On This Day (Nov. 9)

Notable events from NBA history that occurred on November 9.

Nov 09, 2022

42 for 42

On this day in 1965, the San Francisco Warriors’ Nate Thurmond snagged a career-high 42 rebounds in a 107-102 win over the Detroit Pistons. Thurmond is one of only four players in NBA history to record a 40-rebound game (a total of 24 instances):

Wilt Chamberlain (14 times)
Bill Russell (8 times)
Jerry Lucas
Nate Thurmond

The four players listed above plus Bob Pettit are the only players in NBA history to average at least 15 RPG for their career.

Strip and Score

On this day in 1988, the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 52 points and had nine steals in a 110-104 win over the Celtics. Since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74, no other player has recorded as many or more steals in a 50-point game.

This was one of five career games in which Jordan scored at least 50 points with five steals. No other player has recorded more than two such games.

Iron Man

On this day in 1989, the Seattle SuperSonics' Dale Ellis set an NBA single-game record for minutes played with 69 in a quintuple-overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Ellis scored a career-high 53 points, including 20 in the overtime periods. He shot 18-39 from the field (including 3-7 from 3-point range) and 14-17 from the free throw line.

Two other players reached the 60-minute mark in this game: Ellis’ teammate Xavier McDaniel (68, second-most minutes in NBA history) and the Bucks’ Jay Humphries (62).

This was one of only three games in NBA history that went at least five overtimes:

Syracuse Nationals 125, Anderson Packers 123 (5 OT)
Indianapolis Olympians 75, Rochester Royals 73 (6 OT)
Milwaukee Bucks 155, Seattle SuperSonics 154 (5 OT)

Historic Triple-Double for Robinson

On this day in 1993, the San Antonio Spurs’ David Robinson had 43 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a 110-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, Robinson is the only player to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks in a game. This was his second such game.

Robinson went on to win the NBA scoring title that season, averaging a career-high 29.8 PPG. He also led the league with five triple-doubles.

Chris Webber’s Debut

On this day in 1993, Chris Webber made his NBA debut with the Golden State Warriors, tallying 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and two blocks in a loss to the Houston Rockets.

The first overall pick in the 1993 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, Webber was sent to the Warriors in a draft-day trade for Anfernee Hardaway and three future first-round draft picks.

He went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award, averaging 17.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 2.2 BPG while shooting 55.2% from the field. Things soured quickly between Webber and head coach Don Nelson in Oakland, though, and a little more than one year after his debut he was traded to the Washington Bullets in exchange for Tom Gugliotta and three future first-round draft picks.

Durant’s Scoring Streak

On this day in 2016, the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant scored 28 points in a 116-95 win over the Dallas Mavericks. It was the last of 72 consecutive 20-point games for Durant, tying him with Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.

Durant’s streak was snapped in his next game, as he scored “only” 18 points in a 125-101 win over the Denver Nuggets. When asked about his decision to leave Durant on the bench for the final 5:51 of the game, head coach Steve Kerr explained “I'm not going to mess with the basketball gods. If you want to leave a guy out there to get some kind of record, you're asking for an injury.”