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NBA players are 7-0 in Game 7s while playing on their birthdays. Today, May 30th, is Harrison Barnes' 34th birthday. People who have achived this are Paul George, Harrison Barnes, Pablo Prigioni, Udonis Haslem, Kevin Garnett, Scott Hastings, and Walt Hazzard. Yes, Harrison Barnes has done this once in a game 7, also against OKC while he was on Golden State on his 24th Birthday. Will he keep the perfect streak or will he snap it. We will find out tonight.
This is the first time in the history of the NBA that both Game 1s of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals have gone to overtime. Both games were tied at 101-101 too.
7 years ago today, 1 shot changed the course of Raptors’ and NBA history forever. An incredible moment in a vacuum, but the context and aftermath make this moment even greater. Heading into 2019, the Raptors had gone all-in. Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster spent years running it back with Lowry and DeRozan and while there were many great moments, their seasons became defined for playoff failure. Most notably, getting outsmarted and outplayed thoroughly by LeBron every year, no matter the team he had around him. After getting swept once again in 2018, there were some whispers to blow it up. The Lowry-DeRozan pairing had clearly hit its ceiling and it was time to retool with new and better pieces. Ujiri didn’t agree. He had overseen this team for years with a determined passion to not only help Toronto become a legit contender, but to become champions. With that goal in mind, Ujiri put his legacy on the line. He traded DeRozan and Poeltl to the Spurs for Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard. Right when this move happened, it had a ton of criticism. It was seen as a slap in the face of DeRozan who had been loyal to Toronto while also being a massive risk considering Kawhi had no interest in staying in Toronto. Fred VanVleet has since revealed that even the players knew Kawhi wasn’t staying. This was the definition of going all-in and the Raptors thankfully played like a championship game. They bought even more chips to put more in the pot by trading for Marc Gasol, making their already stingy defense a fortress. Heading into the playoffs, the Raptors had expectations, but the East was also seen as wide open. After beating the Magic in 5, the Raptors met another team going all-in, the 76ers. Philly had been working at The Process for years and it looked like it was finally bearing many fruits. On top of their treasure trove of top draft picks, they traded for a playoff beast in Jimmy Butler to give them the best starting 5 in basketball (aside from the Warriors obviously). The Raptors-76ers series was one of the best playoff series ever. After a hard fought 6 games, it all came down to game 7. The Raptors looked like they were going to hang on, led by Kawhi, as they led by 3 with 12 seconds to go. Out of nowhere, 76ers scored a quick 2, Kawhi missed 1 of 2 free throws and Jimmy Butler tied up the game. 18 years prior, the Raptors had been in a similar situation in the 2nd round against the 76ers, down to their final shot. Back in 2001, Vince Carter had missed his chance and the 76ers went on to the Finals. Now, the Raptors had a chance at redemption with a new superstar wing. Kawhi got the ball, turned, attracted a lazy double team and took a fadeaway shot. Bounce… bounce… bounce bounce OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH With 1 shot, Kawhi put himself in NBA lore and sent the Raptors back to the conference final. Of course, the Raptors went on to win the championship and make Ujiri’s all-in move well-worth it. Kawhi was only in Toronto for 1 season, but I will treasure those memories forever. In some ways it’s good he didn’t stay, because his perfect legacy is now set in stone forever in Toronto.
Skip Bayless is a legend. However, he just possibly made one of the craziest takes in sports broadcasting. Saying LeBron is the 9th greatest of all time is blasphemous to the entire history of the NBA. He is obviously top 5 and the GOAT in my mind, due to his records, longevity and his ability to carry a team to the top. Jordan is in second for his legacy and how he defined the league for that long. Also, he put Shaq at 3rd greatest, while I believe that there are better than him. I strongly think that the remainder of the top 5 is Kareem, Kobe, Magic, in that order.
So far in these playoffs (may 6th) Cade Cunningham is averaging the MOST POINTS. He averages 31.3 points. Underrated MVP canidate.
On May 5th, 2013, LeBron James earned 120 of 121 first place votes for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award, nearly becoming the first player to win it unanimously. LeBron averaged 26.8 points, 7.3 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and nearly a block per game in what has been his most recent MVP season. In his previous five seasons, James was named MVP four times. The only player besides LeBron to earn a first place vote was Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. While his case may have been compelling, the box scores favor Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who finished second in voting overall with 765 points. Melo finished third, with 475 points. LeBron capped off his MVP season with his second championship ring and his second (of four, funnily enough) Finals MVP award. Unless LeBron finds the fountain of youth or undergoes medical treatments never before seen in human history, this is the final MVP award the King has claimed.
The Minnesota Timberwolves came back from 13 points down for a 110-108 victory over the Houston Rockets in overtime. No other team on record has done this.
The date is February second 2025, the Dallas Mavericks just traded one of the best offensive players in the world, Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers. The city of Dallas and the NBA world was in an uproar, but that’s a story from another time. We are going to take a look at it to a little bit of the life of the man who fired him, Nico Harrison. Nico Harrison was the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. The previous year the Mavericks went to the conference finals and were very close to a NBA finals appearance. But the season afterward at the trade deadline, Nico Harrison decided to move on from Luka Dončić and trade him away for almost nothing. The Mavericks failed make the playoffs, and the city of Dallas was chaos. We had people outside of the Mavs stadium protesting, saying “there was supposed to be a statue”. Nico Harrison was not safe in the city of Dallas, there were people who were trying to hurt him, cursing him and making his life miserable. He was not a popular person. In his own stadium, there were cheers of fire, Nico and other rude remarks to say the very very least. To this day, nobody really knows why he traded Luka, and to be honest, I don’t think we have a clear reason why he did. But what we do know now is he changed the trajectory of the Dallas Mavericks for good. Until the mavericks through a totally not rigged draft got the prodigy son Cooper Flagg. Cooper Flagg has potential to be one of the best basketball players of the decade. But about one year after the trade, Nico Harrison was fired. He ruined his reputation and image forever.
As of March 21, 2026 LeBron James holds the NBA record for the most regular-season games played (1,612) officially surpassing Robert Parish (1,611) who played on the Celtics for 14 years. His record stood for 30 years.
(Credit to Zach for the original Rudy Gobert DYK, this is just a follow-up because I personally find this topic really interesting.) 6 years ago today, the NBA stopped. The Thunder-Jazz tip-off was delayed for about 10 minutes. Then everybody was asked to exit the building. This was the day Rudy Gobert got COVID-19. Every NBA game that did not start yet was delayed, but controversially, the Mavericks game kept going. Then the NBA suspended their season. March 12th, 2020. The effects are in full swing. The first league in response was the MLB. They cancelled spring training and delayed Opening Day by two weeks Then, the NHL indefinitely suspends their season. The 12 Hours of Sebring is cancelled. MLS is suspended. The PGA tour cancells all tournament prior to May 13th. March 13th, 2020. Formula One suspends the first 3 rounds of the 2020 season. The Premier League season is put on emergency hold. The Masters is put on indefinite hold. Indycar cancells all events through May First. It cools down a bit Calm before the storm, et tu world? March 16th. MLB fully delays play. The NFL draft will be virtual. And Orlando is marked as a safe spot for the sports world. Tom Brady signs with the Bucs. Not important, just funny it happened this year. The Premier League Season is delayed through April 30th. We cool? No. The 2020 Summer Olympics are postponed to 2021 for the first time ever. WNBA draft is virtual. The Indy 500 will be delayed until August, the first time it is not held in May. Rudy Gobert is finally clear. Part 2 will come soon (focusing on how the seasons actually went, mostly) Sources: Wikipedia because screw my English teachers
On March 11th, 2020, the NBA announced the suspension of the 2019-20 season following Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19. Gobert’s positive test came prior to the tip-off of a Jazz-Thunder game in Oklahoma City. After the referees became aware of the situation, they talked with coaches, sent all players back to the locker rooms, and the league’s decision was told to the scorer’s table, broadcasters and PA announcer Mario Nanni. Nanni announced that the game was postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances", and to safely depart the arena with a reassurance the crowd was "all safe". Two days prior, Gobert attempted to poke fun at the ensuing global pandemic white leaving a press conference. He went out of his way to touch every microphone being used.
3 players in NBA history since 1946 have scored more than 80 points in a game. Wilt Chamberlain was the first one to do it against the Knicks in 1962. The problem is, there is no footage. So even though it most likely did happen, we don’t have 100% certainty. Before today, Kobe’s 81 point performance was considered one of if not the greatest single game performance from a player ever. It was the most points a player scored in a game on actual footage. Many people have brought up the idea of a player scoring more than 81 points but nobody thought it would actually happen. If there was going to be a player to do it, many thought it would be Curry, Lillard, Luka, Giannas, or Wemby. But on a random Tuesday night in March, Bam Adebayo did the absolute unthinkable. He did something that many people struggle to do in 2K with their mp. He beat Kobe’s 81 point performance. I never thought I would ever hear those words coming out of my mouth but here we are. Kobe’s 81 point game has been surpassed after 20 years. This is a day many NBA fans will remember for decades to come. What we just saw is something that most likely won’t happen for many, many years and thousands if not tens of thousands of nba games. Obviously the NBA is a lot different than it was 20 years ago, and we have seen more of these high scoring performances including Luka putting up 73 in 2024 and Lillard and Mitchell putting up 71 in 2023, but this was unobtainable. Kobe’s 81 point game was never supposed to be broken. But it was. By Bam freaking Adebayo of all players. If this game would’ve gone to overtime, who knows how much more points he would’ve had but I think he would’ve hit 90 which is just absurd to even say. I do not think an NBA player will ever put up 100 points but at the end of the day, I don’t think any of us thought that someone would reach 83. This is just so unbelievable.
Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina practice shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform for every single game of his 15-year NBA career. The shorts were from UNC's 1982 national championship team—the title won on Jordan's iconic game-winning shot—and he believed they were lucky. The problem was physics: the Bulls' standard-issue shorts in the mid-1980s were the same short style that had been standard in basketball for decades, and Jordan's UNC shorts peeked out beneath them. His solution was simple: request longer game shorts from the Bulls equipment staff. Jordan's longer shorts—worn to hide a superstition—changed basketball fashion permanently. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, players across the league adopted the look. By 1991, when Michigan's "Fab Five" featured future NBA stars Chris Webber and Juwan Howard wearing baggy shorts past their knees, they weren't being avant-garde—they were, as they openly admitted, "trying to be like Mike." Today, the short-shorts of the pre-Jordan era are unimaginable in the NBA. A superstition born from a 19-year-old's lucky college shorts revolutionized how basketball players dress—and no one knew the real reason until Jordan revealed it years later.
Let’s start with which franchise has been the best at beating these juggernauts. If we exclude the playoffs, it is the Knicks. They beat the 72 Lakers once, 96 Bulls once and the 97 Bulls twice. If we include the playoffs, the Knicks are still #1 with 6 wins combined. Let’s see who is the Kryptonite. Starting with the Warriors, the Pistons and Bucks gave them the most trouble and finished with a +4 point differential against them while getting a win. The player is easy, Damian Lillard. The Blazers were just 1 of 2 teams to beat the 2016 Warriors by more than 20 points. They beat them by 32 where Lillard put up 51. A player put up 38+ points against the 2016 Warriors just 6 times. 3 of them were Damian Lillard who averaged 36.5 ppg. 97 Bulls: The team is easy, the Knicks had a +3 point differential in 4 games. For the player, it’s rookie Allen Iverson. He never managed to beat the Bulls, but he used the Bulls as a way to establish himself. He put up 15, 32, 37 and 44 on good efficiency, giving him an average of 32 ppg. For context, the Bulls only gave up 16 32+ point games in 1997. 96 Bulls: The team feels obvious as the Pacers were the only team to beat them twice. However, they beat the Bulls by a combined 8 points. Their point differential was mid with -28 in 4 games, so this is debatable. As for the player, it’s Damon Stoudamire because he had 2nd most points and the most assists despite not having Shaq to lean on. 72 Lakers: The Phoenix Suns won 2 games against the Lakers and one of those was the 2nd biggest win behind the Bucks’ 16-point win which gave them the 4th best point differential and easily the best for any team that played them 6 times. For the player, another easy choice. Kareem averaged 40 ppg against a Wilt-led defense, including a 50-point bomb. Other fun facts: The Knicks, Heat and Raptors were the only ones to beat the 96 and 97 Bulls and the Raptors scored the most points. Lillard and Kareem put up the only 50-point games.
The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to comeback and win the NBA Finals after a 3 - 1 deficit, cementing the series as probably the best Finals ever. LeBron James earned the Finals MVP, but in my opinion the meme image that he provided was a greater achievement.
The Toronto Raptors are the only team based outside of the United States to win an NBA title.
