LeBron James makes history as the first player in NBA history to reach 39,000 career points.
Below is a day-by-day look at landmark moments, games, performances and more from this week in NBA lore.
Nov. 17
Nov. 17, 1945
Elvin Hayes was born in Rayville, Louisiana.
Nov. 17, 1959
Connie Dierking of the Syracuse Nationals became the first player to foul out of a game in the first quarter as Syracuse beat Cincinnati at New York, 121-116.
Nov. 17, 1981
New York Knicks center Bill Cartwright made 19 free throws, missing none, in a game against Kansas City, tying the NBA record set by St. Louis’ Bob Pettit. This record was later tied by Detroit’s Adrian Dantley and broken by Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins, who made 23 consecutive FTs without a miss on Dec. 8, 1992 against Chicago.
Nov. 17, 1984
Purvis Short scored 59 points, the most by any NBA player since April 9, 1978, but his Golden State Warriors lost to New Jersey 131-114. It was the third time in a week that Short had scored more than 40 points in a game.
Nov. 17, 1999
NBA Commissioner David Stern announces that Jeffrey Mishkin, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the NBA for the past seven years, will be returning to private practice as a partner at the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, effective January 1, 2000. As Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Mishkin had overseen every aspect of the NBA’s legal affairs, including all litigation, labor relations, commercial transactions, legislation and enforcement of the league’s intellectual property rights. During his tenure at the NBA, Mishkin remained an active practitioner, personally arguing the appeals in the NBA’s most significant matters, including NBA v. Williams, Chicago Professional Sports and WGN v. NBA, and NBA v. Motorola.
Nov. 17, 2000
Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers became the 25th player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points as he tallied 30 points in a 92-90 loss to Golden State.
Nov. 17, 2000
Jason Kidd of the Phoenix Suns tied the NBA record for turnovers in a game when he turned the ball over 14 times in a 90-85 loss to New York. John Drew of the Atlanta Hawks committed 14 turnovers at New Jersey on March 1, 1978.
Nov. 17, 2018
Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker notches 60 points in a 122-119 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Kemba Walker has a historic night as he scores 60 points against the 76ers. The total was a career-high and also a franchise high for the Hornets.
Nov. 17, 2020
The NBA announces the structure and format for the 2020-21 season, which will feature a 72-game schedule for each team. The schedule was released in two segments, a First Half and Second Half as well as an All-Star break that went from March 5-10 in 2021. Additionally, the NBA Board of Governors approved the proposal of a Play-In Tournament on a one-year basis. The tournament will include teams No. 7-10 in each conference.
Nov. 18
Nov. 18, 1989
For the first time in NBA history, two players from the Soviet Union met on the court — Atlanta’s Alexander Volkov and Golden State’s Sarunas Marciulionis, who were teammates on the Soviet team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in South Korea. On this night, Volkov came out on top, as the Hawks downed the Warriors, 112-96.
Nov. 18, 2020
The 2020 NBA draft is held virtually for the first time in league history. Anthony Edwards of the University of Georgia is selected No. 1 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards talks about what it was like to be the top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Nov. 18, 2011
One-time All-Star Walt Hazzard, a star for the UCLA Bruins and several NBA teams, including the Lakers, dies at the age of 69.
Nov. 18, 2016
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich oversees a 116-107 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. That victory gets him win No. 1,099 to pass Larry Brown for No. 7 on the all-time coaching wins list.
Nov. 19
Nov. 19, 1977
The New Orleans Jazz set a then NBA record for fewest free throws made in a game — one. Despite 17 fouls by Houston, the Jazz went to the foul line only five times and made just one, yet still managed to defeat the Rockets 103-101. On January 9, 1996, the Toronto Raptors did not make a single free throw in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, erasing the Jazz’s record of one free throw.
Nov. 19, 1983
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers became the second player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, joining Wilt Chamberlain at that plateau, as the Lakers won 117-110 at Portland.
On Nov. 19, 1983, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar becomes the 2nd player in NBA history to score 30,000 points, joining Wilt Chamberlain.
Nov. 19, 1996
Patrick Ewing finishes with 24 points in a 92-88 win against the Orlando Magic and becomes the 23rd player to score 20,000 career points.
Nov. 19, 2004
The Indiana Pacers visited the Detroit Pistons in what set to be a matchup between two of the league’s best teams, but ended as one of the most infamous nights in NBA history. The Malice at the Palace, as what it was later dubbed, began when Ron Artest (now Metta World Peace) charged into the stands after being hit with a thrown drink from the crowd. A massive brawl ensued, with nine players being suspended without pay. The fight led to increased security at NBA games, as well as a limit to the sale of the alcohol.
Nov. 20
Nov. 20, 1979
Red Holzman won his 500th game at the helm of the New York Knicks following a 130-125 overtime win over Houston at Madison Square Garden. At the time, Holzman was only the second coach–after Red Auerbach–to reach that plateau with one team.
Nov. 20, 1992
Karl Malone’s game-high 34 points lifted Utah to a 97-95 win over Indiana at Market Square Arena and pushed him past the 15,000 point mark for his career.
Nov. 20, 1993
Orlando’s Shaquille O’Neal scored 24 points, grabbed 28 rebounds and blocked 15 shots (tying Manute Bol for the second-highest total in NBA history) during the Magic’s 87-85 victory over New Jersey at the Meadowlands Arena.
Check out Shaq's triple-double against the Nets on November 20, 1993. He had 24 points, 18 rebounds and 15 blocks!
Nov. 20, 1997
A.C. Green of the Dallas Mavericks set an NBA record by playing in his 907th consecutive game in a matchup against Golden State. Green broke the record of Randy Smith, who played in 906 consecutive games from 1972 to 1983. Green continued to add to the record, playing in 1,192 games through the end of the 2000-01 season.
Nov. 20, 1999
Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon reached 2,000 career steals after a steal in the second quarter of the Rockets’ 110-107 loss to Seattle Saturday night. Olajuwon is the only player in NBA history with 2,000 steals and 2,000 blocks. Steals and blocks have been compiled since the 1973-74 season.
Nov. 20, 2020
Negotiations with free agents began at 6 p.m. ET with signings permitted starting at 12:01 p.m. on Nov. 22. That was a quicker window than usual for free agency in the NBA, which typically has about a week spanning the start of talks and the beginning of signings.
Nov. 20, 2020
The Toronto Raptors announce they will start the 2020-21 season playing in Tampa, Fla., because of the public health concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nov. 21
Nov. 21, 1965
Chick Hearn began his streak of broadcasting consecutive Los Angeles Lakers’ games. The last time Hearn missed a Lakers’ broadcast was Nov. 20, 1965, when he worked a college football game in Arkansas the day before and had his flight canceled. By the end of the 2000-01 season, Hearn had broadcast 3,301 consecutive Lakers games, including preseason and playoff games.
Nov. 21, 1984
The Boston Celtics sank 55-of-81 field goal attempts for a club-record .679 shooting percentage in a 135-91 rout of Golden State.
Nov. 21, 1990
Atlanta’s Moses Malone became only the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 25,000-point plateau by scoring 22 points in the Hawks’ 105-93 loss to Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.
Nov. 21, 1996
With the LA Clippers’ 105-94 loss at Dallas, Bill Fitch became the first NBA coach to record 1,000 career loses.
Nov. 21, 2001
The Denver Nuggets call up Chris Andersen from the Fayetteville Patriots, making Andersen the first D-League player to be called up to the NBA.
On Nov. 1, 2001, the first G-League draft (then known as the D-League) was held, and Chris Andersen forever became the answer to a trivia question.
Nov. 21, 2013
Six-time All-Star Vern Mikkelsen, a Hall of Famer, dies at the age of 85.
Nov. 21, 2023
The Indiana Pacers defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 157-152, in Group Play of the inaugural In-Season Tournament to become the first team to clinch East Group A and advance to the Knockout Rounds. Later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Utah Jazz, 131-99, to clinch West Group A and also advance.
Nov. 22
Nov. 22, 1950
The Fort Wayne Pistons defeated the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18 in Minneapolis in the lowest-scoring game in NBA history.
Nov. 22, 1961
St. Louis Hawks forward Bob Pettit connected on all 19 of his foul shots in a 141-121 loss at Boston, establishing what was then an NBA record.
Nov. 22, 1992
Rick Adelman posted the 200th victory of his coaching career as the Blazers beat Detroit, 115-90. At the time, no coach had reached the 200-win milestone that quickly. The win came in his 288th game.
Nov. 22, 1994
Golden State Coach Don Nelson became the first individual in NBA history to participate in 2,700 career games as a player or coach (both regular season and playoffs), during the Warriors’ 102-98 road setback at Golden State. Later in the 1994-95 season, Nelson was passed in career NBA game appearances, as a player or coach, by Atlanta head coach Lenny Wilkens.
Nov. 22, 2000
The Philadelphia 76ers lost 88-73 to the Charlotte Hornets, ending their season-opening winning streak at 10 games. The Sixers became the 12th team in NBA history to begin a season with at least 10 consecutive victories.
Nov. 22, 2023
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, reaches uncharted territory by becoming the only player to score 39,000 career points. James reached the milestone with a 3-pointer in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 131-99 win against the Jazz. He finished with 17 points in 24 minutes as the Lakers went undefeated in Group Play in the In-Season Tournament.
Nov. 23
Nov. 23, 1979
Washington’s Elvin Hayes scored 18 points in a 128-108 loss at San Antonio to move ahead of Hal Greer, at that time into seventh place on the NBA all-time scoring list, with 21,587 points.
Nov. 23, 1991
The Sacramento Kings snapped their NBA record 43-game road losing streak with a 95-93 win over the Magic at the Orlando Arena. Lionel Simmons scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Kings to their first road triumph since Nov. 20, 1990 in Washington.
Nov. 23, 1994
Jeff Hornacek of Utah set a then-NBA record by sinking all eight of his 3-point field goal attempts during the Jazz’ 113-103 home win over Seattle. Hornacek scored a career-high 40 points and broke the previous mark held by Portland’s Terry Porter (1992) and the Sonics’ Sam Perkins (1993), who both went 7-of-7 from 3-point range. Perkins tied Hornacek’s 8-for-8 performance for Seattle against Toronto on January 15, 1997.
Nov. 23, 1994
Wesley Person hit for 19 points to lead 10 double-figure scorers in Phoenix’s 140-109 home win over the LA Clippers. The Suns became the third team in NBA history to have 10 different players score in double figures in the same game. On March 30, 1980, Seattle defeated Portland 135-104, with Gus Williams’ 23 points leading 10 double-figure scorers for the Sonics. And on April 14, 1994, the Sonics accomplished the feat again, defeating the visiting LA Clippers 150-101, with Detlef Schrempf’s 21 points leading the way.
Nov. 23, 1997
Los Angeles Lakers coach Del Harris recorded his 500th career win after a 119-102 win over the LA Clippers.
Nov. 23, 2016
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love scores 34 points in the first quarter against his hometown Portland Trail Blazers. In doing so, he set a record for most points in a first quarter as the Cavs won 137-125.
