NBA Records, History and Spectacular Events by the Numbers 51-100

Now that an NBA season will take place, current players will have the opportunity to add to their personal and team statistics and attempt to rewrite the record books.

There have been many great accomplishments over the years since the NBA was formed. Here is a list of records, history and spectacular events that have taken place in the league.

These are ordered by the number 51-100. At each number is listed an accomplishment that corresponds to each number. Because many of these numbers were high, several of the numbers represent years that certain notable events happened.

This is the second part of a two part series. For the events that occurred at numbers 1-50, click here.

There is also a link to Numbers 1-50 at the end of the article.

51. Oldest Player to Score 50 or More Points in a Game

Michael Jordan earned this honor when he dropped in 51 points when he played for the Washington Wizards.

His accomplishment came in a late December win against the Hornets. Jordan was 38 years, 315 days on the night of that game.

52. Most Fouls in a Game

The Utah Jazz hold the record for the most fouls committed by one team in a single game.

In an overtime loss in April 1990, the Jazz hacked the Phoenix Suns 52 times.

Thurl Bailey, John Stockton, Bobby Hansen and Eric Johnson all fouled out of the game, and Karl Malone and Blue Edwards had five each.

Four other players ended the game with four personal fouls.

53. Highest Three-Point Percentage for a Season

Playing for the Utah Jazz in the 2009-2010 season, sharpshooter Kyle Korver set the record for the highest three-point shooting percentage for a full season.

Coming off the bench, Korver hit 59 of his 110 three-point attempts for an average of 53.6% and the highest mark in league history.

54. Shot Clock

Prior to 1954, NBA basketball was a very boring game. With final scores like 19-18, fans were tired of watching teams pass the ball around to run out the clock.

In 1954, the 24-second shot clock was introduced as a way to discourage and penalize teams that wanted to slow down the game.

At the time, many called the shot clock the greatest addition to the game, and it is greatly responsible for making the NBA more exciting.

55. Youngest Player to Score More Than 50 Points in a Game

In just the seventh NBA game that he played, Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings became the youngest player to score more than 50 points in a game when he put in 55 against the Golden State Warriors.

Jennings was 20 years, 52 days old when he set the record in 2009.

Jennings did not score in the first quarter of the game.

56. Most Fast-Break Points in a Single Game

Fast-break points have only been identified as an official statistic since the 1996-1997 season.

The team that holds the record for the most fast-break points in a single game is the Phoenix Suns.

During a March 2009 game against the Warriors, the Suns recorded 56 points that came from the fast break.

Phoenix won the game 154-130, with Shaquille O'Neal scoring 26.

57. Thousand Minutes Played

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leads the NBA in the total amount of minutes played with 57,446.

To put that into perspective, Abdul-Jabbar was on the court for roughly 957 hours which is equivalent to 39 days or just over 5 full weeks.

Abdul-Jabbar averaged 36.8 minutes per game.

58. Most Points Scored in a Quarter

The NBA record for the most points scored in a single quarter belongs to the Buffalo Braves.

In an early-season game against the Boston Celtics in 1972, the team scored 58 points in the fourth quarter .

Despite the strong offensive output, the Braves lost the game by a score of 126-118.

59. Highest Field-Goal Percentage for a Career

Artis Gilmore, who played for the Bulls, Spurs and Celtics after making the jump from the ABA in 1976, holds the career record for field goal percentage.

The 7"2' Gilmore hit a lot of high-percentage shots on his way to a 59.9% career average.

In his best season, he knocked down 67 percent of his field-goal attempts.

60. Wilt Chamberlain's Rookie Season

NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain ended his rookie season in the spring of 1960.

His rookie year was the most dominant in league history as he led the NBA in each of the following categories.

Minutes played 3,338
Field Goals Made - 1,065
Field Goals Attempted - 2,311
Free Throws Attempted - 991
Total Rebounds - 1,941
Points Scored - 2,707

Chamberlain was also named the league's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player that season.

61. Most Points Scored in an NBA Finals Game

Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers holds an impressive record for points scored in an NBA Finals game.

In 1962, Baylor scored 61 points in Game 5 of the series against the Boston Celtics.

While it is not the highest point total in an playoff game, it is the highest in the Finals, and the highest in a regulation-length playoff game.

Baylor made 17 free throws and hit 22 of 46 field goals. He added 18 rebounds in the 126-121 win.

The Celtics ended up winning the series and the 1962 NBA title.

62. Largest Attendance Number for a Regular Season Game

In one of the last regular season games before he retired for the second time, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls helped set the attendance record for a regular season game.

A March 1998 game against the Atlanta Hawks that was played in the Georgia Dome drew 62,046 fans.

63. Most Points Scored in a Playoff Game

In the second game of an opening-round playoff series in 1986, Michael Jordan set the scoring record for a playoff game by dropping in 63 points against the heavily favored Boston Celtics.

In the game, Jordan made 22-of-41 shots and hit 19 free throws. Despite the performance that pushed the Celtics to double overtime, Boston won the game 135-131 and swept the Bulls in three games in the series.

64. Oldest Coach to Win an NBA Championship

At 64 years of age, Phil Jackson became the oldest head coach in NBA history to win a championship.

After all the titles that he won with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, it was his last in the 2009-2010 season that helped him to set this record.

Before Jackson and the Lakers won the title that year, Larry Brown held the record when he won the title with the Detroit Pistons at the age of 63.

65. West Averages 40 in the Playoffs

During the 1965 NBA playoffs, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jerry West averaged 40.6 points per game over a span on 11 games.

With fellow star player Elgin Baylor out of the lineup, West did everything that he could to will his team to win, but the Lakers ultimately lost to the Boston Celtics in the Finals.

66. Celtic Dominance

From 1959-1966, the Boston Celtics were the only team that won the NBA title.

Ending in the spring of 1966, Bill Russell and the Celtics won a record eight straight championships.

In addition to the eight in a row, the Celtics won 11 of 13 titles from 1957-1969.

67. Gregg Popovich's Winning Percentage

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has the highest career winning percentage among active coaches.

Popovich has a career record of 797 wins and 383 losses for a 67.5% winning percentage.

This number is especially impressive due to the high number of games that he has coached and the many years he has been with the team.

To have this high of a winning percentage shows how well he has done with this team over the years.

68. Largest Margin of Victory in a Single Game

The widest margin of victory in a single game is 68 points.

In December 1991, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Miami Heat by a score of 148-80.

In that game, point guard Mark Price and his teammate John Battle each scored 18 points to lead the way for the Cavaliers. Price also added 11 assists.

69. Most Minutes Played in One Game

Former Seattle SuperSonics star Dale Ellis holds the all-time record for the most minutes played in one game.

In a game in November 1989, Ellis and the SuperSonics battled the Milwaukee Bucks through five overtime periods, only to lose the game 155-154.

Ellis scored 53 points on the night, and his teammate Xavier McDaniel just missed the record by playing 68 minutes of his own.

Jay Humphries played 62 minutes that night for the Bucks.

70. Willis Reed Returns

On May 8, 1970, New York Knick Willis Reed created one of the most dramatic memories in league history. 

Just before Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Reed walked onto the court and started the game which he was not supposed to play in due to a torn muscle in his thigh.

Reed scored the first couple of baskets for the team, but it was his teammate, Walt "Clyde"
Frazier, who led the team to the victory by scoring 36 points and adding 18 assists to lead New York to their first NBA championship.

71. David Robinson's Career High

David "The Admiral" Robinson is one of only five NBA players to have scored 70 or more points in a single game.

In late April 1994, Robinson scored 71 points in a 112-97 win against the Los Angeles Clippers.

At the time, Robinson was battling Shaquille O'Neal for the season scoring title. His scoring number in this game pushed him past O'Neal and helped him to win the scoring crown.

72. Best Team Record in a Season

The 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls played their way to the best single season record in NBA history.

Head Coach Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan led the team to 72 wins with just 10 losses.

The Bulls ended the season with a 87.8 winning percentage, and by winning the NBA Championship for the fourth time in six seasons.

73. Worst Team Record in a Season (82 Games)

The 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers hold a record that they would not mind having broken.

By winning only nine games and losing 73, the team earned the record for the most losses in an 82-game season.

Only the Providence Steamrollers have a lower win total with six in the 1947-1948 season, but that came in a 48-game season.

74. Blocked Shots and Steals

In 1974, the NBA began to track steals and blocked shots as official statistics.

That season, Portland Trail Blazer Larry Steele led the league in steals with 2.7 per game, and Elmore Smith of the Lakers blocked 4.9 shots per game.

75. Citizenship Award

The J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award which is given annually to the player, coach or trainer who gives outstanding service in the community.

The first award was given to Washington Bullets All-Star Wes Unseld following the 1975 season.

Last year's winner was Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers.

76. ABA-NBA Merger

In the summer of 1976, the merger between the National Basketball Association and the American Basketball Association was complete.

Following a long process that included a lawsuit, attempted congressional action and years of bickering, the two leagues were finally able to come to an agreement.

Only four ABA teams, the San Antonio Spurs, New York Nets, Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets made the jump into the newly combined league.

77. Portland Wins the Championship

In 1977, after only seven seasons in the league, the Portland Trail Blazers surprised the NBA by beating the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers on their way to winning the franchise's only championship.

This was the first season after the ABA-NBA merger and the dispersal draft in which the team picked up power forward Maurice Lucas to play alongside Bill Walton.

The team reached the Finals with a 49-33 record and beat the Sixers four games to two.

78. Dr. James Naismith

The founder of the game of basketball Dr. James Naismith lived until the age of 78.

In 1891, Naismith created the sport with 13 original rules. A few years later, he saw his sport become part of college competition, and an official olympic sport in 1936.

Naismith coached for the University of Kansas for nine seasons and led them to a 55-60 overall record.

79. Three-Point Line

In 1979, the NBA adopted one of the innovations from the ABA that helped to make the game more competitive and interesting.

The first three-point shot in league history was made by Boston Celtic Chris Ford on Oct. 12, 1979.

This also marked the rookie season of Larry Bird, who went on to become a three-time winner of the NBA's Three-Point Shootout at All-Star weekend.

80. Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks joined the NBA just before the 1980-1981 season.

Dallas had previously been the home of the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA before that team moved to San Antonio to become the Spurs.

In their first season, the Mavericks were led by original draft pick Brad Davis and Jim Spanarkel and ended the inaugural season with a 15-67 record.

81. Kobe Bryant's Career High

In one of the most spectacular scoring performances in NBA history, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers scored the second highest point total in history and the most in the modern era.

On Jan. 22, 2006, Kobe scored 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors. He hit 28 of his 46 shot attempts and 18 of 20 free throws.

Only six other Lakers scored that night, with the next highest being Smush Parker with 13.

The Lakers won the game 122-104.

82. Games

During a regular NBA season, each team in the league plays a total of 82 games.

The NBA is one of the two major sports leagues that has a team play every other team in the league each season.

Each team plays 41 home games and 41 games on the road. Fans of every team have the opportunity to see every team in the league visit their home arena in every year.

83. Defensive Player of the Year Award

At the end of the 1982-1983 season, the NBA awarded the first award for Defensive Player of the Year.

The first winner was Sydney Moncrief of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The most recent winner of this award is Dwight Howard, who has taken home the award in each of the last three seasons.

84. David Stern Becomes the Commissioner

David Stern became the NBA commissioner in 1984, which is the same year that several of the league's biggest stars played their rookie seasons.

During his time as commissioner, Stern has seen seven new teams enter the league, five teams change cities, and 28 new arenas be built.

He has also played a major role in two lockouts.

85. Rookies

The 1984-1985 season marked the rookie year for some of the biggest stars the NBA has ever seen.

Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan and John Stockton all played their first years during this season.

Each went on to be inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

86. Longest Suspension for On-Court Incident

For his part in the worst on-court incident in league history, Ron Artest earned an 86-game suspension, which is the longest in NBA history.

Following the "Malice in the Palace" in 2004, Artest was held out of 73 regular season games and missed 13 playoff contests.

A total of 146 games between nine players were missed due to suspension.

87. Showtime Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers enjoyed great success in the 1980's when they won the NBA title five times.

The "Showtime" Lakers won the championship in back-to-back seasons in 1986-1987 and 1987-1988.

Led by Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, the Lakers became one of the best teams in NBA history during this time.

88. Most Games Played in a Season

During the 1968-1969 season, Walt Bellamy played for both the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons.

Due to the way the scheduling was at the time of the trade, Bellamy appeared in 88 total games to set the NBA record.

He played in 35 games for the Knicks and 53 for the Pistons.

Bellamy averaged 17.4 points per game that season for his teams.

89. Consecutive Games with a Three-Pointer Made

Dana Barros played for several teams during his career, and set the record for the most consecutive games with a three-point basket made.

From Dec. 23, 1994, through Jan. 10, 1996, Barros made at least one long-distance shot in 89 consecutive games.

90. Highest Career Free-Throw Percentage

Former Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Mark Price holds the record for the highest career free-throw percentage.

Price played 12 seasons in the NBA and hit a record 90.4% of his free throws during his career by hitting 2,135 of the 2,362 free throws he attempted.

91. Bulls First Championship

At the end of the 1990-1991 season, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls finally won the franchise's first NBA championship.

It also marked a dominant decade for the Bulls, where they won three titles in a row on two occasions.

The Bulls finished off a season that saw the team end with their best-ever franchise record to that point of 61-21.

In the Finals, Jordan and the Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. They lost only two playoff games that season. 

92. Dream Team

The greatest basketball team ever to take the court competed in the 1992 Olympics.

The Dream Team was coached by Chuck Daly and was the first Olympic team comprised of NBA players. Christian Laettner, the best college player at the time, also made the roster.

This team featured many of the greatest basketball players of all time and beat the competition by an average of nearly 44 points per game.

Members of the team included:

Charles Barkley
Scottie Pippen
David Robinson
Michael Jordan
John Stockton
Karl Malone
Chris Mullin
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Patrick Ewing
Clyde Drexler
Christian Laettner

93. Stockton and Malone Share All-Star Honors

For the only time in league history, the All-Star game was played in Salt Lake City in 1993.

Playing in the newly built Delta Center, hometown heroes John Stockton and Karl Malone played well in front of the home crowd and shared the Most Valuable Player Award.

It was only fitting that the duo share the award, as they will forever be linked together as a pair.

Stockton ended the game with nine points and 15 assists, and Malone had a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

94. First Eight Seed to Beat a Top Seed in the Playoffs

In the first round of the 1994 NBA Playoffs, the Denver Nuggets made history by pulling off one of the biggest upsets in playoff history.

The Nuggets were the first team to knock off the No. 1 seed in a first round series.

Led Dikembe Mutombo, LaPhonso Ellis and Reggie Williams, the team shocked the highly favored Seattle SuperSonics to take a 3-2 victory in the series.

95. Sixth Seed Wins the Finals

The Houston Rockets hold the record for being the lowest-seeded team ever to win the NBA Championship.

The Rockets entered the 1995 playoffs as the sixth seed after playing to a 47-35 record during the season.

During the Finals, Houston dominated the Orlando Magic and swept them in four games.

The Rockets also accomplished a feat that had not bee done before by knocking off four teams that had won 50 or more games that season: the Jazz, Suns, Spurs and Magic.

96. Sportsmanship Award

At the end of the 1996 NBA season, the league awarded the first Sportsmanship Award to Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

The award is given annually to the player that best exemplifies sportsmanship and fair play.

Thirteen different players have earned the award that is now named the Joe Dumars Trophy.

Last season's winner was Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.

97. Consecutive Free Throws Made

From March 24, 1993, through Nov. 9, 1993, Michael Williams hit an NBA record 97 straight free throws.

Williams accomplished his record playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Other players, including Toronto Raptor Jose Calderon, have come close but have not surpassed his mark.

98. The Other Lockout

The third lockout in NBA history began on July 1, 1998 and lasted until Jan. 20, 1999.

This lockout lasted 204 days and caused the season to be shortened to a 50-game schedule and for the league to cancel the All-Star game.

On Jan. 6, Billy Hunter and David Stern came to an agreement that allowed players to return to work.

99. Eighth-Seeded Playoff Team in the Finals

The 1998-1999 New York Knicks are the only NBA playoff team to reach the championship round of the playoffs as the eighth seed.

During this lockout-shortened season, the Knicks ended with a 27-23 overall record and beat the Heat, Hawks and Pacers in the Eastern Conference before falling to the San Antonio Spurs four games to one in the NBA Finals.

The team was led by Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell, Alan Houston and Larry Johnson.

100. Most Points Scored in a Single Game

Wilt Chamberlain holds many NBA records, but none is more impressive than the one he set on March 2, 1962.

During this game, Chamberlain scored 100 points to set this record that will not be broken.

At the end of the first quarter, Chamberlain had 23 points and he had 43 at halftime.

It wasn't until the end of the third quarter when Chamberlain had 69 that it looked like a reality that he could hit 100.

During the final quarter the Knicks did all they could do to prevent Chamberlain from putting them into the history books, but Chamberlain and the Warriors prevailed.

During the game, Chamberlain also set the record for points in a single half with 59.

Follow this link for Numbers 1-50.

Information from http://en.wikipedia.org and www.basketball-reference.com was used in this article.

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