Harlem Globetrotters attempt 22 Guinness records, break 18

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- The Harlem Globetrotters paid tribute to a former player by attempting 22 Guinness World Records in two days -- and successfully broke 18 of them.

The Globetrotters said they decided to begin 2022 by attempting 22 records in two days to honor Frederick "Curly" Neal, who played 22 seasons with the team while wearing No. 22 on his jersey.

Neal died in March 2020.

"Due to the pandemic, we didn't get a chance to give Curly the send-off that he deserved, [and] what better way to honor him than to attempt 22 records in his name. I hope he is looking down and smiling, like he always is," Globetrotter Julian "Zeus" McClurkin told Guinness World Records.

Player Rock "Wham" Middleton set one of the records, most basketball bounces in one minute, when slow-motion video footage confirmed he had completed 762 bounces in the allotted time.

Middleton also broke the records for most basketball underhanded half-court shots in one minute, 7; farthest basketball hook shot, 74 feet and 9.74 inches; fastest time between baselines dribbling a basketball, 3.529 seconds; and most basketball bounces between the legs in one minute, 360.

Teammate Pawel "Dazzle" Kidon, the first Harlem Globetrotter from Poland, broke the record for most consecutive catches of a spinning basketball, managing 26.

Other records broken by the team during the two-day event include farthest basketball off-the-wall bounce shot, farthest behind-the-back basketball alley-oop slam dunk, most basketball alley-oop slam dunks in one minute and most consecutive basketball alley-oop slam dunks.

Also, farthest under the legs basketball shot, farthest windmill basketball shot, most basketball layups in one minute, most blindfolded basketball slam dunks in one minute and most basketball 3-pointers made by a pair in one minute.