1.
Staples Center
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Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street, opening on October 17,1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles Area. It is owned and operated by the L. A. Arena Company, Staples Center is also host to over 250 events and nearly 4 million guests each year. The Los Angeles Stadium at Hollywood Park will host both the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams beginning in 2019, Staples Center measures 950,000 square feet of total space, with a 94-foot by 200-foot arena floor. The arena seats up to 19,067 for basketball,18,340 for ice hockey, two-thirds of the arenas seating, including 2,500 club seats, are in the lower bowl. There are also 160 luxury suites, including 15 event suites, the arenas attendance record is held by the fight between World WBA Welterweight Champion, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley with a crowd of 20,820 set on January 25,2009. Star Plaza Outside the arena at the Star Plaza are statues of Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson, a third statue of boxer Oscar De La Hoya was unveiled outside Staples Center on December 1,2008. On April 20,2010 a fourth statue of the long time Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn. A fifth statue of the Laker legend Jerry West dribbling was unveiled on February 17,2011, a sixth statue of Lakers player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was unveiled on November 16,2012. A seventh statue of former Kings Hall of Fame left wing Luc Robitaille was unveiled on March 7,2015, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they will honor Shaquille ONeal with a statue that was unveiled on March 24,2017. Construction broke ground in 1998 and Staples Center opened a year later and it was financed privately at a cost of US$375 million and is named for the office-supply company Staples, Inc. which was one of the centers corporate sponsors that paid for naming rights. The arena opened on October 17,1999, with a Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concert as its inaugural event. Staples Center was named Best New Major Concert Venue for 1999, on October 21,2009, Staples Center celebrated its 10th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, the official web site nominated 25 of the arenas greatest moments from its first ten years with fans voting on the top ten. The venue opened in 1999 as the home of the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA joined in 2001, while the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League joined in 2006. It became home to the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League in 2000 until the teams discontinuation in 2008. Since its opening day, the Staples Center has hosted seven NBA Finals series with the Lakers, of the teams five NBA championships since moving to the venue, the Lakers have celebrated their 2000 and 2010 victories at Staples Center with series-winning victories at home. Prior to the 2006–07 NBA season, the lighting inside Staples Center was modified for Lakers games, the lights were focused only on the court itself, reminiscent of the Lakers early years at The Forum
2.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
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
4.
Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bean Bryant is an American retired professional basketball player and businessman. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association and he entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, and ranks third on both the leagues all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career and he declared for the NBA draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, despite a feud between them, Bryant and Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was accused of assault in Colorado, but the charges were eventually dropped. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, ONeal was traded to the Miami Heat, Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers, and he led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant was awarded the regular seasons Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, he led the Lakers to two championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions. He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013, although he recovered, his play was limited the following two years by season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing his physical decline, he announced that he would be retiring after the 2015–16 season, at 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1,2010. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won medals as a member of the U. S. national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s, Bryant was born in Philadelphia, as the youngest of three children and the only son of Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the nephew of basketball player John Chubby Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan and his middle name, Bean, is derived from his fathers nickname Jellybean. When Bryant was six, his left the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak fluent Italian, during summers, he would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league
5.
Josh Groban
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Joshua Winslow Josh Groban is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. His first four albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States. As of 2012, he has sold over 25 million records worldwide, Groban originally studied acting, but moved to singing as his voice developed. Groban attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a public school on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles. David Foster called Groban to stand in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli to rehearse a duet, The Prayer, Rosie ODonnell immediately invited him to appear on her talk show. Foster asked him to sing at the California Governors Gray Davis 1999 inauguration and he was cast on Ally McBeal by the shows creator, David E. Kelley, performing Youre Still You for the 2001 season 4 finale. Groban was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lindy, a teacher, and Jack Groban. Grobans younger brother, Chris, was born on Grobans fourth birthday, Grobans father is a descendant of immigrants from Poland and Russia and converted from Judaism to Christianity when he married Grobans mother. Grobans mothers ancestry includes English, German, and Norwegian, one of her own grandfathers was Jewish, Groban first sang in public when he was in the seventh grade. His music teacher chose him to sing a solo of Swonderful at the schools cabaret night, at this time, he was more focused on acting, playing Tevye in his high schools production of Fiddler on the Roof. In the summers of 1997 and 1998, he attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Michigan, majoring in music theater. He went on to attend the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theater major, in late 1998, the 17-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, to Grammy-winning producer and arranger David Foster and future manager Brian Avnet. At the time, Groban had no recording experience and was preparing to begin studying at Carnegie Mellon University, creator David E. Kelley created character Malcolm Wyatt for Groban in the season finale aired in May 2001. The character of Malcolm Wyatt was so popular, prompting 8,000 emails from viewers, Avnet claims this sequence of events effectively got Grobans career off the ground. Groban was offered a contract at Warner Bros. Records through Fosters 143 Records imprint. Avnet told HitQuarters that Warner initially proved resistant to the deal because They were afraid they wouldnt be able to get a voice like that on radio. Explaining his reasons for signing the artist, Foster said, I love his ability in the pop and rock arena. Hes a true force to be reckoned with
6.
Rihanna
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning for its then-president. She assumed creative control for her studio album Good Girl Gone Bad. Its successful lead single Umbrella became a breakthrough in her career. After releasing four consecutive platinum albums, including the Grammy Award winner Unapologetic. Her eighth studio album Anti and its lead single Work reached number-one on the Billboard 200, with sales exceeding 230 million records worldwide, Rihanna is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Widely recognized for reinventing her style, she received the Fashion Icon lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2014. Forbes ranked Rihanna the fourth most powerful celebrity of 2012, and was named one of Times 100 Most Influential People in the World later that year, Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20,1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados. Her mother, Monica, is an accountant of African American background. Rihanna has two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, and two half-sisters and a half-brother from her fathers side, each born to different mothers from his previous relationships. She grew up in a bungalow in Bridgetown and sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Rihannas childhood was affected by her fathers addiction to crack cocaine. As a child, she went through a lot of CT scans for the excruciating headaches she suffered, even thought it was a tumor, by the time she was fourteen, Rihanna’s parents had divorced and her health began to improve. Rihanna grew up listening to music and began singing at around the age of seven. She attended Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and Combermere High School, Rihanna was an army cadet in a sub-military programme, the singer-songwriter Shontelle was her drill sergeant. Although she initially wanted to graduate high school, she chose to pursue a musical career instead. In 2003, Rihanna formed a trio with two of her classmates
7.
Kanye West
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Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. Intent on pursuing a career as a rapper, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to widespread critical and commercial success. He went on to pursue a variety of different styles on subsequent albums Late Registration, Graduation, and 808s & Heartbreak. In 2010, he released his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to rave reviews from critics, West released his abrasive sixth album, Yeezus, to further critical praise in 2013. His seventh album, The Life of Pablo, was released in 2016, Wests outspoken views and life outside of music have received significant mainstream attention. He has been a frequent source of controversy for his conduct at award shows, on social media and he is the founder and head of the creative content company DONDA. His 2014 marriage to television personality Kim Kardashian has also been subject to media coverage. He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time, three of his albums have been included and ranked on Rolling Stones 2012 update of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. He has also included in a number of Forbes annual lists. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015, West was born on June 8,1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old, after the divorce, he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray West was later a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland with startup capital from his son. West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, West was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, according to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in school, West replied, I got As. West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age and his mother recalled that she first took notice of Wests passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade. Growing up in Chicago, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene and he started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists
8.
Dwight Howard
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Dwight David Howard is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. Howard, who plays center, had a high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA draft and he led the Magic to three division titles and one conference title, and he was the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the 2008 Olympics, he was the center for Team USA. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012, Howard was born in Atlanta, to Dwight Sr. and Sheryl Howard, and into a family with strong athletic connections. Howards mother had seven miscarriages before he was born, despite his large frame, Howard was quick and versatile enough to play the guard position. As a senior, Howard led his team to the 2004 state title and he averaged 25 points,18 rebounds,8.1 blocks and 3.5 assists per game. He was also co-MVP of the McDonalds High School All-American Game that year, on January 31,2012, Howard was also honored as one of the 35 greatest McDonalds All-Americans. He took the number 12 for his jersey, in part because it was the reverse of Garnetts 21 when he played for Minnesota. Howard joined a depleted Magic squad that had finished with only 21 victories the previous season, further, Howard, however, made an immediate impact. He finished his season with an average of 12.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg. He became the youngest player in NBA history to average a double in the regular season. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 10 rebounds in a season, Howards importance to the Magic was highlighted when he became the first player in NBA history directly out of high school to start all 82 games during his rookie season. For his efforts, he was selected to play in the 2005 NBA Rookie Challenge and he also finished third to fellow center Emeka Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats and guard Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls for the Rookie of the Year award. Howard reported to camp for his second NBA campaign having added 20 pounds of muscle during the off-season, Orlando coach Brian Hill—responsible for grooming former Magic superstar Shaquille ONeal—decided that Howard should be converted into a full-fledged center. Hill identified two areas where Howard needed to improve, his game, and his defense. He exerted extra pressure on Howard, saying that the Magic would need him to emerge as a force in the middle before the team had a chance at the playoffs. Even though the big man played tentatively at times, he was able to build on his rookie year with an impressive sophomore season
9.
2010 NBA All-Star Game
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This game was the 59th edition of the NBA All-Star Game and was played during the 2009–10 NBA season. This was the time that the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area had hosted the All-Star Game. Dallas was awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on October 30,2008, the All-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 12,2010 with the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge, a game between the leagues best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, the D-League All-Star Game and the second D-League Dream Factory Friday Night, the latter of which was modeled after the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. The D-League Dream Factory Friday Night was held on Friday and the D-League All-Star Game was held on Saturday, the Eastern Conference All-Star team defeated the Western Conference All-Star team 141–139. The Easts Dwyane Wade, who recorded 28 points on 75% shooting,11 assists,6 rebounds and 5 steals was named as the games MVP. In the Rookie Challenge, the Rookies defeated the Sophomores for the first time since 2002, in the All-Star Saturday Night events, Nate Robinson won his third Slam Dunk Contest while Paul Pierce and Steve Nash won the Three-Point Shootout and Skills Challenge respectively. Team Texas, the team, won the Shootings Stars Competition. Kevin Durant repeated as champion in the H–O–R–S–E Competition, the announced attendance for the game was 108,713, the all-time attendance record for the sport. The previous verified record for attendance at a game was 78,129. The previous record attendance for an NBA All-Star Game was 44,735 and this event also broke the record for the single largest attendance for an indoor event, previously held by WrestleMania III in 1987. This marked the first All-Star game where neither team wore a white uniform, the East wore blue uniforms with silver trim, while the West wore red uniforms with gold trim. This marked the first time the All-Star events were split between two venues since 1989, the Mavericks were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by NBA commissioner David Stern, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on October 30,2008. This was the first All-Star Game to be played in a stadium since 1996 when San Antonios Alamodome hosted the event. The coaches for the All-Star Game are the coaches of the teams with the best winning percentage in each conference through the games of January 31. However, an NBA rule also prohibits a coach from being selected for consecutive All-Star Games, the coach for the Western Conference team was Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl. This is the fourth time Karl was selected to be an All-Star coach, at January 31, the Nuggets had 32–15 record, the second best winning percentage in the Western Conference, behind Phil Jacksons Lakers. The coach for the Eastern Conference team was Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy and this is the second time Van Gundy was selected to be an All-Star coach, after previously being selected in 2005
10.
2012 NBA All-Star Game
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The 2012 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 26,2012 at 7,30 p. m. EST at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, home of the Orlando Magic. This game was the 61st edition of the National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 2011–12 NBA season, the Orlando Magic were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on May 4,2010. This was also the time that Orlando has hosted the All-Star Game, the city had previously hosted the event in 1992 in the Orlando Arena. This game also marked the first time an Eastern Conference city hosted an All-Star game since Atlanta in 2003, despite the 2011 NBA lockout, which reduced the regular season to sixty-six games on a condensed schedule, the All-Star Game took place as scheduled. The Western Conference team defeated the Eastern Conference team 152–149, the All-Star Weekend began on Friday, February 24,2012 with the Celebrity Game and the Rising Stars Challenge, a game featuring the leagues best rookies and second-year players. On Saturday, the event continued with the All-Star Saturday Night, the D-League All-Star Game and the D-League Dream Factory, which includes the Slam Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout and Shooting Stars Competition, also took place during the All-Star Weekend. Both events were held on Saturday before the NBA All-Star Saturday Night, the coaches for the All-Star game are the head coaches who led the teams with the best winning percentages in their conference through the games of February 15,2012. The head coaches from the year, Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich were not eligible for selection. The coach for the Western Conference team was Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, the Thunder had a 22–7 record on February 15, the best record in the Western Conference. The coach for the Eastern Conference team was Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Bulls had a 23–7 record on February 15, the best record in the Eastern Conference and in the league. This was the first All-Star Game selection for both Brooks and Thibodeau, 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. Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic topped the ballots with 1,600,390 votes, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony completed the Eastern Conference starting position. Howard, Rose, Wade and James were starters for the previous years Eastern Conference team, the Eastern Conference reserves includes three first-time selections, Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, and Roy Hibbert. Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson suffered an injury and was replaced by Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, the Miami Heat is represented by three players, Wade, James and Chris Bosh, while the Chicago Bulls and the Celtics are represented by two players each. The Western Conferences leading vote-getter was Kobe Bryant, who earned his fourteenth consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,555,479 votes, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum completed the Western Conference starting positions
11.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
12.
Los Angeles Clippers
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The Los Angeles Clippers, often abbreviated as the LA Clippers, are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The franchise was founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego in 1978, in 1984, the Clippers moved to Los Angeles. Through much of its history, the failed to see significant regular season or playoff success. The Clippers fortunes turned in the early 2010s with the acquisition of core players Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul. In 2013, the franchise won its first division title, as the made the playoffs for the ninth time in franchise history. They repeated as champions in 2014. They played their games at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, along with another Buffalo team that would begin play that year. After two bad seasons, the Braves fortunes started to change under coach Jack Ramsay and star forward/center Bob McAdoo, McAdoo led the NBA in scoring three consecutive seasons and was named the leagues MVP in the 1974–75 season. The Braves qualified for the three times in a row, losing thrice to the eventual Eastern Conference champions. As a result, after an attempt to sell the team to an owner who intended to move it to South Florida. Brown, Jr. who decimated the roster, traded away all of its stars. Eventually in 1978, Brown dealt with Celtics owner Irv Levin so they would trade franchise ownerships, southern California resident Levin then decided to move the Braves to San Diego, something the league would have never allowed him to do with the Celtics. In 1978, San Diego welcomed the relocation of the Buffalo Braves franchise because the city had lost their Rockets to Houston seven years earlier, when the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984, they kept their nickname. Playing at the San Diego Sports Arena, the Clippers posted a record of 43–39 in their first season in California under new head coach Gene Shue and it would be the Clippers last winning season for 13 years. It was also in that first season in southern California that long-time announcer Ralph Lawler began his association with the club. The 1979–80 season saw the Clippers begin to struggle despite adding center Bill Walton, Walton missed 68 games due to foot injuries
