This Date in NBA History: Numerous all-time records tumble on final regular season night of the 1995-96 season

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Dennis Scott, Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan, and Hakeem Olajuwon

On April 21st in 1996, the 1995-96 season came to end with 13 games going down. That packed slate saw the Chicago Bulls and players on other teams round-off the season by breaking or setting all-time NBA records.

Arguably the biggest of these was the all-time wins record by the Chicago Bulls. Having already surpassed the 69-win record set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers a few days earlier, the Bulls, with a 103-93 road win against the Washington Bullets, set the new single-season win record at 72. 

With this win, the Bulls also set the single-season record for road wins at 33. In this 72nd win, Michael Jordan scored 26 points (11-of-22 FG) to finish with a season average of 30.4 (2,491 points in 82 games).

With that average, he clinched the 1996 scoring title, his eighth. In the process, he broke the record for most scoring titles by an individual, a record of seven previously held by Wilt Chamberlain. Jordan would go on to win an NBA record 10 scoring titles.

While the Bulls accomplished a great team record, there were plenty of personal records set during the final slate of the 1996 regular season

First up, Dennis Scott set the all-time NBA record for most made 3-pointers in a single season with 267. This included him also setting the single-game record of 11 three-pointers, a record that was only broken seven years later by Kobe Bryant.

George McCloud of the Dallas Mavericks, who set the all-time NBA record in 3-point attempts, was a close second in 3-pointers made with 257.

Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon, with three blocks in a 118-110 win over the Phoenix Suns, surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time career blocks record of 3,189. Meanwhile, Denver's Dikembe Mutombo became the first player ever to lead the league in blocks for three straight seasons after he recorded 332 blocks in 74 games for a 4.49 bpg average.

For the Utah Jazz, John Stockton made NBA history as he clinched his ninth consecutive assist title. Dishing out 916 dimes in 82 games for an 11.2 apg average, he broke Bob Cousy's record of eight straight assist titles from 1953-60. 

For the league, which capped off its first season with Canadian expansion franchises in Vancouver and Toronto, set an all-time attendance record for the 11th time in 13 seasons after drawing 20,513,218 fans to 1,189 games. 

The average attendance league-wide was 17,252 per game, also a record, with Charlotte leading the way with 24,042 fans per game.

Other notable events on April 21st

Oscar Robertson in his first season with the Bucks in 1970.

  • In 1970, Bob Cousy (Boston Celtics) and Bob Petit (St. Louis Hawks) were inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
  • In 1970, Oscar Robertson was traded from the Cincinnati Royals to the Milwaukee Bucks.
  • In 1993, Moses Malone passes Paul Silas for fifth on the all-time games played list (1,255) as the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Charlotte Hornets 119-111.
  • In 1999, Miami Heat's Dan Majerle becomes the 10th player in league history to record 1,100 made 3-pointers.

Game-winning buzzer-beaters on April 21st

Tony Campbell vs. Washington Bullets in 1991

Mike Mitchell vs. Houston Rockets in 1988

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