12 Random facts about the NBA that will surprise anyone!

Published on November 11, 2021 08:06 AM by Dhinesh

Every basketball fan is by default an NBA fan. Some even have facts about their favorite teams or games by heart. However, there are many more facts that you might not know.

So, read on to know some lesser known random facts about the National Basketball Association and flaunt your knowledge in the next game night with your friends!

There was an NBA team from Providence, Rhode Island!

It was called the Providence Steamrollers. They lasted for only three seasons.

Teams that are no longer active

Baltimore Bullets, Chicago Stags, Buffalo, Cleveland Rebels are a few defunct teams that are no longer active in the NBA.

The first ever NBA game!

The first ever NBA game was played between The New York Knicks and Toronto Huskies. It was held in Toronto on November 1, 1946.

The first ever three-point shot!

The first ever three-point shot in the NBA was by Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics on October 12, 1979.

Guess how many employees they have?

The NBA has 3,500 employees. Woah, who'd have thought!

Muggsy Bogues made history by being the shortest NBA player ever!

He stands at 5'3". Going against the belief that you need to be tall to be a good basketball player, Bogues proved everyone wrong and has garnered many fans over the years.

A little Shaq secret!

The most popular and considered one of the best ever NBA players, Shaq O’Neal has a little secret that people hardly know. Out of 22 attempts at three-pointers, Shaq managed to get successful at only one.

Michael Jordan had to pay a fine for wearing his Air Jordan!

When it comes to basketball shoes, the only one that comes to mind is Air Jordan, which was born in 1985. Considered the best basketball shoes, the Air Jordan's initial combination of colour, black and red was not liked by many. This includes former Commissioner David Stern. The colour of the shoes matched with the Chicago Bulls uniform and at that time, players were asked to wear shoes that matched their uniforms and their teammates' shoes. Michael Jordan had to pay a fine of $5000 everytime he wore them for a game. This amount, however, was paid by Nike.

The shortest meets the tallest!

Muggsy Bogues, the shortest NBA player, and Manute Bol, the tallest NBA player, both played for the same team once in Washington Bullets in the 1987-1988 season.

Did you know that LeBron James, one of the best players in the world, is ambidextrous?

Meaning he's both left and right handed. You have seen him shooting with his right hand, but he eats and writes with his left.

Did you know that almost 60% of the NBA players suffer from post retirement financial crisis?

This is hard to digest considering the whopping amount of money they earn during their career. But their lavish lifestyle (buying expensive cars, houses, shoes and what not!) during the peak of their career is what causes them to go broke later. Somebody needs to teach them how to save up!

25th September of the year 2000 turned out to be an unfortunate day for Paul Pierce

He was stabbed 11 times while trying to stop a fight at Buzz Club in Boston. He suffered from multiple wounds in the neck, back, face and had to undergo a lung surgery. Surprisingly, he recovered pretty soon and continued to play every game in the 2000-2001 season. Infact, he was the only Boston Celtics player who played 82 games in the 2001-2002 season. Talk about dedication and willpower! Woah, Salute to him!