The 10 greatest moments in Orlando Magic history

8. The Assist Record

Dec. 30, 1990: Scott Skiles sets assist record vs. Nuggets

Many of the Orlando Magic’s all-time NBA records have fallen as the league has evolved. But one record still stands.

Not that Scott Skiles cared or anything.

On the 25th anniversary of recording a NBA-record 30 assists, then-Magic coach Scott Skiles seemed to shrug at looking back. His greatest individual accomplishment was not really something he cared about. Certainly not while he was in the middle of coaching a young team trying to find its way in the league (and perhaps with some of the turmoil behind the scenes involved).

That was part of why Skiles remained so popular in Orlando and was a sentimental choice to return as coach for the 2015 season. He was hard-nosed, focusing only on the task at hand. He never backed down from anyone — famously including Shaquille O’Neal. And he did his job with intensity and passion.

When Skiles says he did not know he had 30 assists, I tend to believe him. He was just going about his job, dishing the ball to the open man. Even as teammates tried desperately to get him to 30 in the final minutes — there were a lot of missed shots before Jerry Reynolds finally made the shot.

There are a few asterisks worth mentioning.

The Orlando Magic were playing a Denver Nuggets team that under Paul Westhead at the time was running for the sake of running. They were not known for their defense at all and pushed the pace to ridiculous heights. That should not take too much away from Scott Skiles, who would go on to win the Most Improved Player Award that year after stepping in for an injured Sam Vincent.

But some more food for thought: Since Skiles set the record, a player has tallied 25 assists only four other times. John Stockton came closest with 28 assists against the San Antonio Spurs only 17 days later.

This is a record that is not likely to fall any time soon.