Stephon Marbury
Stephon Xavier Marbury is an American former basketball player. He was selected out of Georgia Tech by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he played in the NBA from 1996 to 2009 as a member of the New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. He was an NBA All-Star with the Suns in 2001 and 2003, was voted into the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003. Marbury played in the Chinese Basketball Association from 2010 to 2018, winning three CBA championships with the Beijing Ducks in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Marbury has gone by the nickname "Starbury", a name created during his youth. Marbury, the sixth of seven children, was born and raised in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, he attended elementary school, PS 238. During his teenage years, he starred at NYC powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High School, After his senior year Marbury was named New York State Mr. Basketball.
He was heralded as the next great NYC point guard, expected to follow the success of NBA stand-outs Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson. While still attending Abraham Lincoln High School he was one of the subjects of Darcy Frey's book The Last Shot, which followed three seniors and Marbury, a freshman, through the early months of his first season with the school's team. In high school, he played for the renowned AAU team the New York Gauchos, he was named a 1995 McDonald's All-American along with future NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antawn Jamison. Marbury was listed as one of the top five recruits in the country that year and pursued by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins, with whom he committed. At Georgia Tech, Marbury took over the starting point guard role left vacant with Travis Best's departure. Teaming with future NBA players Matt Harpring and Drew Barry, Marbury led Georgia Tech to a 24–12 record en route to the Regional Semifinal game of the NCAA tournament, where the Yellow Jackets lost to Cincinnati 87–70.
For the season, Marbury averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 assists and was named a Third Team All American by the Associated Press, along with several conference honors. Following the season he declared himself eligible for the 1996 NBA draft, he was selected fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1996 NBA draft traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the draft rights to Ray Allen and a future first-round pick. In his first season in the league, Marbury averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He and second-year player Kevin Garnett led the Timberwolves to the NBA Playoffs in 1997 and 1998. During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury's agent, David Falk, demanded a trade. Marbury said. Other reports said he wanted to go to a market that would provide more endorsement opportunities, while others suggested that Marbury genuinely disliked Minnesota and was jealous of Kevin Garnett's new contract. Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a three-way trade in which Terrell Brandon was sent from Milwaukee to Minnesota and Sam Cassell was sent from New Jersey to Milwaukee.
While in New Jersey, Marbury blossomed into an All-Star. Marbury made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2000 and was selected as a reserve for the 2001 All-Star Game, where he hit 2 clutch threes to win the game. Marbury scored a career-high 50 points on February 13, 2001 in an overtime loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite his individual accolades, the Nets never made the playoffs during Marbury's time with the team. Marbury was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Johnny Newman and Soumaila Samake in the 2001 offseason for Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley; as a Sun, Marbury made his second All-Star team and the All-NBA 3rd team in 2003. Teamed with Rookie of the Year Amar'e Stoudemire and All-Star Shawn Marion, the trio took the team to the playoffs, but the Suns were ousted by the Spurs in the first round. Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybański were traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004 for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, draft rights to Miloš Vujanić, a first-round 2004 draft choice, an additional future first-round draft choice.
This brought Marbury full circle, as he was a lifelong Knicks fan. Marbury played for the U. S. in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first of the U. S. teams composed of NBA players to fail to win the gold medal at the Olympics. He and his teammates returned with bronze. Despite the disappointment, Marbury scored a U. S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain. During the 2005–06 season Marbury feuded with head coach Larry Brown. Towards the end of the 2005–2006 season, the Knicks' poor performance combined with Marbury's public spats with his coach led to a severe decline in Marbury's popularity, with Frank Isola and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News stating that Marbury is "the most reviled athlete in New York."The public feud between Marbury and Brown was one of the reasons Larry Brown was fired at the end of the 2005–06 season. Isiah Thomas took over the coaching role and the Knicks were more successful during the 2006–2007 season, surpassing the previous year's 23 wins, 54 games into their 82-game season, before falling off and finishing with only 33.
In September 2007, Marbury testified at the trial of a sexual harassment lawsuit, filed against the Knicks and Isiah Thomas. At the trial, Marbury testified that he and a Knicks intern had "got together" in his car outside a strip club in 2005; the start of the 2007–08 season found the Knicks again flo
1997 NBA draft
The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although the Boston Celtics had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs a model of winning and consistency, lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism. The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years; the Washington Wizards forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard. Thus, the draft only had 57 selections overall; these players were not selected in the 1997 NBA Draft but have played in the NBA. "Official website". Archived from the original on 2001-02-15. Retrieved 2011-06-15.
CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown 1997 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American former professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, he won five NBA championships. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, 12-time member of the All-Defensive team, he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons and ranks third on the league's all-time regular season scoring and fourth on the all-time postseason scoring list. He is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Bryant is the first guard in NBA history to play at least 20 seasons. Bryant is the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. Upon graduation, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft; the Hornets traded him to the Lakers.
As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, he was named an All-Star by his second season. Despite a feud between the two players and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault, but the charges were dropped, a civil suit was settled out of court. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers, he led the NBA in scoring during the 2005 -- 2006 -- 07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. Bryant was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, he led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions.
He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013 until he suffered a torn Achilles tendon at age 34. Although he recovered, his play was limited the following two years by season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing his physical decline, he announced. At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points, he became the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1, 2010, when he surpassed Jerry West. During his third year in the league, Bryant was chosen to start the All-Star Game, he would continue to be selected to start that game for a record 18 consecutive appearances until his retirement, his four All-Star MVP Awards are tied for the most in NBA history. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals as a member of the U. S. national team. In 2018, Bryant won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for his film Dear Basketball. Bryant was born in 1978 in Philadelphia.
He is the maternal nephew of basketball player John "Chubby" Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, which they saw on a restaurant menu, his middle name, Bean, is derived from his father's nickname "Jellybean". Bryant was raised Roman Catholic; when Bryant was six, his father retired from the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball at a lower level. Kobe learned to speak fluent Italian. During summers, he would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league. Bryant started playing basketball when he was 3 years old, the Lakers were his favorite team when he was growing up. Bryant's grandfather would mail him videos of NBA games. At an early age, he learned to play soccer and his favorite team was A. C. Milan; when Kobe's father Joe retired as a player in 1991, the family moved back to the United States. Bryant earned national recognition during a spectacular high school career at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, located in the Philadelphia suburb of Lower Merion.
He played on the varsity basketball team as a freshman. He became the first freshman in decades to start for Lower Merion's varsity team, but the team finished with a 4–20 record; the following three years, the Aces compiled a 77–13 record, with Bryant playing all five positions. During his junior year, he averaged 31.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and was named Pennsylvania Player of the Year, attracting attention from college recruiters in the process. Duke, North Carolina and Villanova were at the top of his list. At Adidas ABCD camp, Bryant earned the 1995 senior MVP award while playing alongside future NBA teammate Lamar Odom. While in high school 76ers coach John Lucas invited Bryant to work out and scrimmage with the team, where he played one-on-one with Jerry Stackhouse. In his senior year of high school, Bryant led the Aces to their first state championship in 53 years. During the run, he averaged 30.8 points, 12 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4 steals, 3.8 blocked shots in leading the Aces to a 31–3 record.
Bryant ended his high school career as Southeastern Pennsylvania's all-time leading scorer at 2,883 points, surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain and Lionel Simmons. Bryant received several awards for his outstanding performance during his senior year at Lower Merion; the awards included being na
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is a men's professional basketball league in North America. It is considered to be the premier men's professional basketball league in the world; the NBA is an active member of USA Basketball, recognized by FIBA as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player; the league was founded in New York City on June 1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League; the league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in New Jersey; the Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada.
On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history. The first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League and the NBL, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title. Prior to the 1948–49 season, however, NBL teams from Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Rochester jumped to the BAA, which established the BAA as the league of choice for collegians looking to turn professional.
On August 3, 1949, the remaining NBL teams–Syracuse, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan and Waterloo–merged into the BAA. In deference to the merger and to avoid possible legal complications, the league name was changed to the present National Basketball Association though the merged league retained the BAA's governing body, including Podoloff. To this day, the NBA claims the BAA's history as its own, it now reckons the arrival of the NBL teams as an expansion, not a merger, does not recognize NBL records and statistics. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1953–54, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises: the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Warriors, Minneapolis Lakers, Rochester Royals, Fort Wayne Pistons, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, Syracuse Nationals, all of which remain in the league today.
The process of contraction saw. The Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, to St. Louis in 1955; the Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957 and the Pistons relocated from Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Detroit in 1957. Japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, he remained the only non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter, signing with the Washington Capitols in 1950. Hunter was cut from the team during training camp, but several African-American players did play in the league that year, including Chuck Cooper with the Celtics, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty. To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954.
If a team does not attempt to score a field goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped and the ball given to its opponent. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, which featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single game records in scoring and rebounding. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports; the 1960s were dominated by the Celtics. Led by Russell, Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966; this championship streak is the longest in NBA history. They did not win the title in 1966–67, but regained it in the 1967–68 season and repeated in 1969; the domination totaled nine of the ten championship banners of the 1960s.
Through this period, the NBA continued to evolve with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers, the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises; the Chicago Packers (now Wa
2003 NBA draft
The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2003 NBA draft; the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had a 22.50 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 22, Cleveland chairman Gordon Gund said afterward his team would select LeBron James. The Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets were third respectively; the 2003 draft is known for having one of the most talented draft pools in draft history. The draft contained fifteen players. Four of the top five picks are NBA All-Stars and "Redeem Team" Olympic Gold Medalists: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James. Many players have been in the starting line-ups of their respective teams. Boris Diaw won the Most Improved Player Award in 2006, Jason Kapono won the three point shootout back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008, James Jones won the three point shootout in 2011, Leandro Barbosa won the Sixth Man Award in 2007, Kyle Korver set the NBA record for three point shooting percentage in 2010, in the 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 seasons LeBron James won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, the NBA Finals MVP in 2012, 2013 and 2016.
Carmelo Anthony won the 2013 NBA Scoring Title and is the only player in NBA history to win at least three Olympic gold medals. Zaza Pachulia and David West won NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Matt Bonner won NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 and 2014. Dahntay Jones and Mo Williams won the NBA championship in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Luke Walton won three NBA championships, two as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and one as an assistant coach with the Warriors in 2015. Chris Bosh left Toronto in 2010 as its all-time leader in points, blocks, double doubles, free throws made and attempted, minutes played; the 2003 draft class has drawn comparisons to the 1984 and 1996 NBA draft classes, but is known for the Detroit Pistons having made the selection of Darko Miličić with the second pick over other prospects. Out of the entire draft, only Nick Collison has played his entire career for the team that drafted him. ^ a: Chris Kaman was born in the United States, but has German citizenship through his great-grandparents and competes internationally for Germany.
These players were not selected in the 2003 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA. Incomplete "NBA.com Draft 2003". NBA. Archived from the original on April 19, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007. "Player profiles with their career transaction information". NBA. Archived from the original on April 19, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007. ESPN.com Draft 2003 databaseBasketball.com Draft 2003 "How LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and the 2003 draft class transformed the NBA". SC Featured. ESPN. June 25, 2018 – via YouTube
Marcus Camby
Marcus Dion Camby is a retired American professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was named Defensive Player of the Year during the 2006–07 NBA season, leading the league in blocked shots per game. Camby is a four-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and is 12th on the NBA's all-time career blocks list. Camby, a native of Connecticut, began his high school career at Conard High School in West Hartford, he transferred to Hartford Public High School. In his senior season, Camby averaged 27 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks and 8 assists, en route to a 27-0 record and state title, he was named Gatorade's Connecticut Player of the Year. Camby played three seasons for the UMass Minutemen, he had an NCAA freshman record 105 total rejections during his first year at UMass, was named the Atlantic 10's Freshman of the Year. Camby was named to the A-10's First Team during his sophomore season in 1994–95, as the Minutemen reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Camby won the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award during the 1995–96 season, he led UMass to the 1996 NCAA Final Four. In the NCAA tournament, Camby set a tourney record of 43 total blocked shots in 11 games. On April 29, 1996, Camby announced that he would forgo his senior year at UMass and enter the NBA Draft. In 1997, UMass' visit to the Final Four was vacated by the NCAA because Camby had been found to have accepted $28,000 from two sports agents; as part of the penalty, the school was forced to return their $151,617 in revenue from the 1996 NCAA Tournament. Camby reimbursed the school for the amount lost. According to a 1997 Sports Illustrated article, the agents, John Lounsbury and Wesley Spears of Connecticut, had hoped that Camby would hire them to represent him when he became a professional; the article reported that Camby had received "jewelry, rental cars and prostitutes" from the agents. Camby was inducted into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame on September 10, 2010.
Though some criticized the school for inducting a student-athlete who caused their Final Four achievement to be vacated, others saw it as a positive recognition of one of the school's best athletes. Camby returned to school, taking online courses from UMass, earned his degree on May 12, 2017. Camby was selected second overall in the first round of the 1996 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors. In his rookie season, he made the NBA All-Rookie First Team, averaging 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks per game. In the following season, Camby led the league in blocked shots with 3.7 per game. Camby was traded to the New York Knicks in a Draft day deal for Charles Oakley, for his first two seasons in New York, Camby backed up veteran All-Star center Patrick Ewing; the Knicks struggled to establish on-court chemistry in the lockout-shorted 1998–99 season, finishing with a 27–23 record, just good enough to qualify for the 8th and final seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs and teammate Latrell Sprewell began to assert themselves as the Knicks shocked the top-seeded Miami Heat and swept the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds, setting up a meeting with the rival Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After Ewing went down with a season-ending Achilles injury early in the series, Camby filled the void, averaging doubles in the last three games of the series to lead the Knicks to a six-game upset series win over the Pacers and into the NBA Finals. The Knicks became the first 8th-seeded team to make it to the NBA Finals, where they matched up with the San Antonio Spurs; the Spurs defeated the Knicks in five games to win the 1999 Championship. In the 1999–00 season the Knicks with Ewing back at center bounced back and won 50 games thanks to the contributions of many of the veteran players, including the Sixth Man of the Year Award-type season from Camby. In the playoffs, the Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors in three games and Miami Heat in seven games in the first two rounds of the playoffs en route to making it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row. There they faced the top seed in the East, the Indiana Pacers, were defeated by the Pacers in six games. During a game against the San Antonio Spurs in January 2001, Camby took a roundhouse swing at Spurs' forward Danny Ferry after he was hit in the eye on a box-out.
The punch missed Ferry because Knicks' head coach Jeff Van Gundy stepped in at the last second, resulting in his being head-butted by Camby. Van Gundy required 15 stitches to close a gash above his left eye. Camby, who ended up with scratches on his face from both incidents, was suspended for five games and fined $25,000. Ferry was fined $7,500 for the initial foul. Upon returning from the suspension, Camby began to play his best ball of the season in averaging 12 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks a game. Camby spent most of the 2001–02 season injured, without him as an inside presence, the Knicks struggled with a 30-52 record and missed the playoffs. Camby, after getting traded to Denver, accused the Knicks training staff of misdiagnosing his injury and causing him to miss more games than he should have; the Nuggets however, sided with the Knicks. Camby played for the Knicks from 1998 to 2002, before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Antonio McDyess. In the 2003–04 season, along with rookie teammate Carmelo Anthony, Camby helped lead the Nuggets back into the playoffs where they were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves led by league MVP Kevin Garnett.
Camby
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