Dafuq? Did-you-knows about the NBA.

The NBA has some great history! You don’t believe us? We looked through the archives, various books, hours of YouTube videos and anywhere else you could find some absolute golden nuggets and stories. Enjoy!

Here are the eight NBA franchises that existed for only one season: Toronto Huskies, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Detroit Falcons, Cleveland Rebels (all 1946-47), Indianapolis Jets (1948-49), Waterloo Hawks, Sheboygan Redskins, Anderson Packers (all 1949-50).

Only two founding NBA teams still use their original names and locations: the New York Knickerbockers and Boston Celtics.

No Boston Celtic has ever won an NBA scoring title though 10 times a Celtic has been named league MVP (five for Bill Russell, three for Larry Bird and one each for Bob Cousy and Dave Cowens).

In 1988, basketball fans in Miami were asked to suggest names for the city’s new NBA club. Some of the gems included: Sharks, Barracudas, Flamingos, Palm Trees, Beaches, Suntan, Shaq, Tornadoes, Floridians and of course Heat.

Walt Bellamy and Pete Maravich were not only the leaders of the 1971 Atlanta Hawks, they were also the first players to wear nicknames on their jerseys: Bellamy with “Bells” and Maravich as “Pistol Pete”.

Only three players have had two numbers retired: Oscar Robertson (No. 14 with the Cincinnati Royals, No. 1 with the Milwaukee Bucks), Julius Erving (No, 32 with the New Jersey Nets, No. 6 with the Philadelphia 76ers) and Kobe Bryant (Nos. 8 and 24 with the LA Lakers) And Wilt Chamberlain’s No. 13 meanwhile was retired by LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.

Ralph Sampson, Eric Money and Harvey Catchings are the only NBA players to have played against themselves – at least in the box score. On November 8, 1978 Sampson and the 76ers were playing the Nets and Money and Catchings. Because of a scandal in the third quarter – six technical fouls against New Jersey – the league decided to play the final 17:50 minutes when the teams met again on March 23. In between those games, the Sixers traded Sampson to New Jersey for Money and Catchings, with all three appearing in the box score for both teams.

What was it like being a back-up to Michael Jordan in his early days with the Chicago Bulls? Quintin Dailey didn’t get much playing time and during the third quarter of a road game against the Spurs in 1985, Dailey asked a ballboy to bring him food and Bulls coach Kevin Loughery couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted Dailey eating a slice of pizza, nachos, popcorn and a soft drink.

Magic Johnson shocked the world on November 7, 1991 when the superstar announced to a packed press conference that he was immediately ending his NBA career after being infected with HIV. He returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game and also won the 1992 Olympic gold medal with the original Dream Team.

The Philadelphia 76ers of 1972-73 were the worst team in NBA history, winning just nine of 82 games. They started the season with 15 straight losses and later dropped 20 games in a row. Philadelphia ended up losing games in 22 American cities that season – an oddity given that there were only 17 NBA teams at the time. It was possible because in the 1970s some teams would play in neighboring cities due to availability problems with the arenas.

The 1977-78 NBA scoring race was the closest ever. Going into the final day of the regular season on April 9, 1978, George “Iceman” Gervin of the Spurs was leading David Thompson of the Nuggets by 0.2 points. Thompson had an earlier game against the Pistons and he went off from the tip, scoring an NBA record 32 points in the first quarter. He had 53 points at the half and finished with 73 points. Gervin knew he needed to score 58 points to win the crown. He collected 20 points in the first quarter and then broke Thompson’s record with 33 points in the second quarter. Gervin took the title with six points early in the third quarter and ended with 63 points. Gervin’s final average was 27.22 points while Thompson collected 27.15 points for second place.

Former Laker A.C. Green is famous in the sport for two things. The first is him playing in a record 1,192 consecutive NBA games. The second is for his abstinence. No joke, A.C. Green did not have sex before marriage, which came in April 2002 at age 39.

 

by FIVE Magazine #168 – DAFUQ? NBA Edition – Text: André Voigt

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