Sixty percent of the NBA's former players are broke and bankrupt within 5 years of retiring from the league.
Once you begin to play sports seriously, you will most likely spend a lot of time at it. Between games, practice, and weight training, more time than you think will be spent striving to become a better player. Because of this, there's a good chance you'll have little time left for anything else.
In 2009, Sports Illustrated did a study of former NFL and NBA players.
This is what the study showed:
After only 2 years of retirement, 78 percent of NFL players were either broke or struggling financially. Within 5 years of retirement, 60 percent of NBA players are broke.
Unlike athletes in many other countries, American Olympians receive no direct support from the federal government.
Originally, two teams of 9 players made up a basketball game, a number that was based on the standard number of players on a baseball team.
Humans can outrun almost every animal on earth over long distances.
Early basketball games used soccer balls.