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Basketball · Interesting Facts

Chapter 2: Records & Statistics

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

Basketball's records are a story in numbers, and the most famous of them comes from Hershey in March 1962, where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points. Thirty-six baskets made 72 of his points, and it was one of the best free-throw nights of his career. Only part of a radio broadcast survives, and the best-known picture shows the number written on a piece of paper in the dressing room. No one else has averaged even 40 points over a full season.

Kobe Bryant's 81 is the second-highest total in NBA history, and Devin Booker scored his 70 in Boston, where his Suns still lost. The highest-scoring game ended with Detroit beating Denver 186-184. The longest winning run, the Lakers' 33, lasted from November to January, while the Pistons lost 28 straight between October and December 2023. Green played 1,192 straight games for four teams. Curry made 402 threes in a single season, and Wilt once had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists for Philadelphia. Away from the NBA, Oscar Schmidt played at five Olympic Games for Brazil.

The facts below cover the 100-point night, scoring explosions, winning and losing streaks, long careers, free throws, threes, triple-doubles, scorers beyond the NBA, coaches' records and the marks 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

Questions people ask

Where did Wilt Chamberlain score 100 points?
In Hershey, in March 1962, where the Warriors played some home games in a small arena. Thirty-six baskets made 72 of his points and free throws the rest.
Is there video of Wilt's 100-point game?
No. Only a radio broadcast survives, and only in part.
What is the highest-scoring game in NBA history?
Detroit beat Denver 186-184.
What is the longest losing streak in the NBA?
The Pistons lost 28 straight games between October and December 2023.
Who has played the most consecutive NBA games?
Green played 1,192 straight games, spread across four teams.
What are the most threes made in one season?
Stephen Curry made 402 in a single season.
How many Olympic Games did Oscar Schmidt play in?
He played at five Olympic Games for Brazil, at a time when NBA players could not play in FIBA's competitions.

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