40 basketball quiz questions and answers

Four rounds of ten basketball questions: the NBA Finals and famous teams, legends and nicknames, rules and terms, and a final mixed round. Tap Show answer to check each one.

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Round 1: The NBA Finals and famous teams

Which city's NBA team is called the Cavaliers?
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Cleveland
Which Chinese centre was chosen first in the 2002 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets?
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Yao Ming
Which city's NBA team is called the Spurs?
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San Antonio
The Golden State Warriors are named after the nickname of which US state?
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California
The Los Angeles Lakers are famous for which two colours?
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Purple and gold
Which team won its first NBA title in 2023, with Serbian centre Nikola Jokić named Finals MVP?
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Denver Nuggets
In 2013 the New Orleans Hornets changed their name to what, after the state bird of Louisiana?
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New Orleans Pelicans
In 1997 the Washington Bullets changed their name to what, partly because of concerns about gun violence?
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Washington Wizards
Which team won the 2004 NBA Finals, upsetting a Los Angeles Lakers side featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant?
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Detroit Pistons
Which Boston Celtics captain was named NBA Finals MVP in 2008?
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Paul Pierce

Round 2: Legends and nicknames

The Toronto Raptors' 2019 NBA title was the first won by a team from which country?
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Canada
Which NBA team in the 1980s was nicknamed 'Showtime' for its fast-breaking style?
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Los Angeles Lakers
Which giant centre was nicknamed 'Wilt the Stilt'?
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Wilt Chamberlain
Which Lakers star announced in November 1991 that he had HIV and was retiring?
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Magic Johnson
Which colourful Chicago Bulls rebounder, famous for dyed hair, was nicknamed 'the Worm'?
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Dennis Rodman
What nickname was given to the shooting duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson?
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Splash Brothers
Which Boston Celtics centre won 11 NBA titles as a player, including eight in a row from 1959 to 1966?
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Bill Russell
Which Canadian point guard was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 2005 and 2006 with the Phoenix Suns?
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Steve Nash
In 2019, Kawhi Leonard hit a buzzer-beater that bounced four times on the rim before dropping in to win Game 7 of a play-off series against which team?
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Philadelphia 76ers
Who was the head coach of the Boston Celtics when they won the 2024 NBA Finals?
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Joe Mazzulla
2024 NBA Finals Wikipedia; NBC Sports

Round 3: Rules and terms

Which position, traditionally the tallest player, is numbered 5 in basketball?
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Centre
What is the term for a shot made as the time expires at the end of a period?
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Buzzer-beater
What name is given to a foul for unsportsmanlike behaviour, such as arguing with the referee, rather than physical contact?
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Technical foul
How many minutes long is each quarter in an NBA game?
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12
In which Massachusetts city did James Naismith invent basketball in December 1891?
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Springfield
After how many personal fouls is a player sent off for the rest of an NBA game?
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6
What is the term for an offensive foul in which the player with the ball runs into a defender who has set position?
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Charging
Under what name was the NBA founded in 1946, before a 1949 merger with the National Basketball League?
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Basketball Association of America
Which lawyer served as NBA commissioner for 30 years from 1984 to 2014?
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David Stern
In which Canadian city was the first game of the league that became the NBA played, on 1 November 1946?
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Toronto

Round 4: Basketball mix

In which 1980 comedy film did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play the co-pilot Roger Murdock?
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Airplane!
Who won the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Chicago with a dunk from the free-throw line, beating Dominique Wilkins?
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Michael Jordan
Who directed the 1998 basketball film He Got Game, starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen?
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Spike Lee
What nickname was given to the US men's Olympic basketball team of 2008, which won gold after a disappointing 2004?
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Redeem Team
Which team, led by Reggie Miller, lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals?
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Indiana Pacers
Which 1993 arcade basketball game by Midway featured two-on-two games and exaggerated dunks?
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NBA Jam
Which country beat Argentina in the final of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Beijing?
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Spain
Which country beat the USA 51–50 in the controversial men's Olympic basketball final of 1972?
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Soviet Union
Which team was the Harlem Globetrotters' regular opponent, losing thousands of exhibition games?
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Washington Generals
Which team lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1996 NBA Finals, after the Bulls had won 72 regular-season games?
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Seattle SuperSonics

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