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Buffalo, New York
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Buffalo is a city in western New York state and the county seat of Erie County, on the eastern shores of Lake Erie at the head of the Niagara River. As of 2014, Buffalo is New York states 2nd-most populous city after New York City, the metropolitan area has a population of 1.13 million. After an economic downturn in the half of the 20th century, Buffalos economy has transitioned to sectors that include financial services, technology, biomedical engineering. Residents of Buffalo are called Buffalonians, the citys nicknames include The Queen City, The Nickel City and The City of Good Neighbors. The city of Buffalo received its name from a creek called Buffalo Creek. British military engineer Captain John Montresor made reference to Buffalo Creek in his journal of 1764, there are several theories regarding how Buffalo Creek received its name. In 1804, as principal agent opening the area for the Holland Land Company, Joseph Ellicott, designed a radial street and grid system that branches out from downtown like bicycle spokes similar to the street system he used in the nations capital. Although Ellicott named the settlement New Amsterdam, the name did not catch on, during the War of 1812, on December 30,1813, Buffalo was burned by British forces. The George Coit House 1818 and Samuel Schenck House 1823 are currently the oldest houses within the limits of the City of Buffalo, on October 26,1825, the Erie Canal was completed with Buffalo a port-of-call for settlers heading westward. At the time, the population was about 2,400, the Erie Canal brought about a surge in population and commerce, which led Buffalo to incorporate as a city in 1832. In 1845, construction began on the Macedonia Baptist Church, an important meeting place for the abolitionist movement, Buffalo was a terminus point of the Underground Railroad with many fugitive slaves crossing the Niagara River to Fort Erie, Ontario in search of freedom. During the 1840s, Buffalos port continued to develop, both passenger and commercial traffic expanded with some 93,000 passengers heading west from the port of Buffalo. Grain and commercial goods shipments led to repeated expansion of the harbor, in 1843, the worlds first steam-powered grain elevator was constructed by local merchant Joseph Dart and engineer Robert Dunbar. Darts Elevator enabled faster unloading of lake freighters along with the transshipment of grain in bulk from barges, canal boats, by 1850, the citys population was 81,000. At the dawn of the 20th century, local mills were among the first to benefit from hydroelectric power generated by the Niagara River, the city got the nickname City of Light at this time due to the widespread electric lighting. It was also part of the revolution, hosting the brass era car builders Pierce Arrow. President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on September 6,1901, McKinley died in the city eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion as the 26th President of the United States. The Great Depression of 1929–39 saw severe unemployment, especially working class men
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Rochester, New York
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Rochester is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in the western portion of the U. S. state of New York, and the seat of Monroe County. The citys population was the third largest — after New York City. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,079,671 at the time of the 2010 Census, a Census estimate of July 1,2012, raised that number to 1,082,284. Rochester was one of Americas first boomtowns, and rose to prominence as the site of many mills along the Genesee River. Several of the universities have renowned research programs. In addition, Rochester is the site of important inventions and innovations in consumer products. Until 2010, the Rochester metropolitan area was the second-largest regional economy in New York State, internal Revenue Service, after the New York City metropolitan area. Rochesters GMP has since ranked just below that of Buffalo, New York, the 25th edition of the Places Rated Almanac rated Rochester as the most livable city in 2007, among 379 U. S. metropolitan areas. In 2010 Forbes rated Rochester as the third-best place to raise a family, in 2012 Kiplinger rated Rochester as the fifth-best city for families, citing low cost of living, top public schools, and a low jobless rate. Of the 19 places in the United States named Rochester at least eight were named directly after Rochester, New York, having been founded or settled by former residents. These include Rochester, Indiana, Rochester, Texas, Rochester, Iowa, Rochester, Kentucky, Rochester, Michigan, Rochester, Minnesota, Rochester, Nevada, and Rochester, Ohio. The Seneca tribe of Native Americans lived in and around Rochester until they lost their claim to most of land in the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797. Settlement before the Seneca tribe is unknown, development of modern Rochester followed the American Revolution, and forced cession of their territory by the Iroquois after the defeat of Great Britain. Allied with the British, four major Iroquois tribes were forced from New York. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a land grant on the Grand River in Canada. Rochester was founded shortly after the American Revolution by a wave of English-Puritan descended immigrants from New England who were looking for new agricultural land and they would be the dominant cultural group in Rochester for over a century. They chose the site because its three cataracts on the Genesee offered great potential for water power, beginning in 1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville, by 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County
3.
East High School (Buffalo, New York)
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East High School is a comprehensive high school located in the East Side of Buffalo, New York. It serves 166 students from Grades 11-12, the current principal is Ms. Rose Schneider, and the current assistant principal is Mr. Moustafa Khalil. East High School was constructed in 1926 and opened in 1927, the building was a neighborhood school that served the Lower East Side families. The building became a symbol of rising demographic changes in the East Side when increasing numbers of African-Americans joined the student enrollment. In 1954, as part of a large redistricting initiative by the Buffalo Board of Education and this also allowed the school to become an annex to Kensington, Riverside, and Emerson High Schools. The school was close to being closed and transformed into a school campus in 1999. In 2002, the Vocational center was closed, and the building re-opened in 2005 once again as East High School. In the spring of 2011, it was proposed that the current principal be replaced, although the principal was placed on assignment within the district offices, no student demographic changes occurred. Beginning in 2015, the East High School program began to phase out due to low test scores, the program was replaced by a student credit recovery alternative education program known as Pathways Academy, and a new high school known as East Community High School
4.
Basketball positions
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The five basketball positions normally employed by organized basketball teams are the point guard, the shooting guard, the small forward, the power forward, and the center. While these position names are used, most modern teams use a point guard. The rules of basketball do not mandate them, and they are not used. Typically, the point guard is the leader of the team when on the court and this position requires substantial ball handling skills and the ability to facilitate the team during a play. The shooting guard, as the name implies, is often the best shooter and they are probably capable of shooting accurately from longer distances. Generally, they also have good ball-handling skills, the small forward often has an aggressive approach to the basket when handling the ball. The center is typically the larger of the two, during the 1980s, as team strategy evolved, more specialized roles developed, resulting in the five position designations utilized today. Team strategy and available personnel, however, still dictates the positions used by a particular team, for example, the Dribble drive motion offense and the Princeton offense utilize four interchangeable guards and one center. The point guard, also known as the one, is typically the teams best ball handler and passer, therefore, they often lead their team in assists and steals. They are often quick and are able to hit shots either outside the three-point line or in the paint, point guards are looked upon as the floor general or the coach on the floor. They should study the game and game film to be able to recognize the weaknesses of the defense, good point guards increase team efficiency and generally have a high number of assists. They are often referred to as dribblers or play-makers, in the NBA, point guards are usually the shortest players on the team and are mostly 6 feet 5 inches or shorter. The shooting guard is known as the two or the off guard. Along with the forward, a shooting guard is often referred to as a wing because of its use in common positioning tactics. As the name suggests, most shooting guards are good shooters from three-point range, besides being able to shoot the ball, shooting guards tend to have good ball handling skills and the ability to drive the ball to the basket, often creating their own shots off the dribble. A versatile shooting guard will have good passing skills, allowing them to point guard responsibilities known as combo guards. In the NBA, shooting guards usually range from 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 7 inches, the small forward is considered to be perhaps the most versatile of the main five basketball positions. Versatility is key for small forwards because of the nature of their role and this is why the small forward and shooting guard positions are often interchangeable and referred to as wings
5.
Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks are a professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association as a team of the leagues Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its games at Philips Arena. The teams origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo, New York, after 38 days in Buffalo, the team moved to Moline, Illinois, where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1949, they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America, and had Red Auerbach as coach briefly, in 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed their name to the Hawks. Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, the Hawks played the Boston Celtics in all four of their trips to the NBA Finals. The St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968, when Kerner sold the franchise to Thomas Cousins, the Hawks currently own the second-longest drought of not winning an NBA championship at 57 seasons. The franchises lone NBA championship, as well as all four NBA Finals appearances, meanwhile, they went 48 years without advancing past the second round of the playoffs in any format, until finally breaking through in 2015. Much of the failure theyve experienced in the postseason can be traced back to their history in the NBA draft. Since 1980, the Hawks have drafted four players who have been chosen to play in an NBA All-Star Game. Dominique Wilkins was actually selected by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Hawks a few months after the draft, the origins of the Atlanta Hawks can be traced to the Buffalo Bisons franchise, which was founded in 1946. The Bisons were a member of the National Basketball League, the club was organized by the Erie County American Legion and was coached by Nat Hickey. Their first game – a 50–39 victory over the Syracuse Nationals – was played on November 8,1946, on the team was William Pop Gates, who, along with William Dolly King, was one of the first two African-American players in the NBL. The team, which needed to draw 3,600 fans per game to break even struggled to draw 1,000 fans per game to the Auditorium. Upon relocation to Moline, the team was renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and played their games at Wharton Field House. The team featured guard/forward and coach Deanglo King, and was owned by Leo Ferris, Pop Gates remained on the Blackhawks roster, and finished second on the team in scoring behind future 1948 NBL MVP Don Otten. A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member, Gates helped to integrate the league and later become the first African-American coach in a sports league. In 1949 the Blackhawks became one of the National Basketball Associations 17 original teams after a merger of the 12-year-old NBL and they reached the playoffs in the NBAs inaugural year under the leadership of coach Red Auerbach
6.
Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the team in the major professional North American sports leagues located in Sacramento. The team play its games at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings are the oldest franchise in the NBA, and one of the oldest continuously operating professional basketball franchises in the nation and they originated in Rochester, New York as the Rochester Seagrams in 1923 and joined the National Basketball League in 1945 as the Rochester Royals. They jumped to the Basketball Association of America, forerunner of the NBA, as the Royals, the team was often successful on the court, winning the NBA championship in 1951. However, they found it difficult to turn a profit in the comparatively small market of Rochester. In 1972, the relocated to Kansas City, Missouri. In 1975, the Kings ceased playing home games in Omaha, the team again failed to find success in that market, and moved to Sacramento in 1985. The Royals defected to the NBLs rival, the Basketball Association of America, in 1948. In 1949, as a result of that absorption of the NBL by the BAA, the Royals became members of the newly formed NBA along with the Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers. A year later, the BAA absorbed the remaining NBL teams to become the National Basketball Association, the move to the BAA took away Rochesters profitable exhibition schedule, and placed it in the same Western Division that Minneapolis was in. Of the two best teams in pro basketball, only one of them could play in the finals from 1949 to 1954. Minneapolis, with George Mikan, was almost always a little better at playoff time than the Royals, Harrison knew that the NBA was outgrowing Rochester, and spent most of the 1950s looking for a buyer for his team. The Royals won the NBA title in 1951 by defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 and it is the only NBA championship in the franchises history. However, the title did not translate into profit for the Royals, the roster turned over in 1955, except for Bobby Wanzer, the team moved to the larger Rochester War Memorial. Now a losing team filled with rookies, the Royals still did not turn a profit, meanwhile, the NBA was putting pressure on Harrison to sell or relocate his team to a larger city. With this in mind, the 1956–57 season was the Royals last in Rochester, in April 1957, the Harrison brothers moved the Royals to Cincinnati
7.
Philadelphia 76ers
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The Philadelphia 76ers are an American professional basketball team based in Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA and they have won three NBA championships, with their first coming as the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. The second title came in the 1966–67 season, a team which was led by Chamberlain, the third title came in the 1982–83 season, won by a team led by Erving and Malone. The 76ers have only been back to the NBA Finals once since then, in 2001, while in the NBL with teams largely consisting of small Midwestern towns, the Nationals put together a 21–23 record, finishing in 4th place. In the playoffs, the Nats would be beaten by the fellow upstate neighbor Rochester Royals in 4 games, in their second season, 1947–48, the Nationals would struggle, finishing in 5th place with a 24–36 record. Despite their struggles, the Nats would make the playoffs, getting swept by the Anderson Duffey Packers in 3 straight games, several teams began to leave the NBL for the BAA as the foundation for an absorption was laid. The Nationals recipe for success began by recruiting Leo Ferris, in the playoffs the Nationals would make quick work of the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, winning the series in 2 straight games. However, in the semifinals the Nats would fall to the Anderson Duffey Packers for the second season in 4 games. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that were absorbed by the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA, the Nationals were an instant success in the NBA, winning the Eastern Division in the 1949–1950 season, with a league best record of 51–13. In the playoffs the Nationals continued to play basketball, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in 2 straight. Moving on to the Eastern Finals, the Nationals battled the New York Knickerbockers, in the NBA Finals, the Nationals faced fellow NBL alums the Minneapolis Lakers. In Game 1 of the Finals the Nats lost just their home game of the season 68–66. The Nats did not recover, as they fell behind 3 games to 1 before falling in 6 games, despite several teams leaving the NBA for the National Professional Basketball League before the 1950–1951 season, the Nationals decided to stay put. In their second NBA season the Nationals played mediocre basketball all season, however, in the playoffs the Nats played their best basketball of the season as they stunned the 1st place Philadelphia Warriors in 2 straight, taking Game 1 on the road in overtime 91–89. In the Eastern Finals the Nationals were beaten by the New York Knickerbockers in a hard-fought 5-game series, in the playoffs the Nats knocked off the Philadelphia Warriors again in a 3-game series. However, in the Eastern Finals the Nats fell to the New York Knickerbockers again, the Nationals would finish in 2nd place in a hard fought 3-way battle for first place in the Eastern Division for the 1952–1953 season, with a record of 47–24. In the playoffs the Nationals would face the Boston Celtics dropping Game 1 at home 87–81, the Nationals acquired Alex Groza, and Ralph Beard as the Indianapolis Olympians folded leaving the NBA with just 9 teams for the 1953–1954 season
8.
Golden State Warriors
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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
9.
All-NBA Second Team
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The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, the team has been selected in every season of the leagues existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1946. The All-NBA Team originally had two teams, but since 1988 it is composed of three five-man lineups—a first, second, and third team, typically comprising a total of 15 roster spots. Players receive five points for a first team vote, three points for a team vote, and one point for a third team vote. The five players with the highest point totals make the first team, with the next five making the second team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of any team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. A tie has occurred once, in 1952, when Bob Davies. From 1946 to 1955, players were selected without regard to position, however, since 1956, kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold the record for the most total selections with fifteen. Karl Malone and Shaquille ONeal follow with fourteen total honors, while Schayes, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James have twelve selections. From the 1946–47 season to 1954–55 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five spots, except when there were ties. During this period, players were selected without regard to position, from the 1955–56 season to 1987–88 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this time, players were selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. Since the 1988–89 season, the All-NBA Team has been composed of three teams, each with five spots, except when there are ties. Players are selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. The following table lists players with at least ten total selections. National Basketball Association portal All-NBA Development League Team General Specific
10.
1952 NBA All-Star Game
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The 1952 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on February 11,1952, at Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, home of the Boston Celtics. The game was the edition of the National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 1951–52 NBA season. The Eastern All-Stars team defeated the Western All-Stars team 108–91 and this was the Easts second successive win over the West. Philadelphia Warriors Paul Arizin, who led the East with 26 points, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, the players for the All-Star Game were chosen by sports writers in several cities. They were not allowed to select players from their own cities, players were selected without regard to position. Ten players from each Division were selected to represent the Eastern and Western Division in the All-Star Game, however, Dolph Schayes and Larry Foust suffered injuries and were unable to participate in the game, two other players were added to the roster. Nine players from the previous years Eastern All-Stars roster returned for their second straight selection, only seven players from the previous years Western All-Stars roster returned. Six players, Leo Barnhorst, Arnie Risen, Fred Scolari, Paul Walther, Bobby Wanzer, four teams, the Minneapolis Lakers, the New York Knickerbockers, the Philadelphia Warriors and the Rochester Royals, were represented by three players each on the roster. The starters were chosen by each head coach. Minneapolis Lakers head coach John Kundla returned to coach the Western All-Stars for the second straight year, syracuse Nationals head coach Al Cervi was named as the Eastern All-Stars head coach. The East defeated the West for the successive year. The West trailed by four and five points at the end of the first, then the East outscored the West by six points in the third and fourth quarter to win the game by 17 points. Philadelphia Warriors Paul Arizin and Minneapolis Lakers George Mikan both scored a game-high 26 points, Mikan also added a game-high 15 rebounds but his team only had a 35.9 field goal percentage. On the other hand, six Eastern players scored in double figures as their team made 49.4 percent of its shots, Boston Celtics guard Bob Cousy also recorded a game-high 13 assists for the East. Arizin was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, however, he was honored a year later during the 1953 All-Star Game, when the league decided to designate an MVP for each years game. General Specific NBA All-Star Game History NBA. com, All-Star Game, Year-by-Year Results
11.
Rebound (basketball)
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In basketball, a rebound, colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds are also given to a player who tips in a shot on his teams offensive end. Rebounds in basketball are a part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made. A rebound can be grabbed by either a player or a defensive player. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in position to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound, a ball does not need to actually rebound off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls, if a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound. Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player, great rebounders tend to be tall and strong. Because height is so important, most rebounds are made by centers and power forwards, the lack of height can sometimes be compensated by the strength to box out taller players away from the ball to capture the rebound. For example, Charles Barkley once led the league in rebounding despite usually being much shorter than his counterparts, also, some shorter guards can be excellent rebounders as well such as point guard Jason Kidd who led the New Jersey Nets in rebounding for several years. Great rebounders must also have a sense of timing and positioning. Great leaping ability is an important asset, but not absolutely necessary, players such as Larry Bird and Moses Malone were excellent rebounders, but were never known for their leaping ability. Bird has stated, Most rebounds are taken below the rim, the action can also be called blocking out. A team can be boxed out by players using this technique to stop the other team from rebounding. Because fighting for a rebound can be physical, rebounding is often regarded as grunt work or a hustle play. Overly aggressive boxing out or preventing being boxed out can lead to personal fouls, statistics of a players rebounds per game or rebounding average measure a players rebounding effectiveness by dividing the number of rebounds by the number of games played
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Coach (sport)
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In sports, a coach is a person involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople. A coach may also be a teacher, the original sense of the word coach is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hungarian city of Kocs where such vehicles were first made. Britain took the lead in upgrading the status of sports in the 19th century, for sports to become professionalized, coacher had to become established. It gradually professionalized in the Victorian era and the role was established by 1914. In the First World War, military units sought out the coaches to supervise physical conditioning, a coach, particularly in a professional league, is usually supported by one or more assistant coaches and specialist support staff. The staff may include coordinators, strength and fitness specialists, in elite sport, the role of nutritionists, biomechanists and physiotherapists will all become critical to the overall long-term success of a coach and athlete. In association football, the duties of a coach can vary depending on the level they are coaching at, in professional football, the role of the coach or trainer is limited to the training and development of a clubs first team in most countries. The coach is aided by a number of assistant coaches, one of which carries the responsibility for the training, the coach is also assisted by medical staff and athletic trainers. The medium to long term strategy of a club, with regard to transfer policies, youth development. The system also provides a level of protection against overspending on players in search of instant success. In football, the director of a football team is more commonly awarded the position of manager. Baseball coaches at that level are members of the staff under the overall supervision of the manager. The baseball field manager is essentially equivalent to head coaches in other American professional sports leagues, the term manager used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, while the general manager is often called the GM. At amateur levels, the terminology is similar to that of other sports. The person known as the manager in professional leagues is called the head coach in amateur leagues. In American football, like other sports, there are many coaches. Sports coaching in the UK follows a structured pattern in principle. In June 2008, the Sports Councils together with the governing bodies of sport formally adopted the UK Coaching Framework at the UK Coaching Summit in Coventry
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National Basketball League (United States)
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The National Basketball League was a professional mens basketball league in the United States established in 1937. After the 1948–49 season, its twelfth, it merged with the Basketball Association of America to create the National Basketball Association, the predecessor of this league was the Midwest Basketball Conference in 1935. It changed its name in 1937 in an attempt to attract a larger audience, the league was created by three corporations, General Electric, Firestone and Goodyear. It was primarily made up of Great Lakes area small-market and corporate teams, scheduling was left to the discretion of each of the teams, as long as the team played at least ten games and four of them were on the road. Games played increased yearly as the popularity of basketball and the NBL grew in America. Games consisted either of four quarters or three fifteen-minute periods. The choice was made by the home team, some of the teams were independent, while others were owned by companies that also found jobs for their players. Chicago newspaper sports editor Leo Fischer acted as president of the NBL from 1940–44, in 1946, the Basketball Association of America incorporated resulting in a three-year battle with the NBL to win both players and fans. The BAA played its games in cities and venues. On August 3,1949, representatives from the 12-year-old NBL and 3 year old BAA met at the BAA offices in New Yorks Empire State Building to finalize a merger, maurice Podoloff was elected head of the new league. The new National Basketball Association was made up of 17 teams that both small towns and large cities across the country. Unlike the records and statistics of the rival BAA, NBL records and statistics are not considered valid in official NBA totals for records, the history of the NBL falls into three eras, each contributing significantly to the growth of professional basketball and the emergence of the NBA. The first dynasty centered on the Oshkosh All-Stars and their center Leroy Cowboy Edwards, the middle years saw the emergence of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, who were later instrumental in the survival of the NBA during its infancy. The final period of note during the NBLs existence centered on George Mikan, the Oshkosh All-Stars, who appeared in the championship series five consecutive years and won two titles, were led by rugged 64 center Leroy Cowboy Edwards. Edwards was a consensus NCAA All American and Helms Foundation College Player of the Year as a member of the 1934–35 University of Kentucky Wildcats. He left Kentucky after two years, only the one varsity season, to pursue a basketball career, which was unheard of at the time. He led the NBL in scoring three consecutive seasons, 1937–38 to 1939–40 and he set numerous NBL and professional basketball scoring records and is generally credited with the introduction of the 3 second rule in basketball which is still in existence today. Edwards played all 12 NBL seasons with the Oshkosh All-Stars and retired just prior to its merger with the BAA to form the NBA, the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons—so nicknamed because they were owned by Fred Zollner, whose company made pistons for engines—were led by tough veteran Bobby McDermott
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National Basketball Association
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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
15.
Nickname
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A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place, or thing, for affection or ridicule. The term hypocoristic is used to refer to a nickname of affection between those in love or with an emotional bond, compared with a term of endearment. The term diminutive name refers to nicknames that convey smallness, hence something regarded with affection or familiarity, the distinction between the two is often blurred. It is a form of endearment and amusement, as a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, and also from a title, although there may be overlap in these concepts. A moniker also means a nickname or personal name, the word often distinguishes personal names from nicknames that became proper names out of former nicknames. English examples are Bob and Rob, nickname variants for Robert, a nickname is often considered desirable, symbolising a form of acceptance, but can sometimes be a form of ridicule. The compound word ekename, literally meaning additional name, was attested as early as 1303 and this word was derived from the Old English phrase eaca an increase, related to eacian to increase. By the fifteenth century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase an ekename led to its reanalysis as a nekename, though the spelling has changed, the pronunciation and meaning of the word have remained relatively stable ever since. However, it is common for the nickname to be identified after a comma following the full real name or later in the body of the text. The middle name is generally eliminated, especially in speech, like English, German uses quotation marks between the first and last names. The latter may cause confusion because it resembles an English convention sometimes used for married, in Viking societies, many people had heiti, viðrnefni, or kenningarnöfn which were used in addition to, or instead of the first name. Slaves have often used nicknames, so that the master who heard about someone doing something could not identify the slave, in capoeira, a Brazilian martial art, the slaves had nicknames to protect them from being caught, as practising capoeira was illegal for decades. In Anglo-American culture, a nickname is based on a shortening of a persons proper name. However, in societies, this may not necessarily be the case. For example, my nickname is farmer Phil In Indian society, for example, generally people have at least one nickname, Indian nicknames very often are a trivial word or a diminutive. In Australian society, Australian men will often give ironic nicknames, for example, a man with red hair will be given the nickname Blue or Bluey. A tall man will be called Shorty, an obese person Slim, in England, some nicknames are traditionally associated with a persons surname. A man with the surname Clark will be nicknamed Nobby, the surname Miller will have the nickname Dusty, there are several other nicknames linked traditionally with a persons surname, including Chalky White, Bunny Warren, Tug Wilson, and Spud Baker
16.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war
17.
Sheboygan Red Skins
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The Sheboygan Red Skins were a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. They played for three different professional leagues, as well as an independent team. Their three league associations were chronologically the National Basketball League, National Basketball Association, and the National Professional Basketball League, the team has origins from 1933 in informal clubs sponsored by local businesses. By 1938, they had joined the NBL, with a syndicate owning the team, and a new name and they were undone by the 1949 merger of the NBL into the NBA. The other league that merged into the NBA, the Basketball Association of America had more money, played in larger cities, the Red Skins did not fit well, left the league, and joined the short-lived NPBL. When the NPBL folded, the team went back to its independent roots for one year of play before it, too. The team formed in Sheboygan as the Ballhorns in 1933, sponsors changed every couple of years, and the team changed its name to match each sponsor. After success against regional rivals and against touring teams from farther away, as a more consistent, full-time, professional organization, with an extensive traveling schedule, it took more than a single local business to support the team. A syndicate of Sheboygan community members took over and formally incorporated the team as the Red Skins, after some growing pains, they developed into a successful, professional team. Before joining the NBL, Sheboygan built a reputation in the Midwest, starting in the early 1930s, with successful industrial-league, first came the Ballhorns in 1933. A local cleaners, the Art Imigs, took over in 1935, by 1937, a gelatin producer had taken over the team and it became the Enzo Jels. Brothers John and Joe Scoop Posewitz, Les Kuplic, Slim Lonsdorf, Carl Roth, Pete and Dugan Norris, the 6-foot-6 Jack Mann, one of the first outstanding black players in the game, starred at center for the Art Imigs during the 1936–37 season. In 1937–38, the Enzo Jels compiled a stellar 17–3 mark against the likes of the New York Renaissance, Harlem Globetrotters, New York Celtics, the team had a friendly rivals with the Oshkosh All-Stars. The All-Stars founder and president was Lonnie Darling and he helped found the NBL in 1937, and became the leagues president in 1938. Based on the successful 1937 season, the Enzo Jels were admitted to the NBL on June 11,1938, at the meeting in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They were soon renamed taken over by a group of business leaders. Their first coach was Edwin Doc Schutte, a local dentist, after compiling an 11–17 record in his only season, Schutte stepped down to devote more time to his practice. Then the Red Skins became a consistent winner under attorney and coach Frank Zummach from 1939 to 1942, Zummach, who had been an assistant coach at Marquette University for six seasons, formed his team around Marquette alums
18.
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
19.
Basketball Association of America
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The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA and the National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association, the Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural BAA championship in 1947, followed by the Baltimore Bullets and the Minneapolis Lakers in 1948 and 1949, respectively. Six teams from the BAA remain in operation in the NBA as of the 2012–13 season, the inaugural BAA season began with 11 teams, of which four dropped before the second season. One ABL team joined to provide 8 teams for 1947–48 and four NBL teams joined to provide 12 for 1948–49, the NBA generally claims the BAAs history as its own. For example, at NBA History online its table of one-line NBA Season Recaps begins 1946–47 without comment and it celebrated NBA at 50 in 1996, with announcement of its 50 Greatest Players among other things. However, most of the ABL and NBL teams played in small arenas, to put this theory into practice, the BAA was founded in New York City on June 6,1946. Maurice Podoloff, who was serving as president of the American Hockey League, was appointed president of the BAA. The owners of the BAA, while experienced businessmen, had little practice at owning basketball teams, the league started with 11 teams, which played a 60-game regular season. This was followed by the playoffs and the series to determine the league winner. Similar to Major League Baseball, nobody expected signing or drafting black players, at its inception, 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, both the 1948 and 1949 titles were won by teams that had played in other leagues during the year, the Baltimore Bullets in 1948. The league started with 11 teams, which were divided into two divisions, the Eastern Division and the Western Division, each team played 60 or 61 regular season games. The best three teams from each advanced to the playoffs. The final series was played in a best-of-7 format. On November 1,1946, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers, in the opening game of the BAA, Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the Knickerbockers. The Eastern Division winner, the Washington Capitols, who had the best record with 49 wins, were defeated in the semifinal by the Western Division winner. The Stags advanced to the finals along with the Philadelphia Warriors who defeated the New York Knickerbockers in the other semifinal, the Warriors won the inaugural BAA championship by winning the series 4–1. The first year had many problems, in arenas shared with hockey teams, some arena owners simply put a wooden basketball floor over the ice
20.
Player-coach
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A player-coach is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the squad and also play on the team, very few current major professional sports teams have head coaches who are also players, though it is extremely common for senior players to take a role in managing more junior athletes. Historically, when professional sports had much money to pay players and coaches or managers. Likewise, where player-coaches exist today, they are common at the lower levels where money is less available. The player-coach was, for decades, a long-time fixture in professional basketball. Many notable coaches in the NBA served as player-coaches, including Bill Russell and this was especially true up through the 1970s, when the league was not as financially successful as it is today, and player-coaches were often used to save money. The practice fell out of favor in the 1980s, therefore, if a player is to serve as a coach, he would have to receive commission from his contract as a player. The player, then, is not technically an official coach of his team, one example of a player in recent years who was groomed for eventual official coaching duties using this practice was Avery Johnson. In the early days of professional American football, player-coaches were common, jimmy Conzelman was player-coach for four different teams during the 1920s. As professional football became more respectable, and began to more money. In the mid-1950s Tom Landry played defensive back while serving as coordinator for the New York Giants. In the early 1970s, when Landry was coach of the Dallas Cowboys, in association football, this situation usually arises when a manager leaves a team suddenly, and the chairman has to make a quick decision to appoint someone new as a caretaker manager. The chairman will usually either ask a coach to take charge or turn to the one of clubs most senior players. If this particular player gains good results for the team during his time in charge, he may be appointed full-time manager, however, there are instances when a free agent is appointed by a new team as a manager and offers his playing abilities. He then succeeded Dalglish as Liverpool manager just before Rangers won another Scottish league title, but at the age of 38 he did not register himself as a player for Liverpool. In 1997, Ruud Gullit won the FA Cup with Chelsea in his first season as player-manager, also making history by being the first foreign and he was sacked nine months later, and Chelsea appointed another player-manager in his place. Within weeks of taking over, Vialli guided Chelsea to victory in the League Cup, a number of bigger clubs have appointed player-managers on a temporary basis but not given them permanent contracts
21.
Dolph Schayes
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Adolph Dolph Schayes was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association. A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star, Schayes won an NBA championship with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, Schayes played his entire career with the Nationals and their successor, the Philadelphia 76ers, from 1948 to 1964. In his 16-year career, he led his team into the playoffs 15 times, towards the end of his playing career, he became a player-coach with Philadelphia. After retiring from playing, he transitioned into a coaching role with the 76ers. He briefly coached with the Buffalo Braves, Schayes was born in the Bronx, New York, the son of Tina, a homemaker, and Carl Schayes, a truck driver for Consolidated Laundries. His parents were Romanian Jewish immigrants and he grew up on Davidson Avenue and 183rd Street, near Jerome Avenue in University Heights, Bronx. He attended Creston Junior High School 79 and DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, New York and he played his college basketball at New York University in 1944–48. In 1945, as a 16-year-old freshman, Schayes helped NYU reach the NCAA final, Schayes earned an aeronautical engineering degree, was an All-American in basketball and won the Haggerty Award in his final year. His NYU coach, Howard Cann, said of him, He was in the gym practicing every spare minute, Schayes was drafted by both the New York Knicks in the 1948 BAA draft, and by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in the NBL draft. The Blackhawks traded his rights to the Syracuse Nationals, who offered him a contract worth $7,500, 50% more than the Knicks. Schayes played one season in the NBL and was named the leagues Rookie of the Year, the following season, the Nationals moved to the newly formed National Basketball Association as part of the merger between the BAA and NBL. Although tall for his era at 67, Schayes was especially known for his deadly, high-arcing and it arced so high that his teammates referred to it as Sputnik. Defenders who attempted to deny him the shot were confronted by his powerful drive to the basket. These two offensive weapons served him well, even as the NBA was transitioning into a league of jump-shooters, early in Schayes career, he broke his right arm and played almost an entire season in a cast. Oddly, this became a seminal point in his development, he learned to shoot with his off-hand. He was one of the best—and the last—to use a two-handed set-shot with feet planted on the floor, in the 1949–50 season, he was 6th in the league in assists, with 259. He led the NBA in rebounding in 1950–51, with 1,080 and he was third in the league in rebounding in 1952–53, with 920
22.
NBA Finals
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The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association played between the Western and Eastern champions of the Conference Finals. The first team to win four games in the game series is declared the league champion and is awarded the Larry OBrien Championship Trophy. Winners from 1946 to 1983 received the Walter A. Brown Trophy redesigned in 1977 to the current form, the NBA Finals has been played at the end of every NBA and Basketball Association of America season in history, the first being held in 1947. Most NBA Finals series were played under the 2–2–1–1–1 format prior to 1985, the series was named the BAA Finals from 1947 to 1949 and then changed to the NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1982. The following two years, the league used Showdown 83 and Showdown 84 and it returned to NBA World Championship Series in 1985, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. During the first decade the Minneapolis Lakers had the first NBA dynasty, the team also featured George Mikan, one of the greatest players in NBA history. The Boston Celtics went 11–1 in the NBA Finals during 13 seasons and they won eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957, Bill Russell became the star of the league, Game 7 of the NBA Finals was decided on a Celtics basket in the final seconds of the second overtime. For most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics always seemed to have the hand on Wilt Chamberlains teams. The following season, he joined the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Syracuse Nationals team that had moved to cover the vacancy created with the departure of the Warriors, a clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966 and Boston won it 4–1. Chamberlains coach told him to play a game, not an individual game. His new-found team spirit brought them to a new record of 68 wins the season, and they defeated the Celtics and then advanced to, and won. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals and they went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth straight time,4 games to 2. In 1969, the Celtics overcame even longer odds, Boston was an aging team and had injuries to a number of players. They barely qualified for the playoffs, finishing fourth in the East, the Lakers, who in the offseason added Chamberlain to join West and Elgin Baylor, won the West and were prohibitive favorites to finally win it all for the first time since relocating to L. A. They won the first two games at the Los Angeles Forum, however, when the series shifted to Boston Garden, the Celtics won Game 3 110–105. Game 4 was the point, as the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play. But after a turnover, Sam Jones put up a shot hit the front of the rim, the back heel, rolled around
23.
Detroit Pistons
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The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team plays its games at The Palace of Auburn Hills and was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1941. The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America in 1948, in 1949, the NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. Since moving to Detroit in 1957, the Pistons have won three NBA championships in 1989,1990 and 2004. The Detroit Pistons franchise was founded as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, owners Fred Zollner and his sister Janets Zollner Corporation was a foundry, manufacturing pistons, primarily for car, truck and locomotive engines. The Zollner Pistons were NBL champions in 1944 and 1945 and they also won the World Professional Basketball Tournament in 1944,1945 and 1946. In 1948, the became the Fort Wayne Pistons, competing in the Basketball Association of America. In 1949, Fred Zollner brokered the formation of the National Basketball Association from the BAA, there are suggestions that Pistons players conspired with gamblers to shave points and throw various games during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 seasons. In particular, there are accusations that the team may have intentionally lost the 1955 NBA Finals to the Syracuse Nationals, in the decisive Game 7, the Pistons led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then the Nationals rallied to win the game. Syracuse won on a throw by George King with twelve seconds left in the game. After the 1956–57 season, Zollner decided that Fort Wayne was too small to support an NBA team, although it was the fifth largest city in the United States at the time, Detroit had not seen professional basketball in a decade. In 1947, they had lost the Detroit Gems of the NBL, Zollner decided to keep the Pistons name, believing it made sense given Detroits status as the center of the automobile industry. The new Detroit Pistons played in Olympia Stadium for their first four seasons, the franchise was a consistent disappointment, struggling both on the court and at the box office. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Pistons were characterized by strong individuals. In fact, in their first 27 years in Detroit, they only had three winning seasons, some of the superstars who played for the team included Dave DeBusschere, Dave Bing, Jimmy Walker, and Bob Lanier. At one point DeBusschere was the youngest player-coach in the history of the NBA, DeBusschere became a key player in leading the Knicks to two NBA titles. Detroit qualified for the postseason in four seasons, but never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs
24.
Three-point field goal
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A three-point field goal is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two points awarded for field goals made within the three-point line and the one point for each made free throw. In international FIBA and WNBA play, the three-point line is 6.75 m away from the basket on the arc part and 6.6 m from the straight parts. In both mens and womens National Collegiate Athletics Association basketball, the three-point line is simply a 180° circular arc centered on the basket,20 ft 9 in in radius. The three-point line was first tested at the level in a 1945 NCAA game between Columbia and Fordham but it was not kept as a rule. At the direction of Abe Saperstein, the American Basketball League became the first basketball league to institute the rule in 1961 and its three-point line was a radius of 25 feet from the baskets, except along the sides. The Eastern Professional Basketball League followed in its 1963–64 season, the three-point shot later became popularized by the American Basketball Association after its introduction in the 1967–68 season. Then commissioner of the ABA George Mikan stated the three-pointer would give the player a chance to score. During the 1970s, the ABA used the three-point shot, along with the slam dunk, in the 1979–80 season, the NBA adopted the three-point line despite the view of many that it was a gimmick. Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is widely credited with making the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12,1979, kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets also made one on the same day. The sports international governing body, FIBA, introduced the three-point line in 1984, the NCAAs Southern Conference became the first collegiate conference to use the three-point rule, adopting a 22-foot line for the 1980–81 season. Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina University was the first to score a three-point field goal in basketball history on November 29,1980. Over the following five years, NCAA conferences differed in their use of the rule, used in conference play, it was adopted by the NCAA for the 1986–87 season at 19 ft 9 in, and was first used in the NCAA Tournament in 1987. In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the mens three point distance to 20 ft 9 in, with the coming into effect at the beginning of the 2008–09 season. American high schools, along with elementary and middle schools, adopted a 19 ft 9 in line nationally in 1987, a year after the NCAA. During the 1994–95, 1995–96, and 1996–97 seasons, the NBA attempted to address decreased scoring by shortening the distance of the line from 23 ft 9 in to a uniform 22 ft around the basket. From the 1997–98 season on, the NBA reverted the line to its distance of 23 ft 9 in. Ray Allen is currently the NBA all-time leader in career made three-pointers with 2,973, in 2008, FIBA announced that the distance would be increased by 50 cm to 6.75 m, with the change being phased in beginning in October 2010
25.
Free throw
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In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points from a restricted area on the court, and are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team. Each successful free throw is one point. Free throws can normally be shot at a percentage by good players. In the NBA, most players make 70–80% of their attempts, the leagues best shooters can make roughly 90% of their attempts over a season, while notoriously poor shooters may struggle to make 50% of them. During a foul shot, a players foot must be completely behind the foul line, if a player lines up with part of his or her foot on the line, a violation is called and the shot doesnt count. Foul shots are worth one point, Rick Barry and youngest Canyon Barry, both career 90% shooters who used an unusual underhand method, believes that 80% is the minimum for a player to be considered good at the free throw. Mark Price, who broke Barrys career record, states that 75% is the minimum, tall players often shoot free throws poorly, though theoretically taller players should be better at making them. One possible explanation for this is that the release point of their shots can cause them to stand overly erect. Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain made just 51, on the other hand, there have also been big men who have been prolific scorers from free throws, who not surprisingly also have good outside shooting range. Some examples include Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki who, at 7 ft 0 in, has an average of 88% and Yao Ming who. There are many situations when free throws can be awarded, The first and most common is when a player is fouled while in the act of shooting. If the player misses the shot during the foul, the player receives two or three free throws depending on whether the shot was taken in front of or behind the three-point line. If, despite the foul, the still makes the attempted shot, the number of free throws is reduced to one. This is known as a three-point or four-point play, depending on the value of the made basket, the second is when the fouling team is in the team bonus situation. This happens when, in a period, a team commits a set number of fouls whether or not in the act of shooting. In the WNBA, the player shoots two free throws starting with the opponents fifth foul, or second team foul in the final minute if that team has committed under 5 fouls in a period. In NCAA mens basketball, beginning with the foul of the half, one free throw is awarded, if the player makes the free throw. This is called shooting a one-and-one, starting with the tenth foul of the half, two free throws are awarded
26.
Block (basketball)
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In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player. The defender is not allowed to contact with the offensive players hand or a foul is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot is traveling upward or at its apex. A deflected field goal that is made does not count as a blocked shot, every successful blocked shot is counted as a missed field goal attempt for the shooter. Also, on a foul, a blocked shot cannot be awarded or counted. If the ball is heading downward when the defender hits it, it is ruled as goaltending, goaltending is also called if the block is made after the ball bounces on the backboard. Nicknames for blocked shots include rejections, stuffs, bushed, fudged, or notably double-fudged, facials, swats, denials, blocked shots were first officially recorded in the NBA during the 1973–74 season. To be a good shot-blocker, a player needs great court sense and timing, one tactic is that a shot-blocker can intimidate opponents to alter their shots, resulting in a miss. A chase-down block occurs when a player pursues an opposing player who had run ahead of the defense, often, the block involves hitting the ball into the backboard as the opponent tries to complete a lay-up. Pistons announcer Fred McLeod, who first witnessed this style of blocks from Prince, during the 2008–09 NBA season, the Cavaliers began tracking chase-down blocks, crediting LeBron James with 23 that season and 20 the following season. Career block leaders on Basketball-Reference. com Bill Russell Block Art on YouTube
