The NBA has been around for exactly 70 years, being existent for so long it would seem as though many NBA records would keep being broken as time progressed. A record that has been shattered nearly every year recently is 3-Pointers made in an NBA season, reigning MVP Stephen Curry has broken that record 3 times. Not to mention Curry just broke the record with 22 games still remaining in the season! Unfortunately, this won’t be a big list of Stephen Curry’s accomplishments; he and Golden State are having a very historic season, but there isn’t too much from the Warriors that can crack this list of “unbreakable NBA records.”
Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell Fighting for Rebound
10. Most Rebounds in an NBA Game (55) – Wilt Chamberlain, 1960
Unless you are new to the NBA, you probably knew ahead of time that this list had Wilt’s name written all over it. On November 24 1960, Wilt Chamberlain grabbed 55 total rebounds in a loss to the Boston Celtics. The previous record was 51 by Bill Russell, set 9 months prior to when he broke it. The record is so unbelievable that Chamberlain and Russell are the only two players in NBA history to have over 42 rebounds in an NBA game. Ever since those two have dominated the glass, no one has came close! It is extremely rare to see an NBA player get over 30 rebounds in a game, in fact in the past 20 years the closest anyone has gotten to that record is Charles Barkley with 33, Kevin Love and Dikembe Mutombo with 31, and Andrew Bynum with 30 rebounds. The most recent performance that almost cracked 30 rebounds was Andre Drummond at the beginning of this season with 29 total rebounds.
markeaton (37)
9. Total Blocks in an NBA Season (456) – Mark Eaton, 1984-85
Mark Eaton wasn’t known much for his scoring ability (Averaged 6 PPG his whole career). One big reason Eaton was able to stay in the league for 11 NBA seasons was his knack for swatting any ball in sight. Mark Eaton’s record for blocks in a season of 456 in 1984-85, brought him to an average that season of 5.6 Blocks Per Game. The next closest to that was Manute Bol the next season who blocked 397 balls, that’s almost 60 blocks behind Eaton! What makes this record so unbreakable is how the NBA doesn’t have as many prolific shot blockers anymore or any people standing at 7’4″ (tallest active NBA players Boban Marjanovic and Walter Tavares, standing at 7’3″); or for Manute Bol’s sake, a guy standing at 7’7″! The closest we’ve seen any player come close to that record in this decade is Serge Ibaka with 242. Only one single player in the 21st Century has had over 300 blocks in a season (Theo Ratliff, 2003-04, 307 Blocks total).
8. Career Scoring Titles (10) – Michael Jordan, 84-93, 94-98, 01-03
It wouldn’t be a true NBA list without his airness on it, Michael Jordan. The record of having 10 scoring titles in a whole NBA career is a huge accomplishment, but it’s even more impressive knowing that before MJ played his final 2 seasons in Washington at ages 38 and 39, he got those 10 scoring titles (7 in a row) in his 13 seasons in Chicago. Wilt Chamberlain also got 7 scoring titles in a row (all in his first 7 years in the NBA), but those 7 were his only scoring titles. Next up is Allen Iverson and Kevin Durant with 4 scoring titles each, with the dominance of Stephen Curry it doesn’t look too likely for Kevin Durant to add many more scoring titles to his resume. The record is incredible and there is a huge chance that no one will break it with all of the amazing talent the NBA has to offer each year.
7. Highest Free Throw Percentage in a Season (98.1) – Jose Calderon, 2008-09
The most unlikely name to be on an NBA records list has to be Jose Calderon right? Calderon may not shoot as many free throws as LeBron James, Stephen Curry or James Harden; but in the 2008-09 Jose Calderon played 68 games and shot 154 free throws only missing 3. No matter if you’re a superstar, all-star or not even a star, missing only 3 free throws in a season, let alone for a game is impressive on it’s own. Calvin Murphy had the record first shooting .958 only missing 9 shots all season. That’s three times the amount of misses that Calderon had in his record breaking season.
6. Most wins in an NBA Season (?-?) – Golden State Warriors, 2015-16
It’s almost promising that the Warriors will break the record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96. The record seemed unbeatable itself, since the Warriors won the championship they’ve been even more unbeatable than the Bulls. Golden State is currently 55-5 after their win against the Thunder on Thursday, but they’ve been on a much more efficient run and better pace. It will be even more shocking to see the Warriors go 17-5 in these last 22 games to tie the record rather than beat it. With whatever record the Warriors set whether it be 77-5, 76-6, 75-7 etc. it will be unbelievable for another team to beat it or even get relatively close.
416198
5. Most Technical Fouls in an NBA Season (41) – Rasheed Wallace, 2000-01
If there was one player who would know how to mess with the officials’ head the most, it would be no one other than Rasheed Wallace. Wallace’s 3 best jobs on the court are shooting, rebounding and talking to the refs. No NBA player comes near Wallace when it comes to letting his temper get the best of him. The closest player to Wallace, as he’s got the top 4 seasons for most technical fouls in an NBA season, is Antoine Walker with 23. Now that DeMarcus Cousins seems to know how to handle himself a little more, he no longer looks like our only hope to have Wallace’s record shattered.
4. Most Minutes Per Game in an NBA Season (48.5 MPG) – Wilt Chamberlain, 1961-62
It is absolutely absurd that any player could average 48 Minutes per game when there are 12 minute quarters in the NBA. It’s even more ridiculous that Wilt was averaging 48.5 minutes as that’s over the amount of minutes in a game. This means Chamberlain not only played almost every minute of every game, he played even every minute of the overtime games as well. The top 7 seasons of most minutes per game are all held by Wilt Chamberlain. Allen Iverson had the closest average since the 2000’s have begun, with 43.7 in 2001-02. Now-a-days players play typically 33-36 minutes per game and like to get a lot more rest for the postseason and only play in games that matter.
3. Average a Triple-Double in a Season (30.8 PPG-11.4 APG-12.5 RPG) – Oscar Robertson, 1961-62
Getting a triple-double in an NBA game is a big deal, it had been done 46 times in 2014-15. Oscar Robertson had so many triple-doubles in 79 games played that he averaged them for the whole year. Players haven’t really came close, Magic Johnson is the one player who has almost hit the surface averaging 18.6 PPG 9.5 APG 9.6 RPG; outside of Robertson and Johnson the next up on the list is Jason Kidd (10.8 PPG 10.1 APG 7.5 RPG) and LeBron James (29.7 PPG 7.3 RPG 8.6 APG). Players are no longer consistent enough and don’t give in as much of an effort as they used to, to be able get close to this astounding record.
2. Most Championships Won in a Row (8) – Boston Celtics, 1959-1966
There won’t be another franchise as dominant as the Boston Celtics in the 60’s. Current players in the NBA have very different mindsets than the players from the earlier generations of basketball. Most modern day NBA players look at their checks before the score boards. When a good team is put together, before they can show their full potential, they fall apart or most players leave for more money from other teams. The amazing play of the Warriors has given them a strong possibility of winning their second championship in a row, but to win 8 years with no injuries or having players digress is unheard of.
1. Most Points in an NBA Game (100) – Wilt Chamberlain, 1960
One of the most unbelievable sports performances in history is Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in an NBA game. While most teams worry about scoring enough to reach 100 points in a game, Wilt Chamberlain does so single-handedly by himself. The player with probably the most records in NBA History made the whole world go crazy by becoming the only NBA player to ever have a point total with 3-digits. Kobe Bryant is the player right behind him and the only player not named Wilt Chamberlain to score over 80 points with 81. Players in this modern day will most likely never shoot enough (63 FGA) to be able to score 100 points in a game! The effort and execution by Wilt Chamberlain in that game will never be matched and it’s shown how Chamberlain has more 60 point games in his career (33) than every other player has combined in the history of the NBA (32).
