Basketball is a sport that manages to place the team and the star on an even level. While we marvel at the exploits of some of the best players in the world we do the same with the best teams. Here are some of the best facts about basketball with a focus on teams and players.
Origin
The game was invented in 1891 by a teacher named James Naismith. It would become an Olympic event by the summer of 1936.
The National Basketball Association or NBA as we know it was founded in 1949 as two previous leagues merged together, the National Basketball League (NBL) and Basketball Association of America (BAA). The American Basketball Association (ABA) was founded in 1967 to rival the NBA but folded 9 years later.
While the NBA has clearly been more successful it did take the idea of the three-pointer from the ABA and implemented it in 1979.
The most points scored
Wilt Chamberlain scored the points in any one game with a total of 100. While his points tally has been criticized by some (as it was made a little easy) it is still an incredible number.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for most points scored in total with 38,387. Abdul-Jabbar played 20 seasons of NBA in total.
Michael Jordan has scored the most points of any player during playoffs, 5,987. If he had not retired from 1999 to 2001 it would have undoubtedly been more. However, the player wanted to try baseball. He will always be loved for his role in SpaceJam either way.
The best team
The Boston Celtics have won the most NBA championships at 17, including seven in a row from 1960 to 66.
The Chicago Bulls have won all six NBA finals that they have been to.
