In the 1961-1962 season, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 48.52 minutes per game. Not only did the ‘Big Dipper’ never sit out because of injury, but he never tired, playing every minute of every game, including all 50 overtime minutes his team played that season. In the modern era, only Allen Iverson has come close to breaking the record, averaging 43.70 minutes per game in the 2001-2002 season.
From 1956-1960, the Montreal Canadiens won five consecutive Stanley Cups. Since the addition of the salary cap in 2004, no team has even repeated as champions. Great teams are often dismantled in free agency, and since the NHL expanded from six teams to 12 in 1967, only the New York Islanders have come close to breaking the Habs record, winning four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-1983.
The Buffalo Bills own easily one of the most devastating records of all time. From 1990-1993, the Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls. While this feat in itself is a record that may never be broken, the fact that the Bills lost all four trips earned Buffalo a spot on this list. While no team has ever three-peated as champions, only the Bills can say they have four-peated as losers.
In 1985-1986, Wayne Gretzky had his greatest season, posting 215 points. With goalies playing better than ever and the game becoming more physical, nobody will ever come close to breaking Gretzky’s record. Jaromir Jagr scored 149 points in the 1995-1996 season, but even the likes of Sidney Crosby won’t even approach the greatness of Gretzky’s 1985 season.
From 1959-1966, Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to eight consecutive NBA Championships. While it’s not unheard of for teams to repeat or three-peat in today’s NBA, only the Chicago Bulls teams of the ‘90s have ever come close to winning eight consecutive championships. Michael Jordan’s two-season stint in baseball, however, took the wind out of the Bulls’ sails.
From May 30, 1982 to September 19, 1998, Cal Ripken Jr. did not miss a game, starting in 2,632 consecutive games and breaking the record of 2,130 previously held by Lou Gehrig. Hunter Pence has the longest active streak at 382 starts, but starting every game over a 162-game season is a tall order. Doing so for 16 seasons is even more daunting.
Over his 19-year career, John Stockton registered 15,806 assists. While the Stockton-Malone combo never won a championship for Utah, the dynamic duo ruled the Western Conference in the late ‘90s. Jason Kidd’s 12,091 career assists have him second on the all-time list, but nobody in the foreseeable future will come remotely close to breaking Stockton’s record.
From 1979-2003, Rickey Henderson was an unstoppable thief on the basepaths, leading the American League in stolen bases 12 times. His 1,406 stolen bases are by far the most of all time–468 more than the Lou Brock, the next name on the list. For the most part, stealing has become a lost art in the league, as teams are becoming more reluctant to risk running into an out, making this an improbable record to break.
While Brett Favre’s touchdown record only stood for four years, his career interception record of 336 won’t be toppled. It takes a special kind of quarterback to throw 300 interceptions. Favre was a gunslinger who was good enough to hold onto his job for 18 seasons, and had the confidence to keep heaving the ball deep into double or triple-coverage throughout his career.
On February 7, 1976, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Darryl Sittler registered six goals and four assists, in an 11-4 beat down of the Boston Bruins. Teams don’t score 11 goals in the modern era, and even on an easy difficulty, it’s a struggle to tally 10 points in hockey video games. Only 15 players have ever registered eight points in a game and nobody, other than Sittler, has registered nine let alone 10.
Missing the 71-72 Lakers’ 33 game win streak and Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak ! Hank Aaron’s home run record of 755 will also be hard to break without steroids (sorry, Barry Bonds).
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Missing the 71-72 Lakers’ 33 game win streak and Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak ! Hank Aaron’s home run record of 755 will also be hard to break without steroids (sorry, Barry Bonds).