Issue 50: Getting Extreme with NBA History

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Can you believe we’ve made it to 50 issues?! Probably, since the title with the issue number is right there. Still, this is a very big deal to me and I thank you all for supporting Crisp Bounce Pass and sharing with your fellow bball and pop culture fans.

For the 50th issue, I thought about doing something around the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list, or maybe highlighting players who had scored 50 points in a game.

None of that seemed as much fun as finding some of the most ridiculous accomplishments in basketball history, though. We’re talking EXTREMES.

Sure, Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points is very impressive, but it’s not as impressive as, say…

Bubba Wells Fouls Out in Three Minutes

Bubba Wells spent exactly one season in the NBA, playing a grand total of 395 minutes. Yet he certainly left a lasting impression.

In a December 29, 1997 contest between the Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls, Wells checked into the game. And he immediately started fouling Bulls’ forward Dennis Rodman. Like…a lot.

With the Bulls in the penalty, each foul would send whoever was fouled to the free-throw line. He was forcing Rodman, who was shooting an abysmal 38.6% from the line on the season, to step up and knock down some shots.

As a result, Wells fouled out in only three minutes, the quickest foul-out in NBA history. Oh, and the move backfired: Rodman hit nine of 12 free throws for a respectable 75%, and the Bulls won 111-105.

Wells didn’t stop playing basketball, though. He spent the rest of his career in various minor leagues or overseas, and even had a brief stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. What a fun career!

Jud Buechler’s Impressive “Trillions” Record

Jud Buechler was a member of the Chicago Bulls from 1994 to 1998, winning three championships along the way. That’s a pretty solid “championship to years played” ratio, isn’t it?

Buechler doesn’t hold too many NBA records, but he does have one that’s pretty distinct. In fact, you could say it’s worth trillions. 😏

You may be familiar with terms like points, rebounds, and steals, but Buechler is the league’s all-time leader in trillions, racking up 55 over the course of his career.

So how do you get a trillion? Simple: play in a basketball game but don’t record a single stat, other than minutes played. On the box score, your number of minutes played is listed first, so it’s that number (for example, 2 or 7) followed by 12 zeroes.

Thus, a trillion is born. And Buechler has 55 of them.

Rasual Butler Gets One Turnover In Zero Minutes

Buechler may be a wizard at playing without accomplishing much, but Rasual Butler once did the exact opposite: he had a turnover despite not actually recording a single minute of play.

On February 11, 2012, the Toronto Raptors trailed the Los Angeles Lakers 93-92 with 4.2 seconds left. Butler was substituted into the game to throw the inbounds pass for the Raptors. He previously hadn’t played all night.

Unfortunately, Butler couldn’t find a teammate to pass to, and the official called a five-second violation him. The result: a turnover.

The Lakers got the ball, and Butler got subbed back out of the game. Because the clock was stopped the whole time, Butler technically never played a single minute of action.

Yet he still managed to get a turnover on the stat sheet, which is truly remarkable.

Rip Hamilton Hates Field Goals, Loves Free Throws

Richard “Rip” Hamilton was notable for his stylish face mask and ability to curl tightly off a screen, catch a basketball, and make a jump shot.

He also made a super cool shot in college—after he and his teammates combined for about 67,000 misses—to push UConn into the Elite 8. Here’s that moment in low-quality video with fantastic audio.

In the NBA, Hamilton won a championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons, but the following season, he ran into some tough times. Namely, he couldn’t make a shot.

In a January 6, 2005 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Hamilton somehow managed to go 0-for-10 from the field while making all 14 of his free throws.

It’s just like me participating in an NBA game, except I’d also miss the free throws.

A.C. Green Plays in 1,192 Consecutive Games

A.C. Green is quite the interesting guy. He holds the NBA record for consecutive games played, with 1,192 in a row. That’s 14 straight years without missing a game, whether due to injury, being sick, or just feeling like he needed a break.

Perhaps it’s no surprise. Green never missed a class in elementary school, laying the foundation for his Ironman career. He kept that streak going despite having his two front teeth knocked out during a game.

Throughout his entire NBA career, Green remained a virgin bachelor, sometimes having to resist his teammates trying to tempt him with women.

He also suffered from singultus or chronic hiccups. When I get hiccups, I can barely sit upright in a chair, and that usually lasts for about a minute or two. I can’t imagine playing in a single NBA game—let alone nearly 1,200 of them—while having to navigate hiccups. Well done, A.C. Well done.

Oh, and what does A.C. stand for? Absolutely nothing. Or maybe for “Amanda” and “Chester,” the names of Green’s mother and paternal grandfather.

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Issue 50: Getting Extreme with NBA History