Here are at least twenty-nine facts about Feb. 29.
The Celtics emerged victorious in one of the BAA's first leap-day games, defeating the old Baltimore Bullets 65-62. That was the first of eight wins on that date for Boston, and their three defeats came in 1964, 1984, and 2020.
The Hornets (who are really the Bobcats rebranded and nothing else) will tonight be hosting a leap-day game for the first time, having lost on the road in 2008 and 2012. The real Hornets beat the Pacers at home in '92.
The Bulls are only 2-7 in leap-day games, only winning in 1972 at Portland and in 2012 at San Antonio. The champion teams of the '90s didn't play Feb. 29.
Six leap-day NBA games went into a leap period. One of them was a double-overtime loss for the Mavericks against the visiting SuperSonics.
The Warriors and Lakers have identical leap-day records of 8-4. Both teams lost on that date in 1980, and both teams won on four different occasions. Golden State's opponent tonight is the same team as in 1964; the Warriors played the Knicks in the second game of a New York doubleheader.
The Grizzlies have a leap-day winning streak of three. They won against the Mavericks in 2012, against the Nuggets in 2016, and against the Lakers in 2020.
With five leap-day losses, the Timberwolves have played the most leap days without winning. The Wolves haven't played on the extra day since 2012.
Until 2020, the Magic was 3-0 in leap-day games (winning in 1996, 2000, and 2012).
The Pelicans won their 1992 and 2000 leap-day games as the Charlotte Hornets and their 2008 game in New Orleans. They lost to the Raptors in 2012.
The 76ers are 7-6 in leap-day games, their first of five straight Feb. 29 wins coming in 1976.
The Spurs won games on three consecutive leap days: in 1992, 1996, and 2000. They added one more in 2020, and their only NBA leap-day loss was in 2012. The Dallas Chaparrals lost by one point to the Houston Mavericks in '68.
In 1996, Hakeem Olajuwon scored 42 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Eight years before that, Karl Malone had 41 points and 15 rebounds.
The Ducks were the winning team in 2000, 2004, and 2008, all of those leap-day victories being in regulation.
The first NHL teams to win a leap-day game in overtime were the Whalers and Maple Leafs in 1992.
There were three leap-day shootouts in 2020, the results of which can be found in the next three entries.
Of the Original 6, the only one without five regulation wins in leap-day games is the Red Wings, who lost their 2020 contest against the Senators in a shootout.
The Panthers and Predators have yet to win any leap-day games. Florida has two ties, a shootout loss (to the Blackhawks in 2020), and a regulation loss, while Nashville lost each of its attempts in 60 minutes.
The Penguins won the first leap-day game to go to a shootout. In 2012 at Dallas, it took four shots from each side for the Pens to secure a 4-3 win against the Stars, who went on to lose their 2016 game in overtime and their 2020 game in another shootout (against the Blues).
The Blues played eight consecutive leap-day games from 1976 to 2004. Half of them were losses, and one was a tie. St. Louis is the only expansion team with ten leap-day games so far.
The Sharks haven't lost a leap-day game since their first in 2000. They've defeated the Blues in '04, the Red Wings (at Detroit) in '08, the Canadiens in 2016, and the Penguins in 2020.
Both the Kraken and the Golden Knights play their first leap-day games tonight.
With three Feb. 29 wins, the Lightning went into the 2024 game undefeated for that date.
The Maple Leafs have played the most leap days. Their record for 13 games on that date: eight regulation wins (including their first five), an overtime win, an overtime loss, and three regulation losses.
The first and last time the Canucks won a leap-day game was in 1984.
Neither the old Jets nor the new Jets have won a leap-day game as an NHL team, but they have as the Coyotes and Thrashers.
One of the first leap-day games, played in 1936, was a Canadiens loss to the Montreal Maroons. Another defunct team playing on the date was the California Seals, who lost to the Flyers at Philadelphia in 1976. Both the 76ers and Flyers played in Philly that day.
In the same city where the Lakers beat the Syracuse Nationals Feb. 29, 1956, the Wild played to a 3-3 tie against the Hurricanes in 2004.
Henri Richard ('36), Simon Gagne ('80), Cam Ward ('84), and six other NHL players were born on this day.
Leap-day babies in the NBA: John Chaney (1920), Chucky Brown ('68), Vonteego Cummings ('76), and Tyrese Halliburton (2000).
[EDIT 9/14, 10:17-23 p.m.: Corrected something wrong with the Maple Leafs item. Also, re-worded the Lightning item after seeing the score of Tampa Bay's game with the Sabres this year.]
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