Wilt Chamberlain has basketball feats that have stood for more than 60 years, including a 100-point game in 1962 and 55 rebounds in 1960. Bill Russell once grabbed 32 rebounds in a half in 1957, then grabbed 51 boards for a game in 1960.
We often hear of the legends who were NBA big men, the icons who have held some of the league’s longest-standing records. Fifty years ago, another NBA big etched his name in the record books.
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On Oct. 28, 1973, Elmore Smith recorded an impressive triple-double to lead the Los Angeles Lakers in a 111-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He had 12 points, 16 rebounds and 17 blocks in front of a home crowd at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
The NBA began keeping blocks as an official stat during the 1973-74 season, months after Chamberlain played his final NBA game and four years after Russell resigned as a player-coach with the Boston Celtics. While Smith made only 5 of 16 shots that Sunday, he reminded fans that he was a reliable defender, and protecting the rim was something he did well.
Smith’s 17 blocks set the NBA record. His efforts against the Blazers came as a shock then. It’s still something of a shock — and an untouched milestone — 50 years later.
Saturday will mark the 50th anniversary of Smith setting a record that has withstood the test of time with several star big men who have made an impact in the league. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Mark Eaton and Shaquille O’Neal all made a living swatting shots — and all eyes are on 7-foot-4 rookie Victor Wembanyama as he starts his career — but the one nicknamed “The Rejector” is credited for having the official record.
“I didn’t even hear about it until days later,” Smith said of setting the record. “I’ve never been much of the kind of guy that would look at the stat sheet.”
On this day in 1973, Elmore Smith recorded an NBA-record for blocks in a single game with 17 rejections for the @Lakers! #NBA75
(blocks were first recorded in the 1973-74 season) pic.twitter.com/AEwa1q6DtN
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) October 28, 2021
At a time when the NBA was ruled by centers, Smith set the mark for blocks. Smith replaced Chamberlain as the Lakers’ center in 1973, as Chamberlain retired months before the start of the season. With the game evolved and the 3-point shot becoming more of a priority, few defenders have even come close to Smith’s mark. Only O’Neal (Nov. 20, 1993) and the late Manute Bol (Jan. 25, 1986, and Feb. 26, 1987) have recorded 15 blocks since the league made it an official stat. Hassan Whiteside’s 12 blocks for the Miami Heat on Jan. 25, 2015, is the only time an NBA player has come within five of Smith’s record in the last 10 years.
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Smith, 74, recalled it being somewhat comical that the Trail Blazers continued to challenge him around the basket. He played the entire 48 minutes against Portland.
“I said, ‘Can you believe they keep coming in there like that?’” Smith said. “But you know, when you’re working, you don’t always focus on what you’re actually doing. You’re trying to win the game.
“The more I look back on it, I think, man, that really was something.”
Smith recorded a triple-double on that record-setting Sunday, and while the blocks earned a lot of recognition, he said the spotlight should have been on another teammate.
“Gail Goodrich,” Smith said of the five-time All-Star guard who finished with 49 points in the win. “Every time I blocked a shot, it seemed like he was making a layup.”
Smith was listed as a 7-foot, 250-pound center who was the No. 3 pick of the Buffalo Braves in the 1971 NBA Draft. He averaged 17.3 points and 15.2 rebounds as a rookie for the Braves after a standout career at Kentucky State. He was traded to the Lakers in September of 1973. Smith played for the Braves, the Lakers, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers throughout an eight-year NBA career.
Most BLK during 1 GP in NBA history:
1. Elmore Smith (17)
T2. Shaquille O’neal, Manute Bol x2 (15)
T5. Mark Eaton x2, Elmore Smith x2 (14) pic.twitter.com/YpJbxxQLAv
— Best of Pro Sports (@pro_sports_best) October 28, 2021
He finished with 1,183 blocks for his career, 393 of those coming during the 1973-74 season. Knee injuries slowed his career, and he played only 24 games for the Cavaliers during the 1978-79 season.
Smith averaged 4.9 blocks per game and led the league in 1973-74. Two days before blocking 17 shots against the Blazers, Smith had 14 blocks against the Detroit Pistons. He also blocked 14 on Nov. 4, 1973, against the Houston Rockets.
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Smith, who still works in the Cleveland area with the Cavs in addition to his barbecue business, Elmore Smith’s Smokehouse, believes his record is attainable. He said he’s seen players over the years who he felt were capable of breaking his record.
“(Hakeem) Olajuwon, I thought he would break the record because he had that natural ability to leap, and his timing was good,” Smith said. “Manute Bol, I thought maybe he would have broken it. Shaq, I think he could have had he really wanted to.”
The odds of that record being broken by a big man camped outside the paint are low but possible (Wembanyama has shown his ability to block long-range shots). Smith added that he wouldn’t be shocked if the record is chased by a wing or guard who roams the court.
“If you look at the guys my size now, they’re jump shooters, 3-point shooters,” Smith said. “All of us would have loved to have had that opportunity to do that. … The game has changed quite a bit.
“But it was really fun to be able to lure people into the lane so that they could get their shots blocked.”
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(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; photos: Focus on Sport / Getty Images)
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