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49 free NBA Basketball trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
50 free NBA Basketball trivia questions with answers. NBA Basketball trivia lives in two places on BrainPickle. This page is the shorter set; the main quiz is NBA trivia, with our deepest question pool on the topic and a source behind every answer.
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Q 01Which NBA team won its record 18th championship in 2024?
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics beat Dallas in the 2024 Finals for an 18th title, breaking the 17-17 tie with the Lakers that had stood since 2020.
Q 02What is presented to the team that wins the NBA Finals?
Larry O'Brien Trophy
The Larry O'Brien Trophy goes to the NBA champion. A new trophy debuted at the 1977 Finals, the first after the ABA merger, and was renamed in 1984 for the commissioner who oversaw that merger.
Q 03Michael Jordan spent the majority of his career playing for which NBA team?
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls: Jordan, the third pick of the 1984 draft, played 13 seasons in Chicago before finishing with two years in Washington, and won every Finals he reached.
Q 04How many quarters are played in a standard NBA game?
4
Four 12-minute quarters make up the 48 minutes of regulation. FIBA and the WNBA play 10-minute quarters, and US men's college games use two 20-minute halves instead.
Q 05What is the height of a standard NBA basketball hoop from the floor?
10 feet
The rim is 10 feet (3.05 m) above the floor, a height inherited from the balcony railing Naismith nailed his peach baskets to in Springfield in 1891.
Q 06LeBron James was drafted first overall in 2003 by which team?
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers took him straight from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, about 40 miles away, and he won Rookie of the Year at 19.
Q 07How long does an NBA team have to attempt a shot after gaining possession?
24 seconds
Syracuse Nationals owner Danny Biasone pushed the clock through in 1954 to end stalling; FIBA used 30 seconds until 2000, and the WNBA until 2006.
Q 08Which Hall of Fame power forward was nicknamed 'The Mailman'?
Karl Malone
Karl Malone, 'The Mailman', played 18 seasons for the Utah Jazz, won MVP in 1997 and 1999 and retired second in career scoring, but never won a championship.
Q 09How much is a basket worth when made from behind the arc?
3
The NBA adopted the arc for the 1979-80 season, initially on a one-year trial, after the ABA had used it since 1967.
Q 10Which city do the Golden State Warriors call home?
San Francisco
The Warriors play in San Francisco, moving into the Chase Center in 2019 after decades across the bay in Oakland; the 'Golden State' name, adopted in 1971, was meant to represent all of California.
Q 11Kobe Bryant scored 81 points in a single game against which team?
Toronto Raptors
On January 22, 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain.
Q 12How many championships did Michael Jordan win during his career?
6
Six: two three-peats, 1991-93 and 1996-98 after his return from baseball. Jordan was Finals MVP all six times and never had to play a Game 7 in the Finals.
Q 13Which NBA team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden?
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have called Madison Square Garden home since 1946; the current Garden, the fourth to bear the name, opened in 1968 above Penn Station.
Q 21How many points did Wilt Chamberlain score in his record 1962 game?
100
100 points, on March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in a 169-147 win over the Knicks. No film of the game exists; the famous photo shows Wilt holding a sheet of paper reading '100'.
Q 22What is a "triple-double" in basketball?
Ten or more in three stat categories
A triple-double is ten or more in three stat categories in one game, drawn from points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks; only four players have ever recorded a quadruple-double.
Q 23In which year did LeBron James pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer?
2023
Q 14Stephen Curry played his college basketball at which school?
Davidson
Davidson: Curry was twice Southern Conference Player of the Year and led the 10th-seeded Wildcats to the 2008 Elite Eight before going seventh in the 2009 draft.
Q 15What does "NBA" stand for?
National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association: the name arrived in 1949 when the Basketball Association of America absorbed the National Basketball League; the league dates its founding to the BAA's first season.
Q 16Which legendary rivalry features the two teams with the most NBA championships combined?
Lakers vs. Celtics
Lakers vs. Celtics: the two franchises have met a record 12 times in the Finals, starting in 1959, and had combined for 35 titles by 2024. Five of the Lakers' banners were won in Minneapolis.
Q 17Earvin Johnson Jr. is better known by what nickname?
Magic
'Magic': Lansing State Journal writer Fred Stabley Jr. coined it after a 36-point, 18-rebound, 16-assist high-school game; Johnson's devout mother thought the name sacrilegious.
Q 18Which NBA guard was nicknamed 'The Answer'?
Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson, 'The Answer', went first overall to Philadelphia in the 1996 draft and won the 2001 MVP award while listed at just six feet tall.
Q 19Which team did LeBron James join in 2010, announcing it on the TV special "The Decision"?
Miami Heat
LeBron James announced on a live ESPN special on July 8, 2010, that he was "taking his talents to South Beach" to join the Miami Heat, where he won two championships.
Q 20Which coach has won the most NBA championships as a head coach?
Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson won 11: six with the Bulls and five with the Lakers, passing Red Auerbach's nine when the Lakers beat Orlando in 2009. He also won two as a Knicks player.
On February 7, 2023, in his 20th season, LeBron broke Kareem's 38,387-point record, which had stood since 1989, with a fadeaway jumper against Oklahoma City in Los Angeles.
Q 24What is "traveling" in basketball?
Too many steps without dribbling
The NBA and FIBA allow two steps after a player gathers the ball; a third without a dribble hands possession to the other team.
Q 25Tim Duncan spent his entire 19-year career with which franchise?
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan played for the San Antonio Spurs from 1997 to 2016, winning five championships. He is widely considered the greatest power forward in NBA history.
Q 26Which team drafted Kobe Bryant in the 1996 NBA Draft?
Charlotte Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets took Bryant 13th and traded him to the Lakers for Vlade Divac in a deal arranged before the draft; it nearly collapsed when Divac threatened to retire rather than report to Charlotte.
Q 27Which player broke the NBA career triple-double record in May 2021?
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook passed Oscar Robertson's 181 with a 28-point, 13-rebound, 21-assist game against Atlanta on May 10, 2021; he averaged a triple-double over four full seasons.
Q 28The NBA All-Star Game is typically held during which month?
February
The All-Star Game has been a February fixture since the mid-1980s; the weekend also features the Slam Dunk and Three-Point contests, and the first game was played in Boston in 1951.
Q 29Which player won back-to-back NBA MVP awards in 2019 and 2020?
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 'Greek Freak', won MVP in 2019 and 2020, added Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 and led Milwaukee to its first title in 50 years in 2021.
Q 30Michael Jordan's 'Flu Game' in the 1997 Finals was played against which team?
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz: visibly ill, Jordan scored 38 in Game 5 in Salt Lake City, including the go-ahead three with 25 seconds left, then collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms.