We all heard the saying that records are meant to be broken. There is no doubt that some are meant to be broken, but some are destined to stay in the record books. Wilt Chamberlain has a ton of records that will be untouchable like his single 100 point game performance, but here are some records that will remain cemented in the history books.
Scott Skiles Single Game Assist Record
Before the 1993 NBA Draft and the rise of Penny Hardaway, the Orlando Magic had a journeyman at the point guard position. Despite not starting for the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, Scott Skiles finally had an opportunity with the Orlando Magic. The Orlando and Denver Nuggets had a combined 12-45 when the teams met at the Orlando Arena on December 30, 1990, and no one in attendance expected that they would witness something special.
Scott Skiles may not be known for his career in the NBA, but his best year was during the 1990-91 season where he averaged 17.2 PPG, 8.4 APG, and 1.1 steals per game. However, for one game, Skiles became the best point guard in the game where he had 30 assists in one game. In the last 25 years, Jason Kidd’s 25 assists game in 1996 and Russell Westbrook’s 24 assists game last season were the closest to reach the market.
Dale Ellis’ Minutes Played in A Single Game
When the Seattle Supersonics were visiting the Milwaukee Bucks on November 9, 1989, it was snowing so bad that the temperature plummeted from 30 degrees to 0. However, approximately 14,000 lucky fans witnessed history in the Bradley Center which opened the year prior. The Supersonics and the Bucks played the longest game in NBA history which featured five overtimes to finally declare a winner as the Bucks narrowly edged their opponents 155-154.
What was even more impressive is the number of minutes Dale Ellis had in the game that lasted 73 minutes. Ellis was in the midst of the best year of his career for the Supersonics as he eventually received his only All-Star appearance and All-NBA team selection. However, he only sat out four minutes in the game as he holds the NBA record for most minutes played in a single game.
He would make the most of his opportunity as he had 53 points and seven rebounds in the 69 minutes he played. His teammate Xavier McDaniel who played alongside Ellis in this game holds the second-best record in the same category as he finished with 68 minutes played. McDaniel had 37 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in the losing effort.
The modern NBA is making load management and minutes usage one of their top priorities to avoid the scenario of an injury for their players. Ellis’ record of nearly playing two games in one will most likely stand forever. Nikola Jokic was four minutes away from tying the mark by playing 65 minutes in a quadruple-overtime thriller Game 3 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals.
The Boston Celtics Won Eight Straight Championships
Dynasties fall and new dynasties begin as we saw numerous times in the NBA’s history. Most recently the Golden State Warriors won in 2015, 2017, and 2018. However, with the expansion of the league, no team will ever win eight championships in a row.
When the NBA first started, the Boston Celtics was seen as a mediocre team as they had five straight losing seasons when they entered the league. After that, they were seen as an above-average team, but never slated as a championship contender in a league that was dominated by Wilt Chamberlain, and had an average of eight to nine teams.
The Boston Celtics had a 38-34 record which was good for third out of eight teams in the previous season, the Celtics executive and coach Red Auerbach stated that Bill Russell was the best player in the draft, which others thought to be an offensive liability. At the time, this was seen as a bad trade by the Celtics as Auerbach traded Ed Macauley and the draft rights to Cliff Hagen to the Saint Louis Hawks in exchange for the second overall pick in the effort to draft Russell.
Macauley had made six straight All-Star Games before making his last appearance with the Hawks the year after and was eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame. However, things worked out in the Celtics’ favor as they won a title in Russell’s rookie year (1957), and went on to win eight straight titles from 1959-66. During the team’s dominant run, Auerbach emphasized the importance of teamwork and running the ball on the fastbreak, which was truly ahead of the Era’s play style.
The team also added numerous Hall of Fame players to their roster. Only Bill Russell, Sam Jones, and KC Jones were the only players in NBA history who have won eight straight titles. In today’s NBA going back-to-back has proven to be a tough challenge, and the Los Angeles Lakers were the last team to achieve a milestone of a three-peat from 2000-02
More records that will never be broken have cemented themselves in the history books, but these are some of the few records that are included in the list.
