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This NBA quiz now runs 131 free questions with answers, and the pool goes from easy to genuinely difficult NBA trivia. The warm-ups cover the things any fan knows: who plays at Madison Square Garden, who is the all-time leading scorer, how long the shot clock runs. Then it gets mean. A good chunk is NBA Finals trivia: the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, Michael Jordan's six rings, the Finals MVP award and the upsets and sweeps that decided championships. The hard end digs into single-game records that have stood for decades, the first draft lottery, the ABA merger, forgotten dynasties from the 1950s and stat lines that look like typos. The newest section is modern NBA trivia for fans who live in the present: the Orlando bubble, the first NBA Cup, Jokic's Taco Bell draft moment, SGA's Canadian first, Wembanyama, Cooper Flagg's 1.8% lottery miracle, the Knicks ending a 53-year wait and eight straight seasons with a new champion. It suits pub-quiz regulars, trivia-night hosts who need questions with teeth, and anyone who wants to test how deep their NBA knowledge really goes. Every answer has been verified against a source, shown under each question once you answer.
30 of 131 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which NBA team has won the most championships in league history?
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics' 18th title in 2024 broke a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers at 17; the two have met in the Finals a dozen times.
Q 02Which team came back from 3–1 down to win the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games?
Cleveland Cavaliers
It was the first 3–1 comeback in Finals history, and it came against a Golden State team that had just set the regular-season record with 73 wins.
Q 03What city do the Bucks call home?
Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Bucks have been based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since their founding in 1968.
Q 04Which player is nicknamed The Black Mamba?
Kobe Bryant
Bryant took the name from the codename of Uma Thurman's character in the Kill Bill films, wanting his game to strike like the snake: fast, accurate and in rapid succession.
Q 05How many players from each team are on the court during an NBA game?
5
Each NBA team has 5 players on the court at a time, for a total of 10 players during active play.
Q 06Which player holds the record for most points scored in a single NBA game?
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962, playing for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks.
Q 07Who was the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft?
LeBron James
LeBron James was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft, straight out of high school.
Q 08What team did Michael Jordan play for when he won his first NBA championship?
Chicago Bulls
Michael Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1991, beginning a run of three consecutive titles.
Q 09Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson formed the Splash Brothers for which NBA team?
Golden State Warriors
Curry and Thompson shared a Golden State backcourt from 2011 to 2024, raining threes the whole time.
Q 10What is the award presented each year to the winner of the NBA Finals called?
Larry O'Brien Trophy
A new trophy was created for the 1977 Finals, the first after the ABA–NBA merger, and it was renamed in 1984 for Larry O'Brien, the commissioner who had served from 1975 to 1984.
Q 11Which player won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 2019?
Luka Doncic
Dončić arrived in Dallas already a EuroLeague champion and MVP with Real Madrid, one of very few Rookie of the Year winners trained entirely outside the United States.
Q 12Where do the Toronto Raptors play their home games?
Scotiabank Arena
The Toronto Raptors play at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. It was renamed from Air Canada Centre in 2018.
Q 13Which NBA player is known for his signature skyhook shot?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar perfected the skyhook, widely considered one of the most unstoppable shots in basketball history.
Q 21Who was the first NBA player to be unanimously named MVP?
Stephen Curry
Curry's 2015–16 award was the first unanimous MVP in NBA history, and he paired it with a scoring title while shooting above 50–40–90 for the season.
Q 22Which NBA team plays at Madison Square Garden?
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have played at Madison Square Garden since 1968, making it one of the most iconic venues in professional basketball.
Q 23How many games are in a standard NBA regular season for each team?
82
Each NBA team plays 82 regular season games: 41 at home and 41 on the road.
Q 14What team drafted Shaquille O'Neal first overall in 1992?
Orlando Magic
Shaquille O'Neal was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1992 before later moving to the Lakers where he won three championships.
Q 15Which NBA team moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008?
Thunder
The Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and were renamed the Thunder.
Q 16Who holds the NBA record for most career assists?
John Stockton
John Stockton holds the NBA record for career assists with 15,806, a record that has stood since his retirement in 2003.
Q 17Which team did Allen Iverson lead to the 2001 NBA Finals?
Philadelphia 76ers
Allen Iverson, the 2001 MVP, carried the Philadelphia 76ers to the Finals, where they took Game 1 in overtime before losing to the Lakers in five.
Q 18What is the standard height of an NBA basketball hoop?
10 feet
The regulation height of an NBA basketball hoop is 10 feet (3.05 meters) from the playing surface to the top of the rim.
Q 19Which NBA franchise has Tim Duncan spent his entire career with?
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan played his entire 19-year career (1997-2016) with the San Antonio Spurs, winning five NBA championships.
Q 20How many points is a made free throw worth in the NBA?
1
A free throw is worth 1 point. It is an unguarded shot from the 15-foot line, awarded after shooting fouls and certain other fouls.
Q 24Which player won six NBA Finals MVP awards, all with the Chicago Bulls?
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan won all six of his NBA Finals MVP awards with the Chicago Bulls across two three-peats (1991-93, 1996-98).
Q 25What draft position was Giannis Antetokounmpo selected at in 2013?
15th overall
Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013, a pick that proved to be one of the greatest steals in draft history.
Q 26Which NBA coach is the all-time leader in regular season wins?
Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich surpassed Don Nelson in 2022 to become the winningest coach in NBA regular season history while coaching the San Antonio Spurs.
Q 27Which team won the first NBA championship held under the NBA name in 1950?
Minneapolis Lakers
The Minneapolis Lakers, led by George Mikan, won the first NBA championship in 1950 after the BAA and NBL merged to form the NBA.
Q 28Under the NBA's 2019 lottery reform, how many non-playoff teams enter the draft lottery?
14
Only the top four picks are actually drawn by lottery; the rest of the 14 lottery teams then pick in reverse order of record.
Q 29Which Lakers guard's silhouette inspired the NBA logo?
Jerry West
Jerry West: designer Alan Siegel based the 1969 logo on a photo of the Lakers guard dribbling, which is why West was nicknamed 'The Logo'.
Q 30Dirk Nowitzki spent his whole 21-year career with which team, leading it to its first NBA title in 2011?
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks beat LeBron's Miami Heat in six games in 2011, the only title of Nowitzki's 21 seasons, all of them spent in Dallas.