What springs to your mind when you hear NBA? In only 76 years of its existence, National Basketball Association has driven a lot of attention to itself and basketball on the whole. Children sympathize with basketball players, teenagers keep buying their favorite team’s merch, and adults hurry up to get NBA tickets so as not to miss any game! Every basketball game is such a performance that you would not want to blow a chance and skip a game. So, don’t hold back and go Koobit website and check out the availability of tickets to your favorite team’s matches.
Basketball fans usually remember all the most memorable moments, players, agents, and events. If you try to google anything, you may get thousands of search results. We have decided to clarify the most fascinating ones.
- When we speak about football, it is a regular tradition on Thanksgiving Day. Does basketball have any practice like that? Actually, no. However, twice in 76 years, the matches took place on Christmas Eve. We envy people living and attending those games in 1960 and 1967.
- The surprising fact is about Elvin Hayes. Could you even imagine that he never won an MVP award? What a pity for such a skilled player: 12 All-Star games, 20 points per game on average, winning a championship, and more.
- Have you seen the Twitter logo? Well, interesting for you to know that their bird appeared due to Larry Bird from the Boston Celtics. Legendary!
- Do you know anyone who does not know who Shaquille O’Neal is? We doubt that! However, did you know that he scored 3-pointer only once in his career? That is really hilarious fact to know!
- Covid-19 has already made its corrections to basketball history. In the 2020 finals, only 5,94 million people watched the game. It was a match between the Lakers and the Miami Heat.
- When speaking about basketball statistics, 43 percent of all final championships have been won by the Celtics and Lakers. Can you imagine? Almost half of history, they have always been the winner!
- There is a fact that may be a little awkward to share with you. It is probably some numerology sing or what, but there has been no player with the number 69 in the NBA. It is even interesting for us; why so?
- Do you know any basketball players who are questioning themselves or being too critical of their skills and achievements? Well, share this fact with them to make them feel better! Kobe Bryant has set the record for the biggest number of missed shots! Goat, but what a famous and talented player!
- When speaking about NBA drafts, there is also a ranking of the best and the worst. A compelling fact is that the worst draft occurred not so long ago, in 2020. When we say the worst, we mean that only nine players were able to score more than 10 points in their basketball careers. What a shame, to tell the truth!
- We guess that majority of people reckon that basketball players have never had anything else in their lives except basketball, basketball, and basketball. Nevertheless, it is not like that! A lot of them proceed to get degrees in other industries. For example, Pau Gasol has obtained a degree in Medicine! Can you imagine a basketball star who can easily be a team doctor?
- When you hear “basketball” and “ball,” what color springs to your mind? Of course, you have an image of an orange ball, bright and visible. However, it was not always like that. In the early years of basketball development, they used brown balls. Obviously, the visibility was so bad that soon, in 1957, to be precise, orange balls appeared.
- There will be nothing new when we tell you that Michael Jordan’s favorite shoes were Nike Air. It is also no secret that these shoes are still associated with the legend. However, were you informed that once, he was even fined for wearing his favorite shoes? There are strict rules regarding basketball uniforms, so he had to pay about 5 thousand dollars for wearing black-and-red shoes (Nike Air, of course) every single game.
- Every sport has its rules. So does basketball. Initially, those 60 pages of a basketball rulebook were written in 1891 by James Naismith. History says that he was asked to come up with some indoor game to play during winters, and that’s how he invented rules for a new game – basketball.
- Another engaging statistical fact is about the financial situation of basketball players. Unfortunately, more than half of them become broke 5-7 years after retirement. We would suggest that financial literacy courses should be obligatory for all retired basketball players. Just in case.
- One more fact about Michael Jordan (and yes, we do appreciate this legend). When there was an NBA draft in 1984, Michael Jordan actually was not the first pick. Who would think? Our guess is that the Blazers and the Houston Rockets still regret not picking him!
We could continue this list on and on. But let’s stop here. And leave some room for your personal research to find out even more captivating facts about basketball and its players.
Why so popular?
Even though football is the most popular sport in the USA and baseball is regarded as the most historical one, basketball still has most of the money and fame. The thing is that NBA players are known all over the world (unfortunately, we can’t say the same about two others). Remember the Chicago Bulls going to France? Journalists and fans did not give them a chance to pass by without taking pictures and asking questions. That era opened up basketball from completely another perspective. This is the whole culture and high level of athleticism. A lot of action, anticipation, and fun. Once again, if you still haven’t got tickets for the season opening, this is high time! You will never regret being a part of such a performance!
