Messieurs Irrelevant: 13 notable players selected with the last pick of the NBA Draft
They don’t receive the hype of their NFL equivalents but the last overall picks of the NBA Draft is a colorful cohort with a fascinating history
Adding insult: 14 NBA players who suffered unusual off-court injuries
Whether is was due to carelessness, recklessness, or just some freak accident, these 14 NBA players missed time for unique reasons
Separated laundry: 18 NBA players with a jersey retired by multiple franchises
It’s honor enough to have your jersey retired by an NBA franchise but how about two? Or even three? These 18 players have their number hanging in the rafter of multiple arenas.
Foundational pieces: 30 notable NBA expansion draft picks
Utilized to seed the roster of new franchises, expansion drafts have been staged 11 times in NBA history, starting with the Chicago Packers in 1961 and most recently with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. These are the most notable selections in expansion draft history, from flops to revivals to impending franchise cornerstones.
Honorary decree: Seven people with retired NBA jerseys who never played or coached
What does it take to get your jersey hanging in the rafters amongst the legends of the sport? For these seven people, actual talent in basketball wasn’t a requisite.
From zero to hero: 21 greatest players who wore/wear the jersey number 0 or 00
We pay tribute to the humble number zero, by counting down the 21 greatest players that have donned it on their NBA jersey over the years.
Faces in the crowd: 12 NBA celebrity superfans
Our taxonomy of the biggest celebrity NBA fans around, from movie stars to rappers to the one and only Jack Nicholson.
Lucky ticket: 12 unlikely NBA Draft Lottery winners
Over the last four decades, the NBA Draft Lottery has made and broken the fortunes of numerous franchises. We detail the 12 most surprising leaps to the top spot over that time
Polymaths: 24 NBA players who also excelled in other sports
The pure skill and athleticism of NBA players is undeniable and often has been applied to other athletic endeavors, to varying degrees of success
It belongs in a museum: 10 notable pieces of basketball memorabilia
From a copy of the sport’s original rules to a bloody gauze pad left on the court, we review the lavish, the mysterious, and the weird of basketball memorabilia
Giants amongst men: 14 NBA players who were listed as 7’4″ or taller
The biggest of the big, these giants towered over their NBA opponents with a massive frame that was often just as much a detriment on and off the court as it was an asset.
Judge me by my size, do you: 17 best NBA players with a listed height under six feet
The best things can come in small packages, and this group of 17 were the greatest in NBA history that measured in at less than six feet tall.
Boomshakalaka!: Ranking the 27 rosters from the original NBA Jam (1993 arcade edition)
Let’s grab our roll of quarters and call dibs on next game, because we’re traveling back in time to 1993 to rank the rosters from the original arcade version of NBA Jam, on the 30th anniversary of its initial release.
One and done: 17 greatest players who spent just one season in the NBA
Whether it was due to bad luck, bad timing, injury, or just a change of career, these are the greatest players whose NBA career lasted just one season.
Over the hill and on the court: 31 NBA players who stayed active into their 40s
With LeBron James set to hit the big 4-0 in December, we take a look at the 31 players who previously remained active in the NBA into their 40s
Golden voices: Eight NBA announcers with retired microphones
Only the most beloved icons behind the microphone have been granted their franchises’ greatest honor, a place in the rafters amongst the playing legends
For those updating rosters at home…: 11 NBA players who underwent a legal name change
We continue our frivolities series today with a look at players who underwent legal name changes during their active careers, either for legal reasons, family history, or just eccentricity.
The name game: 13 current NBA franchises that have changed names
Some do it because they’ve moved, some do it just to re-brand, and others have more questionable motives. These are the 13 NBA teams out of the current 30 that have, at some point, changed names.
Lions and tigers and Clutch the Bear, oh my!: Ranking the 26 NBA mascots
It’s the most academically important list we’ll ever produce, a scientific classification and ranking of NBA mascots.
Immaculate Grid All-Stars: 10 notable NBA players who have played for 10 or more teams
Looking for help in finishing your daily Immaculate Grid? Consider these 10 players a Rosetta Stone, especially to some of the more difficult team combinations.
Unexcused absence: Nine players who missed the All-Star Game for reasons other than injury
Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are joining a long list of players who have sat out the All-Star Game due to injury but here are the more rare examples where other life events and factors got in the way.
Lonely travelers: 27 countries that have produced only one NBA player
86 nations aside from the United States have produced an NBA player. While some locales like Spain (18 NBA players), Serbia (24), Australia (28), and Italy (11) have been talent hot-beds, these 27 countries have thus far seen just one native son reach the world’s most prestigious pro basketball league.
Round mound of dumbfound: 10 times that Charles Barkley’s mouth got him into trouble
With Charles Barkley set to celebrate his 60th birthday, we take a look back at some of the most controversial moments of maybe the most polemic figure in NBA history.
Digital dunks: 18 great, influential, outrageous, or otherwise notable basketball video games
From the early days of Atari and arcades to the modern next generation consoles, basketball titles have been a constant on the video game market. Here are 18 basketball games that are notable for their influence, their greatness, or their uniqueness.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss: 22 NBA coaches who had multiple stints with the same franchise
Following their firing, re-signing, retiring, or demotion, these 22 coaches came back to the same NBA franchise a second time, often inexplicably and usually with diminishing returns.
Joy of six: 13 notable facts about jersey #6 and the players who have worn it
With the NBA retiring #6 in honor of the late Bill Russell, we take a look at some of the interesting facts, figures, and notes about that jersey and the numerous players who have donned it.
New look, same result: Five players who won back-to-back championships with a different team each year
Winning back-to-back titles as an NBA player is rare enough but how about doing it with two different teams? Only five players in league history have pulled off such a feat and we present them here.
Lowered from the rafters: Seven retired NBA jerseys that were later “un-retired”
195 jerseys have been retired by an NBA franchise, ostensibly to take that number out of rotation for the rest of the team’s history. But in these seven cases, the jersey was subsequently “un-retired” for various reasons.
A supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again: 28 notable players with just one NBA All-Star appearance
Almost 3,000 NBA players have had their careers come and go without an All-Star appearance. That’s some solace for these 28 who were named to the yearly roster only once, for reasons ranging from injuries to unlucky trades to suspensions to even untimely death.
Noms de plume: 75 greatest NBA and ABA player nicknames
From the iconic to the cool to the slightly derisive, we count down the 75 greatest player nicknames in NBA history.
Corporate restructuring: 11 times the NBA has made changes to its playoff format
From its early speculative days to its middle aged eras of expansion to its current experimentation with play-in games, the NBA has refreshed its playoff format numerous times over the years, with mixed results for franchises, players, and fans.
Have a holly, jolly birthday: Seven NBA or ABA players who were born on Christmas Day
It’s supposedly the worst birthday a kid could have (combined presents!), but these guys focused that childhood disappointment into a pro basketball future.
Sibling rivalry: 10 lesser-known NBA playing brothers of star players
Though some were pretty great players in their own right, these siblings got lost in the shuffle of their more famous brothers’ NBA success.
Far from home: Nine notable NBA games played at a neutral site
The NBA has resumed play, with all games staged at a neutral site on the campus of Walt Disney World. But this hardly the first time that regular season or playoff games have been played at secondary sites, and here are nine notable examples where the home team was actually far from home.
Missed connections: 19 blockbuster NBA trades that almost happened but fell through
Some of the greatest “what if” scenarios in NBA history have been trades that were rumored, agreed to in principle, and maybe even finalized then vetoed, but never happened. Here, we detail 19 of them that would have certainly changed the destiny of the franchises involved, if not the entire league.
Start getting real: 20 NBA players with memorable reality television appearances
Sometimes forcefully and sometimes unwittingly, these former (and occasionally current) NBA players subjected themselves to eventful roles in the realm of reality television.
Lettermen of the law: Eight players who have had rules or regulations named after them
In some cases players are so unstoppable that the rule implemented to slow them down is named after them, and in other cases players sign contracts so unfair that their namesake regulation changes free agency forever.
The people have spoken: 15 NBA team names that were (at least partially) decided by fan voting
In the grand American tradition of presidents, senators, Dancing with the Stars winners, and M&M colors, many NBA teams have given power to the people to determine their name via voting and/or contests.