The NBA has seen many incredible records get set by legendary players. Who can forget Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game or Michael Jordan’s 10 scoring titles? You need to put the great Bill Russell’s 11 championships in the incredible records list, as well.
- Elmore Smith Sets Blocks Record
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These records are likely never to be broken again. Out of all of the unbreakable records, there’s one that belongs to a player many fans have never heard about. The player I’m speaking of is Elmore Smith, and his unbreakable record is recording 17 block shots in a single game.
Elmore Smith Sets Blocks Record
Elmore Smith, who was known as “Elmore the Rejector”, is a player who played eight seasons in the NBA with four different teams. After playing three years of college basketball at Kentucky State, Smith was drafted third overall in the 1971 NBA Draft by the Buffalo Braves.
For his career, Smith averaged 13.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game. The last of the mentioned stats was what Smith really thrived at, especially earlier on in his career.
On October 28, 1973, Smith was playing for the Jerry West and Gail Goodrich-led Los Angeles Lakers. Their opponent that night was the Portland Trail Blazers, and in this game, Smith would set the record for the most block shots in a single game and the most blocks in a half.
Smith swatted away an incredible 17 shots, including 11 blocks in the first half, in the Lakers’ 111-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
“It didn’t seem like they were catching on,” Smith said in an interview with the LA Times. “They continued to try to score close to the basket, and I just kept blocking their shots.”
Smith put on a defensive show in the game, proving his worth on a solid Lakers team. Blocking shots wasn’t all Smith was good at. He also added 12 points and 16 rebounds to complete the triple-double in the win.
Still the @NBA single-game record for "Elmore the Rejector" RT @caseyreporting: Today in 1973 Elmore Smith of the @Lakers blocked 17 shots.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 28, 2011
For the 1973-74 season, Smith averaged 12.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.9 blocks per game. Smith’s 4.9 blocks average is the third most blocks per game average in an NBA season of all time. Smith’s last season playing was the 1978-79 season, as injuries cut his career short.
The first year the NBA officially counted blocks as stats was the 1973-74 season. This meant great defensive players like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who would’ve averaged a ton of blocks, didn’t get their blocks counted.
This isn’t the fault of Elmore Smith, who took advantage of the new stat. Smith has gone down in NBA history as one of the best shot blockers and the record holder of the most blocks in a single game.
