Basketball Facts - Page 3

Page

Manute Bol, the second tallest player in NBA history, once played on the same team as 5'3" Muggsy Bogues - the shortest NBA player ever.

In 2011, Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace. First name Metta. Last name World Peace. Later, it was reported that he was changing his name again, this time to "The Panda's Friend" – although there is no record of this ever becoming official. In 2020 he changed his name yet again. He now goes by Metta Sandiford-Artest, which combines his original last name with that of his wife, Maya Sandiford.

In 1981, NBA player Lloyd Bernard Free changed his name to World Bernard Free, or World B. Free for short.

In December 2000, Shaquille O'Neal set a record for futility when he missed all 11 of his free throw attempts.

In Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals, the Houston Rockets missed 27 consecutive three point attempts. The odds of missing so many in a row is just 1 in 118,757. Worse, they only lost by 9 points.

6 Comments

Level 63

Jul 27, 2023

"The odds of missing so many in a row is just 1 in 118,757." How was that calculated?

Level 68

Sep 7, 2023

I'm guessing by looking at the odds of missing one, and raising that to the 27th power.

Level 25

Sep 24, 2025

why is every single page say manute bol

Level 48

Oct 3, 2025

#15 is fascinating.

I've never had basketball training, haven't played any kind of basketball in over a decade, and do not know what a good shooting technique feels like; I have bad joints, I'm in less than peak condition even for my age, and I only have a cheap, nasty ball that won't inflate properly.

Don't know if those things will compensate for not having NBA-quality defenders in my face, Finals-pressure, and no crowd, or thousands of hours of practice...but I'm going to go and shoot 27 three pointers at my local park, stretching but no practice shots, to see how many I get.

I'll let you know how I do when I get back.

Level 48

Oct 6, 2025

Beforehand, I thought I'd be satisfied with 4 and delighted with 6.

Well, I had three air-balls, missed the first 7, but finished with a satisfying 4/27, with no more than 2 consecutive shots from the same spot.

I think we can all agree that this makes me 12 points better than the 2018 Houston rockets.

Challenge made, JetPunkers:

27 3-pointers.

Stretch as much as you like, but no warm-up

shots from outside the arc.

You can have practice-shots from inside.

Outdoors, preferably on a slightly windy day.