With that brief introduction out of the way, let’s get started with the Boston Celtics.
Boston: Former Celtics coach Red Auerbach once hit 28 of 30 free throws during a charity free throw contest. At the time of the contest, he was 53 years old. I think I’ve hit 5 in a row once, so take that, Red.
Atlanta: The Atlanta Hawks have never advanced beyond the second round of the NBA playoffs. So apparently it isn’t just a Danny Ferry thing.
Brooklyn: When the Nets entered the NBA in the mid-70’s, they had to trade their best player, Julius Erving, for cash in order to pay the Knicks for also having a team in New York. There’s another reason for Nets fans to dislike the Knicks.
Charlotte: Primoz Brezec was the leading scorer for the Bobcats in the franchise’s first win. They defeated the Orlando Magic 111-100, and Brezec finished with 20 points. Of course, it wasn’t all positive on the day for Brezec, as he also had the first turnover in team history.
Chicago: The Bulls are the only team to make the playoffs in their first year of existence. They did so during the 1966-1967 season. Their star player during that time was named Bob Boozer, and for some reason I think Chicago fans liked him more than the Boozer that is currently with the team.
Cleveland: The Cavaliers nickname was chosen through a campaign that was run through a Cleveland newspaper. Which names were also considered? The Jays, the Foresters, and the Presidents. I think Cleveland got this one right.
Dallas: The Mavericks won in their debut game, but wound up winning only 5 of their next 45 games. Pretty safe to say that they didn’t really get off to a hot start.
Denver: The Nuggets were sold 4 times in a 5 year period during the mid-90’s to early-00’s. The last sale was to their current owner, Stan Kroenke, who’s net worth currently sits around the $4 billion mark. Something tells me he could afford more than a couple NBA teams.
Detroit: Under former head coach Larry Brown, the Pistons were only below .500 3 times, and it was never by more than one game. Maybe the Pistons should have held onto him..
Golden State: In the 1954 NBA Draft, the Warriors (then in Philadelphia) made an incredible 13 picks. For some reason, I’m guessing they wished those picks had come in the 2014 draft.
Houston: The 1994-1995 Rockets, as a sixth seed, were the lowest seed to ever win an NBA Championship. The swept the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Orlando Magic. (Insert Dwight Howard joke here)
Indiana: There has been a total of 0 MVP’s and 0 NBA titles from the Pacers during their time in the NBA. See, Bobcats, you’re not alone.
LA Clippers: Clippers owner Donald Sterling is the longest-tenured owner in the league. He bought the team in 1981 for $12.5 million. Color me shocked that he was willing to pay that much.
LA Lakers: The Lakers have won championships in each of the three leagues that they played in; the NBL, the BAA, and of course, the NBA. From what I’ve picked up, Kobe Bryant was the main reason for the championships in the NBL and BAA, too.
Memphis: Even with the recent success of the Grizzlies, the team has never won a conference, or even a division title. I guess the basketball gods hate country music.
Miami: In 18 years of Mickey Arison owning the team, the Heat have won 10 division championships. Weirdly enough, that is the same time period that Pat Riley has also been with the team. I wonder which one is more responsible for their success.
Milwaukee: On the 1971 NBA Champion Milwakee Bucks team, 7 of the players had been drafted by the team in the 1968 draft. So I guess it turns out that there’s ways other than free agency to build teams that win championships.
Minnesota: The name “Timberwolves” was chosen because Minnesota has the largest population of timberwolves in the United States. The other option that was considered was the Polars. I don’t know about you, but I’m interested in what “Polars” uniforms would look like.
New Orleans: Dell Curry was the first selection that the Pelicans, or the Hornets as they were known at the time, ever made. This one certainly paid off, as he is still the franchise’s all-time leader in points. They must’ve forgot to tell him that the team moved to New Orleans, though, as he is still in Charlotte as an announcer for the Bobcats.
New York: Last season, the Knicks had the second oldest team in sports history. I’m not 100% sure, but I think the team would’ve willingly offered Patrick Ewing the backup center job had he not been preoccupied with coaching.
Oklahoma City: Current head coach Scott Brooks has coached all but 13 of the team’s games while they’ve been in Oklahoma City. With the success that Brooks has had thus far, all I can wonder is, “What took so long?”
Orlando: The name “Magic” was actually suggested by a 7-year old. This name beat out the Tropics, among a couple of others, and after watching Semi-Pro a few times, I think it’s clear that the team made the wrong choice.
Philadelphia: The 76ers (Nationals at the time) entered the NBA for a $5,000 fee. It’s too bad that’s not still the buy-in price, or else I’d definitely own an NBA team right now.
Phoenix: The Suns are the winningest team, as far as regular season wins, to never win an NBA championship. Hooray for regular season championships!
Portland: Sebastian Telfair was the first lottery selection in Trail Blazers history. While it’s pretty impressive that they went that long without being in the lottery, they’ve kind of offset that with having 6 lottery selections since then. Oh well, at least Telfair panned out.
Sacramento: The Kings, who started off as the Rochester Seagrams, were originally sponsored by the famous distiller of alcohol, Seagrams. While Seagrams is no longer around anymore, their memory lives on as this Kings team has drove many fans to drinking over the past couple of years.
San Antonio: The Spurs mascot, Coyote, was ejected from a game in 2005. Unlike a 2007 incident with Tim Duncan, there was no word as to whether Joey Crawford tried to fight Coyote.
Toronto: The first NBA draft pick of the Raptors, Damon Stoudemire, was booed by fans at the time of his selection, as fans evidently wanted Ed O’Bannon, or at least his likeness.
Utah: The Jazz once traded the draft pick that eventually became Magic Johnson in return for the last 3 seasons (182 games) of Gail Goodrich’s career. I’m going to have to give the slight edge to the Lakers on that deal.
Washington: The Wizards, originally known as the Chicago Packers, were the first modern expansion team in NBA history. I’m not sure who Chicago would rather have right now; the Wizards, or the Bulls?
Thanks for reading.
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