Here are 31 interesting Basketball facts.
1-5 Basketball Facts
1. Michael Jordan had a “love of the game” clause in his contract, allowing him to play basketball against anyone, anytime and anywhere. – Source
2. Tim Duncan grew up in the US Virgin Islands where he was gearing up for the 1992 Olympics as a competitive swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island’s only Olympic-sized pool. The only alternative was to swim in the ocean, and Duncan was afraid of sharks, so he turned to basketball. – Source
3. Spain’s basketball team was stripped of their Special Olympic gold medal after it was discovered they organized a team of healthy individuals to pose as mentally handicapped. – Source
4. The gym on the top floor of the US Supreme Court Building has a basketball court jokingly referred to as “the highest court in the land.” – Source
5. Pro basketball player Latrell Sprewell’s career ended when he refused a $21-million three-year contract offer from the Timberwolves, which he implied would not be enough to feed his children. – Source
6-10 Basketball Facts
6. Stephon Marbury designed and played in basketball shoes to be sold for $15, knowing most parents did not have $150 to spend on the latest high-end basketball sneakers for their kids. – Source
7. The 1977 University of Evansville Men’s Basketball Team was killed in a plane crash. One player didn’t make the trip due to an illness. He was killed in a car wreck 2 weeks later. – Source
8. In North Korean basketball, you get three points for a dunk, four points for a three-pointer that doesn’t touch the rim, and eight points for a basket scored in the final three seconds. A missed free throw means minus-one point. – Source
9. Hafthor Bjornsson (The Mountain) used to be a 230 lb basketball center. Four years later, he was 396 lbs and took third in the World’s Strongest Man. – Source
10. Aubrey Plaza plays on a successful women’s basketball team called The Pistol Shrimps. – Source
11-15 Basketball Facts
11. A junior high basketball game ended with a score of 139-8. The winning team’s points were all scored by one player. – Source
12. Sigourney Weaver actually made that ‘impossible’ basketball shot in Aliens: Resurrection. – Source
13. The Boston Bombers is the name of the city’s only semi-pro women’s basketball team. – Source
14. NBA player Rick Barry led the league seven times in free throw percentage by shooting the ball underhanded. His free throw percentage was 89.99 at the time of his retirement. Despite the effectiveness of his technique, almost no other basketball player has followed it. – Source
15. The original rules for basketball did not include dribbling; the ball could only be advanced by passing. Players eventually learned to “pass to themselves.” This was accepted as legal and eventually developed into dribbling. – Source
16-20 Basketball Facts
16. New Zealand has a basketball team nicknamed as “Tall Blacks”. – Source
17. Michael Jordan wore his UNC shorts under his Bulls ones every game. This meant he had to wear baggier shorts, and that started the trend of baggy basketball shorts. – Source
18. In the decades before World War II, basketball was dominated by Jewish players. – Source
19. The only head coach in University of Kansas basketball history with a losing career record is James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. – Source
20. Only 0.03% of high school basketball players make it to the NBA, and only 0.003% play at that level for longer than 4 years. – Source
The Fab Five started the trend of baggy shorts, not Michael Jordan
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Until 1929, a basketball game was played with a soccer ball!