The First 50 Years: 1946-1996 Quiz | Basketball

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1. Six players won the NBA scoring title for three or more consecutive years, two of which were Micheal Jordan (1987-1993) and Wilt Chamberlain (1960-1966). Who were the other four?

Answer: George Gervin, Neil Johnston, Bob McAdoo, George Mikan

Little known Neil Johnston of the Philadelphia Warriors won the NBA scoring title in 1953-54-55. The first NBA legend George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers won the title in 1949-50-51. The great Bob McAdoo of the Buffalo Braves won the title in 1974-75-76.

The smooth George Gervin of the San Antonio Spurs won the title in 1978-79-80. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks won the title in 1971 and 1972, and Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks won the title in 1956 and 1959. Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors won the title in 1952 and 1957.

2. After the completion of the 50th season of the NBA in 1996, many franchises had been added through expansion and over the years many had folded. However, only one franchise had to suffer through 45 years straight without an NBA championship. Which franchise had a 45 year drought?

Answer: Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings franchise has been in the NBA since the 1948-49 season when they were known as the Rochester Royals. The Royals won the NBA championship in 1951, so in 1996 they were still waiting for that elusive championship a total of 45 years.

The Detroit Pistons franchise has been in the NBA since the 1948-49 season when they were known as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons. The Detroit Pistons won the championship in 1989, a championship drought of 40 years. The Atlanta Hawks franchise has been in the NBA since the 1949-50 season when they were known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks.

The St. Louis Hawks won the NBA Championship in 1958, so in 1996 they were still waiting for the championship a total of 38 years. The Phoenix Suns franchise has been in the NBA since the 1968-69 season, and they had yet to win a championship in 1996, a 28 year drought.

3. The first 50 years of the NBA had a few dynasties like the Boston Celtics of the late 1950s and 1960s, some teams that surprised everybody like the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977, and even a team that folded 14 games into their 8th season in the NBA despite already winning an NBA championship. All in all, _____ franchises won an NBA championship, and of those franchises _____ won only ONE championship?

Answer: 15 ... 7

Eight franchises won multiple NBA championships:
1. Boston Celtics (1957, 1959-1966, 1968-1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986) (16)
2. Minneapolis Lakers (1949-1950, 1952-1954); Los Angeles Lakers (1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-1988) (11)
3. Chicago Bulls (1991-1993, 1996) (4)
4. Philadelphia Warriors (1947, 1956); Golden State Warriors (1975) (3)
5. Syracuse Nationals (1955); Philadelphia 76ers (1967, 1983) (3)
6. New York Knickerbockers (1970, 1973) (2)
7. Detroit Pistons (1989-1990) (2)
8. Houston Rockets (1994-1995) (2)

Seven franchises have won one NBA championship:
1. Baltimore Bullets (Original Bullets team, folded in 1955) (1948)
2. Rochester Royals (1951)
3. St. Louis Hawks (1958)
4. Milwaukee Bucks (1971)
5. Portland Trail Blazers (1977)
6. Washington Bullets (1978)
7. Seattle SuperSonics (1979)

4. In the 1976-77 NBA regular season, which franchise traded away NBA greats Bob McAdoo and Moses Malone?

Answer: Buffalo Braves

In the 1976-77 NBA regular season, the Buffalo Braves, who later became the San Diego Clippers and then the Los Angeles Clippers, traded Moses Malone to the Houston Rockets on 24-Oct-1976 and later traded Bob McAdoo to the New York Knickerbockers on 9-Dec-1976. Bob McAdoo went on to win two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1982 and 1985 and Moses Malone went on to win the NBA championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983 on top of MVP Awards in 1979, 1982, and 1983. Both players were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

5. Besides the 1957 NBA champions Boston Celtics and 1957 Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn (Boston), what is the only other franchise to accomplish the feat of being the NBA champions and having the Rookie of the Year player on their roster?

Answer: Golden State Warriors

A Rookie of the Year Award is an excellent accomplishment for the individual but rarely does that turn into an NBA championship for the team. Twice in the first 50 years of the NBA it happened. In 1957 the Boston Celtics traded Ed Macaulay and Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks for the draft rights to center Bill Russell, and Boston used its own pick to select forward Tom Heinsohn of Holy Cross. Boston won its first title that year behind the play of the two rookies as Tom Heinsohn took home the Rookie of the Year award over Bill Russell.

In 1975, the Golden State Warriors drafted UCLA standout forward Jamaal (then Keith) Wilkes and guard Phil Smith of San Francisco. These two players added to an already deep team which included NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Golden State won the title that year and Keith Wilkes won the Rookie of the Year award.

6. Over these years many of the best players in the NBA had nicknames which literally became synonymous with their real names such as "Air" Jordan and "Magic" Johnson and Wilt "the Stilt". Of the following player nicknames which one is false?

Answer: Elmore Smith "The Human Eraser"

Marvin Webster was the "The Human Eraser". He played for the Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knickerbockers, and Milwaukee Bucks in his nine seasons in the NBA (1976-1984, 1986-1987). "Jumpin" Joe Fulks played for the Philadelphia Warriors leading them to the first NBA championship in 1947.

He played for eight seasons in the NBA (1946-1954) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame (1978). "Downtown" Fred Brown, who received his nickname from his ability to hit deep jumpers, played for the Seattle SuperSonics for 13 seasons (1971-1984). George "Iceman" Gervin played for the San Antonio Spurs for nine seasons (1976-1985) and the Chicago Bulls for one (1985-1986), winning four scoring titles along the way and was inducted into the Hall of Fame (1996).

7. At the start of the 1955-56 NBA season, there were a total of eight teams in the league, which lasted until the 1961-62 campaign in which one expansion team was added to the league. What was the name of that team that year?

Answer: Chicago Packers

Chicago had been added to the league as an expansion franchise in 1961, and the Packers center, Walt Bellamy won Rookie of the Year honors. The Chicago Stags were in the NBA for the first four seasons, advancing to the NBA Finals in the first year (1947).

The Stags along with 5 other teams folded after the 1949-50 season. The Anderson Duffey Packers lasted one year (1949-50) in the NBA chalking up a 37-27 record. The Chicago Packers changed their name to the Chicago Zephyrs for the 1962-63 campaign.

They moved to Baltimore the next season and eventually became the Washington Bullets in 1974.

8. Throughout the history of the NBA nearly every head coach was at one time a player in the NBA. Many of the best coaches were also great players. Of the following Boston Celtic greats, all of which were inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player, which one did NOT go on to win at least two NBA championships as a coach?

Answer: Bill Sharman

Despite being the only coach in history to win three championships in three different leagues: ABL - Cleveland Pipers (1962), ABA - Utah Stars (1971), NBA - Los Angeles Lakers (1972), Bill Sharman only won that one title in the NBA. After the retirement of the great Red Auerbach and collecting 9 championships as a player, Bill Russell stepped in as player/coach and led the Celtics to two more titles (1968-1969). Tom Heinsohn won eight NBA championships as a player then went on to coach the Boston Celtics to two more NBA titles (1974, 1976). K.C. Jones also won eight NBA championships as a player and, like Heinsohn, went on to coach the Boston Celtics to two more NBA titles (1984, 1986).

9. Although 41 MVP awards were given out in the first 50 years of the NBA, only 19 different players won the coveted award. Of the following players, who were all voted as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all-time in 1997, who was the only one with an MVP award?

Answer: Dave Cowens

Dave Cowens won the NBA MVP award in 1973 when he averaged 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds a game and led the Boston Celtics to a stunning 68-14 record, by far the league's best. Elgin Baylor enjoyed a marvelous career. He led the Lakers to eight NBA finals, was a 10-time All-NBA first team selection, and played in 10 NBA All-Star games.

However, Baylor never won the MVP award, not even in 1963, in which he became the first player to place in the top five in four different statistical categories -- scoring, rebounding, assists, and free-throw percentage. John Havlicek never won the award either even though he led the Celtics to eight NBA titles, went on to play in 13 All-Star games, and earned 11 All-NBA first or second team selections. Rick Barry enjoyed an excellent career as well including an NBA championship in 1975 (a year in which he could have easily won the MVP award), a scoring title in 1967, and a 2nd best all-time career free-throw percentage.

Other NBA greats that never won a MVP award during those 50 years include: Jerry West, Walt Frazier, Elvin Hayes, George Gervin, Hal Greer, Bill Sharman, Pete Maravich, Jerry Lucas, Billy Cunningham, Lenny Wilkens, and Nate Archibald.

10. Rebounding is a very important aspect to a team's success. Over these years the best of rebounders have helped lead their teams to playoff appearances and NBA titles (Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone). Of the following great NBA rebounders, who was the only one to win a rebounding title?

Answer: Swen Nater

Over the course of his eight year career in the NBA, Swen Nater was a fine rebounder, but in one magical season (1980), he led the NBA in rebounding, ousting Moses Malone and Wes Unseld with a 15.0 RPG average. Elgin Baylor, one of the best rebounders of his time, collected 11,463 rebounds in his career for an average of 13.5 RPG.

However, he finished no better than third in the league in rebounding mostly because of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, despite averaging 19.8 RPG one year. Nate Thurmond was an excellent rebounder, probably the one part of his game he is most remembered for.

He retired with the third most rebounds in history with 14,464 in 1977, good for a 15.0 RPG average. He also collected 22.0 RPG one season but even that wasn't good enough for a rebounding title. Walt Bellamy was also an incredible rebounder, and just like Thurmond, Bellamy also retired with the third most rebounds in history with 14,241 in 1975, good for a 13.7 RPG average.

In his Rookie season he collected 19.0 rebounds per game but never did he lead the league in rebounds.

Source: Author BooZY

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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The First 50 Years: 1946-1996 Trivia Quiz

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