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United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
Naismith College Player of the Year
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The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top mens and womens collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, first awarded exclusively to male players in 1969, the award was expanded to include female players in 1983. By February, the list of nominees is narrowed down to 30 players based on performance, in March, four out of the 30 players are selected as finalists and are placed in the final ballot. The final winners are selected in April by both the board of selectors and fan voting via text messaging, the winners receive the Naismith Trophy. Since its beginning in 1969, the trophy has been awarded to 42 male and 23 female players, lew Alcindor of the University of California, Los Angeles and Anne Donovan of Old Dominion University were the first winners, respectively. Bill Walton of UCLA and Ralph Sampson of the University of Virginia have been the men to win this award multiple times. Eight women in all have won this award multiple times, Davis and Moore are the only ones of either sex to have won multiple times in non-consecutive years. Five winners of the award, all men, were born outside of the United States. S, the only three award winners who have been born outside the jurisdiction of the United States were, Andrew Bogut, born in Melbourne, Australia. Patrick Ewing, born in Kingston, Jamaica, buddy Hield, born in Freeport, Bahamas. Duncan did not move to the U. S. proper until he arrived at Wake Forest University, duke has had the most male winners with seven, while the Connecticut has had the most female winners, with nine awards won by six individuals. The award has been won by a freshman twice, Kevin Durant playing for Texas in 2007, women List of U. S. mens college basketball national player of the year awards Naismith Prep Player of the Year Award Official site
3.
John R. Wooden Award
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The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding mens and womens college basketball players. The program consists of the mens and womens Player of the Year awards, the awards, given by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, are named in honor of John Wooden, the 1932 national collegiate basketball player of the year from Purdue. Wooden later taught and coached basketball at Indiana State and UCLA. Coach Wooden, whose teams at UCLA won ten NCAA championships, was the first man to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and his 1948 Indiana State team was the NAIB National Finalist. The award, which was given only to male athletes, was first given in 1977. Starting in 2004, the award was extended to womens basketball, additionally, the Legends of Coaching Award was presented first in 1999. The 2015 presentation was broadcast on ESPN2 and the show was presented by Wendys at Los Angeles Club Nokia on Friday, each year, the Awards National Advisory Board, a 26-member panel, selects approximately 20 candidates for Player of the Year and All-American Team honors. The candidates must be students and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or higher throughout their college career. Players who are nominated must have made outstanding contributions to team play, the selection ballot is announced prior to the NCAA basketball tournament. The voters consist of 1,000 sportswriters and sportscasters representing the 50 states, the top ten vote-getters are selected to the All-American Team, and the results are announced following the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. The person who receives the most votes is named the Player of the Year, the Player of the Year is awarded a trophy consisting of five bronze figures. The players school receives a trophy, as well as a scholarship grant. The other top four members of the All-American Team receive an All-American Team trophy, a jacket, each coach of the top five All-American Team members also receives a jacket. The All-American Team members ranked six through ten receive an All-American Team trophy and a jacket, the criteria for the womens Player of the Year award and All-American Team honors are similar to those for the men. For the womens award, the National Advisory Board consists of 12 members, the voters are 250 sportswriters and sportscasters. In contrast to the mens All-American Team, only five members are selected for the womens team, the Player of the Year receives a trophy, and her school receives a duplicate trophy and a scholarship grant. The concept for the trophy originated with Wooden Award Chairman, Richard Duke Llewellyn, work began on the trophy in 1975, and sculptor Don Winton, who had sculpted many top sports awards, was given the task of designing the model of the trophy. The figures are bronze plated and attached to a base plate
4.
Bill Russell
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William Felton Bill Russell is an American retired professional basketball player. Russell played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1969, a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a twelve-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty, winning eleven NBA championships during his thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey Leagues Montreal Canadiens, before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships. He also won a medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U. S. national basketball team. Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history and he was listed as between 6 ft 9 in and 6 ft 10 in, and his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play, Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times, had a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds and he is one of just two NBA players to have grabbed more than 50 rebounds in a game. Though never the point of the Celtics offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points. Playing in the wake of pioneers like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper and he also served a three-season stint as player-coach for the Celtics, becoming the first African American NBA coach. For his accomplishments in the Civil Rights Movement on and off the court, Russell is one of only seven players in history to win an NCAA Championship, an NBA Championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2007 he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. In Russells honor the NBA renamed the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy in 2009, Bill Russell was born to Charles Russell and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. Like almost all towns and cities of that time, West Monroe was a highly segregated place. Once, Russells father was refused service at a gas station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers. When his father attempted to leave and find a different station, at another time, Russells mother was walking outside in a fancy dress when a policeman accosted her. He told her to go home and remove the dress, which he described as white womans clothing, while there the family fell into poverty, and Russell spent his childhood living in a series of public housing projects. Charles Russell is described as a stern, hard man who was initially a janitor in a paper factory, being closer to his mother Katie than to his father, Russell received a major emotional blow when she suddenly died when he was 12. His father gave up his job and became a steel worker to be closer to his semi-orphaned children
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Larry Bird
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Larry Joe Bird is an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, currently serving as president of the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association. Since retiring as a player for the Boston Celtics, he has been a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, Bird was a 12-time NBA All-Star and was named the leagues Most Valuable Player three consecutive times. He played his professional career for Boston, winning three NBA championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards. He was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Bird was voted to the NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996 and he served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers from 1997 to 2000. In 2003, he assumed the role of president of operations for the Pacers. After a year away from the position, he announced he would return to the Pacers as president of operations in 2013. In addition to being part of the 50–40–90 club, he is the person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year. Bird was born in West Baden Springs, Indiana to Georgia and Claude Joseph Joe Bird and he was raised in nearby French Lick, where his mother worked two jobs to support Larry and his five siblings. Bird has said that being poor as a child still motivates him to this day, Georgia and Joe divorced when Larry was in high school, and Joe committed suicide about a year later. Bird received a scholarship to college basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers in 1974. After less than a month on campus he dropped out of school and he returned to French Lick, enrolling at Northwood Institute in nearby West Baden, and working municipal jobs for a year before enrolling at Indiana State University in Terre Haute in 1975. Indiana State would lose the game 75–64, with Bird scoring 19 points, despite failing to win the championship, Bird earned numerous year-end awards and honors for his outstanding play, including the Naismith College Player of the Year Award. For his college career, he averaged 30.3 points,13.3 rebounds, Bird also appeared in one game for the baseball team, going 1-for-2 with 2 RBI. Bird was selected by the Boston Celtics with the sixth pick in the 1978 NBA draft. He did not sign with the Celtics immediately, instead, he played out his season at Indiana State. After protracted negotiations, Bird inked a five-year, $3.25 million contract with the team, shortly afterwards, NBA draft eligibility rules were changed to prevent teams from drafting players before they were ready to sign, a rule known as the Bird Collegiate Rule. Bird immediately transformed the Celtics into a contender, helping them improve their win total by 32 games from the year before he was drafted
6.
Center (basketball)
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The center, also known as the five or the big man, is one of the five positions in a regular basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a deal of strength. The tallest player to ever be drafted in the NBA was the 78 Yasutaka Okayama from Japan, the tallest players to ever play in the NBA, at 77, are centers Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol. Standing at 72, Margo Dydek is the tallest player to have played in the WNBA. The center is considered a component for a successful team. But recently, the NBA has turned into a point guard league, great centers have been the foundation for most of the dynasties in both the NBA and NCAA. In the 1960s, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain further transformed basketball by combining height with a level of athleticism than previous centers. Following the retirement of George Mikan, the rivalry of the two big men came to dominate the NBA, many of the records set by these two players have endured today. Most notably, Chamberlain and Russell hold the top eighteen season averages for rebounds, Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA Championships. He joined the Boston Celtics and helped make them one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, Russell revolutionized defensive strategy with his shot-blocking, rebounding and physical man-to-man defense. His principal rival, Wilt Chamberlain, listed at 71,275 pounds, Chamberlain played college ball for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them to the 1957 title game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Although the Jayhawks lost by one point in overtime, Chamberlain was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. He also won seven scoring titles, eleven rebounding titles, and four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, including the distinction, in 1960, stronger than any player of his era, he was usually capable of scoring and rebounding at will. Most notably, Chamberlain is the player in NBA history to average more than 50 points in a season. He also holds the NBAs all-time records for rebounding average, rebounds in a single game, in contrast to the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, the 1970s were a decade of parity in the NBA, with eight different champions and no back-to-back winners. At the college level, the UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden, built the greatest dynasty in NCAA basketball history, UCLA had already won two consecutive titles in 1964 and 1965 with teams that pressed and emphasized guard play. After not winning in 1966, Woodens teams changed their style when Lew Alcindor became eligible and he led UCLA to three championships-in 1967,68 and 69-while winning the first Naismith College Player of the Year Award. During his college career, the NCAA enacted a ban on dunking primarily because of Alcindors dominant use of the shot
7.
St. Lawrence University
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St. Lawrence University is a private, four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2400 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female, the church almost did not place the school in Canton, however, as they felt that students might be exposed to too much excitement within the village limits in 1856. Lawrence University, which was progressive in its philosophy and coeducational from the beginning. The university as it today was created as a Preparatory Department to provide a foundation for theological study. That department became todays liberal arts University, while the closed in 1965 with the Unitarian/Universalist consolidation. Early in the 20th century, the graduate program in education came into being. The mid-1960s also saw the birth of one of St. Lawrences nationally known programs, in 1974, two early campus buildings, Richardson Hall and Herring-Cole Hall, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1984, structures built before 1930 were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Lawrence University-Old Campus Historic District, the campus student center was completed in the spring of 2004 and serves as the schools hub at the center of campus. The Johnson Hall of Science opened in the fall of 2007, and expanded learning and lab space in several disciplines, notably biology, chemistry, biochemistry, neuroscience. Johnson Hall received LEED Gold certification for its design, it was the first Gold science building in New York State. The Noble Center, formerly used as a student center, is now undergoing major renovations to double the space available for the arts, a new Center for Arts Technology opened in January 2007. In 2016, Money magazine ranked St. Lawrence University number 29 on its national list of Best Liberal Arts College, in 2015, The Princeton Review profiled St. Lawrence University in its Colleges That Create Futures,50 Schools That Launch Careers By Going Beyond the Classroom. In its Best 380 Colleges 2016 edition, The Princeton Review ranked St. Lawrence 7th for Most Popular Study Abroad Programs and 20th for Best Science Lab Facilities. The 2013 annual ranking of U. S. News & World Report categorizes it as more selective, forbes in 2012 rated St. Lawrence 79th in its ranking of American private colleges. Kiplingers Personal Finance places St. Lawrence at 73rd in its 2012 ranking of best value liberal arts colleges in the United States, in 2014, USA Today listed St. Lawrence as fourth in highest paid graduates in the Liberal Arts and Sciences. For the class of 2016, St. Lawrence received 4,067 applications, the number enrolling was 644, the yield rate was 32. 8%. In terms of rank,44. 4% of enrolled freshmen were in the top 10% of their high school classes,75. 8% ranked in the top quarter. The class of 2016 included 37% from New York State, 55% from 32 other states, of the 644 matriculants, 56% were female, 44% were male
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Union College
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Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, in the 19th century, it became the Mother of Fraternities, as three of the earliest such organizations were established there. After 175 years as a traditional institution, Union College began enrolling women in 1970. The college offers an arts curriculum across some 21 academic departments, as well as opportunities for interdepartmental majors. Approximately 25% of students major in the sciences, 10% in psychology, 11% in engineering, 10% in biology, 9% in history. By the time they graduate, about 60% of Union students will have engaged in some form of study or study abroad. Places of higher learning were few in the days of the Americas. Officially chartered in 1795, Union can trace its beginnings to 1779, by 1799, another 16 surviving colleges had been chartered or founded in the United States, to bring the total to 25 at the end of the 18th century. But, in the years between the American Revolution and Civil War, the foundations of 182 permanent colleges were laid in the United States. Hundreds more were born but proved short-lived, largely because of financial limitations, of the 182 colleges and universities founded in those years, well over a hundred appeared outside the original thirteen colonies. Union College, like many of these, was founded in what was nearly a wilderness, in the town of Schenectady, New York on the Mohawk River, at the time, the town had fewer than 4,000 residents. The cities of Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo did not yet exist, and western New York was very sparsely settled, Unions charter was 16 years in the making. Even before the Revolution had ended, a new rising democratic tide was overtaking the colonists, the old ways, and in particular the old purposes and structure of higher education, were being pushed aside. Practical education for the new man of commerce and politics was the new desire, not just classical education for the professions, every hamlet and rude settlement aspired to become an Athens of the West, and Schenectady was no exception. The Mohawk and Hudson River regions were for the most part dominated by the Dutch in those years, Queens College, while intended in part to provide a classical education, had also been founded specifically to train ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church. This has been said by some to be the first expression in America of a demand for higher education. This petition, along with a one in 1782, failed in its purpose. In the meantime, the Dutch Church continued to show an interest in establishing an academy or college under its control in Schenectady
9.
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball
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The Illinois Fighting Illini mens basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaigns campus in Champaign, the team is currently coached by Brad Underwood, hired on 18 March 2017. Through the end of the 2013–14 season, Illinois ranks 13th all-time in winning percentage, prior to World War II breaking out, the Fighting Illini mens basketball program had achieved a status which it had never seen prior. Under the direction of coach and athletic director Douglas R. Mills. Through his first five seasons as coach, Combes led the Fighting Illini to three NCAA Final Four appearances in 1949,1951, and 1952. During his tenure as coach, Combes increased the Fighting Illinis offensive output by changing their style of play, Combes implemented Full-court press defense, causing turnovers at a high rate which translated into Fast break points. During the 1957–58 season, Mannie Jackson and Govoner Vaughn were inserted into the lineup as the first two African-Americans to start and letter in basketball at Illinois. Combes also oversaw the Illinis move from Huff Hall to Assembly Hall in 1963, however, the Illini lost to eventual national champion Loyola in the Elite Eight of the 1963 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament. The following 1964–65 season, saw several upset victories over defending national champion UCLA Bruins and national powerhouse Kentucky Wildcats at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Henson would lead the Fighting Illini back to their glory after having a number of difficult years following the Illinois slush fund scandal. In 21 years at Illinois, Henson garnered 423 wins and 224 losses, the 214 wins in Big Ten games were the third highest total ever at the time of his retirement. At Illinois, Henson coached many future NBA players, including Eddie Johnson, Derek Harper, Ken Norman, Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty, Steve Bardo, and Kiwane Garris. In 1981, Illinois made strides in its return to the spotlight with a 21–8 record, a third-place Big Ten finish. The team received a bye in the NCAA Tournament and beat Wyoming, 67–65, in Los Angeles to advance to the regionals in Salt Lake City. During this season, the Fighting Illini led the Big Ten in scoring for the consecutive season and were again led by Eddie Johnson. Guards Craig Tucker and Derek Harper arrived to add backcourt punch, the top-seeded and top-ranked 1989 Illini were upset 83–81 in the Final Four on a last second basket by Michigans Sean Higgins, ending the schools deepest run in the tournament at that time. Illinois had beaten the Wolverines by 12 and 16 points in two meetings that season. The 1988–89 Illinois Fighting Illini team gained the moniker Flyin Illini by Dick Vitale during an ESPN broadcast that season, the early 1990s Illini were dominated by players such as guards Andy Kauffman, Richard Keene, and Kiwane Garris, as well as centers Shelly Clark and Deon Thomas. Thomas was at the center of a report of misconduct by Iowa Hawkeyes mens basketball assistant coach Bruce Pearl, the Illini were suspended from postseason play for one season for unrelated violations uncovered during the investigation
10.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP, in 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time, drafted by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft with the first overall pick, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After winning his first NBA championship in 1971, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at age 24, using his trademark skyhook shot, he established himself as one of the leagues top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the last 14 seasons of his career, Abdul-Jabbars contributions were a key component in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career his team succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and past the 1st round in 14 of them and he remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and is ranked 3rd all-time in both rebounds and blocks. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the greatest player in basketball history. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a coach. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U. S. global cultural ambassador, in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born in New York City, the child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 1⁄2 inches long and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Power Memorial Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. From an early age, Lew Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments and this earned him a nickname—The tower from Power. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record, the team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 11th grade, and was runner-up his senior year. Alcindor played on the UCLA freshman team only because the rule was in effect. In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points, in 1967 and 1968, he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1, but on November 27,1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion
11.
Bill Walton
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William Theodore Bill Walton III is an American retired basketball player and television sportscaster. He then went on to have a prominent career in the National Basketball Association where he was a league Most Valuable Player and his professional career was significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on May 10,1993, Walton was born in La Mesa, California, the son of Gloria Anne and William Theodore Ted Walton. His listed adult playing height was 6 feet 11 inches, it has reported that Walton is actually taller. He played high school basketball at Helix High School, at age 17, Walton played for the United States mens national basketball team at the 1970 FIBA World Championship. The Walton-led 1971–72 UCLA basketball team had a record of 30–0 and he was the backbone of two consecutive 30–0 seasons and was also part of UCLAs NCAA mens basketball record 88-game winning streak. Walton was the 1973 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top athlete in the United States. Some college basketball historians rate Walton as the greatest who ever played the game at the college level, in Waltons senior year during the 1973–74 season, the schools 88-game winning streak ended with a 71–70 loss to Notre Dame. During the same season, UCLAs record seven consecutive national titles was broken when North Carolina State defeated the Bruins 80–77 in double overtime in the NCAA semi-finals. With Waltons graduation in 1974 and legendary Bruin coach John Woodens retirement after UCLAs 1975 national title, prior to joining the varsity team, Walton, along with Greg Lee and Keith Wilkes, was a member of the 20–0 UCLA Freshman team. He signed with the Trail Blazers but his first two seasons were marred by injury and the Blazers missed the playoffs both years. It was not until the 1976–77 season that he was enough to play 65 games and, spurred by new head coach Jack Ramsay. Walton led the NBA in both rebounds per game and blocked shots per game season, and he was selected to the NBA All-Star Game. Walton was named to the NBAs First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA Second Team for his season accomplishments. Walton was named the Finals MVP and he nonetheless won the league MVP that season and the Sporting News NBA MVP, as well. He played in his only All-Star Game in 1978 and was named to both the NBAs First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA First Team, Walton returned to action for the playoffs, but was reinjured in the second game of a series against the Seattle SuperSonics. Without Walton to lead them, Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games, as it turned out, Walton would never play for the Trail Blazers again. During the offseason, Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and he did not get his wish and sat out the 1978–79 season in protest, signing with the San Diego Clippers when he became a free agent in 1979
