Thanks to Upstart for sponsoring this video. Go to to find out how low your Upstart rate is! Yup, this is Michael Jordan wearing a random number 12 jersey with no name on the back instead of his iconic 23. Check out this crazy story.
In 1990 just minutes before tip off against the Magic, MJ and the Bulls realize that his jersey is missing.
Back in the day teams didn’t have backup jerseys for each player like they do now, so some of the people from the Bulls organization actually went in the crowd to find a fan wearing a Chicago 23 jersey that would fit Michael. To me, this is wild by itself.
But they were unable to find one big enough for MJ.
Fortunately tho, the Bulls did have 1 nameless number 12 uniform just in case, and that’s how Jordan could play in this game. This improbable turn of events did not stop him from scoring 49 points that game.
Did you know this? Sit back I’ve got many more strange but interesting NBA facts.
Here’s a staggering NBA fact. Lebron James is actually left handed, in all other aspects of life except basketball. You can notice this any time he’s signing an autograph a contract or something.
So if his shooting mechanics all stayed the same, and he only switched hands, here’s how that would look like. And since NBA players always say that left handed shooters are more difficult to defend, we can only imagine how unguardable Lebron would be as a lefty.
You know what’s the NBA record that will never be broken?
Wilt Chamberlain AVERAGED 48.5 minutes per game during an entire season. And you know that an NBA game is only 48 minutes long. So how is this possible? Wilt played every game from start to finish the entire season, never going to the bench. And 5 of those games went into overtime so of course he played in the overtimes as well, to set this record in 1962 which I believe will never be broken.
In today’s age of load management, this truly speaks for Chamberlain’s dominance in his time.
On that topic, here’s something a little more recent. During the ‘02 season Jalen Rose managed to play 83 games in total. He was traded from Indiana to the Bulls who had played 1 game less than the Pacers at that time, so Jalen ended up playing 1 more game that year.
I like his attitude, so no wonder why he is able to be successful at ESPN even after his NBA days.
And all this talk about money, reminded me of a few players that are still getting paid by their former teams.
Monta Ellis hasn’t played a single game in 2 years and not only he got paid during that time, but he will continue to receive checks from the Pacers the entire next season, and the year after that.
Even a better case is the one where Brooklyn Nets are still paying Deron Williams despite him moving on to play 2 seasons with the Mavericks, then the Cavs in 2017, and being out of the league for the past 2 years. Yeah Brooklyn is still paying him.
And get this: The Clippers have been paying non other than Carlos Delfino for 6 years. Despite him being out of the NBA since 2013. Anyone remembers Delfino? Anyway, he will also get that dolla dolla bill this next season as well, before finally completing this epic 7 year payment.
To clarify, this is called a stretch provision. When teams waive a player, they can stretch the salary cap impact of that contract, over a certain amount of years.
Ok, this next one is hard to believe but it’s true. After getting swept in the finals as a 22 year old, Shaq sent this letter to Hakeem challenging him to a one on one game.
As funny as this looks, I like the simple and straight to the point approach.
And no, unfortunately for all of us they never had that one on one showdown.
Guys, remember how in 2013 Dwight Howard and Steve Nash were teammates on the Lakers?
Well this is going to blow your mind. During that season alone, Howard missed more free throws, than Steve Nash did during the course of his entire career of 18 years.
I don’t even know what’s more impressive here. The amount of bricks that Howard threw in 76 games that he played that season, or the fact that Nash missed only 324 free throws in nearly 2 decades. That’s incredible.
Moving on. Lebron James has accomplished so much on the court. Throughout his 16 year NBA career, he’s been averaging 27 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists. But get this: He’s never actually had a game of exactly 27/7/7. In 16 years and over a 1000 games played so far, Lebron never ended a game with these numbers. Pretty random but very interesting stat about James.
And let me end this list with possibly the most bizarre NBA record. Jamal Crawford and Vince Carter are alone at the top competing as the players with most career losses in NBA history.
Crawford is number 1 all time at the moment but only ahead of Carter by 3 lost games. And Vince already signed to play this season, while Jamal still hasn’t and might decide to retire, which would make Vince Carter the undisputed king of losing in the history of the NBA.
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