Unbreakable

I was torn about the title of this piece. I wasn’t sure to use” unbreakable” or “unreachable” or “untouchable”. I just wanted something to inspire The STAR’s readers, since many of us sometimes fall victim of a malaise after the holidays, and subconsciously question ourselves in almost everything we do. In a way, this piece is all about transcendence, breaking limits, and the battlefield for this piece is the NBA. Which records will stand the test of time for all time, and which records are within whiffing distance of today’s best players?

Averaging 50 points in one season – Wilt Chamberlain (50.4 ppg). You’re going to see a lot of Wilt Chamberlain on this list, simply because of the superhuman stats he put up. The year before, Chamberlain averaged an amazing 38.4 points a night. In the 1961-62 season, the Big Dipper put up numbers so monstrous, that he was roundly criticized for not winning a championship with them. The next year, he “tapered off” and tallied 44.8 ppg. Those are the top three scoring performances of all time. To this day, he still has five of the top seven. Think about it: if a player averaged 50 percent from the field, he would have to take 50 shots to score 50 points. Michael Jordan was already getting hammered in the media for taking just 30 shots a game. Of course, Chamberlain once normed over 70 percent from the floor, so the records are not that surprising. But will we ever see anyone average 50 points a game? Shaq didn’t do it, neither did Jordan (career-best: 37.1 ppg, sixth all-time), or Kobe (35.4 ppg, ninth all-time).

Most championships as a player: Bill Russell has more rings than fingers, and that alone is a huge statement. The Celtics once won eight in a row, but the circumstances were different then. Red Auerbach made sure all his best players had great understudies, too. That kept them at the top of the sport literally for generations. Could you imagine John Havlicek coming off the bench today? Today, it’s hard enough to keep a team together for three years, let alone a full decade. Everybody wants more, and fast. After the first three-peat of the Bulls, Horace Grant wanted to be recognized financially, and departed for Orlando. The Lakers lost Trevor Ariza. The Magic lost Hedo Turkoglu. Who would stay in one place long enough for a true dynasty? And who would even be playing long enough to incubate and reap success for an extended period?

Longest winning streak: 33 games. The Los Angeles Lakers did not lose a game from Nov. 5, 1971 to Jan. 7, 1972, thanks to many changes made by coach Bill Sharman to his experienced but aged line-up. Could that happen today? This team record may be the most unreachable of all. Just think: it was only in 2008 that the Houston Rockets unexpectedly broke the 20-win streak for the first time in decades. Even then, pundits were saying it was because they had a “soft” schedule, didn’t really play many of the elite teams, and so on. With extended road trips, injuries, and various distractions, it’s hard to imagine today’s players getting that lucky for that long.

Most wins in one season: 72. The Chicago Bulls of 1995-96 laid the smackdown on everyone after getting embarrassed in the playoffs, missing Jordan during his baseball leave, and decided they wanted new motivation. They were actually a combined 83-13 including the playoffs, an even more astounding record. The Bulls led the league in scoring, and Dennis Rodman grabbed his fifth rebounding title. Jordan was obsessed with a new record, and the Bulls had enough winning streaks to keep the record afloat throughout the season. But in today’s game, older superstars and teams (like Tim Duncan and the Spurs) tend to win a lot early, then coast the rest of the way. Considering just how hard it is to make the playoffs and more so win a championship, it is unlikely any team will push itself that hard simply to write another footnote.

Most points in one game: 100. Wilt Chamberlain did it in an unfinished game wherein he didn’t shoot particularly well. The lead was substantial, and his teammates kept feeding him the ball so he would indeed get the record. But Chamberlain, aside from being a exceptional talent, set the record in every gym his teams played. When Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, Phil Jackson actually kept him in the game longer than he should have, it was already a blowout against the horrible Toronto Raptors, and even the Lakers’ own announcers were calling it overkill. The one advantage of today’s players? the three-point shot that Chamberlain never had. Bryant hit seven three-pointers to pad his numbers, and create a new merchandising opportunity for the NBA. Would it be possible to break the double-digit barrier in points in the modern game? The other team would cripple you first.

Most rebounds in one game: 55. Again, there’s that Wilt Chamberlain fellow. Dwight Howard leads today’s NBA with 18.4 boards a game, and occasionally flashed brilliance with a 24-rebound game. But has anybody even come within 20 caroms of Wilt’s record? Not in the last 20 years, with Charles Oakly doing it in 1988. Just to give you an idea, it’s already difficult for some teams to get 55 rebounds a game, much less one individual player. Nobody has even averaged 20 rebounds a game in 40 years, so this looks safe.

Averaging more than 90 percent from the free throw line. The last players to break ninety percent are both retired (Mark Price and Rick Barry). Though this record may eventually be broken, it’s unlikely that the volume of free throws made will mean anything. A scrub who comes in at garbage time and baits enough fouls can hit nine of 10 or 18 out of 20 for a season, but so what? Last season, Jose Calderon made 151 of 154 free throws for 98.1 percent, breaking the long-standing record of 95.8 by Calvin Murphy in 1981. But again, the question is volume, and when the free throws are needed. For example, Magic Johnson once hit 91 percent, but this was for scoring 511 of 563 charities. that’s a big difference.

These are some records that may be around forever, but who knows what the future brings?

Happy New Year.