin is the only one with career shooting percentages of at least 50%/35%/85%.
* Don’t ask me why, but that’s what the NBA uses in their official guide.