In March 2020, center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first NBA player with a confirmed case of the virus. After teammates of Gobert's on the Utah Jazz also tested positive, the NBA postponed the 2019-20 season indefinitely.

In 2000, Shaquille O'Neal joined Willis Reed (1970) and Michael Jordan (1996), becoming just the third player to sweep MVP honors for the season, capturing the All-Star Game MVP (which he shared with San Antonio's Tim Duncan), NBA MVP, and NBA Finals MVP awards.

Wilt Chamberlain finished his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers (1968-73). He had previously played for the Philadelphia Warriors (1959-62), the San Francisco Warriors (1963-64), and the Philadelphia 76ers (1964-68).

On July 10, 2019, the Thunder traded George to the Clippers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round draft picks, and the rights to swap two other first round picks.

Red Auerbach was well known for smoking a cigar when he thought victory was assured, a habit that became, for many, "the ultimate symbol of victory" during his Boston tenure. During his heyday in the 1960s, Boston restaurants would often say "no cigar or pipe smoking, except for Red Auerbach".

Hakeem Olajuwon retired as the all-time league leader in total blocked shots with 3,830, but he also had a unique talent (for a frontcourt player) for stealing the ball. In 1988-89, he recorded 213 steals and 282 blocked shots.

Anthony sported the #15 through his college days at Syracuse and in his early years with the Denver Nuggets. He was forced to switch numbers once he joined the Knicks because the number 15 was retired by the Knicks in honor of Earl Monroe and Dick McGuire.

The team's name comes from the 1957-1962 TV western Maverick. James Garner, who played the title character in the show, was a member of the original ownership group.

Donald Earl "Slick" Watts picked up the nickname "Slick" because he was one of the first NBA players to shave his head. In 1975-76, he led the NBA in total assists, assists per game, total steals, steals per game, and made NBA All-Defense First-Team.

When reporters asked league MVP Moses Malone how the playoffs would go, he answered, "four, four, four," meaning the 76ers would win four games in each of the 3 rounds. The media misinterpreted this and assumed Moses was predicting that the 76ers would sweep all three rounds to win the title, with the minimum 12 games. However, the 76ers backed up Malone's boast, losing only one game in the postseason as they won the league championship, defeating the Lakers in a 4-0 sweep in the 1983 NBA Finals.