*All statistics used in this post are from BasketballReference.com
When people talk about records in the NBA, they tend to focus on the most glamorous ones. Wilt Chamberlain and his single-game point record, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his career total points record, and Ray Allen career three-pointer record all get brought up and are key parts of those three players legendary careers. However, not every record is one people want to remember, and ones that the players who hold them don't want to think about. Here are 7 NBA players who have unfortunate records
When people talk about records in the NBA, they tend to focus on the most glamorous ones. Wilt Chamberlain and his single-game point record, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his career total points record, and Ray Allen career three-pointer record all get brought up and are key parts of those three players legendary careers. However, not every record is one people want to remember, and ones that the players who hold them don't want to think about. Here are 7 NBA players who have unfortunate records
Karl Malone
Record: Most Career Turnovers
Starting off the list we have a two-time MVP and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Karl Malone. Over his 19-year career, Malone solidified himself as one of the greatest power forwards in the history of basketball. For his career, Malone averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field. With stats like that, it's no surprise Malone was selected to the All-Star Game 14 times, made the All-NBA 1st Team 11 times, and won the MVP Award twice. However, there was one glaring flaw in the Mailman's game: ball security.
As one of the top players in the NBA at the time, Malone was frequently involved in the offense for the teams he played on. As the main scoring option on the Utah Jazz for most of his career, it's not shocking that Malone would turnover the ball from time to time. And turn the ball over he did. Malone ranked among the top 10 in turnovers 8 times during his career and averaged more turnovers than assists 6 different seasons. By the end of his career, Malone had racked up a total of 4,524 turnovers over his career, beating second-place John Stockton by almost 300 turnovers. Jesus, Malone & Stockton have the most turnovers in NBA history. Man, no wonder the Jazz never won a championship with them.
Starting off the list we have a two-time MVP and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in Karl Malone. Over his 19-year career, Malone solidified himself as one of the greatest power forwards in the history of basketball. For his career, Malone averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds while shooting 52% from the field. With stats like that, it's no surprise Malone was selected to the All-Star Game 14 times, made the All-NBA 1st Team 11 times, and won the MVP Award twice. However, there was one glaring flaw in the Mailman's game: ball security.
As one of the top players in the NBA at the time, Malone was frequently involved in the offense for the teams he played on. As the main scoring option on the Utah Jazz for most of his career, it's not shocking that Malone would turnover the ball from time to time. And turn the ball over he did. Malone ranked among the top 10 in turnovers 8 times during his career and averaged more turnovers than assists 6 different seasons. By the end of his career, Malone had racked up a total of 4,524 turnovers over his career, beating second-place John Stockton by almost 300 turnovers. Jesus, Malone & Stockton have the most turnovers in NBA history. Man, no wonder the Jazz never won a championship with them.
Joel Anthony
Record: Most Time Played In a Single Game Without Recording a Stat
Few players have achieved so much by doing so little like Joel Anthony did. Anthony is best known for his time with the Miami Heat as one of the role players that wasn't a member of the Big 3. Because of his spot on that team, Anthony managed to grab two NBA Championship rings, despite not doing anything of significance during his time with the Heat. In fact, he hasn't done anything significant for just about all of his career. He holds career averages of 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 51% from the field. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the only record he holds isn't a good one. However, he does probably have the most unique record I've ever seen.
On January 9th, 2011, the Miami Heat faced off against the Portland Trail Blazers. In that game, Joel Anthony did something notable. Despite playing 28 minutes and 46 seconds during the game, Anthony did not record a single point, rebound, assist, steal, or block for the entire game. He did record one turnover and got four fouls, but he didn't a record a single positive statistic. That ended up breaking the previous record set by Bruce Bowen, who pulled off the empty stat sheet in 2005 in 25 minutes and 16 seconds of game time. Even stranger, this record was almost broken twice this last season alone. Brandon Rush actually played over 30 minutes a game with the Golden State Warriors, but a single blocked shot in the first quarter stopped him from making history. Meanwhile, Tony Snell of the Milwaukee Bucks managed to put up no stats in 28 minutes and 25 seconds, missing the record by just 22 seconds.
Few players have achieved so much by doing so little like Joel Anthony did. Anthony is best known for his time with the Miami Heat as one of the role players that wasn't a member of the Big 3. Because of his spot on that team, Anthony managed to grab two NBA Championship rings, despite not doing anything of significance during his time with the Heat. In fact, he hasn't done anything significant for just about all of his career. He holds career averages of 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 51% from the field. It shouldn't come as a surprise that the only record he holds isn't a good one. However, he does probably have the most unique record I've ever seen.
On January 9th, 2011, the Miami Heat faced off against the Portland Trail Blazers. In that game, Joel Anthony did something notable. Despite playing 28 minutes and 46 seconds during the game, Anthony did not record a single point, rebound, assist, steal, or block for the entire game. He did record one turnover and got four fouls, but he didn't a record a single positive statistic. That ended up breaking the previous record set by Bruce Bowen, who pulled off the empty stat sheet in 2005 in 25 minutes and 16 seconds of game time. Even stranger, this record was almost broken twice this last season alone. Brandon Rush actually played over 30 minutes a game with the Golden State Warriors, but a single blocked shot in the first quarter stopped him from making history. Meanwhile, Tony Snell of the Milwaukee Bucks managed to put up no stats in 28 minutes and 25 seconds, missing the record by just 22 seconds.
James Harden
Record: Most Turnovers in a Single Season
The 2016-17 season saw James Harden make a serious bid to be MVP. That season, Harden put up career highs for the season, averaging 29.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and a league-high 11.2 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 35% from three-point range. Despite not winning the MVP, Harden still had a standout season that was easily the best he's ever had so far. However, one stat of his that saw an increase for the worse was how often he turned over the ball.
As both the Houston Rockets main offense and the point guard, Harden was handling the ball a lot and was bound to turn the ball over quite a bit. For the 2016-17 season, Harden averaged 5.7 turnovers per game, turning the ball over a total of 464 times, surpassing the long-standing record of 422 set by George McGinnis during the 1974-75 season for most turnovers in a single season. Harden ended the 2016-17 season with a turnover percentage (an estimate of turnovers per 100 plays) of 19.5, meaning that for every 100 times James Harden had the ball, he'd turn it over 19 and a half of those times. It's not all bad though. Harden more than makes up for the turnovers with his scoring and play-making, and a lot of turnovers is a clear result of how often he had the ball, as the actual MVP Russell Westbrook (another point guard who was the main offense of his team last season) also surpassed George McGinnis and is now second on the most turnovers in a season list with 438.
The 2016-17 season saw James Harden make a serious bid to be MVP. That season, Harden put up career highs for the season, averaging 29.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, and a league-high 11.2 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 35% from three-point range. Despite not winning the MVP, Harden still had a standout season that was easily the best he's ever had so far. However, one stat of his that saw an increase for the worse was how often he turned over the ball.
As both the Houston Rockets main offense and the point guard, Harden was handling the ball a lot and was bound to turn the ball over quite a bit. For the 2016-17 season, Harden averaged 5.7 turnovers per game, turning the ball over a total of 464 times, surpassing the long-standing record of 422 set by George McGinnis during the 1974-75 season for most turnovers in a single season. Harden ended the 2016-17 season with a turnover percentage (an estimate of turnovers per 100 plays) of 19.5, meaning that for every 100 times James Harden had the ball, he'd turn it over 19 and a half of those times. It's not all bad though. Harden more than makes up for the turnovers with his scoring and play-making, and a lot of turnovers is a clear result of how often he had the ball, as the actual MVP Russell Westbrook (another point guard who was the main offense of his team last season) also surpassed George McGinnis and is now second on the most turnovers in a season list with 438.
Andre Drummond
Record: Lowest Career Free Throw Percentage (>1200 Attempts)
Considering how the strategy of continuously fouling a bad free throw shooter to gain an advantage is named after him, you'd probably assume that Shaquille O'Neal has the worst career free throw percentage of all-time. In reality, however, Shaq doesn't even crack the top 5. And since BasketballReference.com only counts players who have taken over 1200 free throws for their entire career, notoriously bad free throw shooters like Andre Roberson could possibly pass him once he hits the 1200 shot mark. But back to the topic at hand, the player with the worst career free throw percentage of all time is Andre Drummond.
Drummond is a great, underrated player in today's NBA, holding career averages of 13.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55% from the field and earning an all-star game selection. Despite those stats, Drummond is most well-known for his atrocious free throw shooting. Drummond has taken 1793 free throws during his five-year career so far and has only hit 683 of them, put his average at a meager 38% for his entire career. He has only broken 40% for free throws one season in his entire career, which is probably why opposing teams want him on the line as much as possible. Drummond averages 4.7 free throw attempts a game for his entire career, only averaging 1.8 makes per game, and took 586 free throw attempts in the 2015-16 season, the most in the league. His terrible free throw shooting is so bad that his percentage is lower than notoriously bad free throw shooters like Wilt Chamberlain, DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace, and as I mentioned before, Shaquille O'Neal, the guy that "Hack-a-Shaq" is literally named after.
Considering how the strategy of continuously fouling a bad free throw shooter to gain an advantage is named after him, you'd probably assume that Shaquille O'Neal has the worst career free throw percentage of all-time. In reality, however, Shaq doesn't even crack the top 5. And since BasketballReference.com only counts players who have taken over 1200 free throws for their entire career, notoriously bad free throw shooters like Andre Roberson could possibly pass him once he hits the 1200 shot mark. But back to the topic at hand, the player with the worst career free throw percentage of all time is Andre Drummond.
Drummond is a great, underrated player in today's NBA, holding career averages of 13.3 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55% from the field and earning an all-star game selection. Despite those stats, Drummond is most well-known for his atrocious free throw shooting. Drummond has taken 1793 free throws during his five-year career so far and has only hit 683 of them, put his average at a meager 38% for his entire career. He has only broken 40% for free throws one season in his entire career, which is probably why opposing teams want him on the line as much as possible. Drummond averages 4.7 free throw attempts a game for his entire career, only averaging 1.8 makes per game, and took 586 free throw attempts in the 2015-16 season, the most in the league. His terrible free throw shooting is so bad that his percentage is lower than notoriously bad free throw shooters like Wilt Chamberlain, DeAndre Jordan, Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace, and as I mentioned before, Shaquille O'Neal, the guy that "Hack-a-Shaq" is literally named after.
Bubba Wells
Record: Quickest Disqualification in NBA History
You probably don't know who this is. Neither did I until I started researching this. Bubba Wells only played one season in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, played in only 39 games (two of which he started), and averaged 10.1 minutes a game. He put up averages 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while shooting 41% from the field and only 17% from three-point range. He's probably better known for being involved in trade involving superstars, as he was involved in the trade that sent Steve Nash to the from the Phoenix Suns to the Mavericks and was then traded by Suns to the Chicago Bulls with a first-round pick, which the Bulls used to select Ron Artest (more on him later.) Needless to say, Bubba Wells did not make much of an impact in the NBA. However, he does have his name in the record book.
During a December 29th, 1997 game against the Bulls, Wells made history as he managed to get disqualified (foul out) of a game quicker than anybody else in history. Taking in to account the fact that Dennis Rodman of the Bulls was a bad free throw shooter (58% for his career), Mavericks' head coach Don Nelson decided to try an use the not yet named Hack-a-Shaq method to put Rodman on the line. The one who carried out the plan: Bubba Wells. In just three minutes of game time, Wells fouled Rodman six times, sending him to the line for 12 foul shots and fouling out in the process. However, the plan blew up in Nelson's face, as Rodman went 9-12 (75%) from the free throw line and helped the Bulls win over the Mavericks 111-105.
You probably don't know who this is. Neither did I until I started researching this. Bubba Wells only played one season in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks, played in only 39 games (two of which he started), and averaged 10.1 minutes a game. He put up averages 3.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while shooting 41% from the field and only 17% from three-point range. He's probably better known for being involved in trade involving superstars, as he was involved in the trade that sent Steve Nash to the from the Phoenix Suns to the Mavericks and was then traded by Suns to the Chicago Bulls with a first-round pick, which the Bulls used to select Ron Artest (more on him later.) Needless to say, Bubba Wells did not make much of an impact in the NBA. However, he does have his name in the record book.
During a December 29th, 1997 game against the Bulls, Wells made history as he managed to get disqualified (foul out) of a game quicker than anybody else in history. Taking in to account the fact that Dennis Rodman of the Bulls was a bad free throw shooter (58% for his career), Mavericks' head coach Don Nelson decided to try an use the not yet named Hack-a-Shaq method to put Rodman on the line. The one who carried out the plan: Bubba Wells. In just three minutes of game time, Wells fouled Rodman six times, sending him to the line for 12 foul shots and fouling out in the process. However, the plan blew up in Nelson's face, as Rodman went 9-12 (75%) from the free throw line and helped the Bulls win over the Mavericks 111-105.
Ian Mahinmi
Record: Lowest Free Throw Percentage in a Single Season (>100 Attempts)
Going back to free throws, we now have Ian Mahinmi. Mahinmi hasn't really done anything of significance since coming into the NBA in 2007. He had one season with the Indiana Pacers where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the 2015-16 season, but that was about it in terms of quality for him. And nothing he's done is of lower quality than his record for the lowest free throw percentage in a single season.
Unlike Andre Drummond, who had always struggled with his free throws, Mahinmi's terrible free throw shooting in the 2014-15 season really came out of nowhere. Mahinmi was never a good free throw shooter but was never as bad as he was that season. Mahinmi's current career free throw percentage is 60%. Again, not great, but still not as bad as Drummond. However, something changed in the 2-14-15 season, as Mahinmi shot an abysmal 30% from free throw line, shooting 102 free throws but only making 31 of them all season and giving him the worst single-season free throw percentage of all time. That shooting performance surpassed Chris Dudley's previous record of 32% for a single season. Even stranger, Mahinmi went back to his old free throw percentage after that season, shooting 59% from the free throw line the next season. It must have just been an off-year for him.
Going back to free throws, we now have Ian Mahinmi. Mahinmi hasn't really done anything of significance since coming into the NBA in 2007. He had one season with the Indiana Pacers where he averaged 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the 2015-16 season, but that was about it in terms of quality for him. And nothing he's done is of lower quality than his record for the lowest free throw percentage in a single season.
Unlike Andre Drummond, who had always struggled with his free throws, Mahinmi's terrible free throw shooting in the 2014-15 season really came out of nowhere. Mahinmi was never a good free throw shooter but was never as bad as he was that season. Mahinmi's current career free throw percentage is 60%. Again, not great, but still not as bad as Drummond. However, something changed in the 2-14-15 season, as Mahinmi shot an abysmal 30% from free throw line, shooting 102 free throws but only making 31 of them all season and giving him the worst single-season free throw percentage of all time. That shooting performance surpassed Chris Dudley's previous record of 32% for a single season. Even stranger, Mahinmi went back to his old free throw percentage after that season, shooting 59% from the free throw line the next season. It must have just been an off-year for him.
Ron Artest
Record: Longest Suspension In NBA History
The 2003-04 NBA season was the best season of Ron Artest's (now Metta World Peace) career. Playing for the Indiana Pacers, Artest averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals while shooting 42% from the field and 31% from three-point range, earning him his first all-star game selection, an All-NBA 3rd Team selection, an All-NBA Defensive 1st Team selection, and to top it off, the Defensive Player of the Year award, beating out defensive specialists such as Bruce Bowen, Andrei Kirilenko, and two-time (eventually four time) winner Ben Wallace. Artest was a star in the making and looking to continue his success into the 2004-05 season. However, that season would see an infamous event that not only defined Artest's career but earned him the longest suspension in NBA history.
On November 19th, 2004, the Indiana Pacers faced off against the Detroit Pistons. With only 46 seconds left in the game, which the Pacers led 97-82, Artest committed somewhat of a hard foul on Ben Wallace, who retaliated by shoving Artest, leading to players from both teams trying to separate them. Artest laid down on the announce table as everything started to calm down, only for a fan to throw a drink at him. This set off Artest, who jumped into the crowd and attacked another fan who he mistook for the fan who threw the drink at him. What followed led to several players following Artest into the stands, some trying to get Artest out of the stands while the Pacers' Stephen Jackson joined in on the fight. Other fans got onto the court, with Artest and Jermaine O'Neal each landing punches on some of them. With the game basically in the books and complete chaos ensuing, the referees called off the game, ending what became known as the Malice at the Palace.
9 players (5 Pacers and 4 Pistons) received suspensions for their actions during the brawl, but none more severe than Artest. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 season (73 games) and the playoffs (13 games) for a total of an 86 game suspension, the longest in NBA history, breaking the previous record set by Latrell Sprewell (68 games for attacking his coach in 1997). The Malice at the Palace forever tainted Artest's career, as he never returned to the superstar form he looked to be creating for himself after it and gave him one of the worst records in NBA history.
Thanks for reading!
The 2003-04 NBA season was the best season of Ron Artest's (now Metta World Peace) career. Playing for the Indiana Pacers, Artest averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals while shooting 42% from the field and 31% from three-point range, earning him his first all-star game selection, an All-NBA 3rd Team selection, an All-NBA Defensive 1st Team selection, and to top it off, the Defensive Player of the Year award, beating out defensive specialists such as Bruce Bowen, Andrei Kirilenko, and two-time (eventually four time) winner Ben Wallace. Artest was a star in the making and looking to continue his success into the 2004-05 season. However, that season would see an infamous event that not only defined Artest's career but earned him the longest suspension in NBA history.
On November 19th, 2004, the Indiana Pacers faced off against the Detroit Pistons. With only 46 seconds left in the game, which the Pacers led 97-82, Artest committed somewhat of a hard foul on Ben Wallace, who retaliated by shoving Artest, leading to players from both teams trying to separate them. Artest laid down on the announce table as everything started to calm down, only for a fan to throw a drink at him. This set off Artest, who jumped into the crowd and attacked another fan who he mistook for the fan who threw the drink at him. What followed led to several players following Artest into the stands, some trying to get Artest out of the stands while the Pacers' Stephen Jackson joined in on the fight. Other fans got onto the court, with Artest and Jermaine O'Neal each landing punches on some of them. With the game basically in the books and complete chaos ensuing, the referees called off the game, ending what became known as the Malice at the Palace.
9 players (5 Pacers and 4 Pistons) received suspensions for their actions during the brawl, but none more severe than Artest. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the 2004-05 season (73 games) and the playoffs (13 games) for a total of an 86 game suspension, the longest in NBA history, breaking the previous record set by Latrell Sprewell (68 games for attacking his coach in 1997). The Malice at the Palace forever tainted Artest's career, as he never returned to the superstar form he looked to be creating for himself after it and gave him one of the worst records in NBA history.
Thanks for reading!
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