7 MORE Unfortunate NBA Records

As I've written about before, not every record you can hold is a good one. I've already taken a look at 7 of those bad records, so here are 7 more. Let's get right into this, these are 7 more unfortunate NBA records.

Shaquille O'Neal

Record: Most Free Throws Attempted in a Game Without a Make

Starting off this list we have a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest centers in the history of basketball, Shaquille O'Neal. Drafted with the 1st overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, Shaq spent 19 years creating a legacy for himself few could match. Over his career, O'Neal won four championships, an MVP in 2000, the Rookie of the Year in 1993, and three Finals MVPs, lead the league in scoring twice and in shooting percentage 10 times, and was selected to the all-star game 15 times, the All-NBA 1st Team eight times, and the All-Defensive 2nd Team three times. Shaq basically did it all during his career, but there is one thing that he was notoriously bad at; free throw shooting.

As I talked about in the last post I made about unfortunate records, Shaquille O'Neal is not actually the worst free throw shooter in NBA history, contrary to popular belief. That dishonor goes to Andre Drummond as of writing this. However, that's not to say that Shaq wasn't an awful free throw shooter during his career, shooting 53% for his career and shot below 50% in seven seasons during his career. Again, not the worst, but still really, really bad. The reason people might think he's the worst is probably because of games like the one he played on December 8th, 2000 when he set the record for most free throws attempted in a single game without making one. In a game where O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, O'Neal took 11 attempts from the charity stripe and missed all 11 of them. Yeah, you know you've done a bad job when your shooting percentage is lower than the Rotten Tomatoes score for Kazaam. That performance broke a 33-year record set by fellow Laker legend Wilt Chamberlain & Truck Robinson, who both went 0/9 from the free throw line in a game in 1967 & 1980 respectively.

Tim Hardaway

Record: Most Field Goals Attempted in a Game Without a Make

Tim Hardaway seemed like one of the NBA's next top stars early in his NBA career. While he never reached the superstar levels he seemed destined for, Hardaway still had a solid 14-year career, playing for five different teams and being selected to five all-star appearances and the All-NBA 1st Team in 1997. While his public image was heavily tainted following homophobic comments he made in 2007, his run in the NBA was still a successful one. However, Hardaway does hold an unfortunate record that he set in 1991. That record happens to be the most field goals attempted in a single game without a single make.

On December 27th, 1991, Hardaway's Golden State Warriors faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. While the Warriors picked up the win, Hardaway himself was no help on the scoring end, as he went an abysmal 0/17 from the field, going 0/2 from three-point range in the process. Hardaway did record 2 points via free throws, but those were his only points of the night. Hardaway was able to contribute with 13 assists, but his 17 missed are too much to ignore. This terrible performance broke the record held by Bob Love, Ray Williams, and Rodney McCray, who all went 0/15 during games in 1976, 1981, and 1988, respectively.

Jason Kidd & John Drew

Record: Most Turnovers in a Single Game

Now we have a tie for an unfortunate record, as Jason Kidd and John Drew share the record for the most turnovers in a single game with 14. While his career as a head coach might have been less than stellar, Jason Kidd was just as good as a player as he was as bad a coach. Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 2nd pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, Kidd spent 19 seasons in the NBA and carved out a great legacy that earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Playing for four different teams over his 19 year career, Kidd was selected to the all-star game 10 times, the All-NBA 1st Team five times, the All-Defensive 1st Team four times, was named Co-Rookie of the Year in 1995, led the league in assists five times, and won an NBA Championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. As for John Drew, he seemed to be one of NBA's future stars until a cocaine addiction cost him his career, getting him banned from the NBA in 1996. Drafted with the 25th overall pick in the second round of the 1974 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, Drew became a two-time all-star and made the All-Rookie 1st Team during his ten-year career. Kidd & Drew were both very talented players, but what earned them a spot in the record books was their turnover records.
Drew set the record first on March 1, 1978, when he turned over the ball 14 times when his Atlanta Hawks lost to the New Jersey Nets. However, because turnovers weren't officially counted on stat sheets until 1983, I can't actually confirm this or who had the record before Drew, but it does seem like the consensus is that Drew's record is legit, so I'll leave it at that. I can confirm that Jason Kidd did in fact tie (or set) the record on November 17, 2000. In a game where Kidd and the Phoenix Suns lost to the New York Knicks, Kidd racked up 14 turnovers. If Drew's record is not actually correct then Kidd beat the record set by Chris Mullin in 1988, as he turned the ball over 13 times in one game.

Rasheed Wallace

Record: Most Techincal Fouls in a Single Season

Yes, Rasheed Wallace holds the record for the most technical fouls by one player in a single season. Also, the sky is blue and fire is hot. Just stating more things that are pretty obvious. While Wallace did have a solid career, playing sixteen seasons and earning four all-star selections and an NBA Championship ring with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, what Sheed is best known for is his uncanny ability to get technical fouls. Aside from Dennis Rodman, he's probably the player most synonymous with getting technicals to ever play in the league. With classic moments like yelling "BALL DON'T LIE!" after a free throw attempt and the infamous "Whack, get out!" ejection, Wallace had no trouble earning a T, and during the 2000-01 season, Wallace's hot head earned him a spot in the record books.

Playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, Rasheed Wallace raked up a total of 41 technical fouls during the entire 2000-01 season. Wallace's 41 technical fouls earned him seven ejections along the way as he broke the record for the most in one season. Wallace broke a record that he set himself last season when he got 38 technicals. To put into perspective just how many technicals 41 is in one season, an average of one every two games. 41 is so many technicals that the closest anyone came to him last season was Steve Francis, who only had 23 all season.

JamesOn Curry

Record: Shortest NBA Career

You've probably never heard of the name JamesOn Curry, and there's a pretty good reason for that. Out of everybody who's ever played in the NBA during their entire career, Curry managed to have the shortest out of all of them. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the 52nd pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft, Curry would play in the D-League and overseas for three years before finding his way onto an NBA court in 2010. Signing a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, Curry made his NBA debut on January 25 in a loss to the Boston Celtics. In a game where he recorded no stats whatsoever, Curry played 3.9 seconds during the game...and that was it for his entire NBA career. Curry would be waived by the Clippers 4 days later, and after signing and getting released by the New Jersey Nets, saw his NBA career end with one game and under four seconds of game time under his belt. Curry's incredibly brief stint in the league managed to land him in the history book as the player with the shortest career in NBA history, breaking the record set by Alex Scales, playing just 9 seconds in 2005 during his entire career.

Stephen Curry, Antoine Walker, and Trey Burke

Record: Most Three-Pointers Attempted in a Game Without a Make

We have another tie for another bad record that nobody wants, as three different players hold the record for the most three-pointers attempted in a game without a make. One is incredibly surprising, and that's Stephen Curry. Drafted with the 7th pick by the Golden State Warriors in the 2009 NBA Draft, Curry, along with being a two-time MVP, five-time all-star, and two time NBA Champion, has established himself as one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history, maybe even the best ever, as he's already 7th all-time in three-pointers made at just 30 years old. Along with Curry, Antoine Walker holds the record. Drafted with the 6th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, Walker was not known for three-point shooting during his 12 year career, as he only shot 33% for his career. Finally, we have Trey Burke, whose three-point shooting could be considered slightly above average at best. All three of them hold the record for the most three-pointers attempted in a single game without making one with 11 each.

The first of the trio to hit the unfortunate mark was Walker. As a member of the Boston Celtics, Walker went 0/11 from beyond the arc on December 17, 2001 as the Celtics lost to the Philadelphia 76ers. This performance broke the record set by George McCloud, who went 0/10 in a game in 1996 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. It took 14 years for another player to hit the mark, as there have been 11 separate occasions since 2001 where a player went 0/10 from three-point range, with Walker being one of them again. In 2015, Trey Burke managed to tie the terrible record, going 0/11 on January 2. Burke had his awful performance as a member of the Utah Jazz, who lost to the Atlanta Hawks in that game. Two years later, Stephen Curry would reach Walker & Burke's mark as well, going 0/11 as a member of the Golden State Warriors on February 27. The Warriors managed to win the game, but Curry's terrible shooting performance found it's way into the record books.

Anthony Bennett

Record: First #1 Overall Pick to Play in the D-League

This one might not technically count as a record since it can never actually be broken, but since it's a milestone and as a Cleveland Cavaliers fan it's kind of cathartic to slag Anthony Bennett a lot, I decided to include it. It's almost unarguable at this point to say that Anthony Bennett is the worst player to ever be drafted with the 1st overall pick, and unless Markelle Fultz never recovers from this weird shoulder issue he's having, it will probably stay that way. Drafted with the #1 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bennett would play four bad seasons in the NBA, apparently not having the passion to play in the league, and now finds himself regulated to playing overseas and in the G-League. However, back when the G-League was the D-League, Bennett made history in a pretty bad way.

After two poor season with both the Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bennett found his way onto the Toronto Raptors on a one-year deal. After playing in just nine games and averaging 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds while shooting an abysmal 22% from the field and 13% from three-point range, Bennett himself asked to be sent down to the Raptor's D-League team Raptors 905. Bennett made his debut for the 905 in a game against the Delaware 87ers, and in doing so made history by becoming the first #1 overall pick to play in the D-League. Bennett would split time between the Raptors and the 905, not doing much of note and was not resigned at the end of the season. Bennett now finds himself on the Maine Red Claws of the G-League, and the odds of him making it back into the league seem slim.