Michael Jordan – We think of players like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, and John Stockton who weren’t able to beat MJ in the playoffs to get that elusive ring. However there was one player that could never claim that they beat MJ, and that player is Sherman Douglas. Jordan went a perfect 30-0 against him. Sherman Douglas played for the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, and Boston Celtics during his career.
Playoff LeBron – Before this postseason started, LeBron had amassed 6,911 playoff points, which is more than 10 teams in the NBA. In other words, he has scored more than 1/3 of the whole league in the playoffs. I guess we really shouldn’t be making fun of the “playoff LeBron” nickname anymore.
Most points scored by a team in playoff history – This record is held by the Boston Celtics in game 2 of the 1990 first round series against the New York Knicks, as the Celtics scored 157 points in a victory. The Knicks were able to contain Larry Bird to 15 points, but that’s all the containing they did this game, as they the Celtics had 6 players scoring in double figures.
Fewest total points scored in a playoff game – The Detroit Pistons of the early 2000’s have caused some frustrating TV watching experiences for many of us. They hold all three records for this category. In game 3 of the 2002 2nd round series, the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons 66-64. You might be thinking, this was a close game! This must have been a little exciting. So this is where you would be wrong, as the the Celtics won by the most boring way possible, by free throws. In 2004, the Pistons won game 1 of the 2nd round series against New Jersey Nets. The score was 78-56. The Pistons held the Nets to 27% shooting. That was 2nd least points scored by one team in postseason history, as the Utah Jazz in the 1998 finals scored 54 points in game 3. In the next round, the Pistons clinched the eastern conference title by beating the Indiana Pacers in game 6. The score was 69-65. Listen, I miss defense as well.. but dear Lord let’s not go back to this please.
Worse defensive team in history – Now we go to the opposite of the Detroit Pistons of the mid 2000’s and go to the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets. This season they gave up an NBA record 130.77 ppg. There was nine occasions where they gave up at least 150 points, and four of those times they gave up at least 160 points. The worse one came in a game against the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns were up at the half and the score was 107-67. This was the record for the most points given up for one half, as well as the highest scoring half in history. The final score for the game was 173-143. They allowed at least 100 points every game that season, which is tied for an NBA record for an 82 game regular season. The other team that did it was the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets. You can only imagine that the Denver Nuggets during this era had a reputation of having little to no interest in playing defense. Their goal was to simply outscore you. So next time someone makes fun of how there’s no defense being played now, we can point to this team and say, at least we’re not this bad!
Best shooting night of all-time – In 1967, Wilt Chamberlain went 18-18 from the field against the Baltimore Bullets. He ended up with 42 points, 30 rebounds, and 10 assists for the game. The game prior to that, he went 11-11 from the field. He didn’t make a single free throw out of his 9 attempts for that game, but that’s ok. In fact, over a four-game stretch Wilt Chamberlain set an NBA record by making 35 consecutive shots during that 1967 season. Another unbreakable record Wilt Chamberlain has in his resume.
Worse shooting night of all-time – Tim Hardaway went 0-17 from the field in 1991 in a regular season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He ended up with 2 points and dished out 13 assists. That is the record for the most field goal attempts without a make. Believe it or not though, the Warriors still managed to win the game. The Wolves ended the season with a 15-67 record, so he picked the perfect game for an historic off-night.
If you’ve been following my articles, it’s pretty clear that Kobe Bryant is my favorite player. However I don’t want to be biased and ignore his contributions for this particular record. Although he didn’t go without making a single field goal like Tim Hardaway, he does have the record for most misses in a game. In 2002 against the Boston Celtics he went 17-47 from the field. That is 30 total misses in one game. He had 41 points and the Lakers of course lost. There is a reason why people make fun of him for being a ball-hog. This game is a classic example. So technically in 1947 Joe Fulks missed a record 42 shots in a game, but I am only mentioning players from the modern era unless I feel like it’s worth mentioning. Maybe some other time I will write an article on how laughable basketball was at this time. On that note we go on to the next category..
Worse shooting night in playoff history – 2 of these records came from players in 1948, but I won’t even mention it because everyone at this time was guilty of extreme inefficiency. For example, there was a playoff game between the Baltimore Bullets and the Philadelphia Warriors in 1948, and the Bullets as a team shot 18% from the field while the Warriors shot 25% from the field. There was no good representation for the game of basketball, and it’s no wonder why basketball wasn’t America’s sport at this time.
So putting that aside, Dennis Johnson would have the worse shooting night in postseason history. He went 0-14 from the field in game 7 of the 1978 finals of all games. He ended up with 4 points and the Seattle SuperSonics lost. Ray Allen, one of the greatest shooters of all-time, would be next in line. In game 3 of the 2010 finals, Ray Allen went 0-13 from the field and only had 2 points for the game. Do you know what’s scarier than an all-time great shooter like Ray Allen not being able to miss a shot? Its Ray Allen not being able to make one. You just knew he was going to make one, and it was going to come at the worse moment (for a Lakers fan). So the closer it got to regulation, the more tense it got when Ray Allen would shot. That has to mean something, even if he didn’t make a field goal.
Most inefficient player in modern day history – Marcus Smart is the record holder for anyone that has not played in the 40’s and 50’s. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he’s 80th all-time. He averages for his career 37% from the field. At least he would have been considered the Steph Curry of the 50’s. Other modern day players that are behind Marcus Smart in this list is Stanley Johnson of the Toronto Raptors, Eddie Griffin who played a few years with the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early 2000’s, Rafer Alston, Brandon Jennings, and Lindsey Hunter.
Lowest scoring game in history – To continue my crap fest on the pre-shot clock era, there was a game in 1950 where the Fort Wayne Pistons beat the Minneapolis Lakers 19-18. George Mikan had a game high 15 points, and two other players scored for the Lakers. George Mikan was so dominant, he scored over 78% of his team’s points. Please read that last sentence in the most sarcastic voice you can think of in your head. Thank you.
If we’re talking modern day history, this record would go to the 1998-99 Chicago Bulls. There was a game in the 1999 lockout season where the Chicago Bulls hosted the Miami Heat, and the Bulls lost with the final score being 82-49. They would also have the record for the lowest shooting percentage as a team in modern history, as they shot 23% from the field. Jerry Krause wanted to break that Bulls team so bad, and this is what he got. Bravo Jerry. You won 17 games that 1999 season, 15 the next season, and you had only one season where you topped over 30 wins before you stepped down as GM. Maybe you keep the team that defined the whole 90’s as long as you can, instead on investing in the worse draft years we have ever seen prior to that 2003 draft class?! Just a thought.
Most loses by a team for one season – Philadelphia 76ers in the 1972-73 season had a 9-73 record. If you thought Kobe Bryant had it bad in his last season with that atrocious Lakers team, poor Hal Greer spend his last year of his NBA career with this pathetic squad. But wait.. it gets even better. John Block made his only all-star appearance in this season, after the Philadelphia 76ers finished with a 4-47 record at the all-star break. So all this crap about players getting snubbed from the all-star reserves because of their team record needs to stop immediately! By the way, the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2015-16 season would have the 2nd most loses in a season ever, as they finished with a 10-72 record. #trusttheprocess
Joel Anthony – This two-time champion has some records that are baffling. The Miami Heat were playing the Atlanta Hawks in 2011, and Joel Anthony played 43 minutes without attempting a single field goal. But wait, it gets even better. Just nine days earlier against the Portland Trail Blazers, he played 29 minutes and without a single point, rebound, assist, steal, block, or field goal attempt. Talk about the Heat playing 4 on 5 basketball. I understand that you aren’t expected to do much with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh on the court, but come on! And we’re talking about a player that played 10 years in this league. I won’t complain about Kwame Brown ever aga…. well I won’t complain as much anymore.
Magic Johnson – During the 1983-84 season, Magic Johnson dished out over 10 assists in a record 46 straight games. And in 21 of those 46 games, Magic had at least 15 dimes. John Stockton and Rajon Rondo have come the closest, each having double-digit assists in 37 consecutive games.
Dumbest NBA media decision – In 1995 Dikembe Mutumbo was named defensive player of the year. And rightfully so, as he averaged for the season 11.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and a league leading 3.9 bpg. However what inspired me to put this category in this list is the fact that he didn’t end up in the All-NBA defensive 1st team. He lost out to David Robinson. So the best defensive player in the league that season was not worthy enough to make All-NBA 1st team defense. Makes perfect sense.
Stephen Curry – He holds the record for fewest games played to reach 1,000 and 2,000 career three-pointers of 369 and 597. Stephen Curry also holds the record for fastest player to get to a hundred threes in a single season, notching the century mark in just 20 games. James Harden got very close to reaching that milestone this year, as he made 98 three pointers in the first 20 games. However we can see the clear difference between Curry and Harden as far as efficiency goes, as it took Curry 222 three point attempts to get there, and Harden took 285 three point shots.
Most turnovers in a season/game – The 2016-17 season we saw an exciting two-man race for the MVP award between Russell Westbrook and James Harden. This was the season Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double for the first time since Oscar Robertson and James Harden became the first shooting guard to lead the league in assists. This was also the season they both shattered the record for most turnovers committed in a single season. James Harden took the honors and committed a record 464 turnovers. Russell Westbrook wasn’t too far off, as he committed 438 turnovers. They’re the only players that have committed more than 400 turnovers. For an era where teams are pushing more than ever for “efficiency”, I’m guessing this isn’t the way to do it. Now they are both in the same team… what could possibly go wrong.
We saw already how a legendary shooter like Ray Allen can have a horrific off-night, well we have a legendary facilitator in Jason Kidd that would be in the wrong side of history as well. There was a game in 2000 against the New York Knicks where he committed a record 14 turnovers in a loss. He also had for the game 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. So at least he had a quadruple double! I’m sure Russell Westbrook leads the league with unofficial quadruple doubles. In fact, he’s had 5 of such games in his career.
Lowest/highest opponents field goal percentage for a season – So there’s a perception that’s been out there in the media that the 80’s had tough, hard nosed defense and the league has just gotten softer as the years went by. We can definitely point out certain teams like the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers where that was the case, but let’s look at the record for the team that allowed the lowest field goal percentage for a single season. The 1998-99 San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks allowed their opponents 40% shooting for their games in the regular season. By no mistake these two teams were the ones that faced each other in the finals that season. Interestingly enough the Miami Heat, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, and Portland Trial Blazers all allowed their opponents under 42% shooting in the field.
The Golden State Warriors in the 1984-85 season allowed the highest field goal percentage with 53% fg. The 1982-83 San Diego Clippers are right behind them with allowing 52% shooting from the field. Taking that 1982-83 season as a sample, there was 6 different teams that allowed over 50% shooting from the field, and none under 45%. In the 1998-99 season, there was not a single team that allowed over 47% shooting. We should indeed think of the late 90’s and early 2000’s as the tough defensive era, instead of the 80’s era.
Fastest foul-out – Bubba Wells (2 minutes, 43 seconds). This feat was accomplished by fouling Dennis Rodman in 1997 when the Mavericks tried to stop the dominant Bulls offense by repeatedly fouling The Worm. That was Bubba Wells first and only season and he was able to accumulate half a million dollars for his total salary according to Basketball-Reference.com. I believe I gave up on my dream of playing professional basketball too soon. I could have been a legendary hacker as well and I would have made a few hundred thousand dollars. Dang It!
Most fouls in a game – Utah Jazz with 54 fouls. In 1990, the Utah Jazz managed to get a record 54 fouls in a 119-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. John Stockton, Thurl Bailey, Bobby Hansen and Eric Johnson all fouled out in the game. The Suns had 80 free throw attempts in this game, and 61 of their points came from free throws.
Most free throw attempts in a game – Dwight Howard holds the record for this category. There was two games where he shot a total of 39 free throw attempts. One of those games happened in his first game back in Orlando as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Magic coach defended himself stating that this was simply a defensive strategy, but this seemed like a way to get back a Dwight for leaving the organization at such bad terms. Ironically Dwight Howard ended up with 39 points. Unfortunately for comedic purposes, it didn’t all come in free throws.
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