Top 10 bas­ket­ball facts

Wilt Chamberlain. He has done it representing Philadelphia Warriors against New York Knicks in 1962. It's one of those records that will probably never be beaten. The only player who came relatively close was Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors.

Jerry West. It was designed by Alan Siegel in 1969. Seeking inspiration, Siegel pored through the photo archives of Sport magazine. A particular photo of the All-Star Jerry West grabbed his attention: It was dynamic, it was vertical, it captured the essence of the game. Today, this classic image generates $3 billion a year in licensing, and the NBA name symbolizes the pinnacle of excellence in professional basketball.

Miami Heat. In 2003 they had no retired jersey numbers yet, so Heat owners made a very unusual move. They retired number 23 as a token of appreciation to Micheal Jordan for the great things he has done for the game.

Stephen Curry. Curry won back-to-back NBA MVP Awards in the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons. The latter also made him the first player in NBA history to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote while leading the league in scoring, shooting above 50–40–90, and breaking the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a season (402).

Phil Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach (6 titles with the Chicago Bulls and 5 with LA Lakers), surpassing the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He has also won two as a player with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. During his 20 years NBA career Kareem has scored 38387 points in 1560 games.

186 : 184. The highest-scoring regular season game is the triple-overtime game between the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets on December 13, 1983. The two teams combined to score 370 points, with the Pistons defeating the Nuggets 186–184.

Michael Jordan. "His Airness" during his 15 seasons in the NBA had a regular scoring average at 30.1 points per game. It's the highest average in NBA history and the only above 30 points.

North Carolina Tar Heels. Michael Jordan was a student of a very well known North Carolina college. He won the NCAA Championship, as a rookie, with its team scoring deciding basket just a couple of seconds before the end of the game.

A Canadian. The basketball game was created in 1891 by James Naismith, a physical education professor at the Springfield College. His aim was to keep his gym class active on a rainy day. He wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track (see original photo). Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball.