Sports Reference Blog

Archive for December, 2016

NBA Christmas Records

23rd December 2016

Updated on December 20, 2018
Below, you will find the top individual performances in NBA Christmas day games entering 2018:
Most Points in an NBA Christmas Game
-60 Bernard King, December 25, 1984, Knicks vs Nets
-59 Wilt Chamberlain, December 25, 1961, Warriors at Knicks (2OT)
-50 Rick Barry, December 25, 1966, Warriors at Royals
-47 Jerry West, December 25, 1963, Lakers at Knicks
-46 Tracy McGrady, December 25, 2002, Magic vs Pistons

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Posted in Announcement, Basketball-Reference.com, Data, History, Leaders, Uncategorized | Comments Off on NBA Christmas Records

Play Index 101: Episode One – Season Finder

15th December 2016

Welcome to Play Index 101! This series of videos will teach you how to use the Sports Reference Play Index to research statistics and facts from sports history. This is Episode 1, all about the Season Finder:

For an overview of this series, check out our introductory blog post. You can also search through the Play Index category on the blog to learn more. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us on e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, or Reddit.

Posted in How-To Videos, Play Index 101 | 2 Comments »

Play Index 101: Introduction and List of Videos

15th December 2016

I'd estimate that around 99% of the time, when someone comes to a Sports Reference site, they go to a player or team page and then log off. More advanced users may find their way to the frivolities pages, experiment with features like the Oracle of Baseball, or just spend several hours following link chains to various players and games.

But, just like Westworld, there's another level to our websites, one that relatively few people know how to navigate. It's called the Play Index and, in all sincerity, figuring out how to use it will change your life as a sports fan. If you've ever wondered how people find tidbits like "Mike Trout has the most WAR of any hitter through age-24" or "Dennis Rodman had seven 0-point, 20-rebound games in his career", the answer is usually that they've used the Play Index.

While the Play Index is easy to use if you know your way around, it can seem daunting to a newcomer. We often get messages from people who are eager to learn how to use the Play Index, but don't quite know where to start. So, with that in mind, we're starting a new video series called Play Index 101! Read the rest of this entry

Posted in Announcement, Baseball-Reference.com, Basketball-Reference.com, CBB at Sports Reference, CFB at Sports Reference, Hockey-Reference.com, How-To Videos, Play Index, Play Index 101, Pro-Football-Reference.com | 1 Comment »

Triple-Double Mania

8th December 2016

In the same way that the phrase that best summarized the 2015-16 season was "three-one lead," 2016-17 is shaping up to be the year of the triple-double. In general, the 2016-17 NBA season seems to be producing some absolutely insane stat lines, from Anthony Davis' early run of 40 and 50 point games to DeMar DeRozan's absurdly hot early start.

But one other thing that we've seen in the early part of this season is a ton of triple-doubles. Led by Russell Westbrook, who's threatening to make history by becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double over the course of a full season, NBA players are contributing to more phases of the game than ever before, and the result has been a real delight for stat-nerds. Read the rest of this entry

Posted in Announcement, Basketball-Reference.com | 4 Comments »