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Before losing two straight games by a combined 41 points, the Houston Rockets had won 22 games in a row -- the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. This much you know. What you don't know however, is much of anything about many of the Rockets responsible for this streak.
Of course you know all about Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, but Yao played in just 12 of the 22 games. Which means that for almost half of this remarkable run, the Rockets were led by a superstar putting up his worst stats since before he could legally drink, a trash-talking point guard who got his start on the And1 Mixtape Tour and an Argentine rookie with silly hair.
So when your children and grandchildren inevitably ask you to describe the unforgettable* Rockets winning streak of 2008, you'll need something to tell them. Here are 22 things about the players and the streak to keep in that "useless sports information" pile somewhere in your head.
(*At precisely 12:20 p.m. ET on Thursday, the streak was forgotten by 99.8 percent of sports fans across America. But still, it was kinda cool while it lasted.)
1. Point guard Rafer Alston's nickname is "Skip to My Lou," which he earned due to the way he skipped while bringing the ball up-court in his street ball days. Coincidentally, Alston is not featured in any of the Better Basketball videos.
2. At 7-feet-6, Yao Ming is a whole 2-feet-2 taller than the average Chinese male.
3. In 2007, Yao Ming made $54.6 million. This is approximately $54.6 million more than the average Chinese male made in 2006 ($2,025).
4. Defensive whiz Shane Battier went to the same Detroit high school as Chris Webber. Guess which one took more AP classes?
5. Rookie Carl Landry was drafted 31st overall last spring, and the Rockets are 19-1 in games in which he has played at least 12 minutes. In games in which second overall pick Kevin Durant has played over 12 minutes, the Seattle Sonics are 14-51.
6. In high school, guard Luther Head attended Manley Academy. There is absolutely nothing pornographic about that sentence.
7. While playing for the Kings, guard Bobby Jackson was known as "Action Jackson." Since joining the Rockets, he's averaging 16 minutes a game, and thus goes by "Limited Action Jackson."
8. Before joining the Rockets and participating in the final four wins of the streak, forward Mike Harris had been playing for the Dongguan New Century Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association.
9. Forward Mike Harris is much happier than he was three weeks ago.
10. Rookie Aaron Brooks was the lightest player at the NBA's 2007 pre-draft camp. He also had the lowest body fat, at just 2.7 percent, which was 65.3 percent less than fellow draftee Big Baby Davis.
11. The Kentucky athletic department once promoted power forward Chuck Hayes as an All-American candidate using the slogan "All He Does is Win." Hayes then went on to win MVP honors at the NBA's 2005 pre-draft camp. He went undrafted. First-round picks that year included Ian Mahinmi, Johan Petro and Yaroslav Korolev.
12. Forty-one-year-old center Dikembe Mutombo averages more first names (5.5) than points (1.7) or rebounds (4.5).
13. Rookie Luis Scola is no stranger to beating Americans at basketball. He was part of the Argentina squad that embarrassed the U.S basketball team in the 2004 Olympics.
14. Phil Jackson once tried to rally the Lakers by comparing then-Kings and current Rockets coach Rick Adelman to Adolf Hitler.
15. Rick Adelman no longer sports a mustache.
16. Some of superstar Tracy McGrady's accomplishments include working for the Make-A-Wish foundation, raising money for the Boys & Girls Club, hosting military families during All-Star weekend, participating in Katrina relief efforts, making a humanitarian journey to Darfur and appearing in the music video for Mike Jones' Flossin'.
17. Things that came to an end during the Rockets streak: The Hollywood writer's strike, HD-DVD, the New England Patriots undefeated season, Brett Favre's career, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee's presidential campaigns and Eliot Spitzer's dignity.
18. When the streak began, Gerald Green was a member of the Timberwolves. He was then traded to the Rockets, shot a perfect 3-for-3 in one of the 22 wins, and was subsequently released.
19. Five players (Bonzi Wells, Mike James, Justin Williams, Bobby Jones and Green) played for the Rockets during the streak and are no longer with the team.
20. Before the streak began, Steve Francis appeared in 10 games for the Rockets. In games in which "The Franchise" played more than 20:01, the Rockets went 1-4. The injured Francis did not appear in any games during the streak.
21. Three days before the Boston Celtics ended the Rockets' streak, Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's wife gave birth to a baby boy. Her nickname? Rockets. Hint: It's not because she's into aerospace technology.
22a. Steve Novak is from a town called Brown Deer, Wis.
22b. Steve Novak is a white guy.
