THE 72nd edition of the National Basketball Association will unwrap on October 17 (October 18, Manila time). It is the earliest start in 37 years.
Two games are on tap on opening day.
Best friends LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and the reigning Eastern Conference titlist Cleveland Cavaliers will host ex-Utah All-Star frontliner Gordon Hayward, ex-Cavs guard Kyrie Irving and the defending East regular topnotcher Boston Celtics at the Quicken Loans Arena.
The reigning NBA titlist Golden State Warriors, meanwhile, will receive their 2017 championship rings during a ceremony before taking on James Harden, ex-Los Angeles Clippers playmaker Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets at the Oracle Arena.
There are 11 games scheduled for October 18 (Oct. 19, MT). They are Philadelphia at Washington, Charlotte at Detroit, Brooklyn at Indiana, Miami at Orlando, Milwaukee at Boston, New Orleans at Memphis, Atlanta at Dallas, Denver at Utah, Minnesota at San Antonio, Portland at Phoenix and Houston at Sacramento.
By October 19 (Oct. 20, MT), all 30 member teams will have made their season debuts. On that day, Chicago is at Toronto, New York is at Oklahoma City, and the LA Clippers and LA Lakers slug it out at the Staples Center with the youth-laden Lakers designated as the “home” team.
Overall, there are 1,230 games to be played during the regular wars with each team having 82 assignments – 41 at home and 41 on the road. Regardless of their division affiliations, the top eight teams in both the East and West conferences will qualify for the four-tier playoffs in mid-April next year.
Hereunder are some of the most memorable moments in NBA history in the month of October.
October 12, 1979 – Larry Bird received a standing ovation – a dove was released – as the Boston Celtics prized rookie was introduced to the Boston Garden fans minutes before his NBA debut. Bird then scored 14 points in the Celts’ 114-106 over the Houston Rockets. Late in the opening quarter, Celtics guard Chris Ford scored the first three-point field goal in NBA history.
October 15, 1966 – Bill Russell became the NBA’s first black head coach when he was designated as player-coach of the Boston Celtics. Russell steered the Celtics to a 121-113 win over the San Francisco Warriors at Boston Garden. Russell, who piloted for only three seasons with the Green, led the Celtics to a pair of NBA titles in 1968 and 1969.
October 15, 1966 – Matt Guokas Jr. played in his first game for the Philadelphia 76ers, marking the first time a father-son combination had competed in the NBA. Matt Sr. performed with the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1946-47 season, helping guide the team to the Basketball Association of America crown, and at the time of his son’s debut, was a sportscaster for the Sixers.
October 18, 1974 – Nate Thurmond, a center for the Chicago Bulls, chalked up 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots in a 120-115 overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks at the Chicago Stadium. It was the first documented quadruple-double in NBA history. Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson are the only other NBA players to have registered a quadruple-double in an NBA game. The NBA did not officially record stats for steals and blocked shots until the 1973-74 campaign.
More NBA trivia next time.
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