The Inside the NBA crew reflects on the death of former Jazz center Mark Eaton.
Below is a day-by-day look at landmark moments, games, performances and more from this week in NBA lore.
Jan. 12
Jan. 12, 1966
Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics recorded his 1,000th career victory (regular season and playoffs), 114-102 over the Los Angeles Lakers in Boston.
Jan. 12, 1971
Thirty-three-year-old Lenny Wilkens of Seattle became, at the time, the oldest MVP in All-Star history as he scored 21 points in the West’s 108-107 win in San Diego. Michael Jordan became the oldest All-Star Game MVP when he captured the award in 1998, nine days short of his 35th birthday.
Jan. 12, 1996
Boston’s Dana Barros misses all nine of his three-point attempts during the Celtics’ 105-92 loss to visiting New York, ending his NBA record streak of consecutive games with at least one three-pointer at 89.
Jan. 12, 2000
Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills died in an automobile accident near Charlotte Coliseum, following the team’s shootaround. He was 30 years old. The Hornets’ game that evening against the Chicago Bulls was postponed and rescheduled. The nine-year NBA veteran became a member of the Hornets on August 19, 1997, when he was signed as a free agent. In 1998, he was one of four finalists for the NBA’s Sportsmanship Award and started the Bobby Phills Educational Foundation.
Jan. 12, 2007
Ray Allen scores a career-best 54 points in a 122-114 Sonics win in overtime against the Jazz. Allen shot 17-for-32 overall, went 8-for-12 on 3-pointers and made all 12 of his free throw attempts.
Jan. 13
Jan. 13, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia scored 73 points to lead the host Warriors to a 135-117 win over the Chicago Packers. The 73 points was, at the time, the most points ever scored by an NBA player in a regulation game, and it remains tied for the third-highest total in NBA history.
Jan. 13, 1999
Chicago’s Michael Jordan announced his second retirement from the NBA, just prior to the start of the lockout-shortened 1998-99 NBA season.
Before a massive crowd, Michael Jordan retires from the NBA for a second time on Jan. 13, 1999.
Jan. 13, 2001
The Atlanta Hawks retired Dominique Wilkins’ No. 21 in ceremonies before a cheering, packed house at Philips Arena. Wilkins joined Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson as the only Hawks to have their numbers retired.
On Jan. 13, 2001, the Hawks retired the No. 21 jersey of legendary swingman Dominique Wilkins.
Jan. 13, 2008
The Orlando Magic knock down an NBA-record 23 3-pointers in 37 attempts (62.2%). Jameer Nelson leads the way, going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc as the Magic defeat the Sacramento Kings 139-107.
Jan. 13, 2015
Mo Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves scores 52 points in a 110-101 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Jan. 14
Jan. 14, 1966
The Philadelphia 76ers, led by Wilt Chamberlain, won the first of what was then an NBA record 36 consecutive home games, defeating Boston 112-110. The Celtics broke the mark by winning 38 games in a row at home during the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons.
Jan. 14, 1993
Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz blocked two shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle, becoming only the second player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks.
Jan. 14, 1993
Uniform #77, symbolic of the Blazers’ 1977 championship season, is retired in honor of former Coach Jack Ramsay. He joins Harry Glickman, Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Geoff Petrie and Larry Weinberg in being selected to the organization’s Walk of Fame in Memorial Coliseum.
Jan. 14, 1994
Boston’s Robert Parish scored 21 points in the host Celtics’ 102-95 loss to the LA Clippers, becoming the 12th player at the time to score 22,000 points in his career.
Jan. 14, 2000
Mark Cuban purchases a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks from H. Ross Perot, Jr.
Jan. 15
Jan. 15, 1892
The 13 original rules of basketball were printed in the Springfield YMCA training school newspaper.
Jan. 15, 1957
Attempting a length-of-the-court pass to Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman stunned an NBA All-Star Game audience in Boston Garden when his 70-foot pass swished through the net. After the shot, Cousy asked Sharman, “Don’t you ever pass?”
Jan. 15, 1965
In one of the biggest trades in NBA history, the San Francisco Warriors, in the middle of a then league record 17-game losing streak, traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and cash.
Wilt Chamberlain, an unstoppable player in the paint, won 4 MVP awards, was named to 13 All-Star teams and won the NBA title twice during his Hall of Fame career.
Jan. 15, 1987
Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird was named Man of the Year by The Sporting News and Athlete of the Year by The Associated Press, marking the first time one athlete had gained both distinctions.
Jan. 15, 1990
Golden State Coach Don Nelson became the second man in NBA history to appear in 1,000 games both as a player and a coach (joining Lenny Wilkens) when the Warriors lost to the Indiana Pacers 144-105.
Jan. 15, 1994
In dropping a 104-87 decision to San Antonio at Reunion Arena, the Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record with their 17th consecutive home loss, breaking the mark of 16 set by Orlando in 1990. The Mavericks’ home losing skein would increase to 19 before they would defeat Sacramento, 108-101 on January 29.
Jan. 15, 1996
Washington’s Brent Price began a NBA record streak of hitting on 13 straight three-point field goal attempts over three games. Terry Mills of the Detroit Pistons tied the record by hitting 13 straight in December of 1996.
Jan. 15, 1997
Seattle’s Sam Perkins tied Jeff Hornacek’s NBA single-game record by connecting on eight three-point field goals without a miss, during the Sonics’ 122-78 win over visiting Toronto. Seattle also set an NBA record in the game with 27 steals.
Jan. 15, 1998
Chicago’s Michael Jordan notched the 28,000th point of his career in the Bulls’ 106-96 loss to Philadelphia.
Jan. 15, 2000
Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan became the 12th coach in NBA history to reach the 700-victory plateau when the Jazz defeated the LA Clippers 112-75 at Delta Center.
Jan. 16
Jan. 16, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 42 points, the most ever in an All-Star Game, and grabbed 24 rebounds as he won MVP honors even though his East team lost to the West 150-130. The West’s Bob Pettit had an All-Star record 27 rebounds.
Jan. 16, 1966
Chicago was granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls.
Jan. 16, 1990
The Milwaukee Bucks retired Sidney Moncrief’s #4 jersey.
Take a look back at the Hall of Fame career of Sidney Moncrief.
Jan. 16, 1993
Michael Jordan scored 64 points, but Chicago was upended in overtime by visiting Orlando 128-124. The Magic was led by rookie center Shaquille O’Neal, who posted 29 points and 24 rebounds.
On Jan. 16, 1993, Michael Jordan scored 64 points vs. a then-rookie Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic.
Jan. 17
Jan. 17, 1961
The Cincinnati Royals’ 22-year-old rookie sensation, Oscar Robertson, became the youngest player to receive All-Star MVP honors. Robertson scored 23 points and handed out 14 assists in a 153-131 victory for the West at Syracuse.
Jan. 17, 1992
Boston’s Robert Parish became the 16th player in NBA history to reach the 20,000-point plateau for his career, after scoring 14 points in the Celtics’ 98-95 win over Philadelphia at Boston Garden.
Jan. 17, 1992
Milwaukee’s Moses Malone became the sixth player in NBA history to appear in 1,200 games–along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elvin Hayes, John Havlicek, Paul Silas and Robert Parish–as he scored a team-high 20 points to lead the Bucks to a 90-85 win over New York at the Bradley Center.
Jan. 17, 1994
Patrick Ewing became the first New York player to reach the 15,000-point mark for his career, scoring a game-high 34 points in the Knicks’ 106-94 win over visiting Minnesota.
Jan. 17, 1994
The Sacramento Kings-Los Angeles Lakers game at the Great Western Forum was postponed due to an earthquake in Los Angeles. Also, due to damage caused by the earthquake, the LA Clippers were forced to move two games out of the LA Sports Arena.
Jan. 17, 2012
In the third quarter of the Miami Heat’s 92-75 victory over the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James becomes the youngest player in NBA history to record 20,000 career points. James, at 28 years, 17 days, passed Kobe Bryant, 29 years, 122 days.
Legendary Moments in NBA history: LeBron becomes youngest to 20K points
On Jan. 16, 2013, LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant as the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points.
Jan. 17, 2014
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant scores 54 points in a 127-121 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Jan. 18
Jan. 18, 1972
The Lakers’ “Mr. Clutch,” Jerry West, sank a last-second, 20-foot jumper to lead the West team to a 112-110 All-Star victory over the East, as he garnered MVP honors.
Jan. 18, 1983
Dick Motta becomes the fifth NBA coach to log 600 wins as Dallas knocked off Golden State 112-102 in Oakland.
Jan. 18, 1998
Former Boston Celtics center Robert Parish is honored by having his No. 00 raised to the FleetCenter rafters at halftime of a game vs. Indiana. The game marked the return of Larry Bird to Boston as head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
Jan. 18, 2002
Alex Hannum, the first coach to win championships in both the ABA and NBA, and one of only two coaches to win NBA titles with different teams, died at his home in San Diego. He was 78.
Jan. 18, 2016
The Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker scores 52 points in a 124-119 win over the Utah Jazz.
