NBA General Mixture Trivia Quiz

Answer: National Basketball League

Prior to the merger five members of the National Basketball League had moved to the BAA--the Baltimore Bullets, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Indianapolis Olympians, and Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. After the merger, the Syracuse Nationals, Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins, Denver Nuggets, Waterloo Hawks, and Tri-City Blackhawks moved to the now NBA.

The NBA then included seventeen teams including the Chicago Stags, New York Knicks, Washington Capitols, St. Louis Bombers, Philadelphia Warriors, and Boston Celtics of the BAA.

Answer: Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics won sixteen: 1957, 1959, 1960-1966, 1968-1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, and 1986. The Lakers won twelve: 1949-1950, 1952-1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988, and 2000. The Lakers moved from Minneapolis to Los Angles for the 1960-61 season. The Warriors moved to San Francisco for the 1962-63 season, and changed the team name to Golden State for the 1971-72 season.

Answer: Minneapolis Lakers

The Minneapolis Lakers, led by their legendary Hall Of Fame center George Mikan, won four of the first five NBA titles: 1949-1950 and 1952-1954. (In 1950-51, the Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks.) The Lakers are often considered the first NBA "dynasty."

Answer: Free-throw % (career)

He was not a great free-throw shooter. His career average was .511; in his best year, 1961/2, it was .613. [Compare: in 2008-09, Jose Calderan had a free-throw % of .9805 and Steve Nash retired after the 2013-14 year with a career average of .904, both records at those times]. Wilt Chamberlain, however, when he retired held the NBA records for career rebounds per game (22.9), field goal percentage for a year (.727), and points in a game (100). To really appreciate how amazing he was, check out all of his records and stats at the NBA website.

Answer: 24-second shot clock

Before the 24-second clock was introduced, teams could take almost as long as they wanted (if they kept the ball moving) to shoot. That led to low scoring games and was boring for fans. The shot clock was instrumental in speeding up the game, increasing the scoring, and satisfying fans.

Answer: The Dream Team

The Dream Team, as a team, is in the Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame. All 11 of the NBA players are also in the Hall Of Fame as individuals: Larry Bird (1998); Magic Johnson (2002); Clyde Drexler (2004); Charles Barkley (2006); Patrick Ewing (2008); Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and David Robinson (2009); Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen (2010); and Chris Mullin (2011).

Answer: Three-point field goal

After the merger agreement between the NBA and the ABA in 1976, the NBA adopted the three-point field goal from the ABA in 1979. It was intended to open up the game, give teams another weapon, and increase scoring. It proved very popular.

Answer: Boston Celtics

As amazing as it may seem, between 1957 and 1969 the Boston Celtics won 11 of 13 NBA championships. They defeated the St. Louis Hawks in 1957, 1960, and 1961. They won over the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969.

In 1964, they defeated the San Francisco Warriors. In 1957, they lost the finals to the St. Louis Hawks and in 1967, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the San Francisco Warriors. The Celtics are usually considered the second NBA "dynasty."

Answer: A new basketball

The new basketball, by Spalding, had a new design with synthetic material that supposedly had a better grip. The players did not like it at all, suggesting it was too slippery (wet) and too sticky (dry). The NBA soon announced that the league would return to its "old" leather ball on January 1, 2007.

Answer: Vancouver and Toronto

The Vancouver Grizzlies lasted from 1995-2001 in the NBA's Western Conference. The team then moved to Tennessee as the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2001-2 season. The Toronto Raptors joined the Eastern Conference of the NBA.