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Basketball · Interesting Facts

Chapter 2: Records & Statistics

10 parts · 10 tests · 100 facts · updated 24 October 2026 · markdown

Numbers that tell stories: Wilt's 100 points, the great scoring nights, winning and losing runs, the longest careers, free throws, threes, triple-doubles, the scorers beyond the NBA, coaches' records and records that may never fall.

2.21Wilt's 100-Point Night

Hershey, March 1962: the shots, the free throws, the photograph and the season around it.

Test 1Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point gameTake a test

  1. The Warriors played some home games there, in a small arena.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  2. The Knicks' starting centre missed the game through illness.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  3. Thirty-six baskets made 72 of his points.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  4. It was one of the best free-throw nights of his career.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  5. Only a radio broadcast survives, and only in part.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  6. Someone wrote the number on a piece of paper in the dressing room.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  7. No one else has averaged even 40 over a full season.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 31, 28, 23 and 18.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

  9. 100, 81 and 70.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. 169 points less Wilt's 100 leaves 69.

    Source: NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

2.22Scoring Explosions

Kobe's 81, Booker's 70, the 1978 scoring race and the highest-scoring games.

Test 1the great scoring nightsTake a test

  1. It is the second-highest total in NBA history.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. The Lakers beat Utah in his farewell.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. He scored them in Boston, and his Suns still lost.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. Gervin played later that day and finished ahead by a fraction of a point.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. Robinson's Spurs fed him the ball all game.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. Selvy did it for Furman against Newberry.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  7. He broke Wilt Chamberlain's old 76ers record of 68.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 1960, 1978, 2006 and 2017.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 73, 71 and 70.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. Detroit beat Denver 186-184.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

2.23Winning and Losing Streaks

The Lakers' 33, the Heat's 27, the Warriors' start and the longest runs of defeats.

Test 1winning and losing runsTake a test

  1. The run lasted from November to January.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Bucks were the reigning champions.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. No team had started a season so well.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. LeBron James's Heat went on to win the title.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. Notre Dame scored the last 12 points to win 71-70.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  6. They finished the playoffs 16-1.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. James had joined the Miami Heat that summer.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 33, 27 and 24 games.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 7 wins in a shortened season, 9 and 10.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. The Pistons lost 28 straight between October and December 2023.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

2.24Iron Men and Long Careers

The longest careers, the oldest and youngest players and the games played in a row.

Test 1long careers and iron menTake a test

  1. Boone never missed a game in thirteen seasons.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. He played from 1998-99 to 2019-20.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. His career ran from the 1990s to 2020.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. He was the Providence coach and put himself into a game two days before turning 46.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. He joined straight from high school in 1996 and retired in 2016.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. He won three titles in Miami.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. The Lakers centre came straight from high school.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 22, 20 and 19 seasons.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 45, 44 and 43.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. Green played 1,192 straight games for four teams.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

2.25Free-Throw Feats

Runs of makes, the best seasons and careers, and a world record of 5,221.

Test 1free-throw recordsTake a test

  1. He made them one after another without a miss.

    Source: Guinness World Records (guinnessworldrecords.com) · recall

  2. He missed only three all season for Toronto.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. The Minnesota guard broke Calvin Murphy's mark of 78.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. The Houston guard stood only about 1.75 m tall.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. Dantley did it for Utah against Houston.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. He finished at 90.4%.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. Opponents fouled him on purpose again and again.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 98.1%, 90.4% and 52.7%.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 1962, 1981, 1993 and 2009.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. He swung the ball up from between his knees with both hands.

    Source: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com) · recall

2.26Three-Point Milestones

From the first three in 1979 to the season of 402.

Test 1three-point recordsTake a test

  1. Long-range shooting soared, and the old distance came back in 1997.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. The record lasted ten years.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. He scored 52 points in only 27 minutes.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. He made all 13 of his shots in the quarter, nine of them threes.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. Miller was commentating at the game.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. Allen and Reggie Miller were both there.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. Kerr made 45.4% of his career threes.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. Miller held it in the 2000s, Allen from 2011 and Curry from 2021.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 1979, 1996, 2018 and 2021.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. Curry made 402 that season.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

2.27Triple-Double Stories

Oscar Robertson, Westbrook, Wilt's double triple-double and the four quadruple-doubles.

Test 1triple-doubles and quadruple-doublesTake a test

  1. He averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. He later won a title in Milwaukee.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. He was named MVP that season.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. He dedicated it to the rapper Nipsey Hussle.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. His fourth category was ten steals.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. It was the record for years after he retired.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 1961-62, 2016-17 and 2020-21.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 1974, 1986, 1990 and 1994.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. He had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists for Philadelphia.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

2.28Scorers Beyond the NBA

Oscar Schmidt, Petrović, Maravich and the record nights of college basketball.

Test 1great scorers outside the NBATake a test

  1. He played at five Olympic Games for Brazil.

    Source: Olympics.com, 'Oscar Schmidt' and Olympic basketball records (olympics.com); FIBA (fiba.basketball) · recall

  2. NBA players could not then play in FIBA's competitions.

    Source: Olympics.com, 'Oscar Schmidt' and Olympic basketball records (olympics.com); FIBA (fiba.basketball) · recall

  3. Brazil won 120-115 after trailing by 14 at half-time.

    Source: Pan American Sports Organization (panamsports.org); FIBA (fiba.basketball) · recall

  4. He did it for Cibona against Olimpija Ljubljana.

    Source: FIBA, 'Drazen Petrovic' (fiba.basketball); Dražen Petrović Memorial Center (petrovic.hr) · recall

  5. Many of his long shots would have counted three today.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  6. He did it in only three varsity seasons.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  7. Grinnell's system had him shoot again and again.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  8. 1967-70, 1980 and 1989-90.

    Source: Olympics.com, 'Oscar Schmidt' and Olympic basketball records (olympics.com); FIBA (fiba.basketball) · recall

  9. 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996.

    Source: Olympics.com, 'Oscar Schmidt' and Olympic basketball records (olympics.com); FIBA (fiba.basketball) · recall

  10. Clarence 'Bevo' Francis played for Rio Grande College.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

2.29Coaches by the Numbers

Wins records, long tenures, the youngest coach and Coach of the Year.

Test 1coaches' recordsTake a test

  1. Nelson had won 1,335 games.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. Wilkens passed Red Auerbach in 1995.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. Kansas in 1988 and Detroit in 2004.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. He coached them from 1988 to 2011.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. No coach has won it four times.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. He coached the Detroit Pistons while still playing for them.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. He coached Kentucky from 1930 to 1972.

    Source: University of Kentucky Athletics, 'Rupp Arena' (ukathletics.com) · recall

  8. 29, 23 and 16 seasons.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 1,202, 879 and 876.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

  10. He coached Duke from 1980 to 2022.

    Source: NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org) · recall

2.30Records That May Never Fall

Wilt's minutes, Skiles's assists, Kareem's MVPs and the most titles.

Test 1records that may last for everTake a test

  1. More than a full game, because of overtimes; he hardly ever came off.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  2. He was proud of it and played carefully when in trouble.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  3. He did it for Orlando against Denver.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  4. Blocks were counted for the first time that season.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  5. The Lakers beat Boston in that game.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  6. All ten came with Boston.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  7. Houston, the Lakers and San Antonio.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  8. 1962, 1990 and 1993.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  9. 10, 7 and 6.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

  10. Larry Bird said afterwards that it was God disguised as Michael Jordan.

    Source: NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com) · recall

Sources

Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the NBA, FIBA, the EuroLeague, the NCAA, the WNBA, clubs' and universities' own histories, auction houses' published results and named reputable media.

  • NBA History and NBA.com/Stats record pages (nba.com)75
  • NBA History, 'Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, March 2, 1962' (nba.com); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com)8
  • NCAA men's basketball record book (ncaa.org)8
  • Olympics.com, 'Oscar Schmidt' and Olympic basketball records (olympics.com); FIBA (fiba.basketball)4
  • Guinness World Records (guinnessworldrecords.com)1
  • Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoophall.com)1
  • Pan American Sports Organization (panamsports.org); FIBA (fiba.basketball)1
  • FIBA, 'Drazen Petrovic' (fiba.basketball); Dražen Petrović Memorial Center (petrovic.hr)1
  • University of Kentucky Athletics, 'Rupp Arena' (ukathletics.com)1