Timofey Mozgov
Timofey Pavlovich Mozgov is a Russian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. Mozgov won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, becoming one of the first Russians to do so, alongside Sasha Kaun; as a member of the Russian national team, he won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, as well as a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2011. Mozgov began his professional career with LenVo St. Petersburg, in the Russian second tier division, during the 2004–05 season. In 2006, he moved to the second level club from Samara. Before the 2006–07 season, he joined Khimki Moscow Region, where he played through the 2009–10 season. In 2010, Mozgov signed a three-year, $9.7 million contract with the New York Knicks. On January 30, 2011, after a three-week stint on the bench, Mozgov saw significant minutes against the Detroit Pistons, he had a career game scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead New York to a 124–106 victory. He played 40 minutes and was treated to loud “Mozgov!
Mozgov!” Chants in the final minute. On February 22, 2011, Mozgov was traded to the Nuggets in a three-way blockbuster deal, which involved the Minnesota Timberwolves that brought Carmelo Anthony to New York. On July 21, 2011, he joined Khimki Moscow Region for the second time during the 2011 NBA lockout. On July 27, 2013, Mozgov re-signed with the Nuggets. On April 10, 2014, he recorded career highs in points and rebounds with 23 and 29 in a 100–99 win over the Golden State Warriors. On January 7, 2015, Mozgov was traded, along with a 2015 second-round pick, to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for two protected 2015 first-round picks. Having always worn number 25, he was forced to change that upon joining the Cavaliers due to the franchise having the number retired for Mark Price, he instead chose number 20 as it was the number his father, a Soviet handball player, used while he played the sport. On January 9, he made his debut for the Cavaliers, recording nine points and eight rebounds off the bench in a 112–94 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
On June 4, 2015, he became the first Russian to play in the NBA Finals, as the Cavaliers lost Game 1 of the series to the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers went on to lose the series in six games, as Mozgov played in and started all six games. On June 23, 2015, the Cavaliers exercised the option on Mozgov's contract for the 2015–16 season. Mozgov played a reduced role throughout the season. Despite the Cavaliers going down 3–1 in the series following a Game 4 loss, they went on to win the series in seven games to become the first team in NBA history to win the championship after being down 3–1; the Cavaliers defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors in a rematch of the previous Finals. Mozgov and teammate, Sasha Kaun, became the first Russians to win an NBA championship. On July 8, 2016, Mozgov signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, he made his debut for the Lakers in their season opener on October 26, 2016, recording 12 points and eight rebounds in a 120–114 win over the Houston Rockets.
On March 14, 2017, the Lakers shut down a healthy Mozgov for the rest of the season to give the majority of playing time over the final 15 games to the team's younger players. On June 22, 2017, Mozgov was traded, along with D'Angelo Russell, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the rights to Kyle Kuzma, the 27th pick in the 2017 NBA draft. On July 6, 2018, Mozgov was traded, along with the draft rights to Hamidou Diallo, a 2021 second-round draft pick and cash considerations, to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Dwight Howard. A day he was traded again, this time to the Orlando Magic in a three-team deal. Mozgov has been a member of the senior Russian national basketball team, he played at EuroBasket 2009, EuroBasket 2011, the 2012 Summer Olympics, winning bronze medals at EuroBasket 2011 and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season, he played in domestic competition, regional competition if applicable.
National Basketball Association portal List of European basketball players in the United States Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com Timofey Mozgov at euroleague.net Timofey Mozgov at fiba.com
Iman Shumpert
Iman Asante Shumpert is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. Shumpert was selected by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Shumpert won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. In eighth grade and fellow NBA player Evan Turner were teammates on the same basketball team at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park, Illinois, he went on to attend Oak Park and River Forest High School where he was a first team all-state player and was one of the nation's top 30 seniors. He helped Oak Park and River Forest to three conference titles and was named conference MVP as a junior and senior, he was rated No. 15 among the nation's senior players by No. 26 by Rivals.com. He was selected to play in the 2008 McDonald's All-American Game, was named a third-team Parade All-American; as a freshman for Georgia Tech in 2008–09, Shumpert was the team's fourth-leading scorer for the season, averaging 10.5 points per game and hitting 34.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
During the 2009–10 season, Shumpert underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his right knee on December 3, missed six games. He went on to finish the season as the team's third-leading scorer with 10.0 points per game. In the 2010–11 season, Shumpert led his team in scoring and assists, becoming only the seventh player in ACC history to do so, he ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring, 15th in rebounds, 10th in field goal and free throw percentage, first in steals. He was a member of the conference's all-defensive team, he holds the Georgia Tech record for steals per game. On March 28, 2011, Shumpert declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. Shumpert was drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. In February 2012 teammate Jared Jeffries said that "he's about as good an on-ball defender as there is in the league right now". Shumpert was selected to compete in the 2012 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest but was unable to participate due to a knee injury.
On April 28, 2012, during a first round playoff game against the Miami Heat, Shumpert suffered a knee injury while dribbling in midcourt and was helped off the court. An MRI revealed that Shumpert tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee and would miss the rest of the season. Shumpert finished 5th in the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year voting, he received 33 total votes and one first-place vote from a ballot, filled out by 120 writers and broadcasters from across the country. He was the only rookie to receive votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award. On January 13, 2013, Shumpert was medically cleared to participate in team practice, he made his season debut on January 17 in a game against the Detroit Pistons at The O2 Arena in London. He went on to record 3 rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. In July 2013, Shumpert played one summer league game for the Knicks, recording 2 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in a 72-77 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 12, 2014, Shumpert dislocated his left shoulder in the second quarter of the Knicks' 101-95 win over the Boston Celtics and was subsequently ruled out for three weeks.
On January 5, 2015, Shumpert was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Knicks in a three-team trade that involved the Oklahoma City Thunder. Cleveland received Shumpert and J. R. Smith from the Knicks and a first round pick in the 2015 NBA draft from the Thunder, while Cleveland sent Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City and Lou Amundson, Alex Kirk, a second round pick in the 2019 NBA draft to the Knicks, the Thunder sent Lance Thomas to the Knicks. On January 23, he made his debut for the Cavaliers, recording 8 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in the 129-90 win over the Charlotte Hornets; the Cavaliers made it to the 2015 NBA Finals, but they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. On July 9, 2015, Shumpert re-signed with the Cavaliers to a four-year, $40 million contract. On September 29, 2015, he was ruled out for three months after suffering a ruptured Extensor Carpi Ulnaris sheath in his right wrist, he made his season debut on December 11 against the Orlando Magic, scoring 14 points off the bench in a 111–76 win.
On March 5, 2016, he recorded 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds off the bench in a 120–103 win over the Boston Celtics. On April 11, he was ruled out for the Cavaliers' final two games of the regular season after getting his left knee drained. Shumpert returned in time for the playoffs and helped the Cavaliers make it the NBA Finals for the second straight season; the Cavaliers would again face the Golden State Warriors. Despite the Cavaliers going down 3–1 in the series following a Game 4 loss, they went on to win the series in seven games to become the first team in NBA history to win the championship after being down 3–1. Cavaliers' coach Tyronn Lue started using Shumpert at backup point guard early on in the 2016–17 season. On March 14, 2017, he scored a season-high 18 points in a 128–96 win over the Detroit Pistons. Shumpert helped the Cavaliers go 12–1 over the first three rounds of the playoffs to reach the NBA Finals for a third straight season. There the Cavaliers matched-up with the Golden State lost the series in five games.
On December 1, 2017, Shumpert was ruled out for six to eight weeks following surgery on his left knee. He returned to action on January 2018 against the San Antonio Spurs. On February 8, 2018, Shumpert was acquired by the Sacramento Kings from the Cavaliers in a three-team trade that involved the Utah Jazz. Despite not playing for the Kings
Matthew Dellavedova
Matthew Dellavedova is an Australian professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Saint Mary's College and has played on the Australian national team. Dellavedova won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. Born and raised in Maryborough, Dellavedova is the oldest of three children in his family and is a sixth-generation Italian Australian, his father, grew up playing Australian rules football and his mother, played netball. Dellavedova began playing basketball at the age of four, he attended Maryborough Regional College and played junior basketball for the Maryborough Blazers and played in under-12 and under-14 Bendigo Braves squads. Along with basketball, he played tennis and Australian rules football at the junior level. In the latter sport, Dellavedova played the position of wing and kicked a total of 32 goals in 26 games between 1999 and 2001, but gave the game away to focus on basketball.
Despite giving the game away at a young age, he is an avid supporter of the Collingwood Magpies in the Australian Football League. Throughout his teenage years, he was selected for several Victorian state representative basketball sides and played alongside future Collingwood captain, Scott Pendlebury. In 2007, he moved to Canberra to attend the Australian Institute of Sport where he spent three years playing in the South East Australian Basketball League. Both of Dellavedova's sisters and Ingrid, play basketball as well, with Yana playing U. S. college basketball for Long Beach State in 2012–13. Dellavedova was recruited by Randy Bennett and the Saint Mary's College of California in 2009 and signed with the Gaels before the 2009–10 season, he was ranked by ESPN as one of the top junior players in Australia. Dellavedova contributed for the Gaels and started all 34 games as a freshman. In 2009–10, he averaged 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists per game. That season, the Gaels won 28 games and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Gaels reached the Sweet Sixteen by upsetting Villanova, 75–68. Dellavedova's crucial late free throws iced the game against the Wildcats. On 16 January 2013, Dellavedova scored 18 points, including a game-winning three-point buzzer-beater, in a 70–69 victory over the BYU Cougars; the forty-foot shot soon became known as the "Dellavedagger." In 2012 -- 13, Dellavedova was a Senior CLASS Award finalist. Dellavedova graduated from Saint Mary's in 2013 with a degree in psychology, he finished his college career as Saint Mary's all-time leader in scoring, games played, free throw percentage, three-point shots. St. Mary's retired his jersey on 15 February 2014. Dellavedova's # 4. After going undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft, Dellavedova joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2013 NBA Summer League. On 12 September 2013, he signed a two-year, $1.3 million contract with the Cavaliers, with $100,000 guaranteed. On 26 March 2014, he had a season-best game with 21 points and 6 assists in a 97–96 win over the Detroit Pistons.
In July 2014, Dellavedova re-joined the Cavaliers for the 2014 NBA Summer League. On 9 November 2014, he was ruled out for four to six weeks with a sprained left knee that he sustained in the fourth quarter of Cleveland's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on 4 November. On 8 December 2014, he returned from injury to face the Brooklyn Nets. On 11 February 2015, Dellavedova was selected to participate in the Rising Stars Challenge as part of the 2015 NBA All-Star weekend. On 14 May 2015, Dellavedova scored a team-high 19 points to help the Cavaliers defeat the Chicago Bulls and advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2009. Following the Cavaliers' Game 3 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Eastern Conference Finals, Dellavedova's aggressive play became a major talking point with some describing him as a "dirty" player. Despite this criticism, teammate LeBron James and NBA great Charles Barkley both defended Dellavedova's style of play. In Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, in the absence of the injured Kyrie Irving, Dellavedova held Stephen Curry to 0-of-8 shooting and four turnovers while guarding him.
The Cavaliers won Game 2 in double-overtime, 95–93, for their first victory of an NBA Finals game in franchise history. In Game 3, Dellavedova scored a playoff career-high 20 points as the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors to take a 2–1 series lead. After the game, Dellavedova was so dehydrated that he needed an IV, he was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for medical attention; the Cavaliers went on to lose the last three games of the series, however, as Dellavedova shot just 19% from the field in those three games. On 27 July 2015, Dellavedova re-signed with the Cavaliers. On 19 November 2015, he recorded 7 points and a career-high 13 assists in a 115–100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Four days he had a season-best game starting in place of injured guards Kyrie Irving and Mo Williams. In just under 24 minutes of action, he recorded 15 points and 9 assists in a 117–103 win over the Orlando Magic. On 20 December, he scored a season-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in a 108–86 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
On 18 February, he returned to the line-up after missing five straight games with a strained hamstring. Dellavedova went on to help the Cavaliers defeat the Toronto Raptors on 27 May in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals; the 4–2 series win advanced the Cavaliers to their second straight NBA Finals. In a Finals rematch with the Warriors, the Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to win the championship after being down 3–1 in the series. On 7 J
Draymond Green
Draymond Jamal Green Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Green, who plays at the power forward position, is a three-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA All-Star. In 2017, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Green grew up in Saginaw and played college basketball for Michigan State, where he helped the Spartans earn two Final Four appearances and a Big Ten Tournament championship in 2012. Throughout his four-year college career, Green earned conference and national honors, including Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore, consensus All-American and NABC National Player of the Year honors as a senior, he went on to be drafted 35th overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors, played a key role on the Warriors' 2015, 2017 and 2018 championship teams. Green, who plays significant minutes for the Warriors as an undersized center in their Death Lineup, has been cited as one of the leaders in an emerging trend in the NBA of versatile frontcourt players capable of playing and defending multiple positions, making plays for teammates and spacing the floor.
Green attended Saginaw High School in Saginaw, where he played for coach Lou Dawkins. As a sophomore in 2005 -- 06, he averaged 11 rebounds per game; as a junior in 2006–07, he averaged 25 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as he led Saginaw to the Class A State Championship and a 26–1 record. On November 14, 2007, Green signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Michigan State. Green had considered signing with Michigan and Kentucky; as a senior in 2007–08, Green averaged 20 points, 13 rebounds, two blocked shots per game in leading the Saginaw High Trojans to a 27–1 record, a No. 4 national ranking by USA Today and a Class A State Championship for a second straight year. He was subsequently named captain of the Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Team, was rated the No. 36 player in the ESPN 150, including the No. 13 power forward. As a freshman for Michigan State in 2008–09, Green appeared in 37 games off the Spartan bench as he averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game on the season.
During Michigan State's 2009 NCAA tournament run to the championship game, Green improved to average 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds, ranking fourth on the squad in scoring and second in rebounding while shooting a team-best.679 from the field in the tournament. As a sophomore in 2009–10, Green appeared in 37 games with three starting assignments as he averaged 9.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He became the first player in Michigan State history to be named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, winning the award by unanimous vote, he earned third-team All-Big Ten honors and was the recipient of MSU's Most Improved Player, Chairman of the Boards and Antonio Smith Glue and Guts awards. Twice, Green scored a season-high 19 points, on December 10 against Oakland and December 30 against Texas–Arlington, he had seven games with double-doubles, including 17 points and 16 rebounds on February 6 against Illinois. As a junior in 2010 -- 11, Green averaged 8.6 rebounds per game. On February 10, 2011, Green followed Charlie Bell and Magic Johnson to be the third Michigan State men's basketball player to record a triple-double.
In the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, he recorded his second triple-double of the season and the seventh in NCAA tournament history in the loss against UCLA. He went on to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year; as a senior in 2011–12, Green captained the Spartans to a regular season Big Ten championship and Big Ten Tournament championship. The 2011–12 squad compiled a regular season 24–7 record and a 13–5 mark in Big Ten play, good for the team's 13th conference title and the third in the previous four years. Green was named Big Ten Men's Basketball Player of the week four times during the season. On March 5, 2012, Green was named Big Ten Player of the Year by the coaches and media and was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection. On March 10, 2012, Draymond passed Johnny Green as the second all-time rebounding leader at MSU, finishing the game with 1,046 career rebounds. On March 16, 2012, Green recorded his third career triple-double against LIU-Brooklyn in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament and joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as just the third player in NCAA history to have two career triple-doubles in the NCAA tournament.
On March 22, 2012, in a loss to Louisville, Green collected 16 rebounds, bringing him to 1,096 career rebounds, the most in Michigan State history ahead of Greg Kelser. He ended his career as one of three players in Michigan State history with over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Green was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. On July 30, 2012, he signed a three-year, $2.6 million contract with the Warriors. In his NBA debut in the Warriors' season opener on October 31 against the Phoenix Suns, Green played one minute, made one defensive rebound, committed one foul. Green received more playing time in subsequent games in the wake of injuries to Brandon Rush and Richard Jefferson. After getting only marginal floor time at the beginning of the season, by November 22, Green was playing 15–20 minutes per game, by December 9, as Green gained a bigger role on the team, the Warriors had won 8 of 10 games. On December 12, Green made the winning layup with 0.9 second left in the Warriors' 97–95 win over the defending champion Miami Heat.
In Game 1 of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs ag
Stephen Curry
Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. A six-time NBA All-Star, he has been named the NBA Most Valuable Player twice and won three NBA championships with the Warriors. Many players and analysts have called him the greatest shooter in NBA history, he is credited with revolutionizing the game of basketball by inspiring teams to employ the three-point shot as part of their winning strategy. In 2014–15, Curry won his first MVP award and led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975; the following season, he became the first player in NBA history to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote and to lead the league in scoring while shooting above 50–40–90. That same year, the Warriors broke the record for the most wins in an NBA season en route to reaching the 2016 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry helped the Warriors return to the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018, where they won back-to-back titles.
Curry is older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry. He played college basketball for Davidson. There, he was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and set the all-time scoring record for both Davidson and the Southern Conference. During his sophomore year, he set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made. During the 2012–13 season, Curry set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 272, he surpassed that record in 2015 with 286, again in 2016 with 402. Curry is third in all-time made three-pointers in NBA history; the 2012–13 season saw Curry and teammate Klay Thompson earn the nickname of the Splash Brothers, with the pair going on to set the NBA record for combined three-pointers in a season with 484 in 2013–14, a record they broke the following season and again in the 2015–16 season. Wardell Stephen Curry II is the son of Dell Curry, he was born in Ohio while his father was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets.
Dell took Curry and his younger brother Seth to his games, where they would shoot with the Hornets during warm-ups. The family relocated to Toronto, where Dell finished out his career as a member of the Raptors. During this time, Curry played for the Queensway Christian College boys' basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season, he was a member of Toronto 5–0, a club team that plays across Ontario, pitting him against fellow future NBA players Cory Joseph and Kelly Olynyk. Curry led the team to a 33–4 record, en route to winning the provincial championship. Following Dell's retirement, the family moved back to Charlotte and Curry enrolled at Charlotte Christian School, where he was named all-conference, all-state, led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances; because of his father's storied career at Virginia Tech, Curry wanted to play college basketball for the Hokies, but was only offered a walk-on spot due in part to his slender 160-pound frame. He chose to attend Davidson College, who had aggressively recruited him from the tenth grade.
Before Curry played in his first game for the Wildcats, head coach Bob McKillop praised him at a Davidson alumni event, "Wait'til you see Steph Curry. He is something special." In his first collegiate game, against Eastern Michigan, Curry finished with 15 points but committed 13 turnovers. In the next game, against Michigan, he scored 32 points, dished out 4 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds. Curry finished the season leading the Southern Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game. He was second in the nation behind only Kevin Durant of Texas. Curry's scoring ability helped the Wildcats to a 29–5 overall record and a Southern Conference regular season title. On March 2, 2007, in the Southern Conference tournament semi-finals against Furman, Curry made his 113th three-pointer of the year, breaking Keydren Clark's NCAA freshman season record for 3-point field goals. Curry eclipsed the school freshman scoring record with his 502nd point against Chattanooga on February 6, 2007. On March 15, 2007, Davidson marched into the NCAA tournament.
At the end of his freshman season, Curry was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, SoCon Tournament MVP, selected to the SoCon All-tournament team, All-freshman team, first team All-SoCon. He was honorable mention in Sports Illustrated's All-Mid-Major. After the season ended, he was selected for the USA team to appear at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championships in which he averaged 9.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 19.4 minutes, helping Team USA to a silver medal finish. In his sophomore season in 2007–08, Curry had grown to his adult height of 6 ft 3 in and again led the Southern Conference in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game while adding 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game. He led the Wildcats to a 26–6 regular season record, a 20–0 conference record; as a result of Curry's exceptional play, Davidson earned its third straight NCAA Tournament bid. On March 21, 2008, Davidson matched up with seventh-seeded Gonzaga. Gonzaga led by 11 points early in the second half but Curry went on to score 30 points in the half to push Davidson to their first NCAA Tournament win since 1969, 82–76.
Curry ended the game with 40 points while going 8-for-10 from 3-point range. On March 23, Davidson played second seeded Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown, ranked eighth nationally, entered the game as a h
Andre Iguodala
Andre Tyler Iguodala is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. The swingman has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice, he has won three NBA championships with the Warriors, was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 2015. He was a member of the United States national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2012 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal both times. Iguodala played college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats. After earning first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-10 as a sophomore in 2004, he was selected in the 2004 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. Iguodala played for Philadelphia until the summer of 2012, when he joined the Denver Nuggets in a four-team trade, he was acquired by Golden State in 2013. In 2014–15, he became a reserve for the first time in his career, but captured the Finals MVP after returning to the starting lineup in the middle of the championship series.
Iguodala was born in Illinois. He is the son of Linda Shanklin, his older brother, played for Lake Land College in Mattoon and Dayton. His mother is African American. Growing up, Iguodala rooted for the Chicago Bulls, he cites Michael Jordan as the player he looked up to. Iguodala attended high school at Lanphier High School in Springfield, Illinois, a school that produced other notable athletes, including baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts and basketball guard Kevin Gamble. At Lanphier he did well athletically; as a senior in 2002, Iguodala led Lanphier's basketball team to a runner-up finish at the Illinois High School Association Class AA state tournament. That season, he averaged 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He was named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year as well as a second team Parade All-American and Nike All-American. Iguodala was a finalist for the Illinois Mr. Basketball award, awarded to Dee Brown, his Lanphier jersey is now retired. During the summer of 2000, Iguodala captured the attention of coaches around the nation as he was named the AAU national tournament Most Valuable Player after hitting the game-winning shot at the final buzzer to give his team the 17-and-under national title.
In 2002, he played in the Jordan Brand Classic in Washington, D. C. In 22 minutes of play, Iguodala put up six points on 3–6 shooting, five rebounds, two assists, three steals and a block. Iguodala played AAU basketball under Larry Butler and the Illinois Warriors, the team that has featured other professional players such as Dwyane Wade, Quentin Richardson, Jon Scheyer. Considered a four-star recruit by Scout.com, Iguodala was listed as the No. 6 small forward and the No. 26 player in the nation in 2002. Iguodala signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Arkansas, he had narrowed down his list of desired schools to two: Arkansas. Iguodala was enticed by Arkansas's 1–3 system, which would have allowed Iguodala to run the point occasionally. Iguodala visited the Arkansas campus and was impressed by their large gymnasium and the number of fans at a practice while he visited with his mother and father. However, after their coach, Nolan Richardson, was fired that year, Iguodala decided to attend Arizona instead.
At Arizona he joined future NBA players Channing Frye, Luke Walton, Mustafa Shakur, Salim Stoudamire and Hassan Adams. One of the determining factors for Iguodala was the commitment of Hassan Adams, whom Iguodala had played with in the Jordan Brand Classic in high school. Many colleges regarded Iguodala as a track star turned basketball player but teammate Luke Walton said, "He is going to be one of the best players to come out of Arizona by the time he is done here", he was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshmen team for 2002–03. In his freshman year he established himself as one of the best all-around players on the team, ranking in the top 5 for his team in just about every major category; as a sophomore in 2003–04, Iguodala was named team MVP after leading his team in rebounds and steals. He made the All-Pac-10 First Team and was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press, he collected three triple-doubles that season, joining Jason Kidd as the only two players in Pac-10 history to post two or more triple-doubles in a season.
During his career at Arizona, the Wildcats made it to the NCAA seasons. In his freshman year the Wildcats were defeated in the Elite Eight by Kansas. In his sophomore year, Arizona was defeated in the first round by Seton Hall. After posting career totals of 594 points, 409 rebounds and 95 steals in 62 games he left to enter the NBA draft. At Arizona, Iguodala planned to major in education. After the season, Iguodala signed with agent Rob Pelinka, co-founder of the Landmark Sports Agency, who had represented NBA All-Stars such as Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer and Gerald Wallace. Iguodala was selected 9th overall in the 2004 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers; when Iguodala was selected, ESPN personality Dick Vitale commented that it was a mistake for the Sixers to take him, saying "Iguodala was a shooter from the college three-point line. He's not going to be able to play", Iguodala used this as motivation in what proved to be a productive rookie season. Iguodala was thrust into the starting lineup during his rookie season and was the only 76er to play and start all 82 regular s
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion; the winners of the Finals are awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983; the series was known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America merged with the National Basketball League to form the NBA. The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1985, as well as a brief stint as the Showdown, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986; the NBA Finals was structured to harbor a 2-2-1-1-1 format. In 1985, it was changed to a 2–3–2 format to ease the amount of cross country travel until 2013, where the first two and last two games of the series were played at the arena of the team who earned home-court advantage by having the better record during the regular season. In 2014, the 2–2–1–1–1 format was restored.
The first two are played at home for the higher-seeded team, the following two at the home of the lower-seeded team. The following three are played at each team's home arena alternately. A total of 18 franchises have won the NBA Finals, with the Golden State Warriors the current champion; the Boston Celtics hold the record for the most victories, having won the competition 17 times, as well as winning the competition the most times in a row, winning it eight times from 1959 to 1966. The Los Angeles Lakers have contested the NBA Finals the most times, with 31 appearances; the Eastern Conference has provided the most champions, with 38 wins from ten franchises. The Boston Celtics went 11–1 in the NBA Finals during 13 seasons, they won eight straight NBA championships from 1959 through 1966. This period marks the largest stretch of seasons that a single team made up over 65% of Finals appearances, includes the only time the NBA Finals was decided in double overtime. With the establishment of the Celtics dynasty in 1957 spearheaded by center Bill Russell, the team saw great success, only encountering difficulty when up against teams led by Wilt Chamberlain.
However, for most of the late 1950s and 1960s, the Celtics and Russell managed to have an upper hand on Chamberlain's teams. In 1964, who had moved to the state of California alongside his team, led the San Francisco Warriors to a Western Conference championship, but again failed to conquer the Celtics; the following season, he returned to the Eastern Conference to join the Philadelphia 76ers, who were the former Syracuse Nationals that had relocated to the city to cover the vacancy created with the departure of the Warriors. The first clash between the two stars in the playoffs was in 1966, with Boston winning the series 4–1. In the following season, Philadelphia coach Alex Hannum instructed Chamberlain to provide an increased focus on playing a team game, to avoid drawing the double-teams that troubled Chamberlain during the Finals; this tactical change brought the team to a new record of 68 wins the following season, as well as defeating the Celtics before winning the Finals. In 1968, Boston overcame a 3–1 deficit against Philadelphia to once again arrive in the Finals.
They went on to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals to again become NBA Champions. In 1969, the Celtics faced great difficulty entering the postseason, as they had an aging team and multiple injuries to a number of players, they qualified for the playoffs as the fourth and final seed in the East, while the Lakers, who had added Chamberlain in the offseason to join stars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The Lakers won the West and were prohibitive favorites to become Champions for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles. Despite holding a 2-1 advantage going into Game 4, the Lakers led 87–86 and had the ball with 10 seconds to play, but after a turnover, Sam Jones scored tying the series. The series was tied 3-3 going into Game 7 in Los Angeles, with Lakers owner Jack Cooke hanging balloons in the arena in anticipation of a Lakers victory. West picked up injuries to his thigh and hamstring during the series, returned to play for the final game. Russell utilized this newly lacking mobility in West to organize fast breaks at every opportunity for the Celtics, which allowed them to gain an early lead.
They held off a furious Lakers comeback to win 108–106 and win the series, win their eleventh championship in 13 years. As many stars either declined or retired following this win, it is recognized as the last NBA Finals conducted by the Celtics dynasty; the 1970s saw. In 1970, a classic final featured the Knicks against the Lakers. In the waning moments of Game 3, with the series tied, Jerry West hit a basket from 60 feet to tie the game, a shot which became one of the most famous ever. However, the Knicks won in overtime and continued their momentum for a 4–3 win, becoming the first team after the Celtics dynasty to win an NBA championship; the Milwaukee Bucks won their first franchise title, defeating the Baltimore Bullets in 1971. Two seasons after losing in the Finals, the Lakers got a measure of revenge by winning 33 straight games, the longest such streak in NBA history. By season's end, they broke the record for most wins in a season with 69, one more than the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers, before taking home the championship for the first time since relocating to Los Angeles.
The Knicks returned to win the championship round again a season to record their second victorious season. Despite the rise of the Knicks, the
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