On Nov. 7, 1991, Magic Johnson announced his retirement from the NBA because of contracting the HIV virus.
Below is a day-by-day look at landmark moments, games, performances and more from this week in NBA lore.
Nov. 3
Nov. 3, 1948
The Washington Capitols beat the Philadelphia Warriors 77-70, to win the first of 15 consecutive games to start the season, the best start in NBA history. The mark stood for 45 years before it was tied by the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.
Nov. 3, 1949
Dolph Schayes makes his NBA debut for the Syracuse Nationals in their 78-58 win against the Denver Nuggets.
Dolph Schayes was a prolific scorer and star in his era who lifted the Syracuse Nationals to an NBA title in 1955.
Nov. 3, 1951
Neil Johnston made his debut for the Philadelphia Warriors at home against the Ft. Wayne Pistons. The Warriors won 70-69.
Nov. 3, 1956
Cliff Hagan made his debut for the St. Louis Hawks at home against Syracuse. The Nationals won 75-73.
Nov. 3, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain of the San Francisco Warriors scored 72 points at the Los Angeles Lakers, the fourth-highest point total in NBA history.
Nov. 3, 1982
Randy Smith played in his 845th consecutive game, passing Johnny “Red” Kerr as the NBA’s All-time Iron Man. Smith would go on to play in 906 consecutive games, a streak which concluded on March 13, 1983. A.C. Green of the Dallas Mavericks broke Smith’s record when he played in his 907th consecutive game on Nov. 20, 1997.
Nov. 3, 1989
Nineteen years after their inaugural home game, the Portland Trail Blazers retired Bill Walton’s jersey number 32.
Nov. 3, 1989
Sarunas Marciulionis and Alexander Volkov became the first players from the Soviet Union to participate in a regular season NBA game. Marciulionis scored 19 points as Golden State lost to Phoenix 136-106, and Volkov was held scoreless as Atlanta lost to Indiana 126-103.
Nov. 3, 1989
The Minnesota Timberwolves opened their first season in the NBA by dropping a 106-94 decision to the host Seattle SuperSonics.
Nov. 3, 1990
Atlanta’s Moses Malone set an NBA record for free throws made in a career by hitting 7-of-9 from the line in a 121-120 win over Indiana at the Omni. Those seven successful FT attempts allowed Malone to pass Oscar Robertson–who previously held the record with 7,694 –on the all-time list. Moses Malone was surpassed on March 24, 2001, when Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz connected on his 8,532nd free throw in a game against the Washington Wizards.
Nov. 3, 1990
Gary Payton makes his NBA debut for the Seattle SuperSonics in their 118-106 win against the Houston Rockets.
Gary Payton was a 9-time All-NBA performer and Defensive Player of the Year known for his ability to relentlessly hound opponents.
Nov. 3, 1995
With a 105-91 victory over Charlotte, Chicago won their first of an NBA record 72 games in one season and their first of an NBA record 37 home games won at the start of a season.
Nov. 3, 1995
The NBA’s two Canadian expansion teams, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies, both make successful NBA debuts with victories in their first regular-season games. In front of more than 33,000 fans at SkyDome, the Raptors defeated New Jersey 94-79. The Grizzlies won their opener on the road, defeating Portland 92-80 at the Blazers’ new home, the Rose Garden.
Nov. 3, 1995
In a major trade just before the start of the 1995-96 season, Charlotte sent center Alonzo Mourning, guard Pete Myers and forward-center LeRon Ellis to Miami in exchange for swingman Glen Rice, point guard Khalid Reeves, center Matt Geiger and a 1996 first round draft pick.
Nov. 3, 1995
Kevin Garnett makes his NBA debut for the Minnesota Timberwolves in their 95-86 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
On Nov. 3, 1995, Kevin Garnett made his NBA debut with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nov. 3, 1996
Kobe Bryant makes his NBA debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 91-85 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On Nov. 3, 1996, Kobe Bryant made his NBA debut with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nov. 3, 1999
The Boston Celtics hold a special evening on opening night vs. the Washington Wizards, in honor of Red Auerbach, who had a hand in each of the team’s 16 NBA championships. At halftime, legendary Celtics Bill Russell and Tom Heinsohn assist Auerbach in the raising of a banner commemorating his 50th season. This evening’s game, along with all other home games, will feature video highlights, dedications and vignettes sharing memories and special events from Auerbach’s legendary career.
Nov. 3, 1999
The Los Angeles Lakers debut in their new home, Staples Center, by hosting the Vancouver Grizzlies. Magic Johnson and Chick Hearn co-hosted a ceremony unveiling the Lakers’ retired jerseys and championship banners in their new building.
Nov. 3, 2001
The NBDL announced the 2001-02 Supplemental Draft selections. The Roanoke Dazzle selected 7-foot center Lorenzo Coleman from Tennessee Tech with the No. 1 overall selection.
Nov. 3, 2001
Steve Smith of the San Antonio Spurs, playing in his first game against his former Portland Trail Blazers teammates, tied an NBA record for most 3-point field goals in a game without a miss, as he went 8-for-8 from beyond the arc and finished with 36 points in a 106-90 triumph.
Nov. 3, 2004
Dwight Howard makes his NBA debut in the Orlando Magic’s 93-92 win against the Denver Nuggets.
Nov. 3, 2008
Chauncey Billups is traded Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb from the Detroit Pistons to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson.
Nov. 3, 2023
The first set of Group Play games in the inaugural In-Season Tournament begins when the Cleveland Cavaliers play the Indiana Pacers as part of a seven-game slate of Group Play games. As a part of the tournament, each of the 30 teams participating debuts new playing courts at their arena that feature a distinctive color scheme and the NBA Cup at center court.
Nov. 4
Nov. 4, 1950
Paul Arizin made his debut for the Philadelphia Warriors at home against the Boston Celtics. The Warriors won 77-68.
Paul Arizin was a 10-time All-Star, a 4-time All-NBA pick and 2-time scoring champion who won an NBA title in 1956.
Nov. 4, 1960
Philadelphia’s Wilt Chamberlain set an NBA record for the most free throw attempts in a game with none made when he missed all 10 of his tries against Detroit. Chamberlain’s dubious record last more than 40 years before another dominant center, Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers, broke it by missing all 11 free throw attempts against Seattle on December 8, 2000.
Nov. 4, 1961
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors began a streak of 65 consecutive games of scoring 30 or more points. The second-longest such streak in NBA history — only 31 games — was set by Chamberlain the next season.
Nov. 4, 1965
Johnny Kerr played in the last of his 844 consecutive games spanning 12 seasons, then an NBA record, as his Baltimore Bullets lost 108-107 at New York.
Nov. 4, 1987
The Blazers honor Maurice Lucas by retiring his uniform number (#20).
Nov. 4, 1988
In front of 23,388 fans at the sold-out Charlotte Coliseum, the Charlotte Hornets, playing their first NBA game, were defeated by the Cleveland Cavaliers, 133-93.
Nov. 4, 1989
The Orlando Magic opened their inaugural season in the NBA with a 111-106 loss to the New Jersey Nets at Orlando Arena.
Nov. 4, 1989
David Robinson made his debut for the San Antonio Spurs against the Los Angeles Lakers. San Antonio won 106-98. Robinson’s NBA debut was delayed two years because of his military commitment.
Relive some great plays and moments from David Robinson's rookie season.
Nov. 4, 1993
NBA Vice President, Operations Rod Thorn announced that veteran referee Darell Garretson would relinquish his on-court officiating duties at the conclusion of the 1993-94 season, his 27th in the NBA. Starting with the 1994-95 season, Garretson became the NBA’s Director of Officiating.
Nov. 4, 1993
The NBA Board of Governors voted to grant the league’s 28th franchise to a Toronto group headed by John Bitove, Jr. The Raptors began play in the 1995-96 season.
Nov. 4, 1994
After having spent the previous 28 seasons in Chicago Stadium, the Bulls successfully opened their new arena across the street, the United Center, with an 89-83 opening night win over Charlotte in front of 22,313 fans. Scottie Pippen’s game-high 22 points helped lead the Bulls to victory.
Nov. 4, 1994
Clyde Drexler scored a game-high 26 points and Buck Williams pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 121-100 victory over the LA Clippers, in a game played before a sold-out crowd of 14,239 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. The game marked the third time in five years that the NBA tipped off the regular season in Japan.
Nov. 4, 1994
Grant Hill makes his NBA debut with the Detroit Pistons in a 115-98 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grant Hill finishes with 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a 115-98 loss to the Lakers on Nov. 4, 1994.
Nov. 4, 1996
With four assists during Houston’s 75-72 win over Utah, Charles Barkley became the fourth player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 3,500 assists for his career.
Nov. 4, 1997
Washington’s Rod Strickland dished the 5,000th assist of his career in the Wizards’ 120-96 win over Denver.
Nov. 4, 1997
Milwaukee ended Orlando’s NBA-record streak of 316 straight games with at least one three-pointer in a 110-76 win for the Bucks.
Nov. 4, 1999
The Atlanta Hawks break the seal on the new Philips Arena by hosting the Milwaukee Bucks. Recording artist Montel Jordan sang the national anthem.
Nov. 4, 2005
The Utah Jazz’s Jerry Sloan passed Bill Fitch for fifth on the NBA’s all-time win list (945) at the Oracle Arena beating the Golden State Warriors 91-85.
Nov. 4, 2016
Stephen Curry’s record streak of games with at least one 3-pointer made ends at 157.
Nov. 4, 2016
Chris Paul finds J.J. Redick for a floater and in doing so, becomes the Clippers’ all-time assist leader, passing Randy Smith. That assist gave Paul 3,499 at that point and he finished his career in LA with 4,023 assists.
Nov. 5
Nov. 5, 1946
Chuck Connors of the Boston Celtics shattered the first backboard in NBA history during the warm-up before a Celtics game. Connors went on to shatter desperadoes in the television show “The Rifleman.”
Nov. 5, 1955
Jack Twyman made his debut for the Rochester Royals at home against New York. The Knicks won 100-98 in overtime.
Nov. 5, 1971
Los Angeles Lakers forward Elgin Baylor, plagued by injury, retired after a 14-year, 846-game career that included 23,149 points. Five years later, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Take a look back on the great career of the Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor.
Nov. 5, 1982
With a 99-91 loss to the New Jersey Nets, the Cleveland Cavaliers set an NBA record for consecutive games lost (over two seasons) with 24.
Nov. 5, 1988
The visiting LA Clippers spoiled the debut of NBA basketball in the state of Florida with a 111-91 win over the Miami Heat at the Miami Arena.
Nov. 5, 1988
Mitch Richmond makes his NBA debut for the Golden State Warriors in their 117-104 win against the Phoenix Suns.
Take a look back at the career of Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond.
Nov. 5, 1993
San Antonio, playing its first regular season game at the new Alamodome, established an NBA record for opening night attendance by drawing 36,523 fans. The Spurs sent the crowd home happy with a 91-85 win over Golden State, led by David Robinson’s game-high 32 points.
Nov. 5, 1993
The Houston Rockets beat the New Jersey Nets 110-88 to begin their 15-game start of season winning streak, tying the 1948 Washington Capitols for the best start in NBA history.
Nov. 5, 1994
Jason Kidd makes his NBA debut for the Dallas Mavericks in their 112-103 win against the New Jersey Nets.
Jason Kidd was a 10-time All-Star, a 9-time All-Defensive selection and 1 of the NBA's most creative and complete point guards ever.
Nov. 5, 2008
Spurs guard Tony Parker scores a career-high 55 points in a 129-125 loss to the Timberwolves. Parker shoots 22-for-36 overall and nearly registers a triple-double, finishing with seven rebounds and 10 assists.
Tony Parker was never better than the 55 he dropped on the Wolves in the 2008-09 season.
Nov. 5, 2016
LeBron James scores 25 points in a win against the Philadelphia 76ers and passes Hakeem Olajuwon for 10th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Nov. 6
Nov. 6, 1971
The Los Angeles Lakers won the first of what would turn out to be an NBA-record 16 consecutive road games, beating Golden State 105-89.
Nov. 6, 1985
Chris Mullin makes his NBA debut with the Golden State Warriors in a 105-101 win against the Seattle SuperSonics.
Nov. 6, 1987
Reggie Miller makes his NBA debut with the Indiana Pacers in a 108-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Take a look back at the career of one of the greatest clutch shooters to ever grace the hardwood, Reggie Miller.
Nov. 6, 1992
In a 106-94 loss to New York at the Omni, Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins became the 17th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points, after hitting for 30 against the Knicks.
Nov. 6, 1992
Shaquille O’Neal makes his NBA debut with the Orlando Magic in a 110-100 win against the Miami Heat.
Take a look back at Shaquille O'Neal's NBA debut from Nov. 6, 1992.
Nov. 6, 1992
Robert Parish scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the host Boston Celtics to a 113-92 win over Minnesota, becoming only the second player in NBA history to play in the league for 17 seasons (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played 20). Parish now holds the record with 21 having passed Abdul-Jabbar in the 1996-97.
Nov. 6, 1992
Two years after becoming the first major professional sports league to play regular season games outside of North America, the NBA returned to Japan for a pair of games to open the 1992-93 season. Shawn Kemp’s 29 points and 20 rebounds led Seattle to a 111-94 win over Houston before a sellout crowd of 15,640 at Yokohama Arena. The SuperSonics completed a Far East sweep the next evening with an 89-85 win.
Nov. 6, 1992
Milwaukee celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a 86-81 win at Detroit.
Nov. 6, 1999
The Conseco Fieldhouse, the new home of the Indiana Pacers, took its bows when the Pacers hosted the Boston Celtics. Hall of Famer and Indiana basketball legend John Wooden served as the honorary scorer, NBC broadcaster Bob Costas handled player introductions and Crystal Gayle performed the national anthem. At halftime, the Pacers paid tribute to the state of Indiana’s 50 greatest basketball legends. The Pacers sent their fans home happy with a 115-108 victory.
Nov. 6, 1999
For the fifth time this decade, the NBA staged regular season games in Japan when the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings play two games at the Tokyo Dome on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7 in the NBA Japan Games. Sacramento won the first game by a 100-95 score and Minnesota came back to take the second game 114-101.
Nov. 6, 2007
“Only” 14,908 tickets are sold to see the the Kings host the Seattle SuperSonics, ending a streak of 354 sellouts at Arco Arena. The streak began in 1999.
Nov. 7
Nov. 7, 1959
Philadelphia Warriors rookie Wilt Chamberlain and Boston Celtics star and former MVP Bill Russell face off for the first time. Overall, Chamberlain and Russell would play each other 143 times total — regular season and playoffs combined — in their careers.
Nov. 7, 1986
The Philadelphia 76ers retired uniform No. 24 in honor of forward Bobby Jones.
Nov. 7, 1987
Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant make their NBA debuts in the Chicago Bulls’ 104-94 win against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nov. 7, 1991
Earvin “Magic” Johnson retired from the NBA after disclosing that he had tested positive for the HIV virus. Johnson, who helped lead the Lakers to five NBA titles in his 12 seasons with the team, retired as the league’s all-time leader in career assists with 9,921. The assist mark was later surpassed by Utah’s John Stockton. Johnson returned as an active player for 32 games during the 1995-96 season.
Nov. 7, 1992
With five assists in Detroit’s 89-87 road win at Indiana, Isiah Thomas became only the third guard in NBA history (along with Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson) to pass the 8,000 career assist mark. Utah’s John Stockton joined this exclusive club on February 23, 1993 with seven assists during a loss to Houston.
Nov. 7, 1992
The Suns celebrated their 30th Anniversary season by moving into the America West Arena.
Nov. 7, 1996
The NBA named Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons the recipient of the first-ever NBA Sportsmanship Award. The NBA Sportsmanship Award is a major award that is presented annually to an NBA player who best represents the classic ideals of sportsmanship on the court.
Nov. 7, 1997
Sacramento’s streak of sellouts ended at 497, which had been the longest streak in the league.
Nov. 7, 2008
Jerry Sloan becomes the first coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with the same club, as the Utah Jazz win 104-97 over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Nov. 7, 2016
Stephen Curry sinks then-NBA-record 13 3-pointers in a win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Curry finishes with 46 points and shoots 13-for-17 overall on 3-pointers in Golden State’s win.
Nov. 7, 2016
Wizards guard John Wall becomes Washington’s all-time assist leader, passing Hall of Famer Wes Unseld.
Nov. 7, 2022
NBA Academy graduates Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers and Dyson Daniels of the New Orleans Pelicans make history when they square off Monday in Indianapolis. They are the first pair of NBA Academy graduates to play in a game together, which the Pacers won, 129-122.
Nov. 8
Nov. 8, 1978
The Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets began a game where the final 17:50 of the contest was replayed on March 23, 1979, due to a protest being upheld. Harvey Catchings and Ralph Simpson played for the 76ers and Eric Money and Al Skinner played for the Nets when the game began, but were traded to the opposing teams by the time the game was resumed. It’s the only time in the history of professional sports that any player played for both teams in the same game.
Relive the 1978-79 game between the Sixers and Nets in which guard Eric Money scored points for both team due to a game protest.
Nov. 8, 1992
After losing 43 consecutive road games against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Sacramento Kings finally snapped the streak with a 124-114 victory behind 29 points from Mitch Richmond. The Kings had last won at the Great Western Forum on October 20, 1974, when they were based in Kansas City-Omaha.
Nov. 8, 1994
Cleveland became the second NBA team to open a new arena during the 1994-95 season, as 20,562 fans filed into the Gund Arena to watch the defending NBA Champion Houston Rockets shade the Cavaliers 100-98.
Nov. 8, 1994
Detroit’s Joe Dumars tied the NBA record (held by Brian Shaw) for most three-point field goals in a single game by hitting 10-of-18 attempts from behind the arc and finishing with a game-high 40 points in the Pistons’ 126-112 win over visiting Minnesota. Dennis Scott of the Orlando Magic set a new NBA record when he made 11 3-pointers against Atlanta on April 18, 1996.
Nov. 8, 1999
The Philadelphia 76ers paid tribute to the recently deceased Wilt Chamberlain when they hosted the Seattle SuperSonics. The 76ers observed a moment of silence in Wilt’s memory, showed a video highlight from Wilt’s 100-point game in 1962 and enlisted Teddy Pendergrass to perform the national anthem.
Nov. 8, 2022
For the first time in NBA history, there are no games played on Election Day as teams are encouraged by the NBA to share election information with fans.
Nov. 9
Nov. 9, 1946
George Mikan made his professional basketball debut for the Chicago American Gears in a 66-61 loss at the Oshkosh All-Stars in a National Basketball League game.
Nov. 9, 1975
Mendy Rudolph ended his 23-year career as a referee in the NBA, in which he officiated more games (2,113) than any man in league history at the time. Earl Strom later broke Rudolph’s record and officiated over 2,400 games in his 30-year career.
Nov. 9, 1983
David Stern was named to succeed Larry O’Brien, who resigned after 8 1/2 years, as NBA Commissioner. Stern officially took over on February 1, 1984.
David Stern is remembered by NBA stars current and past in this moving tribute to the longtime NBA commissioner.
Nov. 9, 1989
The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 155-154 in five overtime periods, matching the second-longest game in NBA history (Syracuse-Anderson on Nov. 24, 1949). The Bucks-Sonics game was the longest game since the advent of the 24-second shot clock in 1954. Seattle’s Dale Ellis set an NBA record by playing 69 of the 73 minutes.
Nov. 9, 1993
Minnesota’s Micheal Williams had his record-setting NBA consecutive free throw streak end at 97 in a game at San Antonio, when he misfired on a second-quarter attempt. Williams’ mark of 97 eclipsed Calvin Murphy’s previous consecutive free throw record of 78, set during the 1980-81 season. Denver’s Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf moved into second place on the all-time consecutive FT streak list with 81, with his streak ending on Nov. 16, 1993 against San Antonio.
Nov. 9, 1995
The Chicago Bulls defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-88, to earn the first of an NBA-record 33 road victories in one season.
Nov. 9, 1997
New York’s Buck Williams played in his 1,270th game, tying him with John Havlicek for fifth on the all-time list.
Nov. 9, 2007
Two Chinese giants meet in the NBA for the first time. Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets emerge triumphant, vanquishing Yi Jianlian and the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-88. An estimated 150-250 million Chinese fans watch the live television broadcast.
