Super Interesting Basketball Facts You Didn’t Know About

Whether you are a fan of the Chicago bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, or whatever basketball team you prefer, basketball fans of all ages will be thrilled t learn these

interesting facts about basketball. We included fun facts about the history of basketball, how the point system works, and more.

Get our free basketball facts coloring pages, grab your crayons, and start learning about one of the world’s most popular sports.

10 Interesting Basketball Facts

We’ve all watched at least a basketball game and know a basketball player or two (possibly Michael Jordan or Lebron James), but how much do we know about this very popular sport? For example, did you know basketball is an Olympic sport?

From the basic rules like knowing what a free throw, two-point line and three-point line mean, or when was the official game invented and how it evolved to modern basketball, we’re about to learn a lot about this awesome sport.

1. Dr. James Naismith was a physical education teacher and physician who invented the game of basketball in 1891 in Massachusetts, United States.
2. There are 3 scoring goals in basketball: two-point and three-point field goals and free throws (1 point).
3. NBA stands for National Basketball Association, one of the top basketball leagues in the world.
4. Karl Malone holds the record for most free throws scored in career: 9,787 free throws.
5. The average height of NBA players is about 6’6” tall, which is 8 inches taller than the US average height for males.

6. The first basketball hoops were made out of peach baskets, and basketball was played with a soccer ball until 1929.
7. The average NBA player has an average salary of $4,347,600 a year.
8. For almost nine years, doing a slam dunk was illegal because NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a master of this move and had too much dominance.
9. Muggsy Bogues, at 5 ft 3 inches, was the shortest player to play in the NBA, while Sun Mingming, at 7 ft 7 in, is the tallest player.
10. Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, three of the greatest players in NBA history, were a few months away from playing together on the Lakers.

Bonus fact:

The first game was played in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany, New York, on January 20, 1892, with nine players. The court was half the size of a present-day National Basketball Association court.

Download Basketball Facts Coloring Pages PDF

Basketball Facts Coloring Pages

HOW TO COLOR THESE PRINTABLE bASKETBALL FACTS COLORING PAGES

Take time to read each fact and then color the picture next to the fact. Each picture will correlate with the fun basketball fact.

You can use crayons, pencils, or even markers if you want to.

COLORING SUPPLIES RECOMMENDED FOR YOUR basketball FACTS COLORING PAGES

MORE PRINTABLE FACTS FROM KIDS ACTIVITIES BLOG:

What was your favorite basketball fact?