50 Fun Facts About 2018-19 NBA Season

Which player, acquired from San Antonio the previous summer, was named Finals MVP when Toronto won the 2019 NBA title?

Kawhi Leonard averaged 28.5 points in the series and became only the third player named Finals MVP with two different teams. He had sat out 22 regular-season games, most of them as planned rest.

Which Milwaukee star won the 2018–19 NBA Most Valuable Player award after leading his team to a league-best 60 wins?

Giannis Antetokounmpo gave the Bucks their first 60-win season since 1980–81, in the team's first year in a new arena. He was the East's Player of the Month four times out of five.

Which guard averaged 36.1 points per game in 2018–19 and scored 30 or more in 32 straight games?

James Harden also became the first player to score 30 or more against all 29 other teams in one season. His streak ran from mid-December to late February for Houston.

Which superstar left Cleveland for the Lakers in July 2018, then missed the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2005?

LeBron James had reached eight straight Finals before a first Lakers season disrupted by injuries. In March 2019 he passed Michael Jordan for fourth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Which newcomer, already a EuroLeague champion with Real Madrid, was voted the 2018–19 NBA Rookie of the Year?

Luka Dončić was drafted third by Atlanta and traded to Dallas the same night. He was the Western Conference Rookie of the Month in every month of the season.

Which veteran retired in 2019 after a record 21 seasons with one franchise, one more than Kobe Bryant's 20?

Dirk Nowitzki spent all 21 of those seasons in Dallas. In March 2019 he passed Wilt Chamberlain for sixth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Which Golden State guard made a record 14 three-pointers in one game against Chicago in October 2018?

Klay Thompson broke the record of 13 held by his own teammate Stephen Curry. He also tied the NBA mark for three-pointers in a half, with 10.

Which guard recorded a triple-double in 11 straight games in early 2019, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record of nine?

Russell Westbrook later posted 20 points, 20 rebounds and 21 assists in one game for Oklahoma City, a feat only Chamberlain had managed before. He averaged a triple-double for the third season in a row.

Which Miami guard, in his farewell season, was added to the 2019 All-Star Game as a special pick by the commissioner?

Dwyane Wade signed off two months later with a triple-double in his final game: 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Brooklyn. It was only the fifth of his career.

Which 41-year-old Atlanta swingman became the oldest NBA player to score 20 points in a game in December 2018?

Vince Carter took the record from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then broke it again in March at 42 years and 37 days old. He also passed 25,000 career points during the season.

Which first-year head coach, promoted from assistant in June 2018, led Toronto to the 2019 NBA championship?

Nick Nurse had already won two titles in the NBA's development league, with two different teams. Before that he spent 11 seasons coaching in Europe, mostly in Britain.

Which Lakers legend abruptly quit as the team's president of basketball operations at an April 2019 news conference?

Magic Johnson said he wanted to go back to being an NBA ambassador. He had run the Lakers' front office for just over two years, since February 2017.

Which Golden State forward returned from a calf strain in Game 5 of the 2019 Finals, only to tear his Achilles?

Kevin Durant had missed nine games and scored 11 points in the first quarter before the injury. Four months earlier he had been named MVP of the All-Star Game.

Which Portland guard eliminated Oklahoma City from the 2019 playoffs with a 37-foot three-pointer at the buzzer?

Damian Lillard finished the night with a playoff career-high 50 points. It was his second series-ending buzzer-beater, after one against Houston in 2014.

Which New Orleans star told his team in January 2019 that he would not re-sign and wanted a trade?

Anthony Davis was held out of games until the February deadline passed, then played on once the league threatened fines. He was dealt to the Lakers that July.

Which disgruntled All-Star did Minnesota trade to Philadelphia in November 2018 after he had demanded a move?

Jimmy Butler had pressed his case at a now-famous practice, where he and the third-string players beat Minnesota's starters. He left for Miami in July 2019.

Which guard, Toronto's leading career scorer, was sent to San Antonio in a July 2018 trade after nine seasons?

DeMar DeRozan answered in January 2019 with the first triple-double of his career, in a win over the team that had traded him.

Which center won a second straight Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019 despite never having been an All-Star?

Rudy Gobert, Utah's "Stifle Tower", also set a single-season record with 306 dunks. His first All-Star selection finally came the following season.

Which Toronto forward won the 2019 Most Improved Player award two years after being a development-league Finals MVP?

Pascal Siakam became the first player to win that award and an NBA title in the same season. He scored 32 points on 14-of-17 shooting in Game 1 of the Finals.

Which Clippers guard became the NBA's career leader in bench points in March 2019, then won Sixth Man of the Year?

Lou Williams scored 36 points a month later as the Clippers erased a 31-point deficit against Golden State, the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history.

Which Lakers forward was suspended four games for an on-court fight with Houston in the opening week of 2018–19?

Brandon Ingram's season ended early as well: he played his last game in March 2019, after doctors found a blood clot in his right arm.

Which Bahamian center did Phoenix select with the first overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft?

Deandre Ayton was the first top pick to join a team in the state where he had played both high school and college basketball. He opened with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Which University of Oklahoma guard did Atlanta get in a 2018 draft-night trade with Dallas for the third overall pick?

Trae Young went fifth to Dallas before the swap, which also sent Atlanta a future first-round pick. He was a unanimous All-Rookie First Team choice in 2019.

Which 7-foot-3 big man was traded to Dallas in January 2019 while still recovering from a torn ACL?

Kristaps Porziņģis did not play a single game in 2018–19. The deal followed a meeting that left his old club convinced he wanted out.

Which veteran guard, his career derailed by knee injuries, scored a career-high 50 points on Halloween night 2018?

Derrick Rose, the 2011 MVP, got his 50 for Minnesota against Utah, the team that had waived him eight months earlier, and left the floor in tears to chants of "MVP".

Which All-Star point guard scored a franchise-record 60 points in an overtime loss to Philadelphia in November 2018?

Kemba Walker's 60 still was not enough to win the game. He made his only All-NBA team that season, then left for Boston in the summer.

Which city hosted the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, having lost the 2017 edition over a state law?

Charlotte had last staged the game in 1991. The 2017 edition was moved to New Orleans in a dispute over a North Carolina law on public facilities.

Which rookie won the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest after leaping over Shaquille O'Neal and hanging from the rim by his elbow?

Hamidou Diallo revealed a Superman undershirt while he hung there. He was the first Oklahoma City player to win the contest.

Which Brooklyn sharpshooter won the 2019 Three-Point Contest and led the NBA in three-point accuracy in 2018–19?

Joe Harris had been traded and then waived three years earlier while injured, after a season and a half in Cleveland. Brooklyn picked him up as a free agent.

Which Oklahoma City forward finished third in voting for both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2018–19?

Paul George had been expected to leave for his hometown Lakers in 2018 but re-signed instead. He went on to lead the league in steals.

Which Denver center, a former 41st overall pick, made his first All-Star and All-NBA First Team in 2018–19?

Nikola Jokić was Denver's first All-Star since 2011, and he led the club to its first playoff appearance since 2013.

Which Philadelphia star was guarding the shooter on the bouncing buzzer-beater that won Game 7 for Toronto in 2019?

Joel Embiid had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the 92–90 loss, after battling illness and flu-like symptoms for much of the series.

Which new Milwaukee arena opened in 2018, replacing the Bradley Center as home of the NBA's best regular-season team?

Fiserv Forum's first season brought 60 wins and the Coach of the Year award for Mike Budenholzer, who was in his own first year in Milwaukee.

Which Oakland venue hosted a final NBA game when Golden State lost Game 6 of the 2019 Finals?

Oracle Arena went back to its old name, Oakland Arena, once the team left for San Francisco. The court from that last game later went to an arena in Victoria, British Columbia.

Which team finished 2018–19 with the NBA's worst record, matching the lowest win total in its own history?

The New York Knicks shared the best odds in the draft lottery with two other clubs under a new system, yet the first pick went to a team with a 6 percent chance.

Which Cleveland head coach, a champion in 2016, was fired just six games into the 2018–19 season?

Tyronn Lue had taken Cleveland to three straight Finals, but the team lost all six games after its superstar left. Assistant Larry Drew replaced him.

Which Minnesota head coach, who also ran the front office, was fired in January 2019 and replaced by an assistant?

Tom Thibodeau had held both jobs since 2016 and ended a long playoff drought in 2018. Assistant Ryan Saunders took over as interim coach.

Which All-Star center joined Golden State in July 2018 on a bargain one-year deal while recovering from injury?

DeMarcus Cousins debuted in January 2019, giving Golden State five starters who had all been All-Stars the season before, the first such lineup since Boston's in 1975–76.

Which undrafted Toronto guard scored 22 points off the bench in the title-clinching Game 6 of the 2019 Finals?

Fred VanVleet finished second in the Finals MVP voting. He had been in a deep shooting slump until his son was born during the previous round.

Which Spanish veteran did Toronto acquire from Memphis at the trade deadline in February 2019?

Marc Gasol had spent his whole NBA career in Memphis, which got his draft rights in the trade that sent his brother Pau to the Lakers. Four months after joining Toronto he was an NBA champion.

Which 39-year-old Phoenix reserve became the oldest NBA player to score 50 points, in the last game of 2018–19?

Jamal Crawford took that record from Michael Jordan, and his 51 points were also the most ever scored by a substitute. Phoenix still lost the game.

Which second-year Boston forward won the Skills Challenge at All-Star Weekend in February 2019?

Jayson Tatum beat veteran Mike Conley in the first round and a rookie guard in the final. Boston's own season ended far less happily, with a second-round playoff exit.

Which Milwaukee guard became only the eighth player in NBA history with a 50–40–90 shooting season, in 2018–19?

Malcolm Brogdon also led the league in free-throw percentage, at .928. Two years earlier he had been the first second-round pick since 1965 to win Rookie of the Year.

Which Dallas forward was traded in the middle of a game he was playing in, during February 2019?

Harrison Barnes was still playing for Dallas when news of the deal broke. Two players, Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson, went the other way.

Which European capital hosted a regular-season NBA game in January 2019, with Washington one of the two teams?

London staged the game at its O2 Arena. The league's other trip abroad that season sent Orlando to Mexico City for two games.

Which veteran head coach climbed to third on the NBA's all-time wins list in January 2019 with a double-overtime win?

Gregg Popovich had passed Pat Riley for fourth only a month earlier. His San Antonio team then matched an NBA record with a 22nd straight playoff appearance.

Which team posted its best record since 2005–06 in 2018–19, yet missed the NBA playoffs for a 13th straight year?

The Sacramento Kings held a winning record at the All-Star break, with 30 wins by then for the first time since 2005, before being eliminated on March 30.

Which Golden State forward was suspended for one game by his own team in November 2018 after a row with a teammate?

Draymond Green's outburst followed an overtime loss to the Clippers and centred on the other star's looming free agency. The pair still reached the Finals together.

Which Indiana All-Star guard suffered a season-ending ruptured quad tendon against Toronto in January 2019?

Victor Oladipo was still voted an All-Star reserve for the second straight year, even though he could not play in the game.

Which Harvard graduate became the first Asian American to win an NBA title, as a Toronto reserve in 2019?

Jeremy Lin was also the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. His title came seven years after the craze known as Linsanity.