Tag: top

Michael Malone ties record for most games, wins in a season before being fired

After the shocking Michael Malone firing, HoopsHype presents the coaches with most games coached in a season to get fired.

The NBA world was rocked by another shock in-season firing on Tuesday when it was reported that the Denver Nuggets had fired head coach Michael Malone, along with general manager Calvin Booth.

The firing was a historic one, as Malone is now tied with the legendary Hubie Brown for the distinction of having coached the most games in a season before being fired. Brown had coached the 1980-81 Atlanta Hawks for 79 games when he was fired.

In addition, Malone also tied the record of having the most wins in a season at the time of a firing. That record he shares with another legend in the coaching world, Hall of Famer Larry Brown, who had coached the 1982-83 New Jersey Nets to a 47-29 record at the time of his firing.

According to reports, Malone was fired due to Nuggets players losing confidence in his messaging. Malone and Booth clashing over the direction of the team also didn’t help matters, per the Denver Post.

Even so, Malone’s firing was a complete shocker. We’ll see how interim head coach David Adelman, the son of former NBA head coach Rick Adelman, fares as interim head coach now.

Below, check out the NBA head coaches with the most games coached in a season before getting fired, as well as their win-loss records at the times of their firings. Spoiler alert: Malone and Taylor Jenkins, who the Memphis Gizzlies recently fired despite his 44-29 record this season, both rank high on this list.

Breaking the bank: The NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls

HoopsHype presents the players who took the largest share, or percentage, of their team’s payrolls (salary cap space) with their contracts.

During his time in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal was not known for leaving money on the table during negotiations to help his teams out. Unlike the Dirk Nowitzkis of the world, O’Neal wasn’t for giving his team handouts, instead choosing to make every penny possible, which he was well within his right to do, as he pretty much always lived up to his max contracts.

Well, our research confirms the idea that O’Neal drove a hard bargain during his time in the NBA, as we found that the Big Aristotle owned the biggest share of team payrolls in the NBA over the past 40 years, even after we factored in the first four seasons of his career in which he was on his rookie-scale contract, and the last campaign of his career when he was on a minimum deal.

Regardless, you can easily make the argument that O’Neal was worth every dollar since the big man had one of the most illustrious careers in NBA history, one headlined by his winning four NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, one regular-season MVP and his making 15 All-Star appearances and 14 All-NBA teams.

According to our research, other NBA stars come close to O’Neal in this exercise, namely David Robinson and Michael Jordan, who took up large shares of their teams’ payrolls throughout their careers. Jordan actually finished No. 3 on this list, but that’s largely because of the two final years of his deal with the Bulls, which were the biggest salaries in NBA history if we adjust to inflation.

Below, check out the NBA players who took the largest share of team payrolls throughout their careers.

From 14 wins to the postseason, Pistons complete record NBA turnaround

The 2023-24 Detroit Pistons are the worst NBA team by record to make the playoffs the following season. See full ranking here.

The 2024-25 Detroit Pistons have made history, as they are officially the team to have the worst record in the season prior to reach the playoffs the following year. Detroit has gone from winning 14 games in 2023-24 to qualifying for the postseason in this campaign, something no other team has ever done. And the Pistons are doing it in style, boasting a plus-.500 record thus far this season, something that a lot of the teams in our ranking below cannot likewise claim, even despite reaching the playoffs.

In 2023-24, the Pistons resided pretty much in the NBA’s gutter, boasting a 14-68 record for the campaign, good for a 17.1 win percentage. And they were rewarded after the season with the fifth pick in the draft despite being tied with the Washington Wizards for the highest odds to earn the No. 1 pick in the lottery.

Even so, first-year Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff has done a magnificent job of turning things around in Detroit in a huge way, as the Pistons are headed to the playoffs in their first campaign with him at the helm. Detroit took the distinction of being the team with the worst record the season prior to make the playoffs the following year from the 2014-15 Milwaukee Bucks, who went from 15-67 in 2013-14 to 41-41 (and earning a playoff spot) in 2014-15.

That doesn’t mean Detroit is the team to make the biggest leap in play from one season to the next, however, as the 2007-08 Boston Celtics went from going 24-58 the year prior to boasting a 62-20 record (and winning an NBA championship) the following season. The 1997-98 San Antonio Spurs also made a bigger single-season leap than the Pistons, going from 20-62 in ’97 to 56-26 in ’98.

Regardless, the 2024-25 Pistons still own history in their own right. Below, check out the teams with the worst records in NBA history to make the playoffs the following year, a list now led by Detroit.

NBA GOATs: Where they stand in all-time playoff rankings

HoopsHype ranks NBA goats by how they measure up in all-time statistical playoff rankings, in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

With the NBA playoffs around the corner, we decided to take a look at how well current and former NBA superstars have performed statistically on the sport’s biggest stage, which is the playoffs.

To do so, we looked at our HoopsHype 78, which ranks the greatest NBA players of all time, and checked out their ranking in playoff counting stats.

To the surprise of no one, LeBron James is the only player to be statistically in the Top 25 of all the main counting stats (and he’s actually Top 10 in all of them), so he did pretty well in this.

Scottie Pippen ranks very high in this exercise courtesy of his all-around game, which helped him pick up loads of playoff steals and blocks, and also thanks to his deep playoff runs next to Michael Jordan, who is only in the Top 10 in points and steals.

Old-school legends like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell didn’t fare so well in this exercise, but that’s because they played in the NBA when postseasons were much shorter than they are today. Also, the league didn’t officially keep track of steals and blocks during their careers, which doesn’t help matter for them.

Regardless, below, check out how NBA GOATs measure in all-time statistical playoff rankings.

We ranked the best LeBron TikTok songs

Viral content always comes and goes, but some reach pandemic levels. In March, TikTok user @OkaySpade posted a 35-second R&B song named ‘ LeBron Song’, and the frenzy of ‘ glazing’ King James began: @itsokayspade Lebron Song #lebronjames #goat …

Viral content always comes and goes, but some reach pandemic levels. In March, TikTok user @OkaySpade posted a 35-second R&B song named ‘LeBron Song‘, and the frenzy of ‘glazing‘ King James began:

Watch on TikTok

The fan reaction and surge of users creating songs ultimately made LeBron James address the trend:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CpqjWJWrjRk

We’ve created a LeBronify playlist, along with the original songs. It’s fun to play, but always remember to give credit to the artists. We hope you enjoy it. Special shout-out to TikTok user @.ilyaugust for creating the most LeBron songs.

Which players have received votes for individual NBA awards the most times?

Unsurprisingly, the players considered the best to ever grace an NBA court have accumulated the most votes for individual awards given by the league in history. At No. 1, you have the inevitable LeBron James with 34 times receiving votes. However, …

Unsurprisingly, the players considered the best to ever grace an NBA court have accumulated the most votes for individual awards given by the league in history.

At No. 1, you have the inevitable LeBron James with 34 times receiving votes. However, there are some important caveats. First, modern-day players have a big advantage since the number of individual awards has increased over time. Defensive Player of the Year (for which LeBron received votes nine times) was only introduced in 1983, for example; one can imagine how many votes Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain would have had it existed during their careers.

Secondly, Tim Duncan might have topped this ranking if he hadn’t been so great from the get-go. What puts LeBron over the top here is his four years with Most Improved Player votes compared to Duncan’s zero – which is the price you pay when you’re an MVP candidate already in your rookie season.

As always, you can check the full ranking below.

The most expensive NBA trading card sales ever

There have been at least 26 sales of NBA cards worth seven figures and most of them involve Jordan, LeBron, Kobe and Curry.

We’re in the golden era of sports cards, with some being sold for millions of dollars. Though not as hot a property as some baseball cards, there’s a big market for the basketball stuff too. Per our research, there have been at least 26 sales of NBA cards worth seven figures.

Most of them involve Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Stephen Curry. One featuring the Warriors superstar actually tops the list of the most expensive sales ever.

The 2003-04 Upper Deck LeBron James Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autograph is the card sold most times in our list with 12. Other players that collectors are investing in are Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic. The trading card industry is booming and still growing, and we’re sure there will be new record sales soon.

For now, this is the all-time ranking:

The most expensive LeBron James NBA trading card sales ever

The sports card industry thrives, with LeBron James reigning supreme in the NBA market. Rookie cards hold significant value, with the 2003-04 Upper Deck LeBron James Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autograph being a top choice for deep-pocketed …

The sports card industry thrives, with LeBron James reigning supreme in the NBA market. Rookie cards hold significant value, with the 2003-04 Upper Deck LeBron James Exquisite Collection Rookie Patch Autograph being a top choice for deep-pocketed investors.

We looked at different websites like Goldin Auctions, Heritage Auctions, and PWCC Marketplace, and here are the highest-ranking sales of LeBron James cards:

NBA Intel: Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Caris LeVert, Khris Middleton, Wizards, Grizzlies, OKC

HoopsHype Senior NBA Insider Michael Scotto reports on Atlanta’s direction looking ahead, including Trae Young’s future as he’s eligible for extension talks this summer, Caris LeVert’s free agency plans, Dyson Daniels’ case for Defensive Player of the Year, and Clint Capela’s future. Wizards forward Khris Middleton also discussed his Bucks legacy and Washington’s future, while teammate Justin Champagnie explained how he nearly quit basketball before earning a four-year contract this season. Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer discussed his welcome to the NBA moment trash-talking with Kevin Durant, playing for UConn’s Dan Hurley, and life as a two-way player behind the scenes. Lastly, updates on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With just over two weeks until the end of the regular season, some teams are making vacation plans as they head to the lottery, while others are gearing up for the playoffs or a Play-In appearance to continue their season.

In the meantime, HoopsHype has gathered the latest intel on Atlanta’s direction looking ahead, including Trae Young’s future as he’s eligible for extension talks this summer, Caris LeVert’s free agency plans, Dyson Daniels’ case for Defensive Player of the Year and Clint Capela’s future.

Wizards forward Khris Middleton also discussed his Bucks legacy and Washington’s future, while teammate Justin Champagnie explained how he nearly quit basketball before earning a four-year contract this season. Memphis Grizzlies guard Cam Spencer discussed his welcome to the NBA moment trash-talking with Kevin Durant, playing for UConn’s Dan Hurley, and life as a two-way player behind the scenes.

Lastly, updates on the Oklahoma City Thunder are all included below.

LeBron James beats Michael Jordan’s record, becomes oldest player with a game-winning buzzer-beater

On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, LeBron James took the record from Michael Jordan as oldest player with game-winning buzzer-beater.

It was probably not the type of game-winning buzzer-beater kids dream of while shooting hoops in their front yards, but LeBron James‘ tip-in on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, gave the Lakers a 120-119 win over the Indiana Pacers last night.

It also gave James yet another record, one that – again – came at the expense of his main rival in the GOAT debate, Michael Jordan, that of oldest player in NBA history to hit a game-winning buzzer-beater.

Jordan was 38 years and 358 days old when he hit his last game-winning buzzer-beater back on January 31, 2002. James was 40 years and 86 days old yesterday, beating MJ’s record by a fair amount.

Apparently, this is one thing GOAT candidates like to one-up each other with, because Jordan had previously beaten Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record in this very same category.

For James, it was his first regular-season game-winning buzzer-beater since February 7, 2018, and somehow only his third ever in the regular season. Strangely enough, he has more in the playoffs (five) than in the regular season.

James now has eight career game-winning buzzer-beaters, one behind Jordan, who holds the all-time record with nine. James is now tied with Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson for the second-most game-winning buzzer-beaters ever.

Fun fact: James is the first player in NBA history to have three buzzer-beating game-winners against the same team… all while playing for different teams himself.

Below, check out the oldest players to have a game-winning buzzer-beater in NBA history.