The 75th season of the National Basketball League has already begun and it will be a celebration throughout the year. Here are some of the most important dates and anniversaries that basketball fans will be looking forward to in the 2021-22 season.
70th Anniversary
April 25, 1952: The Minneapolis Lakers defeated the visiting New York Knicks 82-65 in Game 7 to win the 1952 NBA Finals.
60th Anniversary
December 8, 1961: The Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain scored 78 points in a 151-147 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, now the third-highest total in NBA history. Elgin Baylor scored 63 points for the Lakers.
January 16, 1962: The Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain of the Eastern Conference scored 42 points and the St. Louis Hawks’ Bob Pettit of the Western Conference grabbed 27 rebounds in the West’s 150-130 victory over the East in the 1962 NBA All-Star Game in St. Louis. Chamberlain’s 42 points stood as an NBA All-Star Game record until Anthony Davis scored 52 points in the 2017 All-Star Game. Pettit’s 27 rebounds remain an All-Star Game record.
March 2, 1962: The Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain scored an NBA-record 100 points in a 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pa. Chamberlain shot 36-of-63 from the field and 28-of-32 from the free-throw line in 48 minutes. He also grabbed 25 rebounds.
April 5, 1962: Sam Jones made a go-ahead jump shot with two seconds remaining to give the host Boston Celtics a 109-107 victory over the Philadelphia Warriors in Game 7 of the 1962 Eastern Division Finals.
April 10, 1962: With Game 3 of the 1962 NBA Finals tied with less than five seconds left, Jerry West stole an inbound pass near the midcourt line, raced the other way, and made a layup just before time expired to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 117-115 home victory over the Boston Celtics and a 2-1 series lead.
April 14, 1962: The Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor scored an NBA Finals-record 61 points in a 126-121 road victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the 1962 NBA Finals. Baylor’s total remained an NBA playoff record until the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 63 points in a double-overtime first-round game against the Celtics on April 20, 1986.
April 18, 1962: The Boston Celtics’ Bill Russell scored 30 points and tied his own NBA Finals record with 40 rebounds as the Celtics defeated the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 110-107 in overtime in Game 7 of the 1962 NBA Finals. The classic game ended with Bob Cousy famously scurrying around the court with a clock-burning dribbling display, sealing the fourth of the Celtics’ eight straight NBA championships. The Lakers’ Elgin Baylor scored 41 points and Jerry West had 35 points.
50th Anniversary
November 5, 1971: The Los Angeles Lakers started their NBA-record 33-game winning streak with a 110-106 home victory over the Baltimore Bullets. The streak continued through Jan. 7, 1972.
December 12, 1971: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 104-95 for their 21st consecutive victory, breaking NBA records for the longest winning streak in a single season and overall. The Lakers went on to win 33 straight games, the longest winning streak in NBA history in a single season and overall.
January 7, 1972: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the host Atlanta Hawks 134-90 to extend their NBA-record winning streak to 33 games – the last victory in the Lakers’ streak.
January 9, 1972: The Milwaukee Bucks ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA-record 33-game winning streak. Milwaukee’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored 39 points to lead the Bucks to a 120-104 home victory.
January 18, 1972: Playing in front of his home crowd at the Forum, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jerry West made a last-second, tiebreaking jump shot to lift the Western Conference past the Eastern Conference 112-110 in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game.
May 7, 1972: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting New York Knicks 114-100 in Game 5 of the 1972 NBA Finals, earning the franchise’s first championship since moving to L.A. The NBA title was the first for Jerry West and capped a season in which the Lakers won a then-record 69 games and produced an NBA-record 33-game winning streak.
40th Anniversary
March 6, 1982: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 171-166 in triple overtime. It was the highest-scoring game in NBA history at the time, eclipsed by the Detroit Pistons’ 186-184 triple-overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 13, 1983. San Antonio’s George Gervin scored a game-high 50 points.
May 23, 1982: Andrew Toney scored 34 points as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers defeated the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics 120-106 in Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals. Before the 76ers’ victory, the Celtics had won back-to-back games to erase a 3-1 series deficit.
June 8, 1982: Jamaal Wilkes scored 27 points and Magic Johnson finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 114-104 in Game 6 to win the 1982 NBA Finals. Pat Riley led Los Angeles to the NBA championship in his first season as its head coach.
30th Anniversary
November 7, 1991: Magic Johnson retired from the NBA after disclosing that he was HIV positive. Johnson, a five-time NBA champion and 12-time NBA All-Star, retired as the league’s all-time assists leader (a record now held by John Stockton). Johnson returned as an active player for 32 games during the 1995-96 season.
February 9, 1992: Magic Johnson, playing for the first time since announcing his retirement on Nov. 7, 1991, recorded game-highs of 25 points and nine assists to lead the Western Conference past the Eastern Conference 153-113 in the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando. Johnson was honored with his second All-Star Game MVP award.
February 16, 1992: The Los Angeles Lakers retired Magic Johnson’s No. 32 jersey.
April 29, 1992: The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 56 points in a series-clinching 119-114 road victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of a first-round series.
May 11, 1992: In the highest-scoring playoff game in NBA history, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the host Phoenix Suns 153-151 in double overtime in Game 4 of the 1992 Western Conference Semifinals.
May 17, 1992: The Orlando Magic won the 1992 NBA Draft Lottery and received the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, which they used to select Shaquille O’Neal.
June 3, 1992: The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 35 first-half points, an NBA Finals record for points in a half, in a 122-89 home victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals. Jordan set a then NBA Finals record for three-pointers made in a half with six, famously shrugging with his palms up after the sixth one. (Ray Allen broke the record by making seven three-pointers in the first half of a Finals game in 2010.)
June 14, 1992: The Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 97-93 in Game 6 to win the 1992 NBA Finals and earn their second straight NBA championship. Michael Jordan became the first player to be named the Finals MVP in consecutive seasons.
June 24, 1992: The 1992 NBA Draft was held at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Ore., where the Orlando Magic made Shaquille O’Neal the first overall pick.
25th Anniversary
November 1, 1996: On the 50th anniversary of the NBA’s first regular-season game, the New York Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 107-99 in Toronto. The NBA’s first game was played between New York and the Toronto Huskies on Nov. 1, 1946, in Toronto.
November 27, 1996: The Utah Jazz produced the biggest halftime comeback in NBA history, rallying from a 34-point deficit to defeat the visiting Denver Nuggets 107-103.
November 30, 1996: The Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored his 25,000th career point in a 97-88 road win over the San Antonio Spurs.
February 8, 1997: The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant won the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Cleveland as an 18-year-old rookie.
February 9, 1997: The Charlotte Hornets’ Glen Rice scored 20 of his 26 points in the third quarter and the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the first triple-double in NBA All-Star Game history as the Eastern Conference overcame a 22-point first-half deficit to defeat the Western Conference 132-120 in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland. Rice was named MVP after posting the highest-scoring quarter ever in an All-Star Game – a record that Anthony Davis matched in 2017.
March 12, 1997: The Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson made one of the signature moves of his Hall of Fame career. Defended by the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan, Iverson used a crossover dribble to create space before making a jump shot near the free-throw line.
April 19, 1997: The Chicago Bulls’ Robert Parish played the last of his NBA-record 1,611 regular-season games, making an appearance against the New York Knicks.
April 28, 1997: The inaugural WNBA Draft took place. The Houston Comets selected Tina Thompson with the No. 1 overall pick.
May 1, 1997: The Phoenix Suns’ Rex Chapman made one of the most memorable shots in NBA playoff history when he caught a cross-court inbounds pass, jumped without dribbling, and hit a game-tying three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in Game 4 of a first-round series against the Seattle SuperSonics. Seattle defeated Phoenix 122-115 in overtime to force a decisive Game 5, which the SuperSonics also won to advance.
May 18, 1997: The San Antonio Spurs won the 1997 NBA Draft Lottery and received the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft, which they used to select Tim Duncan.
May 29, 1997: John Stockton made a three-pointer as time expired to give the Utah Jazz a series-clinching 103-100 road victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals. The Jazz advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time.
June 11, 1997: An under-the-weather Michael Jordan finished with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals as the Chicago Bulls defeated the host Utah Jazz 90-88 in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals to take a 3-2 series lead. Jordan made a tiebreaking three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
June 13, 1997: Steve Kerr made a go-ahead jump shot with five seconds remaining as the Chicago Bulls defeated the visiting Utah Jazz 90-86 in Game 6 to win the 1997 NBA Finals and earn their fifth NBA championship in seven seasons.
June 21, 1997: In the first WNBA regular-season game, the New York Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 67-57 at the Great Western Forum. The Sparks’ Penny Toler scored the first basket in WNBA history.
June 25, 1997: The 1997 NBA Draft was held at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, where the San Antonio Spurs made Tim Duncan the first overall pick.
20th Anniversary
November 16, 2001: The NBA G League tipped off its inaugural season when the Greenville Groove hosted the North Charleston Lowgators in Greenville, S.C.
January 4, 2002: The Washington Wizards’ Michael Jordan became the fourth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points, reaching the milestone in an 89-83 home victory against the Chicago Bulls. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Karl Malone in the 30,000-point club.
February 10, 2002: Playing in his hometown of Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was named the NBA All-Star Game MVP after scoring 31 points to lead the Western Conference past the Eastern Conference 135-120 in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.
May 2, 2002: The top-seeded New Jersey Nets defeated the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers 120-109 in double overtime in the decisive Game 5 of a best-of-five first-round series. Indiana’s Reggie Miller made a three-pointer at the buzzer of regulation to force the first overtime and converted a game-tying dunk with 3.1 seconds left in the first overtime to set up the second overtime.
May 19, 2002: The Houston Rockets won the 2002 NBA Draft Lottery and received the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, which they used to select Yao Ming.
May 26, 2002: Robert Horry made a three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 100-99 home victory over the Sacramento Kings in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. The Lakers evened the series at 2-2 and went on to win it in seven games.
June 2, 2002: The two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the host Sacramento Kings 112-106 in overtime in Game 7 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals.
June 12, 2002: The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the host New Jersey Nets 113-107 in Game 4 to sweep the 2002 NBA Finals and earn their third consecutive NBA championship. Phil Jackson tied Red Auerbach’s record of nine NBA championships for a head coach (a record that Jackson broke in 2009). Shaquille O’Neal won his third straight NBA Finals MVP Award.
June 26, 2002: The 2002 NBA Draft was held at Madison Square Garden in New York, where the Houston Rockets made Yao Ming of China the first overall pick. Yao became the first player to come directly to the NBA from an international basketball league or federation to be selected with the first overall pick in the NBA Draft.
10th Anniversary
February 14, 2012: The New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin made a tiebreaking three-pointer with less than one second remaining to complete a 27-point effort in a 90-87 road victory over the Toronto Raptors. The performance punctuated a stunning stretch for the undrafted guard from Harvard, who emerged from obscurity to average 26.8 points and 8.5 assists in a six-game span (all victories for New York). During his NBA breakthrough, Lin appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in back-to-back weeks.
February 26, 2012: The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and passed Michael Jordan to become the career NBA All-Star Game scoring leader at the time as the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 152-149 in Orlando. The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (36 points) was named MVP of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game, while the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade finished with a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
April 29, 2012: The Los Angeles Lakers’ Andrew Bynum tied an NBA playoff record with 10 blocked shots in a 103-88 home victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of a first-round series. Bynum also had 10 points and 13 rebounds as part of the first triple-double by a Laker in a playoff game since 1991.
June 7, 2012: With the Miami Heat facing elimination, LeBron James finished with 45 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a 98-79 road victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Miami went on to defeat Boston 101-88 in Game 7 to advance to the NBA Finals.
June 21, 2012: LeBron James finished with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds as the Miami Heat defeated the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in Game 5 to win the 2012 NBA Finals. James earned his first NBA championship.
Information sourced from NBA India.
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