On April 5 in 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with his trademark skyhook against the Utah Jazz in Las Vegas became the NBA's all-time scorer. As the Lakers beat the Jazz 129-115, he surpassed Wilt Chamberlain's points tally of 31,419 points.
He received the pass from Magic Johnson and launched his skyhook that sealed his place in the history books.
Playing for another five seasons after this game, the Captain finished with his 20-year career with a tally of 38,387 points - the most by any player in NBA history.
However, that's not the only category that Abdul-Jabbar leads the all-time charts.
He leads the all-time charts in prominent stat categories like most league MVPs (6), most All-Star selections (19), most minutes played (57,446), and most made field goals (15,837).
Other notable events on April 6
- In 1967, Wilt Chamberlain grabbed an NBA playoff record 41 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Boston Celtics 115-104.
- In 1981, the 76ers blocked an NBA playoff record 20 shots in a 125-122 win against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
- In 1995, the Charlotte Hornets held the Philadelphia 76ers to a franchise-low 66 points in a 16-point win. Both teams combined for an NBA-record-low 19 second-quarter points with the Hornets scoring 11 and the 76ers managing eight.
- In 2001, Wang Zhizhi became the first Chinese player to compete in the NBA. He represented the Dallas Mavericks while finishing six points and three rebounds in eight minutes.
- In 2009, Jason Kidd set Dallas Mavericks franchise records for most assists in a half (16) and assists in regulation (20) as he passed the Magic Johnson (10,141) for third on the all-time assists leaderboard. The Mavs blew out the Phoenix Suns 140-116 in this game.
- In 2011, Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets dished out a career-high 21 assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 107-105 win.
Game-winning buzzer-beaters on April 6
Josh Childress vs. Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006
Matt Geiger vs. Philadelphia 76ers in 1997
The views expressed here do not represent those of the NBA or its clubs.
