Most of us just play Basketball for fun, some with lot’s of talent play it more seriously, a very few with special talent, get to play it as a profession .
Some of those with special talent, whether it be by accident or design, get to set a record which in some cases may stand for ever.
I have no doubt in my mind that the elite Basketballers are the most athletically talented sportsmen on the planet.
With the height and athletic abilities, they really are Superhuman.
If you have ever happened to see a Pro team in an airport, you too will be left dumbstruck at just how huge these players are , even more so when you fully comprehend how athletic they are.
Wilt Chamberlain who at 7’1 ¼ “ came from a relatively short family , his father was 5’8” and his mother 5’9”. Apparently however his mothers grandfather was 7’ tall.
Michael Jordan is listed at 6’6” and also came from a short family. No other member of his family was more the 6’ tall.
Below are some records that you might find interesting, if not hard to believe.
They are from the NBA , NCAA and the NBL.
TALLEST PLAYER
NBA – Manute Bol – 7’7” – Sudanese – Washington Bullets, has his son Bol Bol , who is only 7’3” now playing with the Denver Nuggets
Gheorghe Muresan – 7’7” – Romanian – Washington Bullets
NCAA – Shawn Bradley – 7’6” BYU – NBA – Philadelphia 76ers – was once asked what it was like to be only 6’8”, replied that he was only 12 and couldn’t really remember.
WORLDWIDE – Sueliman Ali Nashnush – 8’ 0 ½ “ Libyan National Team
Alexander Alekseyevich Sizonenko – 7’10” – USSR – Soviet National Team
NBL – Sam Harris – 7’2 ½ “ – Tasmania – Singapore Slingers & Perth Wildcats
SHORTEST PLAYER
NBA – Bugsy Mogues – 5’3” – Washington Bullets
Spud Webb – 5’7” – Atlanta Hawks – a very uniquely gifted player . Was only the 4th smallest , but also the lightest at 133 pounds. Won the NBA Slam Dunk contest in 1986 – incredible.
YOUNGEST PLAYER
NBA – Andrew Bynum – 2005 Los Angeles Lakers – 18 years & 6 days
OLDEST PLAYER
NBA – Nat Hickey – 1948 Providence Steamrollers – 45 years & 362 days.
HEAVIEST PLAYER
NBA – Oliver Miller – 375 pounds – Phoenix Suns – 9 years in NBA
Shaquille O’Neal – 360 pounds – LA Lakers – NBA Hall of Fame
NCAA – Roy Candley – 395 pounds – Oklahoma State University
NBL – Nathan Jawai – 326 pounds – Cairns Taipans
MOST GAMES PLAYED
NBA – Robert Parrish – The Chief – 1611 games – 21 years – Boston Celtics
NCAA – 157 – David Lighty – Ohio State – partly due to a Redshirt season
NBL – Tony Ronaldson – 665 games – SE Melbourne magic / Perth Wildcats
MOST CAREER POINTS SCORED
NBA – Kareem Abdul – Jabbar – 38,387 – 1560 games – 24.6 per game
LeBron James – most as a current player – 34,087 – 1258 games – 27.1
Michael Jordan – 4th in list – 32,292 – played only 1072 games due 3 years playing Baseball – 30.1
NCAA – Pistol Pete Maravich – 3,667 LSU – the most remarkable record of all – Due to the Freshman League at that time , played only 3 seasons in Division One – Remember – No Shot Clock and no 3 pt line at that time – 44.2 per game – I doubt that that will ever be beaten.
Interestingly his NBA game average was – 24.2
NBL – Andrew Gaze – 18,908 – 612 games – Melbourne Tigers – 30.8 per game
MOST INVIDUAL POINTS EVER SCORED
WORLDWIDE – Mats Wermelin – Sweden – 1923 – 272 pts as a 13 year old – scored all of his teams points
NBA – Wilt Chamberlain – 100 pts – Philadelphia Warriors – 02 March 1962 – made 28 of 32 Free Throws despite 55% career – Beat NY Knicks 169 – 147 . Players have scored more than 60 points 74 times and Wilt has done it 32 of them .
NCAA – Jack Taylor – Grinnell – 2012 – 138 pts including made 27 3 pt shots – beat Faith Baptist 179 – 104
NCAA DIVISION ONE – Frank Selvy – Furman College – 100 pts 13 Feb 1954 – made 41 of 66 shot attempts – No Shot Clock and no 3 pt line – was Number one NBA draft pick in 1954 for Baltimore Bullets
NBL – Al Green – West Adelaide – 25 May 1984 – 71 pts v Frankston
HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL CAREER SCORING AVERAGE
NBA – Michael Jordan – 30.12
Wilt Chamberlain – 30.07
Worth noting that Rick Barry had – 30.46 whilst playing for the Oakland Oaks in the ABA although his combined NBA / ABA average was 24.8
He also led the NBA , NCAA & ABA in scoring in a season
Barry had 4 sons – Brent , Jon , Drew and Canyon who have all played NBA
LeBron James – comes in at 4th with – 27.1
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – leads the league in total points scored but averaged only 24.61
Kobe Bryant – is 13th with 24.99
NCAA – 44.2 – Pistol Pete Maravich
NBL – 30.8 – Andrew Gaze
MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED IN ONE GAME
NBA – Pistons beat Nuggets 186 – 184 in Triple Overtime on 13 Dec 1983
NCAA – Troy State beat DeVry 258 – 141 on 12 Jan 1992
NBL – Melbourne Tigers beat Illawarra Hawks 186 – 158 on 27 July 1991 and Andrew Gaze scored 59
MOST CAREER ASSISTS
NBA – 15,806 – John Stockton – Utah Jazz – 1504 games – 10.4 per game
Most of these were to Karl Malone – The Mailman ( He always delivers )
12,091 – Jason Kidd – Various teams – 1391 games – 8.7 per game
NCAA – 1,076 – Bobby Hurley – Duke – 140 games – 7.7 per game
1038 – Chris Corchiani – NC State – 124 games – 8.4 per game
NBL – N/A
MOST ASSISTS IN ONE GAME
NBA – 30 – Scott Skiles Orlando magic v Denver Nuggets 30 Dec1990
NCAA – 22 – Trae Young Oklahoma State – 2017
Also on 22 – Sherman Douglas – Syracuse – 1989
Avery Johnson – Southern – 1988
Tony Fairley – Charleston South – 1987
NBL – 24 – Derek Rucker – Brisbane Bullets v Geelong 1994
MOST ASSISTS IN ONE HALF
NBA – 19 – Bob Cousy – Boston Celtics – ( 28 for game ) plus 31 pts v Minneapolis Lakers – 27 Feb 1959
MOST CAREER REBOUNDS
NBA – 23,924 – Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia Warriors – 1045 games – 22.89 per game
21, 620 – Bill Russell – Boston Celtics – 963 games – 22.45 per game
Very surprisingly Dennis Rodman ( The Worm ) came in at 24th averaged only 13.1 per game . At 6’8” he also played taller . Famous for some very strange antics off the court he was also known as Psycho and El Loco.
Also surprisingly 6’5” Charles Barkley ( Sir Charles ) came in at 12546 – 11.69 per game .
He was an outstanding player , who played taller than he actually was .
He was also a real character with a multitude of nicknames –
The Round Mound of Rebound , The Prince of Pizza , The Incredible Bulk and Boy Gorge .
NCAA – 2,201 – Tom Gola – LaSalle 1951/55 – 118 games – 18.65 per game
1,604 – Bill Russell – San Francisco – 79 games – 20.3 per game
NBL – 5,200 – Mark Davis – Adelaide 36ers – 482 games – 10.8 per game
The 36ers did not recruit Davis to Adelaide . He lobbed in Adelaide from Hamilton in New Zealand as a replacement for another American for State League team South Adelaide . After starring for them and scoring 50 pts and 10 dunks on 36ers import Bill Jones who was playing for Sturt , he joined the NBL club to replace import Brian DeVincenzi , who when on a 3 game road trip, DeVincenzi was out rebounded by 5’9” guard Ray Wood . Davis then exploded on the NBL scene with regular returns of 25 pts and 20 plus rebounds per game in his early years .
MOST REBOUNDS IN ONE GAME
NBA – 55 – Wilt Chamberlain – Philadelphia v Celtics – 24 Nov 1960
51 – Bill Russell – Celtics v Syracuse Nationals – 05 Feb 1960
Of the Top 55 Highest Individual rebound games , Chamberlain has 29 and Russell 23 – Remarkable
NCAA – 51 – Bill Chambers – William & Mary v Virginia – 14 Feb 1951
NBL – 34 – Dean Uthoff – Nunawading v Hobart – 1984
Also on 34 – Tiny Pinder – Sydney v Bankstown – 1985
HIGHEST SEASON STATS
NBA – Wilt Chamberlain – 48.5 mins – 50.4 pts 25.7 rebounds – It’s hard to imagine that a player could be that dominant
Oscar Robertson – The Big O – from 1961 over his first 5 NBA seasons and 451 games , Oscar averaged a Triple Double – 30.3 pts , 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists – Remember , there was no 3 pt line – Absolutely unbelievable
BIGGEST 4th QUARTER COMEBACK – 2nd HALF FOR COLLEGE
NBA – 29 – with 8.43 left Milwaukee Bucks v Atlanta Hawks to win by 2 pts 117 – 115 on 27 Nov1977
NCAA – 31 – 2nd half 15.32 remaining – Kentucky beat LSU 99-95 Feb 1994
MOST CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS
499 – Harold “ Bunny “ Levitt – 06 Apr 1935 – shooting two hands underhanded
2750 – Tom Amberry – Nov 1993 – 72 years old at that time
5221 – Ted St Martin – 1996
MOST FREE THROWS IN 24 HOURS
12,874 – Fred Newman – 01 Jun 1975 – from 13,116 attempts – 98.15 %
MOST FREE THROWS IN ONE HOUR
1206 – Ed Palubinskas ( Australian in USA ) – 2004 – from 1265 attempts – 95.3%
MOST CONSECUTIVE 3 PT SHOTS
209 – Fred Newman 1996
MOST CONSECUTIVE HALF COURT SHOTS
7 – Xu Changqing – 2018
MOST OVERTIMES IN ONE GAME
NBA – 6 – Indianapolis Olympians beat Rochester Royals 75 – 73 on 06 Jan 1951
NCAA – 7 – University of Cincinnati beat Bradley 75 – 73 on 21 Dec 1981 after being tied 61 apiece at the end of regulation .
Bradley’s Donald Reese and Cincinnati’s Bobby Austin both played 73 minutes also an NCAA record . Again no shot clock and no 3 pt line , hence the low scoring in 75 minutes of basketball
NBL – 4 – Melbourne Tigers beat Illawarra Hawks 1213 – 122 on 13 Oct 2018
Also Brisbane beat Perth in 1994 126 – 125 in 1994 in 4 overtimes
MOST MINOR ROUND GAMES IN ONE SEASON
NBA – 88 – Walt Bellamy – 1968/ 69 – Was traded mid season to New York Knicks who had played 6 games less
MOST BLOCKS IN ONE GAME
NBA – 17 – Elmore Smith – playing for LA Lakers v Portland Trailblazers 28 Oct 1973
NCAA – 16 – Mickell Gladness – Playing for Alabama A & M v Texas Southern – 25 Feb 2007
NBL – 14 – John Dorge – playing for Brisbane Bullets 1991
MOST STEALS IN ONE GAME
NBA – 11 – Larry Kenon – playing for San Antonio Spurs v Kansas City Kings on 26 Dec 1976
Also on 11 – Kendall Gill – playing for New Jersey Nets v Miami Heat on 03 April 1999
On 22 occasions players have made 10 steals , including Alvin Robertson from the Milwaukee Bucks 4 times and Michael Jordan from the Chicago Bulls
NCAA – 13 – Darren ‘ Mookie ‘ Blaylock – 2 times playing for Oklahoma in 87 & 88
NBL – 11 – four players
Phil Smyth – 1985 playing for Canberra Cannons
Scott Fenton – 1985 – playing for Canterbury Bankstown
Daryl McDonald – 1994 – Playing for North Melbourne Giants
Steve Woodberry – 1996 – playing for Brisbane Bullets
MOST MINUTES PLAYED IN ONE GAME
NBA – 69 – Dale Ellis for Seattle Supersonics who beat Milwaukee Bucks 155 – 154 in 5 Overtimes , scoring 53 pts – in 1989
NCAA – 73 – Bobby Austin – Cincinnati & Donald Reese – Bradley when Cincinnati won 75 – 73 in 7 Overtimes 21 Dec1981
NBL – N/A
MOST EJECTIONS
NBA – 29 – Rasheed Wallace – Detroit Pistons – also had 373 tech Fouls including a record 41 in one season
14 – Demarcus Cousins – Sacramento Kings
Surprisingly Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of an NBA game .
QUICKEST FOUL OUT
NBA – 3 minutes – Bubba Wells – Dallas Mavericks – Strategy of Coach Don Nelson to put the Chicago Bulls Dennis Rodman on the Free Throw Line – 29 Dec 1997
MOST TEAMS PLAYED FOR
Harry “ Suitcase “ Simpson one of the first Black players in Major League Baseball , supposedly earned his nickname because he played for 6 different teams in his 8 year career in the 1950’s and always had the suitcase packed and ready
NBA – 12 – Chucky Brown – 1989 – 2002
Also on 12 – Tony Massenburg – including 4 different teams in one season – 1991 – 2005
Joe Smith – a No 1 Draft pick , played 16 seasons – 1996 – 2011
Jim Jackson – 650 games over 14 years 1993 – 2006
NCAA – N/A
NBL – 6 – Lucas Walker – Sydney Kings , Cairns Taipans , Perth Wildcats , Melbourne United , Melbourne Tigers , Adelaide 36ers .
He has also played for several different SEABL teams
WHICH COLLEGES HAVE PRODUCED THE MOST NBA PLAYERS
107 – Kentucky Wildcats
97 – UCLA Bruins
90 – North Carolina Tar Heels
83 – Duke Blue Devils
72 – Kansas Jayhawks
66 – Indiana Hoosiers
58 – Louisville Cardinals
MOST NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
11 – UCLA BRUINS
8 – Kentucky Wildcats
6 – North Carolina Tar Heels
5 – Duke Blue Devils
5 – Indiana Hoosiers
LONGEST SHOT
112’6” – Elan Buller – Harlem Globetrotters – was several rows behind the base line – was not during a regulation game – 09 Sep 2014
89’ – Baron Davis – for Charlotte Hornets – was just inside baseline – 17 Feb 2001
BACKWARDS
88’ – Corey ‘ Thunder ‘ Law – Harlem Globetrotters – Threw ball over his head – in 2014 – standing under opposition basket – was not in a regulation game
