No matter where you look around the sports world, individual records are set, broken and broken again. That's the nature of establishing a measure of greatness; people want to surpass it.

But a select group of records will never be touched.

In many cases, that's a product of philosophical changes in professional sports. There has been a greater emphasis placed on rest and recovery in the modern era, largely due to improved medical understanding and technological advances in that arena that have improved recovery procedures.

As a result, only an incredible term of longevity would put a player in the neighborhood of breaking a particular career record. Rule changes are another key factor, too.

The list is subjective but includes 10 players who seem destined to hold a record forever based on current rules.

Wilt Chamberlain's Single-Season Minutes Played per Game

Wilt Chamberlain's most popular record is his 100-point game, closely followed by 50.4 points per game in 1961-62.

Those scoring marks are probably untouchable. Along the way to that average, however, the Hall of Fame center did something else truly absurd: He logged 48.5 minutes per game in '61-'62.

You may recall there are 48 minutes in a regulation game.

Chamberlain, in fact, averaged a few ticks more because seven of the Philadelphia Warriors' games went to overtime. He left the court for exactly eight minutes all season.

Absolutely no one will surpass this record.

Rasheed Wallace's Single-Season Technical Fouls

Rasheed Wallace's, um, passion will be immortal.

During the 2001-02 campaign, the Portland Trail Blazers forward racked up 41 technical fouls. Wallace broke the previous record of 38—which, of course, also belonged to him.

Unless the NBA reverses course on a 2005 rule change, the mark should never be touched. The current collective bargaining agreement includes a one-game suspension after a 16th technical and another for every two more technical fouls beyond that.

Dwight Howard twice received 25 techs in a year during his career, and Draymond Green landed 23 in 2018-19. There are still plenty of players who cross the line.

Yet they're still hardly in shouting distance of Sheed.

Emmitt Smith's Career Rushing Yards

In short: The game has changed.

Emmitt Smith entered the NFL at the ideal moment to become the sport's all-time leading rusher. Offensive coaches still heavily prioritized the running game and gladly leaned on one running back.

As a result, the Dallas Cowboys legend set records in each major category with 4,409 carries for 18,355 yards and 164 touchdowns.

Since his retirement, the closest player has been Frank Gore. He retired with exactly 16,000 yards after a 16-year career in which he stayed incredibly healthy—missing only 15 of 256 possible games—while holding a starting role basically for every season.

Gore enjoyed a remarkable outlier of a career and finished 2,355 yards shy of Smith anyway.

Jerry Rice's Career Receiving Yards

If the NFL continues to expand the length of the regular season, maybe we'll need to reassess this conversation.

For now, though, Jerry Rice is secure in his dominance.

More than anything, the San Francisco 49ers icon was a transcendent talent. Rice crossed the vaunted 1,000-yard barrier 14 times, including six years of 1,400-plus, on the path to totaling 22,895 yards in his career.

The second key factor is the Hall of Famer's longevity. Throughout his 20 years in the league, Rice missed four games in 1987 and 14 in 1997. That's it. Rice otherwise appeared in 16 games each season—and even played 17 in 2004 because of an October trade.

Larry Fitzgerald, who retired after the 2020 campaign, is the most recent challenger. He ended at 17,492.

Cy Young's Career Complete Games

You've probably heard the phrase that a pitcher may "throw until his arm falls off." In the earliest days of professional baseball, teams genuinely tested that theory.

Cy Young tallied 815 starts and threw 749 complete games.

Now, before this descends into a tough-guy rant, let's use critical thinking. Young played from 1890-1911, right in the thick of the dead-ball era. He undoubtedly threw hard, but it shouldn't be controversial to say that modern pitchers put considerably more stress on their arms.

Simultaneously, this is an amazing feat. Young's arm, somehow, didn't fall off despite the enormous usage.

Justin Verlander, for reference, has spun 26 complete games.

Nolan Ryan's Career Strikeouts

Nolan Ryan—who registered 222 complete games, in case you were curious—will forever be the strikeout king.

And the reason is simple.

"I grew up as an overthrower because that's all I knew: throw as hard as you could for as long as you could," the Hall of Fame pitcher told Richard Justice of Texas Monthly in 2022.

Ryan eclipsed 300 strikeouts six times, surpassed 200 in nine other seasons and collected 5,714 punchouts in his career.

As you'd expect, the longevity trend applies here, too. Ryan threw a stunning 27 years in the majors, and that's an unconscionable career length for a starting pitcher in today's era.

Cal Ripken Jr.'s Consecutive Games

Rest? Never heard of it.

Cal Ripken Jr. started for the Baltimore Orioles in May 30, 1982, and he showed up in every lineup until September 20, 1998.

You might be wondering how many times Ripken entered as a late-game replacement to keep his Iron Man streak intact. Fair! He logged 8,243 consecutive innings from June 1982 to September 1997.

So, for the overwhelming majority of his 2,632 straight appearances, Ripken legitimately never left the lineup.

Among the records highlighted, this is theoretically the most attainable mark. However, it'd take a serious string of injury luck, plenty of mental toughness and a very patient manager (or several) for a player to reach Ripken's consecutive games—let alone his innings.

Rickey Henderson's Career Stolen Bases

Since the MLB unveiled larger bases in 2023, the number of steal attempts has risen sharply. Hopefully, the trend continues and makes the exciting moment a larger part of the game.

But, like so many catchers, today's base-stealers won't get Rickey Henderson.

The master of baserunning swiped 1,406 bags in his 25-year career, retiring with 468 more steals than Lou Brock, who's in second place.

Let's be generous and give someone 20 seasons in the majors. Tracking down Rickey would require an average of 70 steals for that player's whole career, plus seven to actually break the record.

My friends, it ain't happening.

Wayne Gretzky's Career Points

One basic fact defines Wayne Gretzky's greatness.

If he'd never scored a goal, The Great One would still be the NHL's all-time leader in points.

Jaromir Jagr tallied 766 goals and dished 1,155 helpers during his fantastic 24-year career, amassing 1,921 points and trailing only Gretzky in that category. The problem is Gretzky had 1,963 assists alone.

Gretzky found the net plenty of times, obviously, setting the record with 894 in his 20 seasons. Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is expected to surpass that number, likely either late in the 2024-25 campaign or sometime during the following year.

But even Ovechkin's 1,550 points aren't remotely in the neighborhood of Gretzky's preposterous 2,857.

Michael Phelps' Gold Medals

Maybe, just maybe, an athlete who competes in individual and team/relay events can make a run at 28 total Olympic medals. I severely doubt it, but I'm willing to leave that on the table.

But 23 golds? No shot.

Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut in 2000, and the swimmer's supremacy began with six golds in Athens in 2004. Four years later, he embarked on the magnificent 8-for-8 run in Beijing.

Phelps added four in the 2012 London Games, followed by five in Rio de Janeiro in 2016—his final Olympics.

Nobody else has ever reached 10 gold medals. American swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel may have that opportunity in 2028, and doing so would be a spectacular feat.

And they, combined, may still end short of Phelps.