Matt Chandler - All-Star Goofball Trivia: Weird and Wild Sports Trivia

Lakers and Celtics, Pistons and Bulls, LeBron versus Steph. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a league rich with rivalries. Some of the greatest athletes of all time have made their mark in the world of professional basketball. The NBA is a serious business, raking in more than $5.5 billion each year.

The Boston Celtics took on the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals.

But that doesnt mean there arent plenty of goofballs in the league and plenty of bizarre stories from every team. Have you heard about the player who insists on sleeping in his opponents shorts? Or the team that created a pregame ritual of eating a meal popular with small children? How about the future superstar Hall of Famer who was cut from his high school basketball team?

From quirky superstitions to oddball facts, wacky trivia puts hoops in a whole new light.

Olympic stars Charles Barkley and Grant Hill

The average NBA career lasts less than five seasons. The competition is fierce, and many players know they are only one injury or a bad season away from being out of a job. Thats what makes some of these wacky trivia tales so interesting. It takes persistence, luck, and sometimes, unusual paths to make it to the NBA. Just ask this group of hardwood heroes.

Charles Barkley was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore. Sir Charles overcame that early failure and went on to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft. He played 16 seasons, was an 11-time NBA All-Star Game selection, and won two Olympic gold medals.

Charles Barkley

Wilt Chamberlain ranks as one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. His 31,419 points, 13 trips to the All-Star Game, and two NBA titles are proof of that. But Chamberlain wasnt an instant star in the NBA. He got his professional start playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. The goofy squad of entertainers that travels the world playing trick ball signed Chamberlain while he was in college. Reports say Chamberlain was paid about $50,000 for his one season with the team.

Wilt Chamberlain

Beginning when he was a teen, former first-round draft pick Caron Butler chewed drinking straws during games. During each NBA game, Butler would chew up a dozen straws. That was until he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2010 and the NBA banned the practice. The league said Butlers habit was dangerous. Some of his teammates said it was plain weird. As for Butler, he said it helped him relax. But after Butler gave up the straws during games, he and his team won an NBA title.

Caron Butler

Thanks to time zones, its possible to take a short flight and land at an earlier local time than the time in the town you left behind. That was the case for former American Basketball Association (ABA) and NBA player Marvin Barnes. Barnes was set to board a flight with his team from Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Louis, Missouri. The 56-minute flight departed from the Eastern Time Zone and landed in the Central Time Zone. From the takeoff and landing times on the ticket, it appeared as if the flight would land four minutes before it took off. When Barnes saw the times on his ticket he said, I aint getting on no time machine. He rented a car and drove himself to St. Louis.

Marvin Barnes

Like many athletes, some basketball players follow their own superstitions. Many NBA superstars practice elaborate pregame rituals things they think help them play better on the court. Can eating the same meal before every game really make a person play better? Are any of these superstitions real? These NBA veterans sure think so.

The night before every game, Jason Terry sleeps in a pair of shorts with his next opponents logo. But Terry doesnt sleep in just any shorts. He gets them from a player on the other team. Does it bring him good luck? Well, Terry has played 17 seasons in the NBA for five teams, so maybe hes on to something.

Jason Terry

As a guard with the University of North Carolina in 1982, Michael Jordan won a national championship. Jordan thought the shorts he wore were good luck, so he wore them for the next two decades. The Hall of Fame superstar won six NBA titles and two Olympic gold medals with his powder-blue college shorts under his NBA uniform.

Michael Jordan

The Boston Celtics have won a record 17 NBA titles. But only one, the 2008 crown, included a pregame ritual of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It began with the arrival of superstar Kevin Garnett, who ate a PB&J before every game. Soon it caught on among his teammates as a must-have before tip-off. The Celtics sandwich superstition was so big, the locker room had a jelly divide grape or strawberry.

Boston Celtics (from left) Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen celebrate the 2008 championship.