Nate Thurmond of the Chicago Bulls completed the first quadruple-double in NBA history: 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots.
Since the NBA started recording blocks and steals in 1973, there have only been four officially recorded quadruple-doubles. Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson are the other three players to record one.
There have been very few performances in which a player has come close to getting a quadruple-double. Clyde Drexler was close in 1996, when he recorded 25 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals and 9 assists in a game.
With less than a minute remaining in the game, Wayne Gretzky earns his 1,851st career point against his old team, the Edmonton Oilers. As soon as the puck lands in the net, the Edmonton crowd erupts in applause, showing that they still love number 99, despite Gretzky’s Los Angeles Kings jersey.
Gretzky’s record from local Edmonton TV coverage:
The Edmonton fans give Gretzky a three-minute standing ovation while teammates — current and past — mob him. Mark Messier, who had celebrated so many memorable moments with Gretzky during their four Stanley Cup runs, reaches out to shake his hand during the ceremony. But Gretzky grabs him instead and hugs him in on of the night’s most touching moments.
Choked up, Gretzky says, “An award like this takes a lot of teamwork. Both teams that are here today are part of this record.” The Edmonton fans love the fact that he amassed 1,669 of his points with the Oilers.
After the 15-minute celebration, the game resumes, tied, 4-4, and minutes later it goes into overtime, where Gretzky, defying imagination, punctuates his golden evening by skating out from behind the net, popping out from around the left post again and backhanding the puck into the net for the game-winning goal, 3:24 into overtime.
AthleticPoetics 