35+ Easy & fun basketball trivia questions

Basketball has always been one of the most exciting games, and thanks to social media, its popularity keeps spiking. If you are a die-hard basketball fan, these basketball trivia questions will be a fun way to expound your basketball knowledge. Besides knowing about your favorite team, it is also fancy to know more about the game.

From the invention of the game to the first basketball game, and even questions and answers about the greatest players, make your trivia night come to life with these basketball trivia questions and answers.

Easy Basketball trivia questions

1. What is the actual name of the famous basketball player, Dr. J? Julius Erving
2. How many players play on a basketball court for a single team? 5 Players
3. Who was the first African American to play in an NBA game? Earl Lloyd
4. Basketball was invented in 1891 by a Canadian American teacher. What was his name? James Naismith
5. What do the initials NBA stand for? National Basketball Association
6. How many minutes does an NBA quarter take? 12 minutes
7. When a coach requests and is allowed a ‘time-out,’ how much time are they allowed in the NBA? 100 seconds
8. Who is considered the shortest player in the history of the NBA? Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues
9. Who is the player with a record of the most personal fouls in the NBA? Kaleem Abdul-Jabbar ( With a total number of 4657 fouls)
10. Which team has a record of winning the most consecutive NBA titles? Boston Celtics (8 consecutive titles)
11. Which basketball team won NBA championships in the 1990s? The Chicago Bulls
12. Which basketball great has received the NBA MVP Finals award six times consecutively while playing for a losing team? Michael Jordan
13. When did Michael Jordan make his NBA debut? 1984
14. Who was the youngest player in NBA history? Andrew Bynum (debut at 17 years and 249 days)
15. Which team drafted Kobe Bryant in 1996 before trading him for Divac on the same day of the draft? Charlotte Hornets

Fun Basketball trivia questions

1.  Before the Denver Nuggets drafted Nene Hilario, he played pro ball for which country? Brazil   
2. Which team drafted Shaquille O’Neal 1st overall in the 1992 draft? Orlando Magic
3. After retiring from Chicago Bulls, which team did Michael Jordan come back to play for? Washington Wizards 
4. In the 1972 draft, which player was the first-round draft pick for the Milwaukee Bucks but refused to play for them? Julius Erving (Dr. J was drafted by the Bucks but opted to sign a contract with the Atlanta Hawks in the 1972–73 season. This would cost the Hawks a $25,000 fine per game because Milwaukee held his rights.)
5. Which coach was fired by Toronto Raptors but then got named NBA Coach of the Year in the same year? Dwayne Casey (As the coach, he led the Raptors to their franchise records for wins and points in the regular season to finish first in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors then defeated the Washington Wizards in six games in the playoffs but were defeated in four games by Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers. Consequently, he was fired on May 11, 2018. However, the following month he was named NBA Coach of the Year.)  
6. Wilt Chamberlain had a flourishing NBA career, playing for four NBA teams. Which team did he finish his career with? Los Angeles Lakers
7. Which player in NBA history has a record of more than 200 blocks and 200 steals, the highest number in the same season? Hakeem Olajuwon (He retired with an all-time record of 3,830 blocked shots)
8. Which famous defender at the forward position, drafted out of St. Johns in 1999, is known for earning plenty of technical fouls? Ron Artest
9. The 1990s decade of NBA championships dominance by the Chicago Bulls was ended by which team? San Antonio Spurs (1999)
10. In 1996, when Glen Rice played his first year as an all-star, which team was he a member of? Charlotte Hornets

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NBA trivia questions

Here are some more basketball trivia questions:

1. Which team won the very first NBA game? New York Knicks (The game was played in 1946 between the New York Knicks and the Toronto Huskies)
2. Name the NBA player who scored 100 points in an NBA game; the most points scored in a single game. Wilt Chamberlain (while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors in their March 2, 1962 game against the New York Knicks, His team won 169-147)
3. Who was the LA Laker legend nicknamed “The Black Mamba,” who died in a helicopter crash in 2020? Kobe Bryant
4. Karl Malone has a nickname. What is it? Mailman
5. Which retired player has played more NBA games than any other player? Robert Parish
6. NBA superstar Jermaine O’Neal is mainly associated with the Indiana Pacers, where he spent most of his career. However, he was drafted by which team in 1996? Portland Trailblazers
7. Who was the first player in NBA history to score a three-point basket? Chris Ford (On October 12, 1979, while playing for the Boston Celtics in their victorious game against Houston Rockets, Chris Ford scored the first ever three-point basket with a few minutes left in the first quarter. That game, played at the Boston Garden, marked the debut of Boston Celtics rookie Larry Bird.)  
8. Who was the first league MVP in NBA history to be elected unanimously? Stephen Curry ( In 2016, Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors to an NBA record of 73 wins. He also set an individual record of 402 three-point field goals, and for his feat, the Golden State Warriors guard became NBA’s first unanimous MVP).
9. Which NBA team has recorded the longest winning streak in NBA history? Los Angeles Lakers (33 straight games in the 1971 – 1972 season)
10. Name the team with the record of the most consecutive losses. Cleveland Cavaliers (26 games in a row)
11. The ‘Red Oxen’ in China is synonymous with which NBA team? Chicago Bulls 
12. How many teams play in the NBA? 30
13. Which team won the 2021 NBA championships? Milwaukee Bucks
14. Which team won the first NBA championship? Philadelphia Warriors ( 1946–47, and they seated the Chicago stags to emerge champions) 
15. Which Hall of fame coach led the Los Angeles Lakers to win three consecutive Championships, featuring the superstar duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant? Phil Jackson (They won the championships between 2000–2002)
16. What was the team currently known as Los Angeles Lakers known as when they were situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota? Minneapolis Lakers

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Basketball player trivia questions

1. Which player was nicknamed the “Clown Prince” of the Harlem Globetrotters? Meadowlark Lemon ( For 22 years, he played more than 16,000 games for the Harlem Globetrotters and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003)
2. Name the youngest player in NBA history to score 10,000 points. Lebron James (He achieved this feat at only 23 years and 59 days old)
3. Name the player who is the all-time top scorer in men’s college basketball. Pete Maravich (The LSU guard, Pete “Pistol” Maravich has the three highest single-season averages in Division I history. Also, he boasts of the highest career points—3,667 points in only 83 games)
4. Magic Johnson (Earvin “Magic” Johnson retired suddenly on November 7, 1991, after testing positive for HIV. At the time, he was the all-time leader in league career assists with 9,921 points). After leading the Lakers to five NBA titles, this player retired unexpectedly in 1991. Who was he?
5. Which player was drafted twice by the Lakers—the first time, he opted to stay in school. Elgin Baylor (In the 14th round of the 1956 NBA Draft, the Lakers drafted Elgin Baylor). However, he chose to finish school first. He then led the Seattle University Chieftains (now Redhawks) to the NCAA championship game in 1958. The Lakers then redrafted him—the number 1 overall draft pick—in the 1958 NBA Draft).
6. In 2000, which player won the NBA MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and NBA Finals MVP awards, becoming the third to sweep the MVP honors for the season? Shaquille O’Neal (This was only previously achieved by Willis Reed (1970) and Michael Jordan (1996).
7. Where was Steve Nash, the former NBA player, born? South Africa
8. Which player did the Los Angeles Lakers drop and replace with Kobe Bryant? Vlade Divac
9. What is the country of origin for Dallas Maverick player Dirk Nowitzki? Germany
10. Which retired basketball great was a member of the Olympic gold medal, 1992 ‘Dream Team’, and also played seven NBA all-star games and 12 seasons with the Chicago bulls? Scottie Pippen 
11. Which team did the great defensive center Bill Russel play for in his entire career? Boston Celtics
12. Dwayne Wade once left the Miami Heat, where he spent most of his career, to play for which team briefly? Chicago Bulls
13. Which 1980 Hall of Fame inductee became known as “The Logo” because his silhouette was incorporated into the NBA logo? Jerry West
14. What was the jersey number of the Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas? 11

As you make these basketball trivia questions a part of your sports trivia, share them with your friends and family on social media to spread the love for the game.