Mixed NBA Basketball #7 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hartford, Connecticut

From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s the Celtics regularly played three home games a year at the Hartford Civic Center. This was obviously done to spur loyalty to the Celtics in Connecticut, New England's second largest state by population.

Answer: Lucy Harris

In 1977, three-time All-American Lucy Harris (from Delta State University) was selected by the New Orleans Jazz in the seventh round of the draft (another stealth Jazz question). Lucy Harris never actually played in the NBA.

Answer: Gheorghe Muresan

When the native Sudanese Manute Bol entered the league, he became the tallest player ever to play in a regular season NBA game at 7' 7". Gheorghe Muresan, a native of Romania, was also 7' 7", but slightly taller than Bol (by a millimeter or two). Houston Rocket player Yao Ming, from China, is only a paltry 7' 5" tall, while former Utah Jazzman Mark Eaton measured in at 7' 4".

Answer: Sir William

If you've ever watched ESPN's Stuart Scott do highlights for a game involving Dikembe Mutombo, you've probably heard his full name: Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo. Mutombo has played for a number of NBA teams, including the Nuggets, Hawks, 76ers, Nets and Knicks.

He played college basketball at Georgetown University, alongside Alonso Mourning, creating one of the great one-two big man tandems in college hoops history.

Answer: Chuck Person

Chuck Person, an Auburn alum, was named for Chuck Connors, the star of the television series 'The Rifleman'. Chuck Person was famous for his three-point shooting, and hence could be considered a 'long range gunner', much like a man with a rifle. Person played for most of his NBa career with the Indiana Pacers, though he also spent time with the Spurs, Charlotte and Seattle.

He made 1,220 three-point shots in his regular season career (and another 77 during the playoffs). He shot .362 from the three-point line during the regular season, .391 during the playoffs. Clutch!

Answer: Japan

Yasutaka Okayama was apparently not much of a basketball player, but at 7' 8" tall, who really cares? Unfortunately, he never appeared in an NBA game, though the Golden State Warriors did bother to draft him in the hope that he might be trained in the fine art of basketball. He played for the Japanese national team.

Answer: Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley was a Princeton University graduate and a Rhodes Scholar. It's no wonder, then, that after a 10-year Hall of Fame NBA career, the man would run for political office. Bradley served as a Democratic senator from New Jersey from 1979 until 1997. He even ran for president in the year 2000!

Answer: Darryl Strawberry

Tony Gwynn might be rather diminutive, but he was quite a ballplayer for San Diego State. The Clippers took him in the 10th round of the 1981 draft. Winfield (who was 6-6) was selected in the 5th round of the 1973 draft by Atlanta. He was also selected in the NFL and ABA drafts, making him the only player ever selected in four separate professional drafts.

The Philadelphia Warriors selected the 6-8 Howard in the third round of the 1958 draft. The 6-6 Strawberry was also quite a basketball player, but he opted to forego college and play major league baseball, essentially negating his chances of being drafted by the NBA. Strawberry's son D.J. decided otherwise, choosing to play hoops for the University of Maryland team.

Answer: 1950s

Earl Lloyd played his first game for the Washington Capitals on October 31, 1950, against the Rochester Royals, effectively breaking the NBA color barrier. This was three years after Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier in baseball.

Answer: Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets were first known as the Denver Rockets when the began play in the ABA in 1967. The name was changed to the Nuggets in 1974 in honor of the gold rush of the 19th century, a period that clearly effected Colorado history. The Houston Rockets (which, as a name, makes sense when you consider that Mission Control is located there) were originally from San Diego, and were called the Rockets there too. Hence, simultaneously there existed a Rockets team in the NBA and in the ABA.

Thank you for playing, I hope you enjoyed this quiz and will try some of my other NBA-related stuff.