NBA Basketball
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97 free NBA Basketball trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
50 free NBA Basketball trivia questions with answers. NBA Basketball trivia lives in two places on BrainPickle. This page is the shorter set; the main quiz is NBA trivia, with our deepest question pool on the topic and a source behind every answer.
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Q 01Which NBA team won its record 18th championship in 2024?
Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics won it two years after losing the 2022 Finals to the Golden State Warriors, and Jaylen Brown was named Finals MVP.
Q 02What is presented to the team that wins the NBA Finals?
Larry O'Brien Trophy
Larry O'Brien Trophy, named in 1984 for the retiring commissioner who had brought the rival ABA into the NBA.
Q 03During his first retirement, Michael Jordan played minor-league baseball in which team's organization?
Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox: Jordan signed in 1994 to chase his late father's dream, and the team's owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, also owned the Bulls.
Q 04Designer Alan Siegel said he based the NBA logo's silhouette on a photo of which Hall of Famer?
Jerry West
Jerry West is the player Siegel names, though the NBA has never confirmed that any one player is in the logo.
Q 05The NBA's 10-foot rim height dates to a gym railing where James Naismith hung peach baskets in which Massachusetts city?
Springfield
Springfield, where Naismith invented basketball as an indoor game to keep his students active through the long New England winter.
Q 06LeBron James was drafted first overall in 2003 by which team?
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2003 draft lottery with just a 22.5 percent chance of the top pick, and used it on the Ohio high-school star.
Q 07Which Hall of Fame power forward was nicknamed 'The Mailman'?
Karl Malone
Karl Malone was nicknamed for always delivering, and retired second on the career scoring list without ever winning a championship.
Q 08Which rookie point guard played alongside Manute Bol on the 1987–88 Washington Bullets?
Muggsy Bogues
Muggsy Bogues later played himself in Space Jam, as one of the NBA stars whose talent the Monstars steal.
Q 09Which city do the Golden State Warriors call home?
San Francisco
San Francisco: the Warriors spent decades across the bay in Oakland before moving into the Chase Center in 2019.
Q 10Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game against which team?
Toronto Raptors
Kobe Bryant's team trailed the Toronto Raptors by 18 in the third quarter before his second-half scoring brought them back.
Q 11Freshman Michael Jordan's jump shot won which college the 1982 NCAA title?
North Carolina
North Carolina won on that shot, which launched the freshman's rise to stardom.
Q 12Which NBA team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden?
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks play in the fourth Madison Square Garden; only the first two actually stood beside Madison Square.
Q 13Stephen Curry played his college basketball at which school?
Davidson
Davidson: his father's school, Virginia Tech, offered only a walk-on spot, and bigger programs passed on the slender Curry.
Q 21What is a "triple-double" in basketball?
Ten or more in three stat categories
Ten or more in three stat categories, though steals and blocks weren't officially recorded until 1973–74, so earlier players could only count points, rebounds and assists.
Q 22What is "traveling" in basketball?
Too many steps without dribbling
Too many steps without dribbling: Naismith's original rules banned running with the ball at all, and the first game had no dribbling.
Q 23Tim Duncan spent his entire 19-year career with which franchise?
San Antonio Spurs
Q 14Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played a character named Roger Murdock in which 1980 comedy?
Airplane
Airplane gave Kareem a lasting side gig: in 2014 he reprised Roger Murdock as the co-pilot in a Delta Air Lines safety video.
Q 15Which Duke star was the only college player picked for the 1992 US Olympic 'Dream Team'?
Christian Laettner
Christian Laettner got the college spot after leading Duke to back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992.
Q 16Which rookie filled in at center for the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to clinch the 1980 NBA Finals?
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson scored 42 points in that game and played all five positions along the way.
Q 17Which NBA guard was nicknamed 'The Answer'?
Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson brought a new, hip-hop-influenced sense of style to the NBA.
Q 18Which team did LeBron James join in 2010, announcing it on the TV special "The Decision"?
Miami Heat
LeBron James told a live ESPN audience he was 'taking my talents to South Beach', and went on to win two championships with the Miami Heat.
Q 19As of 2025, which coach had won the most NBA championships as a head coach?
Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson built his coaching on Eastern and Native American philosophy, which earned him the nickname 'Zen Master'.
Q 20In which Pennsylvania community did Wilt Chamberlain score his 100 points in 1962?
Hershey
Hershey saw Chamberlain, a poor free-throw shooter for his career, make 28 of 32 from the line that night.
San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan was a swimmer in the US Virgin Islands until Hurricane Hugo wrecked the island's only Olympic-size pool.
Q 24Which team drafted Kobe Bryant 13th overall in 1996, then traded his rights away?
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets traded his rights for center Vlade Divac, who flirted with retiring before he agreed to report to Charlotte.
Q 25Which player broke the NBA career triple-double record in May 2021?
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook's record-breaking 182nd triple-double came in a 125–124 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Q 26The NBA All-Star Game is typically held during which month?
February
February: in 2020 the game adopted an untimed fourth quarter, played to a target score set 24 points ahead in honour of Kobe Bryant.
Q 27Which player won back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2019 and 2020?
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo and his older brother Thanasis once sold sunglasses on the streets of Athens to help their immigrant family pay the bills.
Q 28Michael Jordan's 'Flu Game' in the 1997 Finals was played against which team?
Utah Jazz
Visibly ill, Michael Jordan scored 38 points against the Utah Jazz, including a late go-ahead three set up by Scottie Pippen.
Q 29Dirk Nowitzki, who spent his entire 21-year career with one Texas franchise, was born in which country?
Germany
Germany: Dirk Nowitzki scored 32 points against Puerto Rico in the 2008 qualifier that sent the national team to the Beijing Olympics.
Q 30Whose corner three with seconds left tied Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and forced overtime?
Ray Allen
Ray Allen's shot came off Chris Bosh's offensive rebound, and his team won in overtime to force a Game 7.