With Wednesday being the 60th anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, it got us thinking about what the NBA’s most unbreakable records are.
Certainly, the 100 points Chamberlain poured in on March 2, 1962, is one that is going to be at the top of the list.
Or is it?
When you think of all the great players who have come and gone since 1962, none of them have gotten closer than Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against Toronto in 2006.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen, Mavericks’ coach Jason Kidd said.
“Since I was at that game when Wilt scored 100, I said no one would ever score 100,” the 48-year-old Kidd joked. “But (seriously) I think there’s going to be someone who scores 100. At some point. Kobe had 81. I think there’s going to be someone who’s going to come close, if not tie or break it.”
Kidd offered a good reference point for other NBA records that he believes might be too far out there to even be broken.
“I always thought averaging a triple-double was impossible,” he said. “But that got broken (with Russell Westbrook joining Oscar Robertson). And then I think the next record is probably (John) Stockton, assists or steals. I don’t think anybody’s going to break it.
“Maybe Chris Paul is the one, but if you look when people talk about point guards, they never mention Stockton’s name. But he holds two of the biggest records – setting the table and also being a disruptor. It’s incredible what he did in his career. I would say those two won’t be broken, but Chris Paul might have a chance. He’s going to play until he’s 50.”
He might have to.
Stockton finished his illustrious career with 15,806 assists. Kidd is second on the all-time list with 12,091. Paul is nearly 5,000 behind Stockton at 10,894.
Nobody else is on the horizon, except perhaps Luka Dončić, who started his NBA career early enough at age 19, but, as things stand now, only needs about 14,000 more assists to catch Stockton.
Seems unlikely. Given that Stockton had 10 seasons averaging 10 or more assists and eight averaging 12 or more.
As for steals? Stockton had 3,265 thefts, nearly 600 more than Kidd, who owns second-place on the all-time list. Paul is 825 behind Stockton.
Another record that seems untouchable?
It could be Hakeem Olajuwon’s blocked-shot record of 3,830.
Why? First off, his total is nearly 500 more than second-place Dikembe Mutombo. Second, no active player is within 1,600 blocks (Dwight Howard 2,221).
And, most importantly, nobody’s blocking many 3-point shots. The way the game is played in this era, with nearly half of all shots from beyond the 3-point arc, blocked shots are harder to come by. Unless a major rules change prompts players to live more in the paint, it’s hard to see anybody averaging four blocks per game for 12 consecutive seasons, which is what it would take to get to 3,800.
And that’s assuming no missed games for injuries.
Again, seems unlikely.
Many other records are there for the taking. LeBron James is within range of total points, games played and a host of the field-goals made/attempted marks. He could pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points in NBA history sometime in the next two seasons.
James also has the most turnovers in NBA history, but teammate Russell Westbrook is only about 600 miscues behind him and presumably has a few more seasons left.
At the very least, the chase for records is going to get interesting with James in the waning years of his career.
But, like Wilt’s 100 points, it seems like there are some that just aren’t destined to be broken.
Player of the week: Luka Dončić added to his collection of awards on Thursday when he was named the Western Conference player of the month for February.
It was not a shock that he won it.
But coach Jason Kidd said it took more than just Dončić rolling up 34.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game for him to get the award for the second time in his career (November, 2019).
“He got player of the month and (it’s) not just an individual award, but that’s a team award, because the team has to win, too,” Kidd said. “If we’re 6-6 or 5-6, he doesn’t get the player of the month award.”
The Mavericks went 7-3 in February, which was good enough to give him the nod over Memphis’ Ja Morant, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, all of whom were nominated.
Dončić joined Dirk Nowitzki (six times) as the only Mavericks to win multiple player of the month honors.
Now, Kidd said, the Mavericks need to see the next step.
“What he’s done here of late is incredible to watch as a coach, as a spectator, as a teammate,” Kidd said. “And we hope he can continue to do that.
“At the same time, we need his teammates to also join the party, too, to help him and help everybody else. As much as we talk about the one-man show, he needs his teammates and his teammates need him. He’s playing off the charts.”
In February, the 6-7 Slovenian had seven 30-plus-point games, including a career-best 51 in the Mavericks’ 112-105 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 10.
He also had back-to-back triple-doubles against Philadelphia and Atlanta.
To top off the month, he turned 23 on Feb. 28.
Briefly: The Mavericks were without Maxi Kleber (ankle), but regained the services of Frank Ntilikina and Trey Burke. Marquese Chriss (knee) also was out . . . Moses Wright, who has joined the team on a two-way contract, has gone through a practice and shootaround and is available, should the Mavericks need him, Kidd said.
Twitter: @ESefko
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