10 basketball facts that will make your jaw drop

One of the most popular sports around the globe, basketball has always had its share of exhilerating moments. But there are some things about the sport that are so peculiar that they can literally make your jaw drop! Here is a list of the 10 most astonishing facts about basketball:

#1 Only two of the original NBA teams still exist today

NBA had seventeen franchises at its inception in 1949. But only two of the original NBA teams still exist today. Those teams are the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Every other original team has either moved or folded as the league chugged along.

#2 Michael Jordan was not the first overall pick in the 1984 draft

Michael Jordan, or 'His Airness', as he was popularly called, is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time in NBA and basketball history. But did you know that this legend was not the first overall pick in the 1984 draft? Instead, that honour went to Hakeen Olajuwon.

#3 A 5\'3\" player competed at the highest level for 14 seasons

Who said one needs to be tall to play basketball professionally? While it is a common notion that one should necessarily be extremely tall to play basketball, such notions are dismantled when you hear about Muggsy Bogues, the shortest player in the history of the game. Bogues is 5' 3" tall and played as a point guard for 14 NBA seasons.

#4 Kobe Bryant was not a top-10 pick at the 1996 draft

At the 1996 draft, Kobe Bryant was the 13th pick. Yes you heard me right; Kobe was not even among the top 10 picks!

#5 The three-point shot was not always a part of the NBA

The fan-favourite three-point shot was not introduced in the NBA untill the 1979-80 season. In fact, it originated in the ABA, which was known for its more flashy play and showmanship.

This shot was allowed in the 1979-1980 season, three years after the ABA was merged with the NBA.

#6 Manute Bol claims to have killed a lion

With a height of 7'7" and weighing 200 pounds, Manute Bol is undoubtedly one of the tallest basketball players to have ever played in NBA. But he seems determined to enter the history books in more ways than one. He has repeatedly claimed in his interviews that when he was young, he killed a lion with a spear while working as a cowherd.

#7 Isiah Thomas once scored 16 points in 94 seconds, and still lost!

In the decisive fifth game during the first round of the 1984 playoffs, Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons scored a staggering 16 points in 94 seconds against New York Knicks. But that wasn't good enough, as Knicks scrambled to victory in overtime. Talk about heroics going in vain!

#8 Wilt Chamberlain wasn\'t the first to score 2000+ points in a single season

The honour of scoring 2000 points in a season first went to George Yardley. Yardley recorded 2001 points for the Detroit Falcons in the 1957-1958 season. He averaged 27.8 points per game that year.

#9 Miami Heat are the only team to win both the Dunk Contest and Shootout

At the 1995 All-Star Weekend, guard Harold Miner of Miami Heat took home his second Slam Dunk Contest trophy while teammate Glen Rice won the Three-Point Shootout, making the Heat the only team in history to win both the contests.

#10 Basketball has had the most embarrassing sports injury

In the 1990-91 season Lionel Simmons of the Sacramento Kings was sidelined with wrist tendonitis for playing his Nintendo Game Boy too much.