This Day in Basketball History
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record going 18-of-18 from the field against the Baltimore Bullets
According to Basketball Reference, the 1966-67 NBA season was Wilt Chamberlain's second-best shooting-wise as he finished the year with a True Shooting Percentage of .637.
Chamberlain's hot hand helped the Philadelphia 76ers win an NBA title that season, but more impressive than anything was the former Globetrotter's performance against the Baltimore Bullets on Feb. 24.
The Philadelphia-born center went 18-of-18 from the field that day, setting a still-unbroken NBA record for most field goals made in a game with none missed. Chamberlain finished the contest with 42 points, going 6-of-14 from the free throw line. But let's not talk about those missed shots...
Wilt's performance was also part of a larger NBA record, when he hit 35 consecutive field goals over the course of four games between Feb. 17 and Feb. 28.
1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hits only three-pointer of his career
It took almost 18 NBA seasons, but on Feb. 24, 1987, 7-foot-2 center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar finally hit the first -- and only -- three-pointer of his career.
To be fair, the three-point rule wasn't around for Abdul-Jabbar's first 10 seasons. But the Hall of Famer still took his sweet time accomplishing the feat, missing all 13 three-pointers he shot over the course of eight years before finally draining this icy bucket from the corner against the Phoenix Suns:
You can't fault Larry Nance for not closing down the shot. He must have been as shocked as anyone.
Abdul-Jabbar, whose 38,387 career points are the most in NBA history, would finish his career 1-of-18 (.056) from beyond the arc.
1998 - Rockets' Hakeem Olajuwon becomes eighth player in NBA history to play 1,000+ games with same team
No player is as synonymous with the Houston Rockets as Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. The man bled "Space City."
Olajuwon, who was drafted first overall in 1984, scored 26,511 points in 1,177 games with the Rockets while leading the franchise to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995.
Three seasons after winning his second title, Olajuwon joined the exclusive club of players who have played 1,000 games or more with the same team, accomplishing the feat against the Washington Wizards on Feb. 24, 1998. He became only the eighth NBA player ever to do so.
If you're wondering who holds the record for most game played on a team, look no further than John Stockton, who rocked his short shorts for the Utah Jazz in 1,504 contests.
Birthdays
1952 - Tom Burleson