On Nov. 20, 1993, a 21-year-old Shaquille O'Neal recorded one of the greatest triple-doubles in NBA history.
In a 87-85 win over the New Jersey Nets, O'Neal stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, 28 rebounds, 15 blocks and three assists.
It marked O'Neal's first career triple-double, one of only two he would go on to record in a career that spanned 1,423 games, regular season and playoffs combined.
The 28 rebounds and 15 blocks were career highs. In fact, the blocks tally - an Orlando Magic franchise record - is only two off the single-game NBA record of 17, recorded by Elmore Smith in 1973.
“I guess I played OK,” O’Neal said after the game.
“It’s hard to play from city to city, where it’s 40 degrees in one and 80 degrees in the next, but you keep playing. I knew I had about seven or eight blocks, but I didn’t know I had 15. If we had lost, my performance wouldn’t have meant anything.”
In the 1992-93 season, his second year in the league, O'Neal averaged 29.3 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game while leading the league in field goal percentage (59.9 percent).
Other notable events on Nov. 20
- In 1979, Red Holzman became the second coach in NBA history to reach 500 career wins.
- In 1997, A.C. Green set the NBA record by playing in his 907th consecutive game in a matchup against Golden State. He broke Randy Smith's record of 906 consecutive games from 1972 to 1983. Green would go on to extend the record to 1,192 games through the end of the 2000-01 season.
- In 1999, Hakeem Olajuwon reached the milestone of 2,000 steals. To this date, he is the only player in NBA history with 2,000 steals and 2,000 blocks. Both steals and blocks were compiled from the 1973-74 season onwards.
Recent game-winning buzzer-beater on Nov. 20
Rudy Gay vs. Miami Heat in 2010
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