35-year-old Dan Issel Hits First Nine Shots vs. Pistons (1984)

Описание: December 13, 1983 - Playing in the penultimate season of a 15-year Hall of Fame career, Denver Nuggets forward Dan Issel showed little signs of slowing down, coasting past perimeter traffic pylon Bill Laimbeer, hitting on his first nine shots from the field en route to a 28-point, 8-rebound, and 5-assist performance.

Of note, Issel was just the sixth-leading scorer on this particular evening. While he scored all 28 of his point in regulation, the Nuggets and Pistons played three overtimes before the Pistons emerged as 186-184 winners in the highest scoring game in NBA history.

The notable individual scoring breakdown:

Kiki VanDeWeghe (Den): 51
Alex English (Den): 47
Isiah Thomas (Det): 47
John Long (Det): 41
Kelly Tripucka (Det): 35
Dan Issel (Den): 28

Though graded on a curve on account of Denver's hyper-speed offensive attack, Issel averaged 19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Nuggets in 1984.

While Issel was a consistent 24 & 10 threat in the nine years he spent in the NBA, his professional basketball peak likely occurred as a member of the ABA's Kentucky Colonels, where he averaged 30 points per game over his first two years in the league before teaming up with Artis Gilmore to lead the Colonels to an ABA championship in 1975.

Pistons-Nuggets Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/...

Dan Issel's Basketball Reference Page: https://www.basketball-reference.com/...