50 Fun Facts About Nba 2018

Which Cavaliers guard dribbled out the clock with the score tied late in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals?

J.R. Smith rebounded a teammate's missed free throw and headed for half court instead of shooting. Cleveland lost in overtime and went on to be swept.

What did LeBron James punch after Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals, bruising a hand he kept secret all series?

A whiteboard in the Cleveland locker room took the blow after the overtime loss. He revealed the bone bruise only once the sweep was complete, having scored 51 points in that opening game.

Which retired Lakers star won an Academy Award in March 2018 for an animated short based on his farewell letter?

Kobe Bryant wrote and narrated Dear Basketball, hand-drawn by veteran Disney animator Glen Keane. It was the first Oscar won by any professional athlete.

Which pop singer's rendition of the national anthem before the 2018 NBA All-Star Game was widely mocked online?

Fergie admitted the next day that her attempt at something special had missed the intended tone. The game itself, in Los Angeles, went to LeBron James's side by 148–145.

Which All-Star guard starred in the 2018 film Uncle Drew as an elderly streetball legend from his soft-drink ads?

Kyrie Irving first played the character in a Pepsi Max campaign in 2012. The film's cast of aged-up hoopers included Shaquille O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Lisa Leslie.

LeBron James's production company confirmed in September 2018 that he would star in a sequel to which 1996 film?

Space Jam got its follow-up in 2021 as A New Legacy, with Ryan Coogler producing. Earlier sequel plans had stalled when the star of the original refused to return.

In which Ohio city did LeBron James open the I Promise School in July 2018, weeks after joining the Lakers?

Akron is his hometown, and the public school opened with 240 third and fourth graders at risk of falling behind. Every pupil was given a bicycle and a helmet.

Which injury-plagued guard scored a career-high 50 points on Halloween 2018 and sealed the win with a last-second block?

Derrick Rose did it in his first start of the season, seven years after his MVP award and several knee operations later. He shot 19-of-31 against Utah.

Which coach was fired in May 2018 after a playoff sweep by Cleveland, then named NBA Coach of the Year weeks later?

Dwane Casey had just guided his team to a franchise-record 59 wins and the East's top seed. Detroit hired him on a five-year deal a month after the firing.

Which NBA team ended a 13-season playoff drought in April 2018 by beating Denver in overtime on the final night?

Minnesota had not reached the postseason since 2004, then the longest wait in the league. The finale was the first winner-take-all game for a last playoff seed in 21 years.

Which Warriors star was named 2018 NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year after scoring 43 points in Game 3?

Kevin Durant averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists across the sweep, and closed it out with a triple-double in Game 4.

Which Warriors guard set an NBA Finals single-game record with nine three-pointers in Game 2 of the 2018 series?

Stephen Curry added seven more threes and 37 points in the clinching Game 4, yet the series MVP award still went to a teammate.

Which player was named 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player after winning his first scoring title with 30.4 points a game?

James Harden had made history that January as the first player to score 60 points as part of a triple-double, against Orlando.

Which player, who sat out the entire previous season with a broken foot, was voted 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year?

Ben Simmons had been the first overall pick in 2016, taken by Philadelphia. As a boy in Australia he played rugby league and Australian rules football before settling on basketball.

Which center was named 2018 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the first Utah winner since Mark Eaton in 1989?

Rudy Gobert became the first French-born winner of the award, and he took it again the following season.

Which guard led the NBA in steals in 2017–18 and won the Most Improved Player award in his first season with Indiana?

Victor Oladipo had starred in college for Indiana University, and his return to the state brought a first All-Star selection and an All-Defensive First Team place.

Which Clippers reserve scored 50 points against Golden State in January 2018 and won NBA Sixth Man of the Year?

Lou Williams poured in 27 of those points in the third quarter alone. The award was the second of his three.

Who recorded his 100th career NBA triple-double in March 2018, joining Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd?

Russell Westbrook finished that season averaging a triple-double for the second year running, and he led the league in assists as well.

Which Houston guard hurt a hamstring late in Game 5 of the 2018 Western Conference finals and missed the last two games?

Chris Paul could only watch as Houston lost twice with a 3–2 lead, missing 27 three-pointers in a row during Game 7.

Which 59-win top seed in the East was swept by LeBron James's Cavaliers in the second round of the 2018 NBA playoffs?

The Toronto Raptors became the first top seed ever swept in a conference semifinal, a rout that earned LeBron James the nickname 'LeBronto'.

Which new format did the 2018 NBA All-Star Game introduce in place of the traditional East against West matchup?

Captains drafted the teams from a pool of voted-in starters and coach-picked reserves, though the picks were made in private and not televised.

Which guard won the 2018 NBA Three-Point Contest, scoring a then-record 28 points in the final to beat Klay Thompson?

Devin Booker had first entered the event as a rookie two years earlier, when he was the youngest contestant it had ever had.

Which forward, traded to Cleveland in February 2018, got NBA permission to wear his father's retired No. 22 jersey?

Larry Nance Jr. also entered that month's Slam Dunk Contest in a 1984 Phoenix uniform, copying the dunk his father used to win the first one. He finished second.

Which Arizona center did the Phoenix Suns take first in the 2018 NBA draft, the franchise's first No. 1 overall pick?

Deandre Ayton, born in the Bahamas, went one pick ahead of Marvin Bagley III and two ahead of Luka Dončić.

Which guard did Dallas send to Atlanta, with a future first-round pick, to land Luka Dončić on 2018 NBA draft night?

Trae Young had been picked fifth minutes earlier, two spots behind Dončić. A year later both were unanimous choices for the All-Rookie First Team.

Which prospect, once tipped to go first overall, slid to Denver at 14th in the 2018 NBA draft over back-injury fears?

Michael Porter Jr. had needed surgery on his lower back during his one college season at Missouri. In 2023 he won an NBA title with the team that gambled on him.

Luka Dončić entered the 2018 NBA draft weeks after winning the EuroLeague title and MVP award with which Spanish club?

Real Madrid had given him his senior debut at 16, the youngest in the club's history. He was still busy at the EuroLeague Final Four when the NBA held its pre-draft combine.

Which four-time All-Star guard was traded to San Antonio in July 2018 as the main piece in the deal for Kawhi Leonard?

DeMar DeRozan left the only NBA team he had known after nine seasons, moving with Jakob Poeltl and a first-round pick while Danny Green went the other way.

Which All-Star center, recovering from a torn Achilles, joined the champion Warriors on a one-year deal in July 2018?

DeMarcus Cousins accepted the mid-level exception, worth $5.3 million, five months after rupturing the tendon in the final seconds of a New Orleans win.

Which All-Star forward, who had named the Lakers as his preferred team, re-signed with Oklahoma City in July 2018?

Paul George, raised in Southern California, never even arranged a meeting with the Lakers and took a four-year contract with the Thunder.

Which ten-time All-Star played only ten games for Houston in 2018 before the Rockets cut ties with him?

Carmelo Anthony had signed for the veteran's minimum that August after a single season in Oklahoma City. He then spent a full year out of the league.

Which All-Star forced a November 2018 trade to Philadelphia after beating the starters with third-stringers in practice?

Jimmy Butler had asked out shortly before training camp, accusing younger teammates of lacking motivation. Robert Covington and Dario Šarić went the other way in the deal.

Which team signed Tony Parker in July 2018, ending the French guard's 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs?

The Charlotte Hornets gave him a two-year, $10 million contract, but he retired after a single season there.

Which Spurs sixth man retired in August 2018 after 16 NBA seasons, all with San Antonio and all ending in the playoffs?

Manu Ginóbili had been voted Sixth Man of the Year in 2008 with 123 of the 124 first-place votes. San Antonio retired his No. 20 the following March.

Which three-time champion did Cleveland send back to Miami at the 2018 NBA trade deadline for a second-round pick?

Dwyane Wade had spent his first 13 seasons with the Heat before leaving in 2016, and he retired there in 2019 after one last full campaign.

Which five-time All-Star did the Clippers trade to Detroit in January 2018, six months after re-signing him?

Blake Griffin, the first pick of the 2009 draft, had signed a five-year deal and never played for another club. Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley and Boban Marjanović went the other way.

Which coach did Cleveland fire after an 0–6 start in October 2018, two years after he won the Cavaliers an NBA title?

Tyronn Lue had taken the team to the Finals in each of his three seasons in charge, all of them with LeBron James, who had left that summer.

Which Laker drew a three-game ban in October 2018 after a fistfight with a Houston star who accused him of spitting?

Rajon Rondo squared up to his rival after a shove by a Lakers teammate set things off. He had joined the club that summer, in the same month as LeBron James.

Which forward made his season debut in December 2018 to begin a record 21st NBA season with the same franchise?

Dirk Nowitzki had been a Maverick since 1998, and he was only the fifth player to reach a 21st NBA season with any number of teams.

Which former Phoenix point guard entered the Hall of Fame in 2018 alongside ex-teammates Jason Kidd and Grant Hill?

Steve Nash got in early because the Hall had just cut its waiting period to three years after retirement. Ray Allen and Maurice Cheeks joined the same class.

Which Cavaliers forward revealed in a March 2018 essay that he had begun therapy after a panic attack during a game?

Kevin Love titled his Players' Tribune piece 'Everyone Is Going Through Something', and he later pledged to set up a foundation devoted to mental health.

Which rookie, hampered by a shoulder injury, became the NBA's then-youngest player with a triple-double in April 2018?

Markelle Fultz was 19 years and 317 days old when he did it in Philadelphia's regular-season finale. LaMelo Ball later lowered the mark.

Which 76ers executive resigned in June 2018 after a report tied him to secret Twitter accounts attacking his players?

Bryan Colangelo stepped down after an inquiry traced several of the accounts to his wife. Their targets had included star center Joel Embiid.

In which city did Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen own the NBA team from 1988 until his death in October 2018?

Portland cost him $70 million when he bought the Trail Blazers at the age of 35, and he later added the NFL's Seahawks to his holdings.

Which NBA team moved into the new Fiserv Forum in 2018 after three decades at the Bradley Center?

The Milwaukee Bucks played their first regular-season game in the building on October 19, 2018, against Indiana. They had called the Bradley Center home since 1988.

In which European capital did the Celtics and 76ers meet for a regular-season NBA game in January 2018?

London's O2 Arena staged the game, and the league came back the following January with the Wizards and Knicks.

In which city, without an NBA team since 2008, did the Warriors and Kings play a preseason game in October 2018?

Seattle's KeyArena, once home of the SuperSonics, never held another event under that name; it shut for redevelopment straight after the game.

Which player recorded the fastest triple-double in NBA history in February 2018, needing under 15 minutes of play?

Nikola Jokić took 14 minutes and 33 seconds for Denver, beating a mark of 17 minutes that Jim Tucker had held since 1955.

Which pioneer of the triangle offense, an assistant to Phil Jackson on nine NBA title teams, died in October 2018?

Tex Winter was honored after the Lakers' 2002 title with championship rings whose design was built from triangles. He died aged 96.

Whose No. 34 jersey did the Boston Celtics raise to the rafters in February 2018 after a home game against Cleveland?

Paul Pierce spent his first 15 seasons in Boston and was the Finals MVP when the Celtics won the 2008 title. He had signed a ceremonial contract in 2017 so that he could retire with the club.