Most unique NBA statlines

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Merry Christmas, everybody! (In August.) Shams Charania of The Athletic just reported the NBA’s Christmas schedule. Which game are you most excited about?

There have been 50-point games, quadruple-doubles, and seasons where players have gone 50-50-100 (shoutout to Tony Snell). Incredible performances happen all the time, and even when once-in-a-lifetime games/seasons occur, fans are there to appreciate them. 

But what about the weird ones?

What about the games/seasons that fly under the radar because, instead of being excellent, they’re simply unique? Whether their uniqueness is good, bad, or outright hilarious, these performances must be appreciated.

Let’s take a look at three of the wildest NBA games/seasons.

Rasual Butler, 2012 - 0 minutes player, 1 turnover

Yes, you read that right. Butler committed a turnover without actually playing a single second during a game in 2012. The Toronto Raptors played the Los Angeles Lakers on February 12, 2012. That season, Butler only averaged 13.3 minutes per game, and in that particular contest, he hadn’t played the entire game. That was until he was subbed in with 4.2 seconds left to play.

Toronto was down by one point, 93-92, and Butler was subbed in to inbound the ball on their final possession of the game. He got the ball, and the play began. Only Butler never inbounded the ball. He got called for a five-second violation.

A turnover.

After the failed play, Butler was taken out of the game. He did not play a single second of game time but was credited for a turnover. It was a truly unfortunate turn of events for Butler, but it will go down in history as one of the weirdest statlines ever.

Lou Williams, 2018-19 - 20 PPG, 26MPG

Averaging 20 points per game is becoming more and more common as time goes on. While it’s still an extremely impressive accomplishment, it’s slowly becoming the norm. But usually, players that average at least 20 points per game play at least 30 minutes a night. Not Williams.

Only seven players in the history of the NBA have averaged over 20 points per game in under 30 minutes per game (with at least 65 games played that season). Those players are Brook Lopez, Eddie Johnson, Xavier McDaniel, George Gervin, Clyde Lovellette, Rickey Pierce, and Williams.

However, what makes Williams’ season so special is that he did it in fewer minutes than anybody else - 26.6 minutes per game. That gives him the record of the fewest minutes per game of any player ever to average at least 20 points per game. And, of course, he won Sixth Man of the Year that season.

The biggest bucket in NBA history?

Paul Silas, 1967 - 16 minutes, 26 rebounds

Throughout his 16 NBA seasons from 1964 to 1980, Silas was always a solid rebounder. He averaged 9.9 boards throughout the course of his career, and his best rebounding season came in 1972-73, when he averaged 13.0. But in 1967, Silas did something absolutely insane.

On December 17, Silas’ St. Louis Hawks absolutely slaughtered the San Francisco Warriors, 97-78. Silas came off the bench in that game and played just 16 minutes. But in that time, he corralled 26 rebounds (and 12 points). That’s over 1.6 rebounds per minute on the floor.

To put Silas’ accomplishment into perspective, no other player in NBA history has ever recorded 20 rebounds in under 20 minutes, let alone 26 of them in 16 minutes. In fact, Silas has also grabbed more rebounds than anybody in less than 25 minutes per game. 

That’s something we’ll never see again.

Jaylen Brown “all-in” on Celtics

As the offseason drags on, so do the trade rumors. Kevin Durant is still a member of the Brooklyn Nets, and until that isn’t the case anymore, rumors will continue to dominate headlines. And unfortunately for the Boston Celtics, they find themselves right in the middle of it. More specifically, Jaylen Brown finds himself in the middle of it.

However, according to long-time NBA insider Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, Brown is still “all-in” on the Celtics. He spoke with an NBA executive who told him as such.

“I think Jaylen IS long term,” this latter source told Heavy. “If they want him long term and they’re going to pay him the contract he deserves, I think he’s all-in on Boston. From everything I’ve been told, Jaylen’s a loyal guy. I know frustration can happen when things aren’t going well, and I think we saw some of that earlier in this past season.

Obviously, there’s a chance that these sources come from the Celtics’ side of things. However, it’s also more than likely that the rumors of Brown being involved in a Durant deal came from the Nets side of things. From the outside, we’ll never know. But this reporting directly conflicts with previous information that was thrown into rumors.

Harden, Durant on “good terms”

Last season, a bombshell was dropped on the NBA when James Harden forced his way out of Brooklyn and onto the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant followed that up by slighting him in the All-Star Draft, creating plenty of memes surrounding his and LeBron James’ reaction at the time.

However, as rumors of Durant deals swirl, ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne reports that the two superstars are on “good terms.”

“From what I'm told, the two former teammates are back on good terms now despite [James] Harden forcing his way out of Brooklyn,” Shelbourne reported.

This is relevant due to the recent rumors that Philadelphia could be interested in making a trade for the superstar. According to Ian Begley of SNY, the 76ers are on Durant’s list of destinations where he would want to be traded.

Exits: The dualities of Dallas - Katie Heindl (Basketball Feelings)

Exploring how Luke Kornet can help the Celtics - Adam Taylor (CelticsBlog)

Wenyen Gabriel: LA Lakers player on how basketball could unite South Sudan - Nichola Mandil (BBC Sport Africa)

De’Aaron Fox And Domantas Sabonis Could Have The Kings’ Offense Thriving Next Season - Jackson Frank (Dime)

How Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns can work as Timberwolves' duo - Justin Lewis (Basketball News)

The NBA is one of the best leagues in the world, but as evidenced by today’s examples, it can also provide some very unusual statlines. Whether that’s Butler’s singular turnover, Williams’ timely buckets, or Silas’ insane rebounding numbers, you never know what you can expect.

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That'll be it for us. Thanks for reading. See y'all next time.

- Jack Simone

Trivia Answer: The only US state that has never produced an NBA player is Vermont! In fact, Nicole Levesque is the only WNBA player to ever come from Vermont. Not fans of basketball, Vermont natives?

Trivia Question: Since we’re on the topic of crazy statlines, which NBA player holds the record for the most points scored in under 10 minutes played in a single game?