1.
Oracle Arena
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Oracle Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States, that is the home of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. The arena opened in 1966 and is the oldest arena in the NBA, from its opening until 1996 it was known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed The Arena in Oakland until 2005 and it is often referred to as the Oakland Coliseum Arena as it is located adjacent to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Oracle Arena seats 19,596 fans for basketball and 17,200 for ice hockey, the arena has been the home to the Golden State Warriors since 1971, except the one-year hiatus while the arena was undergoing renovations. It had been used by the Warriors intermittently as early as 1966, the California Golden Bears of the Pac-10 played the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons at the arena while their primary home, Harmon Gym, was being renovated into Haas Pavilion. For some years before then, the Bears played occasional games against popular non-conference opponents at the arena, the arenas first tenants were the California Seals of the Western Hockey League, who moved across the bay from the Cow Palace in 1966. The owners of the San Francisco Seals had been awarded a franchise in the National Hockey League on the condition they move out the Cow Palace. The team changed its name from San Francisco Seals to California Seals in order to draw fans from both San Francisco and Oakland. The Seals franchise continued to play at the arena after having transferred to the NHL, the Coliseum also hosted the American Basketball Associations Oakland Oaks, a charter member of the new ABA in 1967. The Oaks signed San Francisco Warriors star Rick Barry away from the rival National Basketball Association in 1968, the team was owned by entertainer Pat Boone and also had stars Larry Brown and Doug Moe on its roster. Brown and Barry are in the Basketball Hall of Fame, after a 22–56 record in their first season, the Oaks went 60–18 during the regular season in 1968–69. The Oaks then defeated the Denver Rockets, New Orleans Buccaneers, however, the team was plagued by poor attendance and Boone sold the team following their ABA Championship. They were relocated to Washington and became the Washington Caps, the Bay Bombers as well as the Golden Bay Earthquakes of the original MISL during the 1982–83 season and the Oakland Skates, a professional roller hockey team, all played there from 1993 to 1995. Over the years, the arena became increasingly outdated, lacking the luxuries of newer ones, with just over 15,000 seats, it was one of the smallest arenas in the league. The original arenas external walls, roof and foundation remained intact, the renovation began in mid-1996 and was completed in time for the Warriors to return in the fall of 1997. Included in the renovation was a new LED centerhung scoreboard and 360-degree fascia display, the new configuration seats 19,596 for basketball and 17,200 for ice hockey. On October 20,2006, the Golden State Warriors and the Oracle Corporation announced a 10-year agreement in which the Oakland Arena would be known as The Oracle, the O, as it is often referred to, will continue to be managed by Oakland–Alameda County Authority and SMG. The JPA approved the deal at its November 10 meeting, a formal press conference of the agreement was held on October 30
Oracle Arena
Oracle Arena
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A record-breaking crowd watching the Warriors in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.
Oracle Arena
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An interior view of Oracle Arena.
2.
Oakland, California
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Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1852, Oaklands territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the citys population, increasing its housing stock and it continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry. Oakland is known for its sustainability practices, including a top-ranking for usage of electricity from renewable resources, in addition, due to a steady influx of immigrants during the 20th century, along with thousands of African-American war-industry workers who relocated from the Deep South during the 1940s. Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. The earliest known inhabitants were the Huchiun Indians, who lived there for thousands of years, the Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone. In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, in 1772, the area that later became Oakland was claimed, with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the King of Spain. In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted the East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio, the grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons, Most of Oakland fell within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called encinal—Spanish for oak grove—due to the oak forest that covered the area. In 1851, three men—Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what is now downtown Oakland, on May 4,1852, the Town of Oakland incorporated. Two years later, on March 25,1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland, with Horace Carpentier elected the first mayor, the city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, a number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, at the time of incorporation, Oakland consisted of the territory that lay south of todays major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north, Oaklands rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in the town of Alameda being made an island
Oakland, California
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Oakland skyline, with the old eastern span of the
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge in background
Oakland, California
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1857 Map of Oakland
Oakland, California
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One day's output of 1917
Chevrolet automobiles at their major
West Coast plant, now the location of
Eastmont Town Center
Oakland, California
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In 1924, the
Tribune Tower was completed; in 1976, it was restored and declared an Oakland landmark.
3.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given to the player voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each years game, the league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively, the voting is conducted by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The player with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award, no All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the leagues lockout. As of 2017, the most recent recipient is New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. James first All-Star MVP in 2006 made him the youngest to have won the award at the age of 21 years,1 month. Kyrie Irving, winner of the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, is the second-youngest at 21 years,10 months, theyre notable as being the two youngest to win the award, both as Cleveland Cavaliers. Four of the games had joint winners—Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959, John Stockton and Malone in 1993, ONeal and Tim Duncan in 2000, ONeal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight, Duncan of the U. S. Virgin Islands and Irving of Australia are the only winners not born in the United States. Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens, but are considered international players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D. C. No player trained entirely outside the U. S. has won the award, bob Pettit and Russell Westbrook are the only players to win consecutive awards. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games without winning the All-Star Game MVP, NBA Most Valuable Player Award Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award List of NBA All-Stars General Specific
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain won the award in the 1960 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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Hall of Famer Michael Jordan won the award three times in his career.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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Hall of Famer Charles Barkley won the award in the
1991 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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Shaquille O'Neal has won the award three times in his career.
4.
Tim Duncan
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Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American retired professional basketball player who played his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. Widely considered to be the greatest power forward of all time, he is a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year. He is also a 15-time NBA All-Star and the player to be selected to both the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams in all of his first 13 seasons. Duncan started out as a swimmer and only began playing basketball in ninth grade after Hurricane Hugo destroyed the only Olympic-sized pool on his home of Saint Croix and he played for St. Duncan graduated from college before entering the 1997 NBA draft as the number one pick. Off the court, Duncan is known for his quiet and unassuming ways and he holds a degree in psychology and created the Tim Duncan Foundation to raise general health awareness and fund education and youth sports in various parts of the United States. Duncan is the son of Ione Duncan, a midwife, and William Duncan, a mason. He was born and raised in Christiansted, a town on Saint Croix, in school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister Tricia. Duncan was dealt another blow when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, Duncan never swam competitively again, but was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball. Duncan initially had difficulties adapting to the game he thought would help relieve his pain, nancy Pomroy, the athletic director of the St. Croix Country Day School was quoted, was so huge. So big and tall, but he was awkward at the time. He overcame this to become a standout for the St. Dunstans Episcopal High School and his play attracted the attention of several universities, despite having only picked up the game in ninth grade. Wake Forest University basketball coach Dave Odom in particular interested in Duncan after the 16-year-old allegedly played NBA star Alonzo Mourning to a draw in a 5-on-5 pick-up game. Odom was searching for a tall, physical player to play near the basket, however, after the first talk, Odom understood that this was just Duncans way of paying attention, and discovered that he was not only athletically talented, but also a quick learner. Eventually, despite offers by the University of Hartford, the University of Delaware and Providence College. In the year before Duncans arrival at Wake Forest University, the Demon Deacons reached the Sweet 16, but then lost main scorer Rodney Rogers, Duncans style of play was simple but effective, combining an array of low-post moves, mid-range bank shots and tough defense. He was chosen to represent the U. S. in the 1994 Goodwill Games, meanwhile, Duncan worked towards a degree in psychology and also took classes in anthropology and Chinese literature. Despite focusing heavily on basketball, Wake Forest psychology department chairperson Deborah Best was quoted, other than his height, I couldnt tell him from any other student at Wake Forest
Tim Duncan
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Duncan in 2011
Tim Duncan
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Duncan at the
free throw line in 2005
Tim Duncan
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Duncan (middle) and the Spurs at the
White House after winning the
2003 NBA Finals
Tim Duncan
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Duncan backs down
Ben Wallace in a 2005 game.
5.
Official (basketball)
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In basketball, an official is a person who has the responsibility to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, officials are usually referred to as referees, however, generally there is one lead referee and one or two umpires, depending on whether there is a two- or three-person crew. In the NBA, the official is called the crew chief. In FIBA-sanctioned play, two-man crews consist of a referee and an umpire, regardless, both classes of officials have equal rights to control almost all aspects of the game. In most cases, the lead official performs the jump ball to begin the contest, though NFHS, in American high school and college basketball, the officials generally wear black and white striped shirts with black side panels, black pants and black shoes. Some state high school association allow officials to wear shirts with black pin strips instead of the black. NBA officials wear shirts with black slacks and black shoes. The NBA shirt is grey with black colored shoulders and sleeves, the WNBA referee shirt is similar to the NBA referee shirt, except that its shoulder and sleeve colors are orange and the WNBA logo takes the place of the NBA logo. FIBA officials wear a grey and black official referee shirt, black trousers, black socks, officials in competitions organized by Euroleague Basketball —the Euroleague and Eurocup—wear an orange referee shirt. Officials in the Israel Basketball Association generally wear the Euroleagues orange uniform shirt, most officials slacks are currently belt-less, while most officials shirts are collar-less, V-neck shirts. All officials wear a whistle that is used to play as a result of a foul or a violation on the court. In all instances of officiating, hand signals are used to indicate the nature of the infraction or to administer the game, in higher levels of college and professional ball, all officials wear a timing device on the belt-line called PTS. The device is used by on court officials to start and stop the clock in a timely manner, rather than waiting for the scoreboard operator to do so. The officials must ensure that the game runs smoothly, and this encompasses a variety of different responsibilities, from calling the game to player and spectator management. They also carry a duty of care to the players they officiate and to ensure that the court and all equipment used is in a safe and usable condition. Should there be an issue that inhibits the safe playing of the game, quite often, the job of an official surpasses that of the game at hand, as they must overcome unforeseen situations that may or may not have an influence on the game. There are two methods for officiating a basketball game, either two-person or three-person mechanics depending on how many officials are available to work the game. In two-person mechanics, each official works either the lead or the trail position, the lead position is normally along the baseline of the court, with the trail position having its starting point at the free throw line extended on the left side of the court facing the basket
Official (basketball)
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An official making a call in a 2008 college basketball game
Official (basketball)
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NBA referees
Monty McCutchen (center), Tom Washington (#49) and Brent Barnaky reviewing a play.
6.
Joe Crawford (basketball, born 1951)
–
Joseph Joey Crawford is an American retired professional basketball referee who worked in the National Basketball Association between 1977 and 2016. Crawford, who wore uniform number 17, was one of the strictest officials in the NBA and he appeared in 29 of the last 30 NBA Finals series, missing only the 2007 NBA Finals, due to suspension. In addition to games, Crawford has officiated the NBA All-Star Game in 1986,1992 and 2000, as well as the 1993 McDonalds Championship in Munich. Crawfords father, Shag Crawford, was a Major League Baseball umpire in the National League from 1956 to 1975 and his brother, Crawford currently resides in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He married Mary Crawford in 1971, He attended the high school as Tim Donaghy. And had three children, Amy Crawford, Megan Crawford, and Erin Crawford and he also has ten grandchildren, Christian, Olivia, Ava, Keira, MaryKate, Morgan, Cassidy, Brayden, Bryce, and Austin. Crawford officiated high school games in Pennsylvania for eight years from 1970 to 1977, following his work in the CBA, Crawford was hired by the NBA in 1977 at the age of 26. At the conclusion of an investigation, Crawford pleaded guilty on July 1,1998 to falsely stating income of $82,500 from 1991 to 1993. He was reinstated by NBA commissioner David Stern in 1999 and did not miss a game due to the lockout that started the 1998–99 NBA season. Crawford officiated his 2, 000th NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers on November 11,2005. He was the sixth NBA referee in history to such a milestone, joining Mendy Rudolph, Jake ODonnell, Dick Bavetta, Earl Strom. On April 15,2007, Crawford ejected San Antonio Spurs superstar Tim Duncan for supposedly laughing at Crawford from his seat on the bench during a game against the Dallas Mavericks, Duncan also supposedly insulted Crawford with an expletive. Duncan alleges that Crawford asked if he wanted to fight, on April 17, Crawford was suspended for the remainder of the 2006–07 season and the 2007 Playoffs as a result of this altercation, ending his 21 consecutive Finals appearances. The league also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official, commissioner David Stern said Crawfords actions failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees. Crawford met with officials on July 30 to discuss his future in the NBA. On September 17,2007, the NBA announced Crawfords reinstatement, Crawford admitted the Duncan incident was one of the biggest regrets of his career, saying The Duncan thing probably changed my life. It was just—you come to the realization that maybe the way youve been doing things is not the way and you have to regroup, not only on the court. I had seen a sports psychologist before that, but after, I saw him a lot more
Joe Crawford (basketball, born 1951)
–
Joey Crawford in 2008
7.
Halftime show
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A halftime show is a performance given during the brief period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions, the intermissions are usually given over to contests involving randomly selected audience members. The invention of the show is generally credited to Walter Lingo. Lingo was the owner of a dog kennel and sponsored an all-Native American football team, in addition to playing football, the Indians would provide various forms of entertainment, including exhibiting the dogs, players demonstrating their prowess. Dancing, and demonstrations of native culture, a modern halftime show can consist of cheerleading performances, majorette routines, marching bands playing music, or other spectacular performances. More common in times, especially in major games, is to reserve the entire halftime period for a short concert by a major recording artist. A halftime show is an element in an American football. During the interval between the second and third quarters some form of entertainment is presented on the field, the entertainment frequently consists of performances by marching bands. At high school and most college games, the bands of the two competing teams perform at halftime. Often, the cheerleaders and/or a dance team will perform, other activities may also take place, and these vary widely. During a professional game, a high school or college band may be brought in to perform. For the Super Bowl and Grey Cup games, a show involving world-renowned music stars, dancers, fireworks. Many football historians believe halftime shows originated with the Oorang Indians of the early National Football league, the team was a marketing ploy by Walter Lingo to sell and promote his airdales. He would lure audiences to his games with the promise of a halftime show. The team was called the Indians because they were made up entirely of Native Americans, the Indians players participated in helping the Oorang Airedales perform tricks for the crowd before and after the game. However, it was their halftime entertainment that made such a huge attraction in the early 1920s. There were shooting exhibitions with the dogs retrieving the targets, there were Native American dances and tomahawk and knife-throwing demonstrations. Indians player Nick Lassa, also called Long-Time-Sleep, even wrestled a bear on occasion, another show was a demonstration of the United States Indian scouts actions during World War I
Halftime show
–
A group of high school
marching bands performs at the halftime show of the
2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Halftime show
Halftime show
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Amy Gilliom sings at the halftime show for the
2007 Hawaii Bowl.
8.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released studio albums and experienced significant commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician. Shepherd was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and he graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport. The guitarist is completely self-taught, and does not read music, growing up, Shepherds father was a local radio personality and some-time concert promoter, and had a vast collection of music. At the age of 13, Shepherd was invited to play guitar onstage by blues musician Bryan Lee and he subsequently made demo tapes, and a video was shot at Shepherds first performance at the Red River Revel Arts Festival in Shreveport. It was this performance that impressed Giant Records chief Irving Azoff enough to sign Shepherd to a multiple album record deal. From 1995 on, Shepherd took seven singles into the Top 10, in 1996, Shepherd began a longtime collaboration with vocalist Noah Hunt, who provided the vocals for Shepherds signature song, Blue on Black. Shepherd has been nominated for five Grammy Awards, and has received two Billboard Music Awards, two Blues Music Awards and two Orville H. Gibson Awards, in September 2008, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. released the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Signature Series Stratocaster, designed exclusively by Shepherd. In 2007, he released an acclaimed and two time Grammy nominated DVD–CD project,10 Days Out, Blues from the Backroads. This documents Shepherd as he travels the country to jam with, as they tour the backroads, Shepherd, with members of the Double Trouble Band, play with a host of blues greats including Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Bryan Lee, Buddy Flett, B. B. In 2010 Shepherd was nominated for a Grammy for Live In Chicago which featured performances with Hubert Sumlin, Willie Big Eyes Smith, Buddy Flett, in 2011, Shepherd released his seventh CD entitled How I Go on Roadrunner Records. In 2014 he released Goin Home on Mascot Label Group in Europe and on Concord Records in the US, in 2015 Shepherd released Something From the Road Vol.1, a live special release for Record Store Day in the U. S. In January 2017 the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band went into the studio with producer Marshall Altman to record a new album of all newly written songs that is yet to be titled. This new album will be released in the summer of 2017 to coincide with a major European Tour in July, in 2013, Shepherd, along with Stephen Stills and Barry Goldberg, formed The Rides. The three wrote, recorded and released a CD entitled “Can’t Get Enough on August 27,2013, Stills refers to the band as “the blues band of my dreams”. The band toured the US in 2013 supporting their debut record, the three reunited in 2015, writing and recording a second release, Pierced Arrow that was released on 429 Records and Mascot Label Group in Europe in 2016. Shepherd married actor Mel Gibsons daughter, Hannah, on September 16,2006, the couple has five children, three daughters and two sons. Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band played opening act for Van Halen on their 1998 tour, Shepherd undertook a double-headliner tour in Summer 2015 with Jonny Lang
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
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Kenny Wayne Shepherd live at the
New Orleans Jazz Festival on May 1, 2010.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
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Stephen Stills and Shepherd (front) and Barry Goldberg, not visible, performing as The Rides in Boston, Sept. 7, 2013.
9.
Mary J. Blige
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Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, model, record producer and actress. My Life, in particular, is considered among the greatest albums ever recorded according to Rolling Stone, Time, for her part in combining hip hop and soul in the early 1990s and its subsequent commercial success, Blige received the Legends Award at the World Music Awards. Blige made Time magazines Time 100 list of individuals around the world in 2007. As of 2013, Blige has sold more than 50 million albums and 25 million singles worldwide, Billboard ranked Blige as the most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years. The magazine also lists her 2006 song Be Without You as the top R&B song of the 2000s, in 2011, VH1 ranked Blige as the 80th greatest artist of all time. Moreover, she is ranked number 100 on the list of 100 greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, in 2012, VH1 ranked Blige at number 9 in The 100 Greatest Women in Music. Blige also earned high remarks for her work in film and she starred in the 2009 Tyler Perry box-office hit I Can Do Bad All By Myself and played a role in the film Rock of Ages. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her contribution to the film The Help. In partnership with the Home Shopping Network and Carols Daughter, Blige released her My Life perfume, the perfume broke HSN records by selling 65,000 bottles during its premiere. The scent went on to win two FiFi Awards, including the Fragrance Sales Breakthrough award, in 2017, she stars in the period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees. Blige spent her years in Richmond Hill, Georgia, where she sang in a Pentecostal church. Blige later moved to Schlobohm Houses in Yonkers, New York, immediately north of New York City, Blige dropped out of high school in her junior year. Pursuing a musical career, Blige spent a period of time in a Yonkers band named Pride with band drummer Eddie DAprile. In early 1988, she recorded a cover of Anita Bakers Caught Up in the Rapture at a recording booth in the Galleria Mall in White Plains. Her mothers boyfriend at the later played the cassette for Jeff Redd. Redd sent it to the president and CEO of the label, Harrell met with Blige and in 1989 she was signed to the label, becoming the companys youngest and first female artist. After being signed to Uptown Records, Blige began working with record producer Puff Daddy and he became the executive producer and produced a majority of the album. Derived from Bliges past occupation as a 4-1-1 operator, it was also an indication by Blige of being the real deal, the music was described as revelatory on a frequent basis
Mary J. Blige
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Blige in January 2010
Mary J. Blige
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Blige in
Hamburg, Germany 2000
Mary J. Blige
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Blige performing in July 2007.
Mary J. Blige
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Blige performing at Bumbershoot in September 2010.
10.
LL Cool J
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James Todd Smith, known professionally as LL Cool J, is an American rapper, actor, author, and entrepreneur from Queens, New York. LL Cool J is also known as one of the forefathers of pop rap and he has released 13 studio albums and two greatest hits compilations. His twelfth album Exit 13, was his last for his deal with Def Jam Recordings. His latest album, Authentic, was released in April 2013, in 2010, VH1 considered him to be in their 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time list. LL Cool J has also appeared in films, including In Too Deep, Any Given Sunday. He currently stars in a role as NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, on the CBS crime drama television series NCIS. LL Cool J is also the host of Lip Sync Battle on Spike, LL Cool J was born James Todd Smith on January 14,1968, in Bay Shore, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffeth and James Louis Smith, Jr. In an episode of Finding Your Roots, LL learned his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith, the series genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified LLs biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through analysis of his DNA. LLs biological great-uncle was hall of fame boxer, John Henry Lewis and he began rapping at age 9 and was influenced by hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, Smith later discussed his childhood background and rapping, stating that By the time I got that equipment, I was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap and its like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house. I got into it when I was about 9, and since then all I wanted was to make a record and hear it on the radio. In a VH1 documentary, LL Cool J, at 14 years of age, revealed that he wanted to call himself J-Ski. Under his new name, LL Cool J, Smith was signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record. The single was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy song with spare beats, Smith later discussed his search for a label, stating I sent my demo to many different companies, but it was Def Jam where I found my home. That same year, Smith made his debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In a later interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating They pushed the lunch room tables together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, as soon as it was over there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. Right then and there I said This is what I want to do, LLs debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish both Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper
LL Cool J
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LL Cool J in 2010.
LL Cool J
LL Cool J
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LL Cool J performing in Germany.
LL Cool J
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LL Cool J performing in
Wilmington, Delaware in August 2008.
11.
NBA on NBC
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The NBA on NBC is the branding formerly used for presentations of National Basketball Association games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1955 to 1962 and again from 1990 to 2002, during NBCs partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. NBCs first tenure with the National Basketball Association began on October 30,1954, on November 9,1989, the NBA reached an agreement with the network worth US$600 million contract to broadcast the leagues games for four years, beginning with the 1990–91 season. On April 28,1993, NBC extended its exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA with a four-year, $750 million contract. NBCs coverage of the NBA began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of the season in 1990, the 1998–99 season. NBC aired the NBA All-Star Game every year, usually at 6,00 p. m. Eastern Time, in 2002, NBC aired the game an hour earlier due to the Winter Olympics later that evening. Starting in 2000, during the NBA Playoffs, NBC would air tripleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays for the first two weeks of the playoffs, prior to 2000, NBC would air a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a tripleheader on Sunday. On December 30,2000, NBC aired a rare second December game, the Saturday match was the only time that NBC aired a game between Christmas Day and the start of the regular run of games in February. In 2001, NBC was scheduled to air an October preseason game involving an NBA team playing an international team, during the 2001–02 NBA season, NBC added a significant number of Washington Wizards games to its schedule. When Jordan became injured during the middle of the season, the replaced the added Wizards games with the games that had been originally on the schedule. The theme music for the NBA on NBC broadcasts, Roundball Rock, was composed by new-age artist John Tesh. The instrumental piece, which NBC used for every telecast during the networks twelve-year tenute with the NBA, is used to this day by NBA TV for their live game coverage. After briefly considering using the theme for its NBA coverage, ABC decided against it, in the early days of the WNBA, NBC used a variant of the theme for its game telecasts of the new league. In 1991, The Dream is Still Alive by Wilson Phillips was played during the end of the season montage, afterwards, until 1996, NBC would play the rock song Winning It All by The Outfield during its end-of-season montage. From 1997 to 2001, several music pieces were used for the montage. After the 1999 Finals, NBC used Roundball Rock for their montage, the song composed by James Horner is played at the beginning of the montage as well as the end featuring footage from the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty era. This theme song has made a comeback as part of NBCs Olympic basketball coverage in 2008. The pre-game show for NBCs NBA telecasts was NBA Showtime, a title that was used from 1990 until 2000, the video game NBA Showtime, NBA on NBC, by Midway Games, was named after the pregame show
NBA on NBC
–
NBA on NBC logo used from
2000 to
2002
NBA on NBC
–
NBA on NBC logo used from
1990 to
2000.
12.
NBA on TNT
–
The NBA on TNT is Turner Network Televisions coverage of the National Basketball Association, produced by Turner Sports since 1989. TNT airs many of the NBAs marquee games, in recent years, fans have reckoned it as what NBC was during that networks coverage of the league. TNT would seem to be the NBAs preferred carrier as well, from 2003 to 2005, TNT also airs most of the big games during the regular season, and TNT studio content is streamed to NBA. com via the TNT Overtime section. Ernie Johnson Jr. has been TNTs NBA studio host since the 1990-1991 season, currently, Johnson is joined by Kenny The Jet Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille ONeal. The NBA postgame show which features the four, Inside the NBA, has gained popularity in recent years for the chemistry, occasionally, Johnson, ONeal, Smith and Barkley are joined by Chris Webber, Kevin McHale, David Aldridge or Reggie Miller. TNTs playoff coverage is nicknamed 40 Games in 40 Nights, ESPN airs the other Conference Final, with weekend coverage of the ESPN-covered series and the Finals being broadcast on ABC. For the first round, TNTs coverage of the playoffs is not exclusive, regional networks can still carry a local call. After the first round, only national coverage from TNT or ESPN/ABC is produced, starting in 2000, the NBA spread out playoff series so that only two series would play per day. TNT would air doubleheaders on most weekdays, while TBS would air one doubleheader per week, with the advent of the new NBA television deal in 2003, TNT has aired playoff games alone, including some weekday tripleheaders. The tripleheaders, which were criticized by fans and many in the media, consisted of one game at 6,00 p. m. another at 8,30 p. m. After 2003, the NBA and TNT discontinued the tripleheaders, instead settling for a doubleheader on TNT, however, when Turner Sports acquired NBA TV in 2008, the network abandoned airing the lone non-national Thursday game, instead leaving it up to the local sports networks. However, TBS may still air the start of the game in case the ongoing first game on TNT extends beyond the tip-off time of the second game. Other than their regular Thursday schedule, TNT also airs NBA regular season games on Martin Luther King Day, during which tripleheaders were still used. However, in 2011, ESPN opted to air one matinee game on MLK Day, Albert and Steve Kerr called the game. In addition, NBA TVs Fan Night games gave way to TNT on select Tuesday nights, normally the studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley would stay in the TNT Atlanta studios for all of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. The substitute studio hosts will also be on hand for Inside the NBA and the other games pre-game and halftime presentations, on May 11,2011, Turner Sports broadcast its 1, 000th playoff telecast. In July 2011, it was announced that Shaquille ONeal would join as an analyst, for the 2012–13 season, Charles Barkley occasionally filled in as a game analyst for select games. During his studio absences, Chris Webber served as a studio analyst
NBA on TNT
–
The NBA on TNT logo used from
1994 to
2001
NBA on TNT
–
NBA on TNT
NBA on TNT
–
Mike Fratello, Reggie Miller and Marv Albert, along with TNT production staff, during an NBA on TNT broadcast
13.
Bob Costas
–
Robert Quinlan Bob Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for NBC Sports television since the early 1980s. He was the prime-time host of twelve Olympic Games, from 1992 until 2016, Costas currently does play-by-play for MLB Network, hosts an interview show called Studio 42 with Bob Costas and serves as alternate play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame Football on NBC. Costas was born in Queens, New York City, and grew up in Commack and he is the son of Jayne, of Irish descent, and John George Costas, an Electrical Engineer of Greek descent. His fathers family ancestry can be traced back to the island of Kalymnos in the Aegean Sea in Greece and he graduated from Commack High School South and attended Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. In 1973, he began his career at WSYR TV and Radio in Syracuse. After graduating in 1974, he joined KMOX Radio in St. Louis, in 2001, Syracuse University honored Costas with the George Arents Award, SU’s highest alumni honor, for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting. In 2013, the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications honored him with the first Marty Glickman Award for Leadership in Sports Media. At age 22, he went to KMOX, calling play-by-play for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association in 1974, Later he would call Missouri Tigers basketball and co-host KMOXs Open Line call-in program. He was a prominent contributor to the ABA book Loose Balls, The Short and he is extensively quoted on many topics. The book includes his reflections of ABA life during his tenure as radio voice of the Spirits of St. Louis, Costas later did play-by-play for Chicago Bulls broadcasts on WGN-TV during the 1979–1980 NBA season. He was also employed by CBS Sports as a regional CBS NFL and CBS NBA announcer from 1976 to 1979, after which he moved to NBC. When Costas was hired by NBC, Don Ohlmeyer, who at the ran the networks sports division. Costas would recite this anecdote during an appearance on Late Night with Conan OBrien, Ohlmeyer based his reaction on Costass modest stature and boyish, baby-faced appearance. For many years, Costas hosted NBCs National Football League coverage and he also did play-by-play for National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball coverage. With the introduction of the NBC Sports Network, Costas also became the host of the new monthly interview program Costas Tonight. On March 30,2015, it was announced Costas would join forces with Marv Albert, Costas was added to serve as a special contributor for the event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. He would narrate and write a feature on the history of boxing in New York City. He has also hosted NBCs coverage of the U. S. Open golf tournament, for baseball telecasts, he teamed with Sal Bando, Tony Kubek, and Joe Morgan and Bob Uecker
Bob Costas
–
Costas in 2014.
14.
Doug Collins (basketball)
–
Paul Douglas Doug Collins is an American retired basketball player and coach and current television analyst. He was the first overall pick of the 1973 NBA draft and he has been an NBA coach, coaching the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. Currently, Collins serves as an analyst for the NBA on ESPN and he is a recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Award. Collins was born in Christopher, Illinois and he grew up in Benton, Illinois, where his next door neighbour was future film star John Malkovich. Collins was chosen to represent the United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the United States was undefeated in Olympic basketball competition history, and widely expected to remain undefeated after these Olympics. After Collins hit two free throws near the end of the game, the United States had a 50–49 lead. However, confusion over a call and subsequent issues with the game clock led the games officials to restart the games final three seconds two times. On their final attempt, the Soviets made a layup to take a lead and this gave the U. S. its first ever Olympic loss by a 51–50 margin. Collins and his teammates refused to accept the medals after the game in protest of the officiating. After that controversial game, Collins went on to be drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers and he played eight seasons for Philadelphia, and was an all star three times. In 1976–77, he joined Julius Erving leading the Sixers to the NBA Finals, a rash of injuries to his feet and left knee beginning in 1979, would end Collins career in 1981. In all, he played 415 NBA games, scoring 7427 points, after his retirement, Collins turned to coaching. He joined Bob Weinhauers staff at the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant coach, in May 1986, Collins was named head coach of the Chicago Bulls, the team featured a young Michael Jordan who was entering his third season. Despite having Jordan, the Bulls were coming off a 30-52 season, Collins immediately helped the Bulls turn around their fortunes, showing an improvement of 10 games in each of his first two seasons, coaching Chicago to a 50-32 record in his second year. Despite the Bulls success and his popularity in Chicago, Collins was fired in the summer of 1989, Collins was named the head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1995. His arrival in Detroit was similar to his in Chicago, as the Pistons had a star who drew comparisons to Michael Jordan. A fast start in his second season pushed Hill to the top of MVP consideration, the highlight of the year for Collins came on April 13, when the Pistons defeated the defending champion Bulls to end Detroits 19-game losing streak against Chicago. The Pistons finished 54-28 and lost in the first round of playoffs to the Atlanta Hawks and he served as Pistons head coach until February 2,1998, when he was fired and replaced by Alvin Gentry
Doug Collins (basketball)
–
Collins as head coach of the 76ers in November 2010
15.
2001 NBA All-Star Game
–
The 2001 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 11,2001 at the MCI Center in Washington, D. C. home of the Washington Wizards. This game was the 50th edition of the North American National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 2000–01 NBA season, Allen Iverson was named the games Most Valuable Player after he rallied the East to garner an improbable 111–110 comeback victory over the West. The East trailed 95–74 with nine minutes left after the West dominated the first 39 minutes behind its superior size, Iverson sparked the comeback scoring 15 of his 25 points in the final nine minutes of the game. Stephon Marbury also helped the East by hitting two three-pointers in the final 53 seconds, including one with 28 seconds left, which proved to be the game-winner. Kobe Bryant scored the most points for the West squad, which led by as much as twenty-one points before the team squandered the lead. Bryant, the NBAs leading scorer at the time, could have taken the last shot, instead, the coach for the Western Conference team was Sacramento Kings head coach Rick Adelman. The Kings had a 31-15 record on February 11, the coach for the Eastern Conference team was Philadelphia 76ers head coach Larry Brown. The 76ers had a 36-14 record on February 11, the rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot, two guards, two forwards and one center who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences, the coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consist of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position, if a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement. For the second year, Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors was the lead vote-getter with 1,717,687. He was closely followed by Allen Iverson, who earned his second consecutive All-Star appearances, tracy McGrady, Grant Hill, and Alonzo Mourning completed the Eastern Conference starting position. This was the first All-Star appearance by McGrady, Iverson, Hill, and Mourning were all starters the previous year. The Eastern Conference reserves included two first-time selections, Theo Ratliff and Stephon Marbury, the other reserves were Dikembe Mutombo, Ray Allen, Allan Houston, Glenn Robinson, Latrell Sprewell, and Jerry Stackhouse. Because of injuries to Mourning and Hill, Antonio Davis and Anthony Mason were selected as replacements, the Western Conferences leading vote-getter was Shaquille ONeal, who earned his eight consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,541,298 votes. Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Chris Webber, and Tim Duncan completed the Western Conference starting positions, Kidd, Bryant, Duncan, and ONeal were starters for the previous years Western Conference team, while Webber was a reserve. The Western Conference reserves include two first-time selections, Vlade Divac and Antonio McDyess, the team was rounded out by Gary Payton, Michael Finley, Rasheed Wallace, Karl Malone, and David Robinson
2001 NBA All-Star Game
–
Larry Brown, of the 76ers, was selected as the Eastern Conference head coach.
2001 NBA All-Star Game
–
Shaquille O'Neal received the most votes for the West, for the second consecutive year.
16.
Exhibition game
–
An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the players or the teams rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. In team sports, matches of this type are used to help coaches and managers select. If the players play in different teams in other leagues. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team, international competitions like the Olympic Games may also hold exhibition games as part of a demonstration sport. In the early days of football, known simply as football or soccer. However, since the development of The Football League in England in 1888, league tournaments became established, in addition to lengthy derby, since the introduction of league football, most club sides play a number of friendlies before the start of each season. Friendly football matches are considered to be non-competitive and are used to warm up players for a new season/competitive match. There is generally nothing competitive at stake and some rules may be changed or experimented with, although these events may involve sponsorship deals and the awarding of a trophy and may even be broadcast on television, there is little prestige attached to them. Frequently such games take place between a club and small clubs that play nearby, such as those between Newcastle United and Gateshead. International teams also play friendlies, generally in preparation for the qualifying or final stages of major tournaments and this is essential, since national squads generally have much less time together in which to prepare. The biggest difference between friendlies at the club and international levels is that international friendlies mostly take place during club league seasons and this has on occasion led to disagreement between national associations and clubs as to the availability of players, who could become injured or fatigued in a friendly. Players can be booked in international friendlies, and can be suspended from international matches based on red cards or accumulated yellows in a specified period. Caps and goals scored also count towards a players career records, in the UK and Ireland, exhibition match and friendly match refer to two different types of matches. A bounce game is generally a non-competitive football match played between two sides usually as part of an exercise or to give players match practice. Managers may also use bounce games as an opportunity to observe a player in action before offering a contract, usually these games are played on a training ground rather than in a stadium with no spectators in attendance. Exhibition fights were common in boxing. Jack Dempsey fought many exhibition bouts after retiring, joe Louis fought a charity fight on his rematch with Buddy Baer, but this was not considered an exhibition as it was for Louis world Heavyweight title. Muhammad Ali fought many exhibitions, including one with Lyle Alzado, in more modern times, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jorge Castro have been involved in exhibition fights
Exhibition game
–
Sydney FC playing a friendly match against the
Los Angeles Galaxy at
ANZ Stadium in 2007.
Exhibition game
–
Exhibition game
17.
Oakland Arena
–
Oracle Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States, that is the home of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. The arena opened in 1966 and is the oldest arena in the NBA, from its opening until 1996 it was known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed The Arena in Oakland until 2005 and it is often referred to as the Oakland Coliseum Arena as it is located adjacent to the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum. Oracle Arena seats 19,596 fans for basketball and 17,200 for ice hockey, the arena has been the home to the Golden State Warriors since 1971, except the one-year hiatus while the arena was undergoing renovations. It had been used by the Warriors intermittently as early as 1966, the California Golden Bears of the Pac-10 played the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons at the arena while their primary home, Harmon Gym, was being renovated into Haas Pavilion. For some years before then, the Bears played occasional games against popular non-conference opponents at the arena, the arenas first tenants were the California Seals of the Western Hockey League, who moved across the bay from the Cow Palace in 1966. The owners of the San Francisco Seals had been awarded a franchise in the National Hockey League on the condition they move out the Cow Palace. The team changed its name from San Francisco Seals to California Seals in order to draw fans from both San Francisco and Oakland. The Seals franchise continued to play at the arena after having transferred to the NHL, the Coliseum also hosted the American Basketball Associations Oakland Oaks, a charter member of the new ABA in 1967. The Oaks signed San Francisco Warriors star Rick Barry away from the rival National Basketball Association in 1968, the team was owned by entertainer Pat Boone and also had stars Larry Brown and Doug Moe on its roster. Brown and Barry are in the Basketball Hall of Fame, after a 22–56 record in their first season, the Oaks went 60–18 during the regular season in 1968–69. The Oaks then defeated the Denver Rockets, New Orleans Buccaneers, however, the team was plagued by poor attendance and Boone sold the team following their ABA Championship. They were relocated to Washington and became the Washington Caps, the Bay Bombers as well as the Golden Bay Earthquakes of the original MISL during the 1982–83 season and the Oakland Skates, a professional roller hockey team, all played there from 1993 to 1995. Over the years, the arena became increasingly outdated, lacking the luxuries of newer ones, with just over 15,000 seats, it was one of the smallest arenas in the league. The original arenas external walls, roof and foundation remained intact, the renovation began in mid-1996 and was completed in time for the Warriors to return in the fall of 1997. Included in the renovation was a new LED centerhung scoreboard and 360-degree fascia display, the new configuration seats 19,596 for basketball and 17,200 for ice hockey. On October 20,2006, the Golden State Warriors and the Oracle Corporation announced a 10-year agreement in which the Oakland Arena would be known as The Oracle, the O, as it is often referred to, will continue to be managed by Oakland–Alameda County Authority and SMG. The JPA approved the deal at its November 10 meeting, a formal press conference of the agreement was held on October 30
Oakland Arena
Oakland Arena
–
Oracle Arena
Oakland Arena
–
A record-breaking crowd watching the Warriors in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.
Oakland Arena
–
An interior view of Oracle Arena.
18.
Golden State Warriors
–
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The team was established in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1962, the franchise relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and was renamed the San Francisco Warriors. In 1971, the changed its geographic moniker to Golden State. Since 1972, the home court has been the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The team is nicknamed the Dubs, the Warriors have reached eight NBA Finals, winning four NBA championships in 1947,1956,1975 and most recently in 2015 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers. Golden States four NBA championships are the fifth most in history only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls. Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry have both named the NBAs Most Valuable Player while playing for the Warriors, for a total of three MVP awards. Golden State holds the NBA record for best regular season with 73–9, the Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach, the owners named the team after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the American Basketball League in 1925. Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, the won the championship in the leagues inaugural 1946–47 season by defeating the Chicago Stags. The NBA, which was created by a 1949 merger, officially recognizes that as its own first championship, Gottlieb bought the team in 1951. The Warriors won its championship in Philadelphia in the 1955–56 season. The Warrior stars of this era were future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, in 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as Wilt the Stilt, he led the team in scoring six times, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records, in 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors. Prior to the 1963–64 NBA season, the Warriors drafted big man Nate Thurmond to go along with Chamberlain, the Warriors won the Western Division crown that season, but lost the 1964 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics, four games to one. In the 1964–65 season, the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and $150,000 and won only 17 games
Golden State Warriors
–
The Warriors' 1974-75 championship banner.
Golden State Warriors
–
Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
–
A ticket for a
1988-89 game between the Warriors and the
Jazz.
Golden State Warriors
–
The Warriors gathered together during the team's starting lineup ceremony prior to their
2011-12 exhibition opener against the Sacramento Kings.
19.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
North America
–
Map of North America, from 1621.
North America
–
North America
North America
–
The
El Castillo pyramid, at
Chichén Itzá, Mexico.
North America
–
Benjamin West 's
The Death of General Wolfe (1771) depicting the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
20.
National Basketball Association
–
The National Basketball Association is the major mens professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier mens professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, and is a member of USA Basketball. The NBA is one of the four professional sports leagues in the United States. NBA players are the worlds best paid athletes by average annual salary per player, the league was founded in New York City on June 6,1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3,1949, the leagues 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 New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, 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, the first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly 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 leagues 1948 title, Following the 1948–49 season, the BAA took in the remainder of the NBL, Syracuse, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan, Denver, and Waterloo. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as arenas and smaller gymnasiums. The process of contraction saw the leagues smaller-city franchises move to larger cities, the Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and then to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati 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 player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships, 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 goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and 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, russells 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
National Basketball Association
–
The
headquarters of the National Basketball Association in the
Olympic Tower at 645
Fifth Avenue,
Midtown Manhattan,
New York City,
USA.
National Basketball Association
–
Cities that hosted teams that played for more than one season in the NBA and/or
BAA from 1947–1959. Only
New York,
Boston, and
Detroit still have the same franchise.
National Basketball Association
–
Bill Russell defending
Wilt Chamberlain in 1966.
National Basketball Association
–
Los Angeles Lakers'
Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics'
Larry Bird in Game Two of the
1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden.
21.
1999-2000 NBA season
–
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the 54th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA championship, effective this season, the first game of the NBA regular season begins on either the first Tuesday of November or the last Tuesday of October, and the last game on the third Wednesday of April. The NBA playoffs begin on the third Saturday of April, the 2000 NBA All-Star Game held in Oakland, California. Tim Duncan from the San Antonio Spurs and Shaquille ONeal from the Los Angeles Lakers shared the games MVP honors, the Slam Dunk Contest returned after a two-year absence, with Vince Carter winning the title. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers played their first games at the Staples Center, the Lakers would also go on to win 19 consecutive games between February 4,2000, and March 16,2000, the sixth-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Denver Nuggets played their first game at the Pepsi Center, the Indiana Pacers played their first game at the Conseco Fieldhouse. The Indiana Pacers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, the Atlanta Hawks played their first game at the Philips Arena. The Miami Heat started the season playing their games at Miami Arena. In January, they played their first game at the AmericanAirlines Arena, the Toronto Raptors played their first full season at the Air Canada Centre. They also made the playoffs for the first time becoming the first Canadian team to do so, during Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers held a 75-60 lead over the Los Angeles Lakers with 10,28 left to play. During the fourth quarter, the Blazers would miss thirteen consecutive shots, allowing the Lakers to claw back and take the game, the game was capped off with a famous alley-oop to Shaquille ONeal from Kobe Bryant. Two players were killed in accidents within four months of each other. On January 12, Bobby Phills of the Charlotte Hornets was killed in reckless driving while racing against teammate David Wesley. On May 20, Malik Sealy of the Minnesota Timberwolves was driving home from a party being held for Kevin Garnett. San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Elliott was sidelined for most of the season while undergoing kidney transplant operations and he successfully returned on March 13, becoming the first player to return following kidney transplant. The Boston Celtics officially retired their trademark parquet floor on December 22,1999, the floor would be replaced by a replica combining elements of the old floor and new wooden sections. Doc Rivers became the first recipient of the NBA Coach of the Year Award to have not led his team to the playoffs. He coached the Orlando Magic to a respectable 41-41 record, good enough for the 9th seed in the East The season marked Patrick Ewings last in a New York Knicks uniform and he was traded during the 2000 offseason to the Seattle SuperSonics in a three-team deal
1999-2000 NBA season
–
Players warming up prior to an April 2000 game between the
Charlotte Hornets and the season's eventual Eastern Conference champions Indiana Pacers at the
Charlotte Coliseum.
22.
Allen Iverson
–
Allen Ezail Iverson is an American retired professional basketball player who played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He played both the guard and point guard positions. Iverson was an eleven-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star game MVP award in 2001 and 2005, Iverson attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, and was a dual-sport athlete. He earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in football and basketball, and won the Division AAA Virginia state championship in both sports. After high school, Iverson attended Georgetown University for two years, where he set the record for career scoring average and won Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards both years. Following two successful years at Georgetown, Iverson declared eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick and he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season. Winning the NBA scoring title during the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 and his regular season career scoring average of 26.7 points per game ranks sixth all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points per game is second only to Michael Jordan. Iverson was also the NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 season, Iverson represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. He also played for the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson was rated the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time by ESPN in 2008. He officially announced his retirement from basketball on October 30,2013. On April 4,2016, Iverson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Allen Iverson was born on June 7,1975 in Hampton, Virginia to a single 15-year-old mother, Ann Iverson and he attended Bethel High School, where he started as quarterback for the school football team, while also playing running back, kick returner and defensive back. He also started as point guard for the basketball team. During his junior year, Allen was able to both teams to Virginia state championships, as well as earning The Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both sports. On February 14,1993, Iverson and several of his friends were involved in an altercation with several patrons at an alley in Hampton. Allegedly, Iversons crowd was raucous and had to be asked to quiet down several times, shortly thereafter, a huge fight erupted, pitting the white crowd against the black crowd. During the fight, Iverson allegedly struck a woman in the head with a chair and he, along with three of his friends who are also black, were the only people arrested. Iverson, who was 17 at the time, was convicted as an adult of the charge of maiming by mob
Allen Iverson
–
Iverson in 2008
Allen Iverson
–
Allen Iverson attempting a free throw against the Lakers
Allen Iverson
–
Allen Iverson and then-teammate
John Salmons
Allen Iverson
–
Allen Iverson during his tenure with the Nuggets
23.
Phil Jackson
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Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998, during which Chicago won six NBA championships. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five championships from 2000 until 2010, in total, Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach, surpassing the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He also won two championships as a player with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, and holds the NBA record for the most combined championships as a player and a head coach. Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winters triangle offense as well as an approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern philosophy. Jackson cites Robert Pirsigs book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of the guiding forces in his life. He also applies Native American spiritual practices as documented in his book Sacred Hoops and he is the author of several candid books about his teams and his basketball strategies. Jackson is also a recipient of the state of North Dakotas Roughrider Award, in 2007, Jackson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, as part of celebrations for the National Basketball Associations 50th anniversary and he retired from coaching in 2011 before joining the Knicks as an executive in March 2014. Jackson was born in Deer Lodge, Montana, both of his parents, Charles and Elisabeth Funk Jackson, were Assemblies of God ministers. Elisabeth came from a line of German Mennonites before her conversion to the Assemblies of God. In the churches that served, his father generally preached on Sunday mornings. Eventually, his became an ministerial supervisor. Phil, his two brothers, and his half-sister grew up in a area of Montana in an austere environment. Jackson did not see his first movie until he was a senior in high school, growing up, he assumed he would become a minister. Jackson attended high school in Williston, North Dakota, where he played varsity basketball and he also played football, was a pitcher on the baseball team, and threw the discus in track and field competitions. The high school now has a complex named after him. His brother Chuck speculated years later that the three Jackson sons threw themselves passionately into athletics because it was the time they were allowed to do what other children were doing. Jackson attracted the attention of baseball scouts
Phil Jackson
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Jackson in 2009
Phil Jackson
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Jackson circa 1968
Phil Jackson
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Michael Jordan (left) and Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
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Phil Jackson coaching the Lakers
24.
Jeff Van Gundy
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Jeffrey William Jeff Van Gundy is an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He is a commentator for ESPN. He has previously been the coach of the New York Knicks. Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California and he grew up in the town of Martinez, California. He is the son of a coach, Bill Van Gundy. Jeffs older brother, Stan, later head coach of the NBAs Miami Heat and Orlando Magic and is currently the Head Coach. As a high-school point guard, he was a two-time All Greater Rochester selection in 1979 and 1980 and he continued his career at Nazareth College where he earned All American honors while leading the Golden Flyers to an NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1984. He remains the Nazareth career leader in free throw percentage at 86. 8%, Van Gundy attended Yale University before transferring to Menlo College and ultimately graduated from New Yorks Nazareth College in 1985. Van Gundy began his coaching career during the 1985-86 season at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester. The following year he became an assistant under Rick Pitino at Providence College. In his second season with the Friars he was promoted to assistant coach under Gordon Chiesa, the next season, Van Gundy became an assistant coach under Bob Wenzel at Rutgers. On July 28,1989, Van Gundy became assistant coach for the New York Knicks, the next six-and-a-half seasons were spent providing support to Knicks coaches Stu Jackson, John MacLeod, Pat Riley and Don Nelson. During his tenure as an assistant coach the Knicks won three Atlantic Division titles, never finished lower than third in the division, and qualified for the every year. The Knicks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1993 and the NBA Finals versus the Houston Rockets in 1994, on March 8,1996, Van Gundy was named head coach of the New York Knicks, taking over the reigns from Don Nelson. In his second game as coach, he led the Knicks to a 32–point blowout win over the Michael Jordan–led Chicago Bulls. Van Gundy was unable to change that trend in the postseason, in his first full season as coach, the Knicks tied for the third-best record in franchise history at 57–25. Van Gundy created a scene in the 1998 NBA Playoffs series between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. Most memorably, the 5 ft 9 in,150 lb Van Gundy fell to the floor, suspensions from the brawl helped Miami overcome New Yorks 3–1 series lead to win, and started a rivalry between the teams
Jeff Van Gundy
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Jeff Van Gundy (right) was the coach for the Rockets from 2003 to 2007.
25.
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
Los Angeles Lakers
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Hall of Famer George Mikan (#99) led the Lakers franchise to their first five NBA championships. He is described by the NBA's official website as the "first superstar" in league history.
Los Angeles Lakers
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Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
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Minneapolis team co-owner Benjamin Berger
Los Angeles Lakers
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Jerry West led the team to nine NBA Finals appearances in the 1960s and 1970s. Nicknamed "Mr. Clutch", his silhouette is featured on the NBA's official logo.
26.
New York Knicks
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The New York Knickerbockers, commonly referred to as the Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other is the Brooklyn Nets, along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city. The Knicks were successful during their years and were constant playoff contenders under the franchises first head coach Joe Lapchick. Beginning in 1950, the Knicks made three appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts. Lapchick resigned in 1956 and the team began to falter. It was not until the late 1960s when Red Holzman became head coach that the Knicks began to regain their former dominance, Holzman successfully guided the Knicks to two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973. The Knicks of the 1980s had mixed success that included six playoff appearances, however, the playoff-level Knicks of the 1990s were led by future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, this era was marked by passionate rivalries with the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. During this time, they were known for playing tough defense under head coaches Pat Riley, during this era, the Knicks made two appearances in the NBA Finals, in 1994 and 1999, though they were unable to win an NBA championship. Since 2000, the Knicks have struggled to regain their former glory, in 2012–13, the franchise won its first division title in 19 years, but was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. According to a 2016 Forbes report, the Knicks were the most-valuable NBA franchise, in 1946, basketball, particularly college basketball, was a growing and increasingly profitable sport in New York City. Hockey was another sport at the time and generated considerable profits, however. Max Kase, a New York sportswriter, became the editor at the Boston American in the 1930s. Kase developed the idea of a professional league to showcase college players upon their graduation. Brown, intrigued by the opportunity to attain additional income when the teams were not playing or on the road. Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter, retired sportswriter and then president of Madison Square Garden, was in attendance, Kase originally planned to own and operate the New York franchise himself and approached Irish with a proposal to lease the Garden. Irish explained that the rules of the Arena Managers Association of America stated that Madison Square Garden was required to own any professional teams played in the arena
New York Knicks
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Lapchick was responsible for leading the Knicks during their early success. However, these ventures never culminated with a win in the
NBA Finals.
New York Knicks
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New York Knicks
New York Knicks
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William 'Red' Holzman guided the Knicks to two championships during his tenure.
New York Knicks
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Walt 'Clyde' Frazier
27.
Vince Carter
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Vincent Lamar Vince Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and plays shooting guard and small forward. A high school McDonalds All-American, Carter played three years at the University of North Carolina and he won the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and won the Slam Dunk Contest at the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend. That summer, he represented the United States in the Summer Olympics and he quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his leaping ability and slam dunks, earning him nicknames such as Vinsanity, Air Canada, and Half-Man, Half-Amazing. He led the Raptors to their first three playoff appearances, in 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets, and he helped lead them to three playoff berths. In July 2009, Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic and he joined the Mavericks in 2011 and the Grizzlies in 2014. Carter scored his 20, 000th career point in 2011, becoming the 37th player in history to do so. Off the court, Carter established his Embassy of Hope Foundation, assisting children and their families in Florida, New Jersey and Toronto. He was recognized in 2000 as Child Advocate of the Year by the Childrens Home Society, during the 1997–1998 season, he was a member of new coach Guthridges Six Starters system that featured Antawn Jamison, Shammond Williams, Ed Cota, Ademola Okulaja, and Makhtar NDiaye. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Carter helped North Carolina to consecutive ACC Mens Basketball Tournament titles and Final Four appearances. He finished the 1997–98 season with a 15.6 points per game average and was named second-team All-American, First-Team All-ACC, in May 1998, Carter declared for the 1998 NBA draft, following his classmate Jamison, who had declared earlier that spring. During his NBA career, Carter continued his coursework at North Carolina, the Raptors struggled in their early years as did their expansion cousins, the Vancouver Grizzlies. Carter was instrumental in leading the Raptors to the playoffs in 2000 for the first time in franchise history and he also led them to a then-franchise high of 47 wins and their first ever playoff series win in 2001, advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Carters rookie season was the shortened 50-game 1999 season, after the NBA locked out its players in 1998–99, Carter started almost every game for coach Butch Carter, averaged 18.3 points per game, and eventually won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He won the contest by performing an array of dunks including a 360° windmill, ESPN referred to the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest as, one of the most memorable contests in the entire run. In Carters first two seasons, he and his distant cousin Tracy McGrady formed a formidable one-two punch as Raptor teammates. The two led the Raptors to their first playoff berth in the 2000 NBA Playoffs, but they were swept in the first round by the New York Knicks, in three games. Upon McGradys departure to the Orlando Magic as an agent in a sign and trade deal
Vince Carter
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Vince Carter
Vince Carter
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Carter during his tenure with the Raptors
Vince Carter
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Carter and
Yi Jianlian in 2009
Vince Carter
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Carter takes a layup against his former team.
28.
Toronto Raptors
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The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, when the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian-based team in the NBA. They originally played their games at the SkyDome, before moving eastward along Bremner Boulevard to the Air Canada Centre in 1999. Carter was instrumental in leading the team to a then-franchise high 47 wins and their first playoff win in 2001. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress, after Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader. In the 2007–08 season, they advanced to the playoffs again, after Masai Ujiri was brought in as the new General Manager in 2013, he traded Bargnani to the New York Knicks. With a backcourt led by Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors returned to the playoffs, won their second Atlantic Division title, however, they failed for a fourth consecutive time to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs. In the 2015–16 season, they won a franchise record 56 games, Bitove and Allan Slaight of Slaight Communications each owned 44%, with the Bank of Nova Scotia, David Peterson, and Phil Granovsky being minority partners. Wagering on NBA games in Ontario nearly cost Toronto the expansion franchise, as a result, a nationwide contest was held to help name the team and develop their colours and logo. Over 2,000 entries were narrowed down to eleven prospects, Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, the name Raptor is a common informal name for the velociraptor, a swift medium-sized dromaeosaurid theropod non-avian dinosaur. On May 24,1994, the logo and first General Manager. As part of the deal, Thomas received an option to purchase part of the team and he would purchase 4. 5% in May 1995 and a further 4. 5% in December 1995, half each from Bitove and Slaight, decreasing their share to 39. 5%. The teams colours of red, purple, black, and silver were also revealed, Naismith silver was chosen as an ode to Canadian James Naismith. As General Manager, Isiah Thomas quickly staffed the management positions with his own personnel, the teams roster was then filled as a result of an expansion draft in 1995. Following a coin flip, Toronto was given first choice and selected Chicago Bulls point guard, Armstrong refused to report for training and Thomas promptly traded him to the Golden State Warriors for power forwards Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander. Thomas then selected a range of players in the expansion draft, including veterans Jerome Kersey, Willie Anderson. Subsequent to the draft, the Raptors landed the seventh pick in the NBA draft lottery, behind their fellow 1995 expansion club
Toronto Raptors
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SkyDome, known as
Rogers Centre since 2005, was the original venue for Raptors home games from 1995 to 1999.
Toronto Raptors
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Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
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The Raptors moved to the
Air Canada Centre in 1999 and set NBA attendance records for the following three seasons.
Toronto Raptors
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Vince Carter, drafted fifth in the
1998 NBA draft, played his first six seasons in the NBA with the Raptors.
29.
Eddie Jones (basketball)
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Eddie Charles Jones is an American retired professional basketball player who played for several teams in his 14-year National Basketball Association career. Jones played college basketball at Temple University and was the 1993–94 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, the three-time NBA All-Star was selected 10th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers raised some eyebrows when they selected Jones with the 10th overall selection, but then-Lakers general manager Jerry West wasnt swayed by the critics and drafted Jones anyway. We wanted the best pure athlete available, and Eddie was too good to pass up, in his rookie season Jones averaged 14.0 points per game and 2.05 steals per game as he played in 64 games,58 of which he started. He also led the NBA in steal/turnover ratio, placed 4th in the NBA Rookie of the Year ballot, in the 94–95 All-Star weekend Rookie Challenge he won the MVP, posting a game-high 25 points,6 steals, and 4 rebounds. With his combination of size, athleticism, and defense, Jones began to draw comparisons to another former Lakers great. The younger Lakers managed to push the Spurs to six games before losing the series, the following year featured Jones solidifying his position as the teams starting shooting guard, as Jones started 66 of 70 games and averaged 12.8 points a game for the season. The Lakers improved their record to 53 wins, bolstered by the midseason return of franchise legend Magic Johnson out of retirement. The Lakers made the playoffs again, but could not defeat the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, Jones averaged 17.3 points in the series. After his second season, Jones switched from number 25 to 6 and he selected 6 as growing up he was a fan of Julius Erving. In the offseason, the team acquired superstar center Shaquille ONeal, Jones played and started in 80 games, placing second in the team in scoring with 17.2 points and fourth in the league in steals with 2.4 a game. He also played in his first NBA All-Star Game, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes in the 1997 NBA All-Star Game. Led by ONeal, the Lakers won 56 games before defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs, Jones struggled in the playoffs, as his scoring average fell to 11.2 in the postseason. In the 1997–1998 season, Jones averaged 16.9 points with 2 steals a game and his pesky defense also earned him a selection to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. The Lakers won 61 games and defeated Portland and Seattle in the first, the team failed to win a game in the conference finals against the Utah Jazz however, as the veteran team swept the Lakers. Jones averaged 17 points with 2 steals in 13 playoff games, R. Reid and B. J. Armstrong on March 10,1999. Jones was missed by Laker fans following the trade, and the chants of EDDIE, EDDIE. were unmistakable during home games in seasons afterwards. Jones was also voted to start at guard for the Eastern Conference in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, the Hornets won 49 games and made the playoffs, losing in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers in 4 games
Eddie Jones (basketball)
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Jones in February 2007 with the Miami Heat.
30.
Grant Hill
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Grant Henry Hill is an American retired basketball player. Hill played for four teams in his career in the National Basketball Association, the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns. Hills parents are retired NFL Pro Bowl running back Calvin Hill and he and his father were Rookies of the Year in their respective sports, Hill in the NBA in 1995, and his father in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys in 1969. While playing college basketball at Duke, he was the 1994 ACC Player of the Year, a two-time NCAA All-American, and a two-time NCAA champion. As a professional he was the 1995 NBA co-Rookie of the Year, and was a seven-time NBA All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, and three-time winner of the NBA Sportsmanship Award. Touted as one of the best players in Duke history, many went as far as to say that he was one of the greatest collegiate players in his era. On June 1,2013, after 19 years in the league, Hill and Tony Ressler officially purchased the Atlanta Hawks on June 24,2015 for an estimated $730 million – $850 million. Hill decided to attend Duke University, playing four years with the Blue Devils, Duke became the first Division I program to win consecutive titles since UCLA in 1973. Despite losing two of the biggest contributors on the Blue Devils, Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley, Hill led Duke to the game once again in 1994. Hill won the Henry Iba Corinthian Award as the top defensive player in 1993. During his collegiate career, Hill became the first player in ACC history to more than 1,900 points,700 rebounds,400 assists,200 steals and 100 blocked shots. As a result of his college career, he became the eighth player in Duke history to have his jersey number retired. After his freshman season at Duke, Hill played on the bronze medal-winning U. S. team at the 1991 Pan American Games, held in Havana, with Duke down 103–102 in overtime and 2. Grant Hill was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the pick in the NBA draft after graduating from Duke in 1994. In his first season, he averaged 19.9 points,6.4 rebounds,5.0 assists and 1.77 steals per game, and became the first Pistons rookie since Isiah Thomas in 1981–82 to score 1000 points. Hill ended up sharing NBA Rookie of the Year Award honors with Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, Hill also won the Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. He was named to the all-NBA First Team in 1997, Hill also regularly played in the NBA All-Star Game, where he made history by being the first rookie to lead an NBA All-Star fan balloting in with 1,289,585 votes, narrowly defeating Shaquille ONeal. In addition, he became the first rookie in any of the four professional sports leagues to lead all-star fan voting
Grant Hill
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Hill with the Suns on December 8, 2007
