Basketball is one of the most stat-rich sports in the world. There are stats for almost everything that players do, as well as multiple stats that help you determine the overall performances of teams throughout a season.
However, some stats transcend a season or a game and become part of basketball’s history. Some of the stats that we’ll mention here may be known by hardcore basketball fans, but even people who have watched the sport for years may be unaware of some of these recent and not-so-recent stats.
Let us take a walk across the annals of history and discover 10 insane basketball statistics that you need to know if you love the NBA.
10. Wilt Chamberlain Averaged 48.52 MPG in a Single Season
Philly legend Wilt Chamberlain holds one of the craziest stat lines in NBA history. Back in the 1961/1962 season, the undisputed started accompanied Philly through multiple games where they went to extra time, and that’s not all: sports science was basically non-existent back then, which also made teams play their stars to the ground, metaphorically speaking.
This is one of those crazy NBA stats that you’ll probably never see broken because of the way the game has evolved, yet it remains one of the most amazing stats in sports history. Chamberlain basically averaged more minutes than there are in a single game.
Even though this is arguably one of the most insane statistics on this list, it’s not even Chamberlain’s craziest stat.
9. LeBron James Has the Most Points in Season Openers
The King has set a few records that remain tied to his name, and will probably remain like that for years after his eventual retirement. However, he set one incredible record that speaks volumes about his quality and longevity. He holds the record for the most points in season openers in NBA history.
LeBron James has scored 481 points in season openers, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s and Karl Malone’s record of 463, for which both legends remain tied in second place.
8. Manute Bol has More Blocks than Points
If you’re going to talk about defensive players, then Manute Bol needs to be in the discussion. His defensive stats across his entire career were completely insane, which one would argue could be expected since he’s one of the tallest ever players to grace the NBA.
With 2,086 blocks and 1,599 points, Bol blocked almost 500 more shots than he made points in the NBA.
He recorded his stats across the span of 10 seasons in the league. This stat is insane -even for a defensive player- if you look at historical stats as well. Out of all the players that recorded more than 2,000 blocks throughout their careers, only Bol managed more blocks than points!
7. LeBron Has Led His Teams in Points and Assists for 17 Seasons
There’s no way that only one LeBron James stat was making its way to this list – and this one is arguably crazier than the first. LeBron has been the lead scorer and top assister during each and every one of his first 17 NBA seasons.
The only time in which that hasn’t happened was in the 2020/2021 season, where Dennis Schroder managed to get one more assist than him (LeBron had 350 whilst Dennis managed 351).
6. Michael Jordan’s Divorce Costed Him a Staggering $168 Million
Michael Jordan is the richest player to ever play in the NBA, but he wasn’t one to earn a fortune on the court. In fact, when compared to the money players are making today, he barely made peanuts. He earned 98$ million during his playing days, which doesn’t even come close to the money young stars, like Trae Young and Luka Doncic, are earning on their ongoing deals.
Jordan, however, made a fortune outside of the court. The Jordan brand has transcended basketball and he’s one of the most famous people in the world. His net worth around the time of his divorce was close to $500 million, and losing $168 million meant letting go of almost a third of his wealth!
Since then, the NBA legend has then remarried. He could’ve bought a small country with the money he lost in his divorce, but that was not enough to bring him down or keep him out of the ‘game’.
If you’re looking to learn more crazy basketball facts, follow this link.
5. Wilt Chamberlain is the Only Player to Score 100 Points in a Single Game
We’ve already spoken about Chamberlain and his insane 61/62 season, yet the most insane stat that he set wasn’t the one that we already mentioned here. Chamberlain is the only basketball player to score 100 points in a single NBA game, back then Philly played the NY Knicks in a game that ended 147-169 to the Warriors (the Philly Warriors, that is).
Much like the first Chamberlain record on this list, this is one of those that went down in history and won’t be broken in a very long time – even though some legendary players have tried (speaking of which: never forget Kobe’s last game for the Lakers).
4. Lakers & Nets are the Oldest Teams in the League
Anyone following the 2021/2022 preseason was probably shocked to see the movements made by the Lakers, although one could argue the “win now” approach was probably accurate to get the best out of LeBron’s last few years in the league.
The additions of Russel Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, as well as the decision to move some younger players and add a couple of other veterans to tweak the team’s roster space, ended up shooting the Lakers’ average age to a staggering 30 years.
Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Kevin Durant lead the Nets, with Blake Griffin also playing a key role in the team’s starting lineup. The Nets are packed with superstars, but many are approaching the end of their careers. The Nets have an average age of 28.1, making them the joint-second oldest team in the league alongside the Jazz.
The league’s average is just 26.1, which means that the Nets and Utah are two years older on average, while the Lakers are almost 4 years older. The Lakers still seemed favorites to win the ring by the beginning of the season, though. Is age really that much of an important factor?
3. Ben Simmons is Better than You Think
If there’s one thing that the 2020-2021 season and the 2021-2022 pre-season have shown is that Ben Simmons is the NBA’s ultimate crybaby.
The tantrum he threw after being completely obligated by Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks turned into one of the biggest acts of unprofessionalism the league has ever seen – and one of the most ridiculous ways in which a player has ever tried to force a transfer.
With that said, Ben Simmons is nowhere near as bad as some people are making him out to be. He boasted 1.6 steals per game last season, which tied him as 5th best in the NBA. He also ranked third for deflections per game at 3.5, tied with McCollum and Jimmy Butler.
Another Ben Simmons’ stat that you may not know is that he’s one of the most versatile defenders in the league. He spent an equal amount of time guarding point guards, small forwards, shooting guards, and power forwards, which also ranked him as the most difficult player to go against in the entire 76ers franchise, with a matchup difficulty of 97.7.
2. Different Sportsbooks, Different Favorites
Before the 2021/2022 season began, sportsbooks across the world had two main favorites to win the championship at the end of the season. The odds, however, changed drastically in some bookies. Some were paying +250 for the Nets to win, while others offered +350 for the Nets and +300 for the Lakers.
Los Angeles and Brooklyn surely seem like the two favorite locations for this year’s championship to be taken to, but the likelihood of that happening will be determined as the season goes on.
You can try your luck and place your bets in different online casinos with bookies. Be sure to read some tips on how to effectively bet on basketball if you want to maximize your winnings whilst reducing your losses.
You may also want to check out these 11 books about sports betting to take your know-how to the next level.
1. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is the All-Time Leading NBA Scorer
Kareem Abdul Jabbar played for 20 seasons in the NBA, becoming one of the most historic names in basketball’s history as well as influencing the basketball culture of the LA Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks.
We could go on and on talking about Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s achievements in the game, which are far too many to count with one hand. However, the most impressive stat that he’s recorded is the record for more points ever scored in the league.
With 38,387 points scored, he firmly stands as the league’s highest ever scorer. For contrast, LeBron James was still 3,000 points short of the record by the beginning of the 2021/2022 season!
