1.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, as of 2015, the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes, having an estimated value of $2.7 billion. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the states nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. The team was propelled by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBAs official website as the leagues first superstar, after struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikans retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Boston Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired another center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had won multiple MVP awards and this team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and a Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley. After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnsons retirement, the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille ONeal, led by ONeal, Bryant, and another Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002, securing the franchise its second three-peat. After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won two championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010. The Lakers hold the record for NBAs longest winning streak,33 straight games,21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Four Lakers—Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, ONeal, and Bryant—have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards, Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind the scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team. Inspired by Minnesotas nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes, Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas, to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on the team. The Lakers had a roster which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan. In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record, in 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America, and Mikans 28.3 point per game scoring average set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals they won the championship, beating the Washington Capitols four games to two, the following season, the team improved to 51–17, repeating as champions. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring title at 28.4 ppg, one of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons, became infamous as the lowest scoring game in NBA history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round, during the 1951–52 season, the Lakers won 40 games, finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which won in seven games
2.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams to survive the leagues first decade, the Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League s Boston Bruins. The franchises 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, as a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues. The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the Finals, including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010, four Celtics players have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. Their mascot Lucky the Leprechaun is a nod to the teams Irish heritage, in 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player. The Celtics struggled during their years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. In the franchises early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting—both of opposing teams and college draft prospects—and scheduled all the road trips. One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags, but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade and he sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the second overall pick in the draft. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the champion Celtics for more than a decade. With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, Russell went on to win 11 championships, making him the most decorated player in NBA history. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, however, with the acquisition of K. C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade. In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, during that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. On December 26,1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tommy Heinsohn, joining Tom Satch Sanders, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, the Celtics defeated St. Louis 97–84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn, the Celtics of the late-1950s–60s are widely considered as one of the most dominant teams of all time. Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965–66 season and Russell took over as player-coach, with his appointment, Russell also became the first African-American coach in any U. S. pro sport
3.
Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
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The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of nine media members, the person with the highest votes wins the award. In at least one NBA Finals, fans balloting on NBA. com accounted for the tenth vote, the award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the Larry OBrien Trophy, until a new trophy was introduced in 2005. Since its inception, the award has given to 30 different players. Michael Jordan is a record six-time award winner, magic Johnson, Shaquille ONeal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James won the award three times in their careers. Jordan and ONeal are the players to win the award in three consecutive seasons. Johnson is the only ever to win the award, as well as the youngest at 20 years old. Andre Iguodala is the winner to have not started every game in the series. Jerry West, the first ever awardee, is the person to win the award while being on the losing team in the NBA Finals. Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Olajuwon, Bryant, and James have won the award in two consecutive seasons. Abdul-Jabbar and James are the players to win the award for two different teams. Olajuwon of Nigeria, who became a naturalized U. S. citizen in 1993, Tony Parker of France, cedric Maxwell is the only Finals MVP winner eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been voted in. NBA Most Valuable Player Award NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award General Specific
4.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP, in 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time, drafted by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft with the first overall pick, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After winning his first NBA championship in 1971, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at age 24, using his trademark skyhook shot, he established himself as one of the leagues top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the last 14 seasons of his career, Abdul-Jabbars contributions were a key component in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career his team succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and past the 1st round in 14 of them and he remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and is ranked 3rd all-time in both rebounds and blocks. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the greatest player in basketball history. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a coach. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U. S. global cultural ambassador, in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born in New York City, the child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 1⁄2 inches long and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Power Memorial Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. From an early age, Lew Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments and this earned him a nickname—The tower from Power. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record, the team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 11th grade, and was runner-up his senior year. Alcindor played on the UCLA freshman team only because the rule was in effect. In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points, in 1967 and 1968, he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1, but on November 27,1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion
5.
NBA on CBS
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CBS aired NBA games from the 1973–1974 NBA season until the 1989–90 NBA season. During CBS first few years of covering the NBA, CBS was accused of mishandling their NBA telecasts, regular features included a pre-game show that consisted of mini-teams of celebrities, and active and former NBA players competing against each other, and a halftime show called Horse. The NBA eventually took notice of the criticisms and managed to persuade CBS to eliminate its original halftime show, in its place, came human-interest shows about the players. There also was a possibility that CBS would start televising a single game on Sunday afternoons. Other adjustments that CBS made in hopes of improving its coverage included hiring reporter Sonny Hill to cover the league on a full-time basis, CBS also put microphones and cameras on team huddles to allow viewers to see and hear coaches at work. Finally, CBS introduced a segment called Red Auerbach on Roundball. The segment intended to not only educate CBS viewers about the complexities of the pro game and they also subtly introduced audiences to an all-star team based on Auerbachs criteria such as screening and passing. Don Criqui was the host of this particular competition, the final, which pitted Larry McNeill of the Golden State Warriors against eventual winner Darnell Dr. Dunk Hillman of the Indiana Pacers, took place during Game 6 of the 1977 NBA Finals. At the time of the final, Hillmans rights had been traded to the New York Nets, since he was not officially a member of any NBA team, instead of wearing a jersey, he competed in a plain white tank top. Other players to compete in the slam dunk tournament included Julius Erving, George Gervin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, CBS, anxious for star power, also gave David Thompson the opportunity to be eliminated three times. During the 1977–78 season, CBS held a H-O-R-S-E competition at halftime of the Game of the Week telecasts, Again, Don Criqui hosted with Mendy Rudolph officiating. 32 players, including Rick Barry, Pete Maravich, George Gervin, JoJo White, Doug Collins, Paul Westphal and Bob McAdoo, Barry was eliminated in the first round by journeyman Earl Tatum of the Los Angeles Lakers. Maravich and Westphal made it all the way to the final, however, Maravich was injured and unavailable, so CBS instead had Westphal shoot a free-throw against Bag-Man. Westphal, with a bag over his head as well, made the free throw while Barry missed, from 1975 to 1979, CBS aired all NBA Finals games live, live NBA Finals game coverage on the network resumed in 1982. During this era, CBS aired weeknight playoff games from earlier rounds on tape delay at 11,30 p. m. Eastern Time, CBS continued this practice until at least the mid-1980s. CBS did not want sportscasters to give the score on the late-evening newscasts aired by its local affiliates. The network preferred the games to not be over by that time if they were going to be aired on later that night. Most CBS games were either 8,30 or 9,00 p. m. local starts, for instance, CBS aired Games 1–3 of the 1981 Western Conference Finals, between the Houston Rockets and Kansas City Kings
6.
Larry Bird
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Larry Joe Bird is an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, currently serving as president of the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association. Since retiring as a player for the Boston Celtics, he has been a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the leagues Most Valuable Player three consecutive times. He played his professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards. He was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and he served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of operations for the Pacers. After a year away from the position, he announced he would return to the Pacers as president of operations in 2013. In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 club, he is the person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year. Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana to Georgia and Claude Joseph Joe Bird and he was raised in nearby French Lick, where his mother worked two jobs to support Larry and his five siblings. Bird has said that being poor as a child still motivates him to this day, Georgia and Joe divorced when Larry was in high school, and Joe committed suicide about a year later. Bird received a scholarship to college basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers in 1974. After less than a month on campus he dropped out of school and he returned to French Lick, enrolling at Northwood Institute in nearby West Baden, and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1975. Indiana State would lose the game 75–64, with Bird scoring 19 points, despite failing to win the championship, Bird earned numerous year-end awards and honors for his outstanding play, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award. For his college career, he averaged 30.3 points,13.3 rebounds, Bird also appeared in one game for the baseball team, going 1-for-2 with 2 RBI. Bird was selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth pick in the 1978 NBA draft. He did not sign with the Celtics immediately, instead, he played out his season at Indiana State. After protracted negotiations, Bird inked a five-year, $3.25 million contract with the team, shortly afterwards, NBA draft eligibility rules were changed to prevent teams from drafting players before they were ready to sign, a rule known as the Bird Collegiate Rule. Bird immediately transformed the Celtics into a contender, helping them improve their win total by 32 games from the year before he was drafted
7.
Magic Johnson
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Earvin Magic Johnson Jr. is an American retired professional basketball player and current president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons, after winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his players, he retired again for four years. Johnsons career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and he led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBAs all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. Johnson was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team, after leaving the NBA in 1992, Johnson formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that travelled around the world playing exhibition games. Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, Johnson became a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame—being enshrined in 2002 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007 and his friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. Named by Ebony magazine as one of Americas most influential businessmen in 2009, Johnson has numerous business interests. Johnson also is part of a group of investors purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Earvin Johnson Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan to Earvin Sr. a General Motors assembly worker, and Christine, Johnson, who had six siblings, was influenced by his parents strong work ethic. Earvin Jr. would often help his father on the garbage route, Johnson grew up in Lansing, and came to love basketball as a youngster. His favorite basketball player was Bill Russell, whom he admired more for his many championships than his athletic ability and he also idolized players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes, and practiced all day. Magic Johnson came from an athletic family and his father played high school basketball in his home state of Mississippi, and Johnson learned the finer points about the game from him. Johnsons mother, originally from North Carolina, had played basketball as a child. By the time he had reached the grade, Johnson had begun to think about a future in basketball. He had become a dominant junior player, once scoring 48 points in a game
8.
Red Auerbach
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Arnold Jacob Red Auerbach was an American basketball coach of the Washington Capitols, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Boston Celtics. After he retired from coaching, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death, as a coach, he won 938 games and nine National Basketball Association championships in ten years. Auerbach is remembered as a pioneer of basketball, redefining basketball as a game dominated by team play and defense. He groomed many players who went on to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, additionally, Auerbach was vital in breaking down color barriers in the NBA. Famous for his nature, he was well known for smoking a cigar when he thought a victory was assured, a habit that became, for many. In 1967, the NBA Coach of the Year award, which he had won in 1965, was named the Red Auerbach Trophy, and Auerbach was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969. In 1980, he was named the greatest coach in the history of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America, Arnold Jacob Auerbach was one of the four children of Marie and Hyman Auerbach. Hyman was a Russian Jewish immigrant from Minsk, Russia, and Marie Auerbach, Auerbach Sr. had left Russia when he was 13, and the couple owned a delicatessen store and later went into the dry-cleaning business. Little Arnold spent his childhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, playing basketball. With his flaming red hair and fiery temper, Auerbach was soon nicknamed Red, amid the Great Depression, Red played basketball at PS122 and in the Eastern District High School, where he was named Second Team All-Brooklyn by the World-Telegram in his senior year. Auerbach received a scholarship to the basketball program of Bill Reinhart at George Washington University in Washington. Auerbach was a basketball player and graduated with a M. A. in 1941. In those years, Auerbach began to understand the importance of the fast break, in 1941, Auerbach began coaching basketball at the St. Albans School and Roosevelt High School in Washington, D. C. Two years later, he joined the US Navy for three years, coaching the Navy basketball team in Norfolk. There, he caught the eye of Washington millionaire Mike Uline, who hired him to coach the Washington Capitols in the newly founded Basketball Association of America, in the playoffs, however, they were defeated by the Chicago Stags in six games. The next year the Capitols went 28–20 but were eliminated from the playoffs in a one-game Western Division tie-breaker, in the 1948–49 BAA season, the Caps won their first 15 games and finished the season at 38–22. The team reached the BAA Finals, but were beaten by the Minneapolis Lakers, in the next season, the BAA and the rival league National Basketball League merged to become the NBA, and Auerbach felt he had to rebuild his squad. However, owner Uline declined his proposals, and Auerbach resigned, Auerbach was then approached by Ben Kerner, owner of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks
9.
NBA Finals
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The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association played between the Western and Eastern champions of the Conference Finals. The first team to win four games in the game series is declared the league champion and is awarded the Larry OBrien Championship Trophy. Winners from 1946 to 1983 received the Walter A. Brown Trophy redesigned in 1977 to the current form, the NBA Finals has been played at the end of every NBA and Basketball Association of America season in history, the first being held in 1947. Most NBA Finals series were played under the 2–2–1–1–1 format prior to 1985, the series was named the BAA Finals from 1947 to 1949 and then changed to the NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1982. The following two years, the league used Showdown 83 and Showdown 84 and it returned to NBA World Championship Series in 1985, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. During the first decade the Minneapolis Lakers had the first NBA dynasty, the team also featured George Mikan, one of the greatest players in NBA history. The Boston Celtics went 11–1 in the NBA Finals during 13 seasons and they won eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, Bill Russell became the star of the league, Game 7 of the NBA Finals was decided on a Celtics basket in the final seconds of the second overtime. For most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics always seemed to have the hand on Wilt Chamberlains teams. The following season, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Syracuse Nationals team that had moved to cover the vacancy created with the departure of the Warriors, a clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966 and Boston won it 4–1. Chamberlains coach told him to play a game, not an individual game. His new-found team spirit brought them to a new record of 68 wins the season, and they defeated the Celtics and then advanced to, and won. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals and they went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth straight time,4 games to 2. In 1969, the Celtics overcame even longer odds, Boston was an aging team and had injuries to a number of players. They barely qualified for the playoffs, finishing fourth in the East, the Lakers, who in the offseason added Chamberlain to join West and Elgin Baylor, won the West and were prohibitive favorites to finally win it all for the first time since relocating to L. A. They won the first two games at the Los Angeles Forum, however, when the series shifted to Boston Garden, the Celtics won Game 3 110–105. Game 4 was the point, as the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play. But after a turnover, Sam Jones put up a shot hit the front of the rim, the back heel, rolled around
10.
Pat Riley
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Patrick James Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a former coach and player in the National Basketball Association. He has been the president of the Miami Heat since 1995. He is regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the coach of five championship teams, four with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times and he was head coach of an NBA All-Star Game team nine times, eight times with the Western Conference team and once with the Eastern team. In 1996 he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in the NBA history, as a player, he played for the Lakers championship team in 1972. Riley most recently won the 2012 and 2013 NBA championships with the Heat as their team president and he is the first North American sports figure to win a championship as a player, coach, and executive. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20,2012, Riley was born in Rome, New York and raised in Schenectady. His father, Leon Riley, played twenty-two seasons of minor league baseball as an outfielder and first baseman, Riley played basketball for Linton High School in Schenectady, New York under head coach Walt Przybylo and his assistants Bill Rapavy and Ed Catino. In 1991, Riley called it, One of the greatest games in the history of Schenectady basketball, Riley was a versatile athlete in college, participating in both basketball and football. Coached by Adolph Rupp, UK lost to Texas Western, a game that was reenacted in the movie Glory Road, in his senior year Riley made First Team All-SEC, one of the only players in storied Kentucky Basketball history to make two or more First Team All-SEC teams. He was selected by the San Diego Rockets in the 1st round of the 1967 NBA draft and he retired after the 1975–76 NBA season as a member of the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns. Riley finished his NBA playing career with a 7.4 points per game scoring average, Riley returned to the NBA in 1977 as a broadcaster for the Lakers. During the 1979–80 season, when the head coach, Jack McKinney, was injured during a near fatal bicycle accident, assistant coach Paul Westhead took over the teams head coaching duties. Riley then moved from the broadcast booth to the bench as one of Westheads assistant coaches, however, the team lost in the playoffs the next year to the Moses Malone-led Houston Rockets. Six games into the 1981–82 season, Magic Johnson said he wished to be traded because he was playing for Westhead. Shortly afterward, Lakers owner Jerry Buss fired Westhead, at an ensuing press conference, with Jerry West at his side, Buss named West head coach. West, however, balked, and Buss awkwardly tried to name West as offensive captain and then named West, West made it clear during the press conference that he would only assist Riley, and that Riley was the head coach. Thereafter, Riley was the head coach, until his status became permanent
11.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
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The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as the sports most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball, dedicated to Canadian physician and inventor of the sport James Naismith, it was opened and inducted its first class in 1959. As of the induction of the Class of 2016 on September 9,2016, the Naismith Hall of Fame was established in 1959 by Lee Williams, a former athletic director at Colby College. In the 1960s, the Basketball Hall of Fame struggled to raise money for the construction of its first facility. The Basketball Hall of Fames Board named four inductees in its first year, in addition to honoring those who contributed to basketball, the Hall of Fame sought to make contributions of its own. In 1979, the Hall of Fame sponsored the Tip-Off Classic and this Tip-Off Classic has been the start to the college basketball season ever since, and although it does not always take place in Springfield, Massachusetts, generally it returns every few years. In the 17 years that the original Basketball Hall of Fame operated at Springfield College, the popularity of the Basketball Hall of Fame necessitated that a new facility be constructed, and in 1985, an $11 million facility was built beside the scenic Connecticut River in Springfield. As the new hall opened, it also recognized women for the first time, with such as Senda Berenson Abbott. In 2002, the Basketball Hall of Fame moved again—albeit merely 100 yards south along Springfields riverfront—into a $47 million facility designed by renowned architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, the buildings architecture features a metallic silver, basketball-shaped sphere flanked by two similarly symmetrical rhombuses. The dome is illuminated at night and features 80,000 square foot, including numerous restaurants, the second Basketball Hall of Fame was not torn down but rather converted into an LA Fitness health clubs. The current Basketball Hall of Fame features Center Court, a basketball court on which visitors can play. Inside the building there are a gallery, many interactive exhibits, several theaters. A large theater for ceremonies seats up to 300, the honorees inducted in 2002 included the Harlem Globetrotters and Magic Johnson, a five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist. As of 2011, the current Basketball Hall of Fame has greatly exceeded attendance expectations, despite the new facilitys success, a logistical problem remains for the Basketball Hall of Fame and the City of Springfield. Urban planners at universities such as UMass Amherst have called for the I-91 to be moved, in 2010, the Urban Land Institute announced a plan to make the walk between Springfields Metro Center and the Hall of Fame easier. Since 2011, the induction process employs a total of seven committees to both screen and elect candidates, since 2011, the Veterans and International Committees also vote to directly induct one candidate for each induction class. Contributor Direct Election Committee Note that other committees may choose to elect contributors, for example, the 2014 class included two contributors. However, each screening committee is limited as to the number of candidates it can put forth to the Honors Committee—10 from the North American Committee, any individual receiving at least 18 affirmative votes from the Honors Committee is approved for induction into the Hall of Fame
12.
Kevin McHale (basketball)
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Kevin Edward McHale is an American retired professional basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is also a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and he was named to the NBAs 50th Anniversary Team, and also to the official list of the NBAs best 50 players in 1996. McHale began working for the Minnesota Timberwolves immediately following his retirement in 1993, at different times, as a TV analyst, general manager and he was the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 2011-15, until being fired following a 4-11 start to the 2015–16 season. McHale currently works as an on-air analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sportss popular NBA on TNT studio show, McHale was born to Paul Austin McHale and Josephine Patricia Starcevic in Hibbing, Minnesota. In his senior season at Hibbing High School, he was named Minnesotas Mr. Basketball of 1976 and he is of Croatian descent on his mothers side. The 6 ft 10 in McHale played basketball at the forward position for the University of Minnesota from 1976 to 1980. He was named All-Big Ten in 1979 and 1980 and still second in school history in career points. In 1995, to coincide with the University of Minnesotas 100th anniversary, McHale is famous for an encounter with Chuck Foreman in the Gopher locker room. Foreman, a famous Minnesota Viking at the time, was congratulating the Gophers on a hard-fought victory, as Foreman was shaking all the players hands, when he arrived at the then-unknown power forward, McHale displayed his comic wit, Nice to meet you, Mr. Foreman. What do you do for a living, McHales stay in Boston got off to a rocky start as he held out for a large contract, even threatening to play in Italy, before signing a three-year deal with the Celtics. Backing up Larry Bird and Cedric Maxwell at forward, McHale made an impact and was named to the NBAs All-Rookie First Team in his rookie season. Boston finished McHales rookie season with a record of 62-20. In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in the first round, in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics faced a 3–1 deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers, but Boston won the last three games of the series, including Game 6 on Philadelphias home court. McHale helped save the Game 6 win by rejecting an Andrew Toney shot, in the NBA Finals, Boston defeated the Houston Rockets in six games to capture the teams fourteenth championship. The Celtics failed to advance to the NBA Finals the next two seasons, Philadelphia exacted a measure of revenge in the 1982 Eastern Conference Final, beating Boston at home in the seventh game. In the 1983 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks and this embarrassing defeat led to the firing of head coach Bill Fitch and a temporarily unhappy McHale. Following the 1982–83 season, McHales contract with the Celtics expired, auerbach retaliated by signing three of New Yorks top free agent players to offer sheets. The Knicks elected to re-sign their players and give up their pursuit of McHale, McHale eventually re-signed with Boston, his $1 million per season contract making him the fourth-highest paid player in the NBA
Injured
