20 Short Facts About Basketball

Basketball, being one of the most popular sports in the world, has built a loyal and diehard following. And while many of us know the history of the game, there are a plethora of random cool and interesting facts about the game that many of us may not know.

That’s why, below, we are going to provide you with 20 short facts about basketball. These fun, short facts are great for kids and adults alike and will make you a more informed basketball player and fan!

1. The orange colored basketballs that we’ve all come to love and know were not always the official color of the sport. Rather, when basketball first started, the color of the basketball were brown. However, in 1957, Coach Tony Hinkle of Butler University proposed a color change to help increase the visibility of the ball for both players and fans alike.
2. The first basketball hoop was actually made from a peach basket. When Dr. James Naismith invented the game at an International YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, he utilized discarded peach baskets as the first hoops. Even more wild? He didn’t remove the bottoms of the peach baskets during the initial games and players would have to reach into the baskets to retrieve the balls after a made shot.
3. When basketball was first invented, and long into the official start of the NBA, neither the sport nor the league had a shot clock. Rather, the 24-second shot clock was the idea of Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone and general manager Leo Ferris. The NBA would adopt the idea during the 1954-55 season.
4. Two women have officially been drafted to the NBA. Denise Long and Luisa Harris were both drafted to the league, however neither woman saw any playing time in the NBA and would have short stints with either team that drafted them.
5. The White House has had a smaller outdoor basketball court since 1991. However, it was expanded under President Barack Obama, a frequent fan of the game, and is not much larger and allows for a full court game to be played.
6. Both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are tied for the most number of NBA championships. These two venerated NBA franchises both have 17 championship trophies to their names.
7. Contrary to popular belief, Michael Jordan was not drafted first overall in his draft class. Rather, he was drafted third after Hakeem Olajuwon was selected first overall by the Houston Rockets and Sam Bowie was selected second by the Portland Trail Blazers. ESPN would later write that the Trail Blazer’s choice to select Bowie over Jordan was, “the worst draft pick in North American professional sports history”
8. Speaking of Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time was fined $5,000 per game by the NBA for wearing his legendary Air Jordans during NBA games. The shoes were against the NBA dress code at the time and Jordan would pay the fine after each game.
9. Speaking of dress codes, his airness preferred longer, baggier basketball shorts, which he could grab onto for support when fatigued. However, at that time, the NBA had short-shorts as the official dress code. Under Jordan’s request, the NBA would do away with short-shorts and implement the shorts more commonly seen in the NBA to this day.
10. The NBA has no official height requirements and the shortest player to play in the league, Muggsy Bogues, was officially listed at just 5’3″. However, and contrary to popular belief, the tallest player to ever play in the NBA was not Yao Ming. Rather, the tallest NBA player to ever play in the league was Gheorghe Mureșan, who was officially listed as standing at 7’7″.
11. When Dr. James Naismith first invented the game of basketball, he had originally only set 13 original rules. However, he did not specify the number of players on each team and the original game saw as many as 18 players on the court at once.
12. Similarly, when basketball was first invented, dribbling wasn’t one of the rules. Rather, players would need to pass the ball forward to progress the ball towards the basket
13. The most expensive basketball card ever sold was the LeBron James Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autographs #78. Sold in 2021, the rookie card sold for a whopping $5.2 million in a private sale.
14. NBA players are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world, with the average NBA superstar earning a record $7.5 million per season. Currently, the highest paid NBA player in the league in Steph Curry, who makes over $550,000 per game.
15. While the NCAA Division I men’s basketball organization is one of the most successful and popular league’s, the first national tournament for colleges didn’t happen until 1937 when an organization in Kansas City held the first tournament for US colleges.
16. The longest basketball game lasted for 78 minutes. Played on January 6, 1951, the Indianapolis Olympians and Rochester Royals went to six overtimes, with the Olympians being crowned the victor in a thrilling 75-73 game.
17. Similarly, the highest scoring NBA game was played on December 13, 1983, between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. In a triple-overtime game, the end score was 186-184 in favor of the Pistons.
18. The triple-double, one of the most difficult stat lines to record, was done a record 194 times by Russell Westbrook. We expect Westbrook to continue to add to this record in coming years.
19. The great Wilt Chamberlain scored the most points in a single NBA game, with 100 points. However, the late Kobe Bryant came close to breaking that record in 2006, when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.
20. Speaking of points, in the history of the league just six players have scored over 70 points in a single game.