10 leap day facts in NBA history
The NBA has seen Leap Day action 17 times, 18 on Thursday, and has had 114 total games played on Feb. 29 since its beginning. Because of its rarity, that is, 1-in-1,461 days, Leap Day stats and facts deserve a list of their own.
In honor of February's extra day, here are 10 stats and facts from NBA Leap Days.
10 NBA Leap Day facts
#1, First Leap Day NBA games
The first Leap Day games were the Chicago Stags vs. Washington Capitols, and the Boston Celtics vs. Baltimore Bullets in 1948. The Chicago Stags and the Boston Celtics won their respective matches to become the first Feb. 29 winners.
#2, Most points
The most points in an game on Feb. 29 were scored by Oscar Robertson in 1964. He scored 43 points for the Cincinnati Royals against the Philadelphia 76ers.
#3, Most rebounds
In the same game between Cincinnati and Philadelphia in 1964, Robertson's Cincinnati teammate, Jerry Lucas, grabbed an impressive 40 rebounds. This is the most rebounds any player has grabbed on Feb. 29.
#4, Most assists
The most assists in a Leap Day game were the 19 dished out by John Stockton for the Utah Jazz in their win against the Sacramento Kings in 1988.
#5, Most points by a team
The most any team has scored on Feb. 29 is 137 points. That, however, has been done three times: Dallas in 1996, Detroit in 1984, and Denver in 1980.
#6, Most wins by a player
Ben Wallace has picked up four wins on Leap Days, the most by any player.
#7, Worst record by a team
The Minnesota Timberwolves are 0-5 on Leap Day, the worst record by any team.
#8, Lakers beat Trail Blazers for 12th straight win
On Feb. 29, 2000, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 90-87 after a tightly contested game to secure a 12th straight win.
The Lakers went on to win seven more games before their winning streak ended at 19 games. They also beat that very same Trail Blazers team in the Western Conference Finals before clinching the NBA championship.
#9, Four players born on Feb. 29
Over 4,800 players have played in an NBA Leap Day game. Out of them, only four have had their birthday on a Leap Day. These players are John Chaney (1920), Chucky Brown (1968), Vonteego Cummings (1976), and the only current player among the four, Tyrese Haliburton (2000).
#10, Michael Jordan winless on Leap Day
Michael Jordan only played once on Feb 29 and though he scored 35 points in that game, the Chicago Bulls lost 102-101 to the Philadelphia 76ers in 1988.