1.
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
2.
Lincoln, Nebraska
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Lincoln is the capital of the U. S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 92.81 square miles with a population of 277,348 in 2015 and it is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 72nd-largest in the United States. The statistical area is home to 345,478 people, making it the 105th-largest combined statistical area in the United States, the city was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster on the wild salt marshes of what was to become Lancaster County. In 1867, the village of Lancaster became Nebraskas state capital and was renamed Lincoln, bertram G. Goodhue designed state capitol building was completed in 1932 and is the second tallest capitol in the United States. As the city is the seat of government for the state of Nebraska, the state, the University of Nebraska was founded in Lincoln in 1867. The university is the largest in Nebraska with 25,006 students enrolled and is the citys third-largest employer, other primary employers fall within the service and manufacturing industries, including a growing high-tech sector. The region makes up a part of what is known as the greater Midwest Silicon Prairie, designated as a refugee-friendly city by the U. S. Department of State in the 1970s, the city was the twelfth-largest resettlement site per capita in the United States by 2000. Refugee Vietnamese, Karen, Sudanese, and Yazidi people have resettled in the city. Lincoln Public Schools during the year of 2016–17 provided support for approximately 3,200 students from 118 countries. Prior to the westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass. Plains Indians, descendants of peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in. The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River, an occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s. Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859, the village was sited on the east bank of Salt Creek. The first settlers were attracted to the due to the abundance of salt. Once J. Sterling Morton developed his salt mines in Kansas, Captain W. T. Donovan, a former steamer captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. In the fall of 1859, the settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Captain Donovan, after the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders began to inhabit the area. The first plat was dated August 6,1864, by the close of 1868, Lancaster had a population of approximately 500 people
3.
Ames High School
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Ames High School is the sole high school in Ames, Iowa, United States. In its recently released rankings, the magazine awarded Ames High School a silver medal, nearly one third of Ames High students retain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. In 2012, Ames High School produced the greatest number of National Merit Scholars in the state, in the class of 2012, there were 23 National Merit Semi Finalists Students from Ames High. Fifteen Ames High School students have been named presidential scholars since 1964, Ames High School has an ACT average of 25.3, and a SAT average of 1261. Approximately half of Ames High Graduates attending college at Iowa Regents Universities maintain a grade point average above 3.0 in their freshman year, Ames High School has a graduation rate of 94. 5%. The AP Index is calculated by taking the number of AP exams taken divided by the number of graduates, Ames High School offers several AP, honors, and accelerated classes. Ames High School is a member of the Iowa Conference of the Central Iowa Metropolitan League, teams sponsored by the school include football, boys and girls cross-country, boys golf, girls swimming, and volleyball in the fall season. During the winter season, the sponsored sports are boys and girls basketball, wrestling. The spring consists of boys and girls golf, boys and girls track, boys and girls tennis, the summer sports are baseball and softball. The head of activities is Judge Johnston. The girls golf team was crowned champions for the State Tournament in 2009, the Ames High Hockey team won state two times in 1985 and in 1986. The Ames High Girls swim team won four state meets in a row from 2010 to 2013, the Ames High Basketball have won eight championships, most recently consecutive titles in 2009 and 2010. For the first time in history, the Boys Tennis team won the state championship for Iowa in 2011. The Ames High Girls Tennis team won the 2A State title four years in a row, since 1941 Ames High has won 20 state championships in track and field. The Ultimate Frisbee team has been runner up at the tournament from 2012 to 2015. The school rests on a 74-acre campus which includes a 20-acre natural prairie reserve, the building has been recently renovated to incorporate new lockers, a wrestling room, a larger cafeteria, a modernized gym, and new weight room equipment. The student body at Ames High School has a presence in music. There are four bands, three choirs, two orchestras, two jazz bands, a pep band, and several instrument choirs
4.
Ames, Iowa
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Ames is a city located in the central part of the U. S. state of Iowa in Story County. Lying approximately 30 miles north of Des Moines, it had a 2010 population of 58,965, while Ames is the largest city in Story County, the county seat is in the nearby city of Nevada 8 miles east of Ames. Ames is the home of Iowa State University of Science and Technology, a research institution with leading Agriculture, Design, Engineering. ISU is the nations first designated land-grant university, and the birthplace of the Atanasoff–Berry Computer, Ames is also the home of the USDAs Agricultural Research Services National Animal Disease Center. NADC is the largest federal animal disease center in the U. S. conducting research aimed at solving animal health and food safety problems faced by livestock producers, Ames has the headquarters for the Iowa Department of Transportation. In 2010, Ames was ranked ninth on CNNMoney. com Best Places to Live list, the city was founded in 1864 as a station stop on the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad and was named after 19th century U. S. Congressman Oakes Ames of Massachusetts, who was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad, Ames was founded by local resident Cynthia Olive Duff and railroad magnate John Insley Blair, near a location that was deemed favorable for a railroad crossing of the Skunk River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 24.27 square miles. Ames is located on Interstate 35, U. S. Route 30 &69, two small streams run through the town, the South Skunk River and Squaw Creek. Campustown is the neighborhood south of Iowa State University Central Campus bordered by Lincoln Way on the north. Campustown is a high-density mixed-use neighborhood that is home to many student apartments, nightlife venues, restaurants, Ames has a humid continental climate. On average, the warmest month is July and the coldest is January, the highest recorded temperature was 102 °F in 1988 and the lowest was −28 °F in 1996. As of the census of 2010, there were 58,965 people,22,759 households, the population density was 2,435.6 inhabitants per square mile. There were 23,876 housing units at a density of 986.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 84. 5% White,3. 4% African American,0. 2% Native American,8. 8% Asian,1. 1% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 4% of the population. 30. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 6. 2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the city was 23.8 years. 13. 4% of residents were under the age of 18,40. 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24,22. 9% were from 25 to 44, 15% were from 45 to 64, and 8. 1% were 65 years of age or older
5.
Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball
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The Iowa State Cyclones mens basketball team represents Iowa State University and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The team is coached by Steve Prohm, he is in his 2nd year at Iowa State, the Cyclones play their home games at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa States campus. From 1907 to 1928, the Cyclones played in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, managing a few winning records in-conference, in 1929, the Cyclones moved to the Big Six Conference and named Louis Menze as head coach. Over the next 19 years, Menze would lead the Cyclones to four conference championships, two of these teams earned consideration for the then eight-team NCAA Tournament, the 1941 squad lost in a pre-Tournament qualifying game to Creighton. Neither these tournament wins, nor their regular season performances, qualified the Cyclones for postseason play in the 33 years between Menzes and Johnny Orrs stints in the coaching position. However, the 1957 Cyclones were ranked #3 in the nation after handing Wilt Chamberlains #1 Kansas its first loss, Gary Thompson outscored Chamberlain, while Don Medsker held Chamberlain to a career low in scoring and then hit the game winner at the buzzer. No.3 remains the schools national ranking. From the introduction of the Big Eights postseason tournament in 1977 until Johnny Orrs fifth season in 1985, Johnny Orr came to Iowa State from Michigan in 1980. Iowa States athletics director had called Orr to inquire about Michigan assistant Bill Frieder, when Orr learned of the salary Iowa State would offer Frieder, he negotiated the Iowa State head coaching job for himself. Orr is credited with building Hilton Magic and laying the foundation for Iowa States success in mens basketball, Orrs first team, led by junior forward Robert Estes produced a lackluster 9–18 record. Freshman forward Ron Harris, whom Orr considered his first prominent Cyclone recruit, led by sophomore Ron Harris and freshman recruit Barry Stevens of Flint, Michigan, Orrs 1981–82 team finished the season with a 10–17 overall record and a 5–9 record in Big Eight play. Harris gave the Cyclones 13.3 points per game, while Stevens contributed 13.0 points per game, senior Robert Estes added 10.3 points per game. The Cyclones improved to a 13–15 overall record in the 1982–83 season, many of the Cyclone faithful regard sophomore Barry Stevens buzzer-beating shot against 10th-ranked Missouri during the 1982–83 season as the foundational example of Hilton Magic. Stevens tallied per-game averages of 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for the season, Ron Harris contributed 14.3 points per game. The Cyclones played in the 1984 National Invitation Tournament, losing to Marquette in the first round, junior forward Barry Stevens averaged 22.2 points per game on the season. Seniors Terrence Allen and Ron Harris each averaged 11.0 points per game, Iowa State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Orr and for just the second time in the history of the program. The Cyclones, the #13 seed in the Midwest Region, lost to #4 seed Ohio State by a score of 75–64, ISU managed to upset 10th-ranked Kansas twice during the regular season. Barry Stevens averaged 21.7 points per game, Jeff Hornacek recorded 12.5 points per game, and freshman Jeff Grayer averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds on the season
6.
1995 NBA draft
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The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28,1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. Kevin Garnett, who was fifth in this draft, is notable for being the first player in two decades to be selected straight out of high school. Garnett would go on to gather fifteen All Star selections, eight All-NBA selections, one NBA MVP award, rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse also had successful careers, being four-time and two-time All-Stars respectively. Wallace won an NBA championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons, while Stackhouse scored the most total points in the league in 2000, the other remaining top selections had relatively productive careers, but were considered to have never reached their full potential. Joe Smith put up solid, but unspectacular numbers throughout his career and is considered a disappointment for a first overall selection. He was also involved in a salary cap scandal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Antonio McDyess was a one-time All-Star, but serious and continuing knee injuries decreased much of his effectiveness in the prime of his career. Damon Stoudamire was the 1995–96 NBA Rookie of the Year and had a solid career although he was arrested, suspended and fined several times for marijuana possession and this draft was also notable for two of the biggest busts in NBA history, Ed OBannon and Shawn Respert. OBannon had received accolades for leading the UCLA Bruins to the NCAA Championship. Respert played only four seasons in the NBA, while secretly hiding that he was suffering from stomach cancer, the following players went undrafted in the 1995 NBA Draft but later played in the NBA. The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft, a The Los Angeles Clippers traded Randy Woods and the draft rights of Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Rodney Rogers and the draft rights to Brent Barry
7.
Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association and they play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after Indianas history with the Indianapolis 500s pace cars, the Pacers have won three championships, all in the ABA. The Pacers were Eastern Conference champions in 2000, the team has won nine division titles. Five Hall of Fame players – Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, Alex English, Mel Daniels, in early 1967, a group of six investors pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association. For their first seven years, they played in the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum, in 1974, they moved to the plush new Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis, where they played for 25 years. Early in the Pacers second season, former Indiana Hoosiers standout Bob Slick Leonard became the head coach. Leonard quickly turned the Pacers into a juggernaut and his teams were buoyed by the great play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Mount and Roger Brown. The Pacers were – and ended – as the most successful team in ABA history, in all, they appeared in the ABA Finals five times in the leagues nine-year history, a feat that was never bettered by any other ABA franchise. The Pacers were one of four ABA teams that joined the NBA in the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, for the 1976–77 season the Pacers were joined in the merged league by the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, and San Antonio Spurs. The league charged a $3.2 million entry fee for each former ABA team, as a result of the merger, the four teams dealt with financial troubles. Additionally, the Pacers had some financial troubles which dated back to their days in the ABA. The new NBA teams also were barred from sharing in national TV revenues for four years, the Pacers finished their inaugural NBA season with a record of 36–46. Billy Knight and Don Buse represented Indiana in the NBA All-Star Game, however, this was one of the few bright spots of the Pacers first 13 years in the NBA. During this time, they had only three non-losing seasons and only two playoff appearances, a lack of continuity became the norm for most of the next decade, as they traded away Knight and Buse before the 1977–78 season even started. They acquired Adrian Dantley in exchange for Knight, but Dantley was traded in December, while the Pacers second-leading scorer, the early Pacers came out on the short end of two of the most one-sided trades in NBA history. In 1980, they traded Alex English to the Nuggets in order to reacquire former ABA star George McGinnis, McGinnis was long past his prime, and contributed very little during his two-year return
8.
Shooting guard
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The shooting guard, also known as the two or off guard, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guards main objective is to score points for his team, some teams ask their shooting guards to bring up the ball as well, these players are known colloquially as combo guards. A player who can switch between playing shooting guard and small forward is known as a swingman, notable swing men include Jimmy Butler, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Joe Johnson, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins, Evan Turner and Tyreke Evans. In the NBA, shooting guards usually range from 64 to 67, the Basketball Handbook by Lee Rose describes a shooting guard as someone whose primary role is to score points. As the name suggests, most shooting guards are good long-range shooters, typically, shooting guards are taller than point guards. Height at the position varies, many bigger shooting guards also play small forward, Shooting guards should be good ball handlers and be able to pass reasonably well, though passing is not their main priority. Since good shooting guards may attract double-teams, they are frequently the teams back-up ball handlers to the point guard, Shooting guards must be able to score in various ways, especially late in a close game when defenses are tighter. They need to have a free throw percentage too, to be reliable in close games. Because of the level of offensive skills shooting guards need, they are often a teams primary scoring option. Good shooting guards can usually play point guard to a certain extent, Lee H. Rose ISBN 0-7360-4906-1 Media related to Shooting guards at Wikimedia Commons
9.
Chicago Bulls
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The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16,1966, the team plays its home games at the United Center, an arena shared with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s and they are known for having one of the NBAs greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, the Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships and never lose an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 NBA season, setting an NBA record that stood until the Golden State Warriors won 73 games during the 2015–16 NBA season. The Bulls were the first team in NBA history to win 70 games or more in a season. Many experts and analysts consider the 1996 Bulls to be one of the greatest teams in NBA history, Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose have both won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award while playing for the Bulls, for a total of six MVP awards. The Bulls share rivalries with the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, the Bulls rivalry with the Pistons was highlighted heavily during the late 1980s and early 1990s. On January 16,1966 Chicago was granted an NBA franchise to be called the Bulls, the Chicago Bulls became the third NBA franchise in the city, after the Chicago Stags and the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs. The Bulls founder, Dick Klein, was the Bulls only owner to play professional basketball. He served as the Bulls president and general manager in their initial years, after the 1966 NBA Expansion Draft, the newly founded Chicago Bulls were allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league for the upcoming 1966–67 season. The team started in the 1966–67 NBA season, and posted the best record by a team in NBA history. In their first two seasons, the Bulls played most of their games at the International Amphitheatre, before moving to Chicago Stadium. Fan interest was diminishing after four seasons, with one game in the 1967–68 NBA season having an attendance of 891. The Bulls under Williams and head coach Dick Motta qualified for four straight playoffs and had attendances grow to over 10,000, in 1972, the Bulls set a franchise win-loss record at 57 wins and 25 losses. During the 1970s, the Bulls relied on Jerry Sloan, forwards Bob Love and Chet Walker, point guard Norm Van Lier, the team made the conference finals in 1975 but lost to the Golden State Warriors,4 games to 3. After four 50-win seasons, Williams returned to Philadelphia, and Motta decided to become GM as well, the Bulls ended up declining, winning only 24 games in the 1975–1976 season
10.
Minnesota Timberwolves
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 1989, the team is owned by Glen Taylor, the Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for that season. The team has been in rebuilding mode for the past decade since missing the playoffs in 2005, Garnett returned to the Timberwolves in a February 2015 trade and finished his career there, retiring in the 2016 offseason. NBA basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1989 for the first time since the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles in 1960. The NBA had granted one of its four new teams on April 22,1987 to original owners Harvey Ratner. The franchise conducted a name the team contest and eventually selected two finalists, Timberwolves and Polars, in December 1986, the team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner and Timberwolves prevailed by nearly 2-1. The team was named the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 23,1987. Minnesota is home to the largest population of timberwolves in the lower 48 states, the Timberwolves debuted on November 3,1989, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road 106–94. Five days later, they made their debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Two nights later on November 10, the Wolves got their first win, the Timberwolves, led by Tony Campbell with 23.2 ppg, went on to a 22–60 record, finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division. Playing in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the expansion Timberwolves set an NBA record by drawing over 1 million fans to their home games. This included a crowd of 49,551 on April 17,1990, the next season, the team moved into their permanent home, the Target Center, and improved somewhat, finishing 29–53. However, they fired their coach, Bill Musselman. They fared far worse in the 1991–92 NBA season under Musselmans successor, ex-Celtics coach Jimmy Rodgers, finishing with an NBA-worst 15–67 record. One of the few highlights from that era was when the Target Center served as host of the 1994 All-Star Game where Rider won the Slam Dunk Contest with his between-the-leg East Bay Funk Dunk. As winning basketball continued to elude the Wolves, Ratner and Wolfenson nearly sold the team to New Orleans interests in 1994 before NBA owners rejected the proposed move, eventually, Glen Taylor bought the team and named Kevin McHale general manager
11.
Big Eight Conference
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The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association -affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. Additionally, the University of Iowa was an member of the MVIAA. The conference was dissolved in 1996, the Big Eight kept its headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. In February 1995, the Big Eight and the Southwest Conference announced that the two leagues had reached an agreement to form a new conference. The eight members of the Big Eight joined with SWC schools Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Texas Tech to form the Big 12 Conference the following year. A vote was conducted on whether to keep the new headquarters in Kansas City. The two Oklahoma schools, all four Texas schools, and Colorado voted for the move while both Kansas schools, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa State voted for Kansas City. The University of Iowa who was also a member of the Western Conference was also a joint member of the conference, Iowa only participated in football and outdoor mens track and field. In 1908, Drake University and Iowa Agricultural College joined the MVIAA, Iowa who was a joint member departed in 1911 to only compete in the Western Conference, but Kansas State University joined the conference in 1913. Nebraska left in 1918 to play as an independent for two seasons before returning in 1920, in 1919, the University of Oklahoma and Saint Louis University applied for membership, but were disapproved due to deficient management of their athletic programs. The conference then added Grinnell College in 1919, with the University of Oklahoma applying again, Oklahoma A&M University joined in 1925, bringing conference membership to ten, an all-time high. At a meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska, on May 19,1928, Six of the seven state schools formed a conference that was initially known as the Big Six Conference. Just before the start of practice, the six schools announced they would retain the MVIAA name for formal purposes. However, fans and media continued to call it the Big Six, the three private schools – Drake, Grinnell, and Washington University – joined with Oklahoma A&M, becoming known as the Missouri Valley Conference. For the remainder of the Big Eights run, both conferences claimed 1907 as their date, as well as the same history through 1927. To this day, it has never been established which conference was the original. Conference membership grew with the addition of the University of Colorado on December 1,1947, later that month, Reaves E. Peters was hired as Commissioner of Officials and Assistant Secretary and set up the first conference offices in Kansas City, Missouri. With the addition of Colorado, the unofficial name became the Big Seven Conference, coincidentally
12.
Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament
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The Big 12 Mens Basketball Tournament is the championship mens basketball tournament in the Big 12 Conference. It is a tournament of four rounds, with the top four seeds getting byes in the first round. Starting in 2012, the top six seeds will get byes in the first round, seeding is based on regular season records. The tournament has been every year since the first full basketball season was completed in 1997. Since that time, it was held in Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri in early March for every year up until 2003, and also in 2005. In 2003,2004, and 2006 it was held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, in 2008 it was again held in Kansas City, but this time at the Sprint Center. The 2009 edition of the championship was held in Oklahoma City, on June 1,2012, it was announced that the Big 12 Tournament would stay in Kansas City through 2016. Kansas has won the most Big 12 postseason titles as well, numbers in parentheses refer to each teams finish/seed in the tournament for that year. Teams are seeded in order of highest conference record
13.
Iowa Mr. Basketball
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Each year, the Iowa Mr. Basketball award is given to the male athlete chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U. S. state of Iowa in the United States. Awarded since 1981, winners are chosen by the Iowa Newspaper Association at the time that annual all-state selections are made, most of the award winners have gone on to play at the highest levels of college basketball, and some have continued play in the National Basketball Association. Voting is done on a points system, each voter selects first, second, and third-place votes. A player receives five points for each vote, three points for each second-place vote, and one point for a third-place vote. The player receiving the most points receives the award
14.
Iowa State Cyclones
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The Iowa State Cyclones are the athletic teams of Iowa State University. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, the Cyclones name dates back to 1895. That year, Iowa suffered a high number of devastating cyclones. In September, the team from what was then Iowa Agricultural College traveled to Northwestern University. The next day, the Chicago Tribunes headline read Struck by a Cyclone, It Comes from Iowa, the article began, Northwestern might as well have tried to play football with an Iowa cyclone as with the Iowa team it met yesterday. Iowa States Athletic Director, Jamie Pollard, has changed the direction of the athletic program, since his arrival, Pollard has replaced head coaches in football, wrestling, mens basketball, gymnastics, soccer, cross country/track & field, womens golf, tennis, and softball. He has dramatically increased the budget and has improved player academics. Additionally, he has initiated major renovations to Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium, the Iowa State Cyclones mens basketball team competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I athletics. Steve Prohm is the current ISU mens basketball head coach, ISU has also won six regular conference titles and six conference tournament titles. The Iowa State mens cross country team competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I athletics, andrea Grove-McDonough is the current ISU mens cross country head coach. They have 28 conference titles since they first formed a cross country team in 1909. Their 25 Big Eight Conference championships were the most in the conferences 84-year history and they have competed in the NCAA tournament as a team 22 times as well as winning the tournament in 1989 and 1994 and finishing as runner up in 1990 and 1991. The cross country team hosts their home meets at the cross country course south of Iowa States campus. Iowa State plays NCAA Division 1 FBS football in the Big 12, Iowa State football team is led by head coach Matt Campbell. ISU started playing football in 1892, however, it did not become a sport until 1894. The Cyclones have a 512-624-46 all-time record and are 3-7 in post season play, the Cyclones play home games in Jack Trice Stadium. The stadium is named after Jack Trice, a player who incurred a fatal injury while playing for the Cyclones against Minnesota in 1923. Until 1997, the facility itself was known as Cyclone Stadium, because of persistent requests by the students, the facility was renamed Jack Trice Stadium, making it the only Division I FBS stadium named for an African American individual
15.
Johnny Orr (basketball, born 1927)
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In 1975-1976 Orr was named National Coach of the Year. Orr was born in Taylorville, Illinois or Yale, Kansas, in 2007, Orr was voted one of the 100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament, recognizing his superior performance in his appearance in the tournament. After high school Orr went to the University of Illinois and was the youngest freshman to compete in three sports, after joining the United States Navy for the end of World War II, Orr returned to the college game at Beloit College. This reunited him with his school coach Dolph Stanley, who had come to Beloit College as athletic director. In 1950, Orr played 21 games for the Bombers before moving to the Waterloo Hawks for 13 more games, in 1951, Orr was named as Head Coach at Dubuque Senior High School in Dubuque, Iowa, holding the position until 1959. In 1959, Orr joined the ranks, becoming an assistant coach at Wisconsin. Orr attained his first collegiate coaching position in 1963 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, commonly known as UMass. After one season at UMass, Orr moved to the University of Michigan in 1964, in 1968 Orr was named Head Coach at Michigan, a position he would hold for 12 seasons. His 1973–74 team made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, in 1976, Michigan was the NCAA tournament runner-up and Orr was named National Coach of the Year. Orr is the second-most winningest coach in Michigan history with 209 wins and 113 losses, Orr left Michigan to become the Head Coach of the Big 8 Conference Iowa State Cyclones in 1980, a program that had participated in an NCAA tournament since the WWII era. Orr would go on lead the team to six NCAA Tournaments in 14 seasons, the surprise move to Iowa State in 1980 came about when the Iowa State athletic director called to inquire about Orrs assistant, Bill Frieder. When Orr learned how much Iowa State was willing to pay Frieder, Iowa State initially paid Orr $45,000 annually compared to his $33,665 salary at Michigan. Frieder then would succeed Orr at Michigan, in Orrs fifth season in Ames, he led the Cyclones to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 40 years. Orr claims this was the greatest victory of his career, Orr led Iowa State to four more NCAA tournament berths before retiring from Iowa State in 1994. He remains the winningest coach in Iowa State history with 218 wins and 200 losses, Orrs Iowa State teams won 76. 7% of their games at Hilton Coliseum. Under Orr, attendance numbers more than doubled from the 6,000 fan average that preceded his arrival. The school band would play the theme from The Tonight Show as Orr entered the arena floor before each game and Orr would give a fist pump to the Iowa State crowd. Orr coached Iowa State to 20 victories over teams ranked in the top 25 at Hilton, Orrs death came from complications of a head injury suffered during a fall at his residence. com Wheres Coach Now
16.
Tim Floyd
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Timothy Fitzpatrick Tim Floyd is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the University of Texas at El Paso Miners mens basketball team. He is also a head coach of several teams in both the NCAA and the NBA, most recently the University of Southern California mens college basketball team. Floyd is also known as the coach of the Chicago Bulls, born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Floyd is a 1977 graduate of Louisiana Tech University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education. He originally was a player at the University of Southern Mississippi. His father, who was also a coach, died when Floyd was 18, Floyd and wife Beverly have one daughter, Shannon. In November 2009, a video surfaced on YouTube depicting Floyd breaking up a fight in the court of a casino in Palm Desert. Floyd confirmed the accuracy, telling ESPN. com that I was leaving and then this thing happened in the food court. It looks like a bar but its a food court, all I can say is that it was more physical than anything Id seen in the Pac-10 and decided somebody needed to break it up. Floyds first coaching job was as an assistant at UTEP under Hall of Famer Don Haskins from 1977 to 1986, while Floyd was at UTEP, the Miners went to three straight NCAA Tournaments. They also went to the NIT three times, and UTEP won four Western Athletic Conference championships in those years. Tim Floyds first assignment as a coach came at the University of Idaho, succeeding Bill Trumbo. Floyd coached the Vandals for two years, in his first season, the Vandals posted their first winning record since Don Monson left for Oregon after the 20–91983 season. At the University of New Orleans, Floyd tallied a 127–58 mark in six seasons as head coach, during his tenure, UNO advanced to postseason play five times, including two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1991 and 1993 and the NIT three times. At UNO, Floyd averaged 21 wins a season, Floyd is one of only four Division I coaches who have won four conference championships in the first five years at their school. In his final season at New Orleans in 1994, the team finished 20–10, Floyd reached the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in eight seasons, and UNO made its seventh postseason appearance in eight years. Floyd was hired at Iowa State University in May 1994 as the 15th basketball coach in ISU history, in his four years at ISU, Floyd posted an 81–49 record. He is one of two coaches in Iowa State history to post three consecutive 20-win seasons along with his player and former ISU basketball coach Fred Hoiberg. He also led the team to three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and three straight first-round victories
17.
Pi Kappa Alpha
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Pi Kappa Alpha or Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and colonies across the United States, on March 1,1869, exactly one year after the Alpha Chapter at the University of Virginia was formed, the Beta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha was founded at Davidson College. Theta Chapter, at Rhodes College, took over the responsibilities of Alpha chapter when the Fraternity was in decline in its infancy, john Shaw Foster, a junior founder from Theta Chapter, helped to reestablish Alpha Chapter at the University of Virginia. Theta Chapter is the longest continual running chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha since its inception in 1878, after almost a decade of decline, Pi Kappa Alpha was re-founded as part of the Hampden-Sydney Convention, held in a dorm room at Hampden–Sydney College. The four delegates to the Hampden-Sydney Convention are referred to as the Junior Founders, Pi Kappa Alpha was not originally organized as a sectional fraternity, however by constitutional provision it became so in 1889. It remained a fraternity until the New Orleans Convention in 1909 when Pi Kappa Alpha officially declared itself a national organization. Its rituals are based on Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Shield & Diamond is the official quarterly publication of Pi Kappa Alpha. It was first printed in December 1890 by Robert Adger Smythe, the name was changed to Shield & Diamond in 1891. Pike University is the used for all of the fraternitys leadership programs. The program is administered by the professional staff. Founded in 1948 as a 501 tax exempt organization for charitable, events held by the university include International Convention, the Academy, the Chapter Executives Conference, and several regional Leadership Summits. Pike University grants more than $100,000 in scholarships each year, in 1948, Pi Kappa Alpha established and chartered the Pi Kappa Alpha Memorial Foundation as a 501 organization. The foundation grants $350,000 in scholarships and grants to members each year. It also provides funding to the fraternity and its chapters for leadership programs, scholarships, the foundation grants initiation fee scholarships to undergraduates inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Order of Omega, Phi Kappa Phi, and Tau Beta Pi honoraries. The Pike Foundation also maintains and operates the Memorial Headquarters in Memphis and this facility houses professional staffs, the Harvey T. Newell Library, and the Freeman Hart Museum, the building is a war memorial built in 1988 to recognize the military services of members who died in the line of duty. A Gold Star Memorial was dedicated on August 1,2008, Pi Kappa Alphas move to start a chapter at the historically black Howard University in 2006 was opposed by some students and alumni. In 2014, the leaders of the fraternitys University of Arkansas chapter were asked to resign following an unauthorized Martin Luther King, Jr. Day party that incorporated racist stereotypes
18.
2005 NBA All-Star Game
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The 2005 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 20,2005 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, home of the Denver Nuggets. This game was the 54th edition of the North American National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 2004–05 NBA season. For the second time in the last six years, the East defeated the West 125-115, Iverson scored 15 points, handed out 10 assists, and had 5 steals. Ray Allen led the West with 17, and 5-for-11 from three-point range, the coaches for the All-Star game were the head coaches who led the teams with the best winning percentages in their conference through the games of February 6,2005. The coach for the Western Conference team was San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs had a 41-12 record on February 20. The coach for the Eastern Conference team was Miami Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Heat had a 40-14 record on February 20. The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways, the starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards, two forwards and one center who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters, the reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, the reserves consist of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement. The 2005 NBA All-Star introduced international players who have become today’s superstars, amongst the players selected were, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki along with voted-starters Tim Duncan and Yao Ming. This game tied the 2003 and 2004 All-Star Game record for the most international All-Stars in one year. Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets led the ballots with 2,558,578 votes, tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Duncan completed the Western Conference starting positions. This was also the same starting line-up as the previous year, the Western Conference reserves included three first-time selections, Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns, and Rashard Lewis of the Seattle SuperSonics. The team is rounded out by Nash, Nowitzki, Ray Allen, the Phoenix Suns had three representations at the All-Star Game, while two other teams, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs, had two representations with McGrady/Yao, and Duncan/Ginobili. After being traded to the Eastern Conferences Miami Heat, Shaquille ONeal led the East ballots with 2,488,089 votes and this would be ONeals twelfth appearance as an All-Star. Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, LeBron James, and Grant Hill completed the Eastern Conference starting position and this was James first All-Star appearance. The Eastern Conference reserves included three first-time selections, Dwyane Wade, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison, Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, Jermaine ONeal, and Paul Pierce rounded out the team
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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
20.
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
21.
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
22.
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
23.
1999 NBA Playoffs
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The 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Associations 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1, tim Duncan was named NBA Finals MVP. The 1999 Playoffs are memorable in that a #8 seed made it to the Finals for the time in history. This was also the first time two teams played each other on consecutive nights in playoff history. Iverson later led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals, the Bulls, despite being defending champions, missed the playoffs for the first time since 1984. They also became the first defending champion since the 1969–70 Boston Celtics to miss the playoffs and they won 12 straight games, and finished 15–2. After losing their Eastern Conference Semifinal series to the Knicks, the Hawks did not return to the playoffs until 2008, Game 4 of the Spurs–Lakers series was the last NBA game ever played in the Great Western Forum. Game 5 of the Knicks–Pacers series was the last NBA game ever played at Market Square Arena, for the first time since 1991, no series went seven games. Game 4 of the Lakers–Rockets series turned out to be the final appearance in Charles Barkleys Hall of Fame career. Champion, San Antonio Spurs 1st Round San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers vs. Utah Jazz vs, Conference Semifinals San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers vs. Conference Finals San Antonio Spurs vs. Indiana Pacers vs. Orlando Magic vs. Atlanta Hawks vs, Conference Semifinals Indiana Pacers vs. Atlanta Hawks vs. New York Knicks, Knicks win series 4-2 Game 1 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, New York 93, Indiana 90 Game 2 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana 88 and this was the first playoff meeting between the Knicks and the Spurs
24.
2004 NBA Playoffs
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The 2004 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Associations 2003–04 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP. As of the end of 2016 season, the Timberwolves hold the longest active streak without a playoff berth, the Indiana Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since their NBA Finals run in 2000, after which they significantly changed the makeup of their team. Game 2 of the series with the Pistons was pivotal, as Tayshaun Prince blocked a lay-up by Reggie Miller late in the game to preserve the victory, the 2004 playoffs was the first appearance for the Memphis Grizzlies in their 9-year history which began in Vancouver. However, they failed to win a game in their first 3 playoff appearances, before earning their first playoff game. This was the last playoff appearance for the New York Knicks until 2011, the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz missed the playoffs for the first time since 1982 and 1983, respectively. This was the Denver Nuggets first playoff appearance since 1995, the New Orleans Hornets made their final postseason appearance as a member of the East. They would not make the playoffs again until 2008, as a member of the West and their playoff series with the Miami Heat, led by Dwyane Wade, was the last playoff series where the home team won all 7 games until 2008s Boston-Atlanta and Boston-Cleveland playoff series. 2004 was the first time in 14 years that all Texas teams made the playoffs, the Indiana Pacers clinched the best record in the NBA, and had earned home court advantage throughout the entire playoffs. This was the playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Knicks winning the first two meetings. This was the playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first two meetings. In Game 1, Dwyane Wade hits the game winner with 1.3 seconds left and this was the first playoff meeting between the Heat and the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets franchise. This was the first playoff meeting between the Pacers and the Heat and this was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece. This was the playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting. Champion, Los Angeles Lakers This was the first playoff meeting between the Nuggets and the Timberwolves and this was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning three series apiece. This was the first playoff meeting between the Grizzlies and the Spurs and this was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece. This was the first playoff meeting between the Timberwolves and the Kings and this was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first nine meetings. This was the playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting
