Scott Skiles' 30-Assist Game: An NBA Record for the Ages

[00:00:00] On December 30, 1990, the Orlando Magic were facing off against the Denver Nuggets.

[00:00:06] And the Orlando Magic were a new team in their second season, but a star was going to be made this game when their 6'1'' point guard, Scott Skiles, went out and put on a show, but not in scoring, but in passing the ball.

[00:00:20] When he set an NBA record with an unbelievable 30 assists in a single game, showing his masterclass in court vision and basketball IQ, and not caring about scoring, but being a playmaker on the court.

[00:00:35] It cemented himself in the record book and made him beloved by Magic fans for the rest of his life.

[00:00:43] Today we're going to dive into how Scott made it to the NBA and the game that he had that changed his career forever.

[00:00:51] Today on Daily Sports History.

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[00:01:14] Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese.

[00:01:17] Your guide as you daily learn more about sports history, increasing your sports knowledge.

[00:01:21] As today we talk about Scott Skiles, the assist king, at least in this one game.

[00:01:28] And today's trivia question is, who, what, who was the previous record holder for the most assist in a single game prior to Scott Skiles?

[00:01:41] Now before we get to the game, we gotta know who Scott was and how he made it all the way to the NBA.

[00:01:47] As he only grew to be 6'1", an average height.

[00:01:50] That if you saw him walking down the street, chances are you may have never noticed who he was.

[00:01:56] He's just an average looking guy. You wouldn't think he has the skills that he had.

[00:02:00] But he grew up in Indiana, which is a basketball crazed state.

[00:02:04] I know because I grew up and live in Indiana.

[00:02:07] And we love our basketball, especially high school basketball.

[00:02:09] And if you look around the country, and in the entire country, the five largest high school basketball gyms are all in Indiana.

[00:02:18] And in the top ten, we love our basketball in Indiana.

[00:02:22] So much so that they made a movie called Hoosiers, which kind of mirrored Scott Skiles' life.

[00:02:28] As he grew up in Northwest Indiana and went to Plymouth High School, which is a smaller school.

[00:02:34] And in his senior season, he led them in scoring with 29.3 points a game.

[00:02:40] And having multiple 50 point games that season.

[00:02:43] And he left being the all time leader in career points for Plymouth.

[00:02:46] Now the reason why I say he mirrored the movie Hoosiers is because they went up against Gary Roosevelt.

[00:02:51] Which is a much bigger school than Plymouth.

[00:02:54] Similar to the movie, it was a small school in Milan taking on Muncie Central.

[00:02:59] And that is exactly what happened.

[00:03:01] Except in this game, and at this time in 1982 when this happened, Indiana high school basketball was still classless.

[00:03:08] Which means no matter the size of your school, you played against everybody for one state championship.

[00:03:14] Made it a lot harder for smaller schools to win.

[00:03:17] Like Milan in the movie Hoosiers, same as Plymouth in 1982.

[00:03:21] He would go on to win Mr. Basketball for Indiana and sign with Michigan State.

[00:03:27] As not only could he score, but he could also assist.

[00:03:31] And he left Michigan State, which is a historically great program.

[00:03:35] The all time leader in points and assists.

[00:03:38] And still holds the record for the most points scored in a single season.

[00:03:41] But he did have his challenges.

[00:03:43] As he wasn't this straight laced kid from a small school.

[00:03:46] Unfortunately, he got arrested for possession of cocaine and marijuana.

[00:03:49] And he had enough that it was a felony possession of cocaine.

[00:03:52] But the charges eventually were dropped on the cocaine.

[00:03:55] And he pleaded guilty for possession of marijuana, which was a misdemeanor.

[00:03:59] And later, he would also get arrested for drunk driving and had to spend 15 days in jail.

[00:04:05] In his senior year, he actually committed a parole violation and had another brief instance in jail.

[00:04:11] This made it very hard even though he had so much success at Michigan State for him to be seen as a higher draft pick.

[00:04:17] Not only that, he was also on the shorter side.

[00:04:20] But that didn't mean as much back then.

[00:04:22] As point guards were smaller like him, John Stockton, Muggsy Bows.

[00:04:26] Who had smaller point guards at that time.

[00:04:28] And it wasn't a big deal.

[00:04:30] But he didn't get drafted until the 22nd round by the Milwaukee Bucks.

[00:04:33] Where he would spend 10 seasons making his debut on November 11th, 1986.

[00:04:40] But he would struggle early in his career to find his place.

[00:04:44] He was shorter.

[00:04:45] He had to catch up to the game as it was a faster speed.

[00:04:48] And he only ended up playing just 13 games in his rookie season.

[00:04:52] And then he would get traded for a second round pick to the Indiana Pacers.

[00:04:56] Where he was able to play a little bit more.

[00:04:58] Playing in 50 games, averaging 4 points and 3.5 assists.

[00:05:02] And the following year, he would play in 80 games, upping his point total.

[00:05:05] And then in 1989, the Orlando Magic were a new franchise in the NBA.

[00:05:10] And they held an expansion draft.

[00:05:12] Now an expansion draft is for a new team.

[00:05:14] And each team that's already in the league keeps certain players safe.

[00:05:18] They cannot be picked in this draft.

[00:05:19] So it's usually players at the end of their bench that can be picked by this expansion team.

[00:05:24] It allows this team to have some veterans on their team.

[00:05:26] And not just start from the bottom of the barrel, picking up anyone off the street to play.

[00:05:31] It's a good system.

[00:05:32] And it allows players like him, who are younger and not having as much experience, to really get a chance to play.

[00:05:38] And that's exactly what happened.

[00:05:39] Now he started mainly as a backup his first season.

[00:05:42] But he increased his point total to 7.7 points.

[00:05:45] And is averaging 4.8 assists in 70 games.

[00:05:49] But the following year, he transitioned to a starting role.

[00:05:52] Which really jump started his career.

[00:05:54] Averaging 34 minutes a game.

[00:05:56] He averaged over 17 points and 8 assists a game.

[00:05:59] Which was highlighted by the game he had on December 30th, 1990 against the Denver Nuggets.

[00:06:07] And this game happened in Orlando.

[00:06:09] Where both the Nuggets and Orlando were struggling this season.

[00:06:13] As Orlando were in their second season.

[00:06:16] As each team had only won 6 games this season out of 29.

[00:06:20] And they were struggling to find their way.

[00:06:22] And Orlando, being a young franchise, had a lot of young players looking for a chance to jump out.

[00:06:28] And Denver were led by Paul Westhead.

[00:06:31] Who won a championship with the LA Lakers in Magic Johnson's first year.

[00:06:34] And had just come out of college.

[00:06:37] Where he led Loyola Marymount to historic highs with his fast run and gun offense.

[00:06:43] Which meant there was a good chance this would be a high scoring event.

[00:06:46] And Orlando recognized that the Nuggets weakness was their defense.

[00:06:50] As they were allowing a league worst 130 points a game.

[00:06:54] And this looked like a chance for Scott to take over the offense.

[00:06:58] And use his expert passing to get his guys wide open.

[00:07:02] So in the first half, Scott really focused on distributing the ball.

[00:07:05] And helped him jump out to a 35-23 lead in the first quarter.

[00:07:09] And it was a lot of the same in the second quarter.

[00:07:12] And Scott Skiles finished the first half with 14 assists.

[00:07:16] As the Orlando Magic led at half.

[00:07:19] 72-49.

[00:07:21] But the Magic were going on fast break after fast break.

[00:07:25] Setting pick and rolls.

[00:07:26] Moving the ball around.

[00:07:28] Wearing out the defense that was already struggling of the Denver Nuggets in the second half.

[00:07:33] Scoring 38 in the third quarter.

[00:07:36] And finishing the fourth quarter.

[00:07:38] Scoring 45.

[00:07:40] Beating the Denver Nuggets 155-138.

[00:07:45] And the game ended with Scott Skiles scoring 22 points.

[00:07:49] But that wasn't what was so impressive.

[00:07:51] It was the 30 assists he had.

[00:07:54] Seven of his teammates scored in double figures.

[00:07:56] Being led by Terry Cartilage and Jerry Reynolds.

[00:08:01] Who each scored over 25 points as well.

[00:08:04] It set a record for the highest point total in Magic history.

[00:08:08] And put the Magic on the map.

[00:08:10] And Scott Skiles on the upper echelon of point guards.

[00:08:14] And would lead Scott Skiles to winning the most improved player award at the end of that season.

[00:08:19] He would go on to play three more years with the Orlando Magic.

[00:08:23] And even though he was the most improved player.

[00:08:24] He never really reached that point again.

[00:08:27] His numbers dropped off the next few years.

[00:08:29] Still being a quality player.

[00:08:30] But wasn't the potential all-star possibility that he showed that 1990 season.

[00:08:36] And it didn't help that the Orlando Magic were looking at a new season.

[00:08:40] As they had Penny Hardway and Shaquille O'Neal coming in.

[00:08:44] And they were going a different direction at the point guard position.

[00:08:47] So he moved on to the Washington Bullets.

[00:08:49] And then the Philadelphia 76ers.

[00:08:51] Before playing a season in the Greek League for the PAOK.

[00:08:54] Before retiring after 10 seasons in the NBA.

[00:08:57] And one in the Greek League.

[00:08:58] He would go on to become a coach of the PAOK.

[00:09:01] Before coming over to be an assistant for the Phoenix Suns.

[00:09:05] For two years.

[00:09:06] Before getting promoted to head coach in 1990.

[00:09:09] Where he'd be a head coach there for three years.

[00:09:11] Leading them to the playoffs two out of his three years.

[00:09:13] Including beating the defending champs.

[00:09:15] The San Antonio Spurs in 2000.

[00:09:18] But it wasn't good enough.

[00:09:18] So he got.

[00:09:19] He was fired.

[00:09:20] And would eventually take a head coaching job.

[00:09:22] For the Chicago Bulls.

[00:09:24] In 2003.

[00:09:25] With little success.

[00:09:27] And would be fired in 2007.

[00:09:29] And would get another job with the Milwaukee Bucks.

[00:09:32] Where his team would struggle with injuries.

[00:09:33] But he would come back to the Orlando Magic.

[00:09:36] In 2005.

[00:09:38] After being let go by the Milwaukee Bucks.

[00:09:39] To coach one season for the team.

[00:09:41] As they struggled.

[00:09:43] And would step down from his position.

[00:09:44] As he claimed he was not the right person for the job.

[00:09:46] He struggled as a coach.

[00:09:48] And he struggled as a player.

[00:09:50] But he had a lot of success in the league.

[00:09:51] Was able to play 10 years in the NBA.

[00:09:53] And having the record for the most assists in a game all time.

[00:09:56] Is impressive.

[00:09:57] As the record he beat was Kevin Porter.

[00:10:00] Set in 1978.

[00:10:02] When he had 29 assists.

[00:10:05] The previous record before that.

[00:10:07] Was 28.

[00:10:08] Which was set by Bob Cousy and Guy Rogers.

[00:10:11] In 1959 and 1963 respectively.

[00:10:15] And John Stockton.

[00:10:16] The leader all time in total assists.

[00:10:19] Hit this mark in 1991.

[00:10:21] And would also hit the mark of 27 and 26 all time.

[00:10:26] And the closest player to get to this record since 2000.

[00:10:31] Was Rajon Rondo.

[00:10:32] When he was with the New Orleans Pelicans.

[00:10:35] In 2017.

[00:10:36] When he had 25 assists.

[00:10:38] It's a record that many think will never be broken.

[00:10:41] As even the arguably the greatest passer of all time.

[00:10:45] John Stockton.

[00:10:45] Couldn't even break it.

[00:10:47] What chances do everyone else have?

[00:10:49] But Scott Skiles.

[00:10:50] Was not the greatest passer of all time.

[00:10:52] He took advantage of a system.

[00:10:54] Which allowed him to break the record.

[00:10:56] Even though he was a great passer.

[00:10:58] And a great player.

[00:10:59] He wasn't the greatest of all time.

[00:11:00] But his name will always be in the record books.

[00:11:03] Having 30 assists.

[00:11:04] In a single game.

[00:11:06] One that may never be broken.

[00:11:10] I want to thank you for listening to today's episode.

[00:11:12] If you want more content about the Orlando Magic.

[00:11:15] Check out the Penny and Pops podcast.

[00:11:18] Where Adam and Spencer.

[00:11:19] Take you through all matters of Orlando Magic basketball.

[00:11:23] Giving you local strong opinions.

[00:11:25] And the longest running podcast.

[00:11:27] Dedicated to the Orlando Magic.

[00:11:29] And we'll put a link in the description below.

[00:11:31] For you to check them out.

[00:11:32] And I hope you enjoyed today's episode.

[00:11:34] If you liked it.

[00:11:35] Please make sure you are subscribed.

[00:11:37] Wherever you're listening.

[00:11:38] So you do not miss a single episode.

[00:11:41] And did you catch the answer to today's trivia question?

[00:11:44] Who was the previous record holder.

[00:11:45] For the most assists.

[00:11:47] In a game.

[00:11:47] Prior to Scott Skiles.

[00:11:49] And the answer is.

[00:11:51] Kevin Porter.

[00:11:52] Of the New Jersey Nets.

[00:11:53] When they faced off against the Houston Rockets.

[00:11:55] In 1978.

[00:11:56] Where he had 28.

[00:11:59] Where he had 29 assists.

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