1.
Fairchild Air Force Base
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Fairchild Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately 12 miles southwest of Spokane, Washington. The host unit at Fairchild is the 92d Air Refueling Wing assigned to the Air Mobility Commands Eighteenth Air Force, Fairchild AFB was established in 1942 as the Spokane Air Depot. It is named in honor of General Muir S. Fairchild, a World War I aviator, he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force at the time of his death. The 92d Air Refueling Wing is commanded by Colonel Charles Brian McDaniel and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Christian Pugh. Fairchild is home to a variety of units and missions. Most prominent is its air refueling mission, with two wings, one active, the 92d Air Refueling Wing, and one national guard, the 141st Air Refueling Wing, both flying the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. Other units here include the Air Force Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape school, medical detachments, a weapons squadron and the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency. Over 5,200 active duty Air Force, Air National Guard, Fairchilds annual economic impact on the Spokane community is approximately $427 million, constituting 13 percent of the local economy. 92nd Air Refueling Wing, 92d Operations Group The 92nd OG provides air mobility for America through air refueling, airlift, 92d Maintenance Group Provides maintenance support to world-class aircraft and equipment. 92d Mission Support Group Provides the foundation for support and morale of Fairchild, born in Bellingham, he graduated from Olympia High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. Fairchild received his wings and commission in 1918, and served as a pilot during World War I and he held various air staff positions during World War II and received his fourth star in 1948, and died on 17 March 1950 while serving as USAF Vice Chief of Staff. Today, Fairchild’s aircraft and personnel make up the backbone of the Air Force’s tanker fleet on the west coast, Fairchild’s location,12 miles west of Spokane, resulted from a competition with the cities of Seattle and Everett in western Washington. As an added incentive to the War Department, many Spokane businesses, at a cost of more than $125,000, these people bought 1,400 acres and presented the title to the War Department in January 1942. That year, the government designated $14 million to more land. Spokane Air Depot was served by a connection to the Great Northern Railway. From 1942 until 1946, the served as a repair depot for damaged aircraft returning from the Pacific Theater. In the summer of 1946, the base was transferred to the Strategic Air Command, beginning in the summer of 1947, the 92nd and 98th Bomb Groups arrived. Both of the units flew the most advanced bomber of the day, in January 1948, the base received the second of its three official names, Spokane Air Force Base
Fairchild Air Force Base
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Boeing
KC-135 assigned to Fairchild AFB
Fairchild Air Force Base
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Aerial view of Fairchild from the south
Fairchild Air Force Base
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Entrance to Fairchild AFB in 2008
Fairchild Air Force Base
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General
Muir S. Fairchild
2.
Spokane, Washington
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Spokane is a city in the state of Washington, in the northwestern United States. It is the seat of Spokane County, and the economic and cultural center of the Spokane Metropolitan Area, the Greater Spokane Area, the city, along with the whole Inland Northwest, is served by Spokane International Airport,5 miles west of downtown Spokane. According to the 2010 Census, Spokane had a population of 208,916, making it the second largest city in Washington and the 102nd largest city in the United States. The first humans to live in the area, the Spokane people, known as the birthplace of Fathers Day, Spokane is officially nicknamed the Lilac City. David Thompson explored the area with the expansion and establishment of the North West Companys Spokane House in 1810. This trading post was the first long-term European settlement in Washington, completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1881 brought settlers to the Spokane area, and that same year it was officially incorporated as a city with the name of Spokan Falls. In the late 19th century, gold and silver were discovered in the Inland Northwest, the local economy depended on mining, timber, and agriculture until the 1980s. Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed Worlds Fair at Expo 74, many of the older Romanesque Revival-style buildings in the downtown area were designed by architect Kirtland Kelsey Cutter after the Great Fire of 1889. The city also features Riverfront and Manito parks, the Smithsonian-affiliated Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the Davenport Hotel, and the Fox and Bing Crosby theaters. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes serves as the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist represents the Anglican community. Gonzaga University was established in 1887 by the Jesuits, and the private Presbyterian Whitworth University opened three years later in north Spokane, in sports, the Gonzaga Bulldogs collegiate basketball team competes at the Division I level. Professional and semi-professional sports teams include the Spokane Indians in Minor League Baseball, Spokane Empire in arena football, as of 2010, Spokanes only major daily newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, has a daily circulation of over 76,000. The first humans to live in the Spokane area arrived between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago and were hunter-gatherer societies that lived off plentiful game. The Spokane tribe, after which the city is named, are believed to be either their direct descendants, when asked by early white explorers, the Spokanes said their ancestors came from up North. Early in the 19th century, the Northwest Fur Company sent two white fur trappers west of the Rocky Mountains to search for fur. These were the first white men met by the Spokanes, who believed they were sacred, the explorer-geographer David Thompson, working as head of the North West Companys Columbia Department, became the first European to explore the Inland Empire. Crossing what is now the Canada–US border from British Columbia, Thompson wanted to expand the North West Company further south in search of furs, after establishing the Kullyspell House and Saleesh House trading posts in what are now Idaho and Montana, Thompson then attempted to expand further west. He sent out two trappers, Jacques Raphael Finlay and Finan McDonald, to construct a fur trading post on the Spokane River in Washington and trade with the local Indians
Spokane, Washington
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Downtown Spokane as seen from Palisades Park looking east
Spokane, Washington
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Location of Spokane in
Spokane County and
Washington
Spokane, Washington
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Spokane Falls in 1888
Spokane, Washington
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The Spokane River Bridge at Fort Spokane
3.
Gonzaga Preparatory School
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Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, is a private, Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. As a Jesuit institution, G-Prep has been recognized for its college preparation education, Gonzaga High School was founded in 1887 in the basement of the Gonzaga University administration building. In 1922, the school became a formal department of Gonzaga University. In 1954, the school moved from the campus to its present site in the Logan neighborhood of Spokane. In 1975, in response to changing conditions, Gonzaga Prep became a co-educational school. In 1992, the school implemented the Fair Share tuition program. Currently the school is within the Diocese of Spokane and is administered separately from the university, the current campus was extensively remodeled in the late 1990s. Then in 2006 $4.4 million was allotted for the construction of a new chapel, renovation of the wings. Gonzaga Preparatory School was the first Jesuit school in the country to have a lay president, the Gonzaga Prep Food Drive consistently gathers over 100,000 pounds of food each year before the Thanksgiving holiday. The Gonzaga Prep Bullpups compete in the 4A classification and are part of the GSL, over sixty-five percent of Gonzaga Preps student body participates in athletics. Girls Tennis G-Prep won seven straight GSL Tennis championships from 1997-2003, the Bullpups tennis teams went undefeated for eight years. When Lewis and Clark High School defeated G-Prep on April 13,2003, it was the Bullpups first loss since 1996. com - school website
Gonzaga Preparatory School
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Gonzaga Preparatory School
Gonzaga Preparatory School
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Bishops
4.
1984 NBA draft
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The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association. It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19,1984, the draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft,23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U. S. college basketball players and other eligible players, the remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. The Cleveland Cavaliers were awarded an extra draft pick as compensation for the draft picks traded away by their previous owner. A player who had finished his college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early, prior to the draft, the San Diego Clippers relocated to Los Angeles and became the Los Angeles Clippers. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 228 players and this draft was the last to be held before the creation of the Draft Lottery in 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft to be overseen by David Stern, the draft is generally considered to be one of the greatest in NBA history, with four Hall of Famers being drafted in the first sixteen picks and five overall. The Houston Rockets used their first pick to draft Akeem Olajuwon, the Nigerian-born Olajuwon became the second foreign-born player to be drafted first overall, after Mychal Thompson from the Bahamas in 1978. The Portland Trail Blazers used the second pick to draft Sam Bowie from the University of Kentucky. The Chicago Bulls used the pick to draft Naismith and Wooden College Player of the Year Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina. Jordan went on to win the Rookie of the Year Award and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team in his rookie season. Jordans teammate at North Carolina, Sam Perkins, was drafted fourth by the Dallas Mavericks, Charles Barkley, a junior forward from Auburn University, was drafted fifth by the Philadelphia 76ers. Olajuwon, Jordan and Barkley, along with the 16th pick John Stockton and they were also named in the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History list announced at the leagues 50th anniversary in 1996. Olajuwon retired as the league leader in total blocked shots with 3,830 blocks. The third pick, Jordan, achieved greater success than Olajuwon. Barkley and Stockton never won an NBA championship, but both received numerous awards and honors. Barkley won the Most Valuable Player in 1993 and was selected to eleven All-NBA Teams, eleven All-Star Games, Jordan, Barkley and Stockton would later play as teammates for the 1992 Dream Team
1984 NBA draft
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Hakeem Olajuwon was selected first overall by the
Houston Rockets.
1984 NBA draft
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Michael Jordan was selected third overall by the
Chicago Bulls.
1984 NBA draft
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Sam Perkins was selected fourth overall by the
Dallas Mavericks.
1984 NBA draft
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Charles Barkley was selected fifth overall by the
Philadelphia 76ers.
5.
Utah Jazz
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The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Since 1991, the team has played its games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The franchise began play in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz, a team based in New Orleans. The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the league in their early years, although 10 seasons elapsed before the Jazz qualified for their first playoff appearance in 1984, they did not miss the playoffs again until 2004. During the late 1980s, John Stockton and Karl Malone arose as the players for the team. Both Stockton and Malone moved on in 2003, after missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons the Jazz returned to prominence under the on-court leadership of point guard Deron Williams. However, partway through the 2010–11 NBA season, the Jazz began restructuring after Sloans retirement, the team has made the playoffs once since then, in 2012 under coach Tyrone Corbin. Quin Snyder was hired as coach in June 2014. Valued in 2015 at $850 million by Forbes, the Jazz rank as the 20th most valuable franchise in the NBA ahead of the Indiana Pacers, on June 7,1974, the New Orleans Jazz were admitted as an expansion franchise into the National Basketball Association. Team officials selected the name because of its definition in the dictionary, the team began its inaugural season in New Orleans in the 1974–75 season. Maravich struggled with injuries from that season onward. Venue issues were a problem for the team while it was based in New Orleans. Later, they played games in the cavernous Louisiana Superdome, but things were no better, due to demand for the stadium, onerous lease terms. Years later, founding owner Sam Battistone claimed that there was no plan in case the Jazz ever qualified for the playoffs. The pick would have been the Jazzs had they not traded it to acquire Gail Goodrich two years earlier, despite being barely competitive, the Jazz drew well during their first five years. However, by 1979 the franchise was sinking financially, barry Mendelson, the teams executive vice president for most of the early years, said one factor in the financial trouble was an 11 percent amusement tax, highest in the U. S. at the time. The team also could not attract much local corporate support—an important factor even in those days—or local investors, Battistone concluded that the franchise could not be viable in New Orleans and decided to move elsewhere
Utah Jazz
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Pete Maravich played for the Jazz from 1974 to 1980.
Utah Jazz
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Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
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Karl Malone
Utah Jazz
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John Stockton
6.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
Point guard
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Point guards
Bob Cousy (left) and
Bob McNeill (center) chase after the ball. Cousy won six NBA championships with the
Boston Celtics.
Point guard
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Steve Nash led the NBA in assists five times.
Point guard
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Derrick Rose is one of best scoring point guards in the
NBA.
Point guard
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Gary Payton, a point guard known for defensive prowess.
7.
NBA All-Star
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The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game played between the Eastern-Conference and the Western-Conference All-Stars. It is the event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. The starters are chosen by a combination of fans, media, fans may vote using a variety of online platforms, and account for 50% of the vote, with the media and current players each accounting for 25%. The reserves are chosen by voting among the coaches of each teams particular conference. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own players, if a player is unable to participate due to injury, the NBA commissioner will select a replacement. The 1999 All-Star Game was canceled due to the leagues lockout, the following is a list of NBA All-Stars, players who have been selected for the NBA All-Star Game at least once in their career. Note that the number indicates the number of selections—not the number of games played. For instance, Michael Jordan was named to the All-Star Game roster 14 times, as of the 2017 All-Star Game,411 players have been selected to an All-Star Game roster at least once. However, only 283 of them have earned multiple selections to the game, hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for most All-Star Game selections and most All-Star Games played. He was selected 19 times and played in 18 All-Star games, dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James both hold the record for most All-Star Game selections among active players, with 13 selections. Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and LeBron James are tied for the most consecutive games actually played, tim Duncan also played in 13 straight All-Star Games if the lockout-cancelled 1999 game is excluded. Several players were named to All-Star Game rosters, but never played in the game due to injury. Note, Statistics are correct as of the conclusion of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game, notes a Before the 1971–72 season, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He missed the 1973 All-Star Game due to personal reasons, B When Hakeem Olajuwon arrived in the United States, the University of Houston incorrectly spelled his first name Akeem. Olajuwon used that spelling until March 9,1991, when he announced that he would add an H, C This column does not include American Basketball Association All-Star Game selections. D Before the 2011–12 season, Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace, general All-Star Game Selections by Player. Specific NBA. com, All-Star Game history Basketball-Reference, All-Star Game Index
NBA All-Star
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game for a record of 19 times.
8.
1997 NBA All-Star Game
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The 1997 NBA All-Star Game was the 47th edition of the All-Star Game and commemorated the 50th anniversary of NBA. The game was played on February 9,1997, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, rices 20 points in the period broke Hal Greers record, set in 1968. Rices 24 points in a half surpassed the mark of 23, owned by Wilt Chamberlain. Michael Jordans 14 points,11 rebounds, and 11 assists were the first and, until the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, ^INJ Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, and Shaquille ONeal were unable to participate due to injury. Dikembe Mutombo replaced Ewing in the East starting lineup, and Karl Malone replaced Barkley in the West starting lineup. Halftime— West, 60–57 Third Quarter— East, 97–87 Technical Fouls— none Officials— Hugh Evans, Bill Oakes, Ron Garretson Attendance—20,562 Time –2,26 Rating—11. 2/19 share. Date, February 8,1997, at Gund Arena in Cleveland, Coaches, Eastern Conference, Red Auerbach, Western Conference, Red Holzman, MVP, Allen Iverson, team replacements, EAST— None, WEST—. for Minnesota guard Stephon Marbury. for Dallas forward Samaki Walker. Officials, Nolan Fine, Bill Spooner, Michael Smith,1997 NBA All-Star Game Box Score 1997 NBA Rookie Challenge Game Box Score 1997 NBA All-Star Game Article
1997 NBA All-Star Game
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1997 NBA All-Star Game
9.
2000 NBA All-Star Game
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The 2000 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 13,2000 at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, home of the Golden State Warriors. This game was the 49th edition of the North American National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 1999-2000 NBA season, the Western Conference won the game with the score of 137-126 while Shaquille ONeal and Tim Duncan were both named MVP of the game. ONeal took the All Star MVP trophy saying to Duncan, you already have one of those rings, Allen Iverson was the leading scorer of the game with 26 points. The coach for the Western Conference team was Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers had a 37–11 record on February 13. The coach for the Eastern Conference team was New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy, the Knicks had a 29-18 record on February 13. 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. Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors topped the ballots with 1,911,973 votes, Allen Iverson, Eddie Jones, Grant Hill, and Alonzo Mourning completed the Eastern Conference starting position. This was the first All-Star appearance by Carter and Iverson, the Eastern Conference reserves included five first-time selections, Allan Houston, Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, Jerry Stackhouse, and Dale Davis. Reggie Miller, and Dikembe Mutombo rounded out the team with their fifth and sixth respective appearances, three teams, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, and Milwaukee Bucks, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Miller/Davis, Hill/Stackhouse, and Allen/Robinson. The Western Conferences leading vote-getter was Shaquille ONeal, who earned his seventh consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,807,609 votes, jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and Tim Duncan completed the Western Conference starting positions. Bryant, Garnett, and ONeal were starters for the previous years Western Conference team, Duncan became an All-Star Game starter for the first time after he was selected as a reserve in last years game. The Western Conference reserves include two first-time selections, Rasheed Wallace and Michael Finley, the team is rounded out by Gary Payton, Chris Webber, John Stockton, Karl Malone, and David Robinson. Three teams, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Bryant/ONeal, Malone/Stockton, and Duncan/Robinson. The Eastern Conference led in the first three minutes of the game but then the Western Conference took advantage and finished the first quarter leading 33-26. The East tried to back in the second quarter but the score at halftime the West was still ahead of five points
2000 NBA All-Star Game
–
Phil Jackson (left) and
Jeff Van Gundy (right) were selected as the West and East head coach, respectively.
2000 NBA All-Star Game
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2000 NBA All-Star Game
2000 NBA All-Star Game
2000 NBA All-Star Game
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Vince Carter received the most votes from fans.
10.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given to the player voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each years game, the league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively, the voting is conducted by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The player with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award, no All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the leagues lockout. As of 2017, the most recent recipient is New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. James first All-Star MVP in 2006 made him the youngest to have won the award at the age of 21 years,1 month. Kyrie Irving, winner of the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, is the second-youngest at 21 years,10 months, theyre notable as being the two youngest to win the award, both as Cleveland Cavaliers. Four of the games had joint winners—Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959, John Stockton and Malone in 1993, ONeal and Tim Duncan in 2000, ONeal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight, Duncan of the U. S. Virgin Islands and Irving of Australia are the only winners not born in the United States. Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens, but are considered international players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D. C. No player trained entirely outside the U. S. has won the award, bob Pettit and Russell Westbrook are the only players to win consecutive awards. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games without winning the All-Star Game MVP, NBA Most Valuable Player Award Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award List of NBA All-Stars General Specific
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
–
Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain won the award in the 1960 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
–
Hall of Famer Michael Jordan won the award three times in his career.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
–
Hall of Famer Charles Barkley won the award in the
1991 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
–
Shaquille O'Neal has won the award three times in his career.
11.
All-NBA First Team
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The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, the team has been selected in every season of the leagues existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1946. The All-NBA Team originally had two teams, but since 1988 it is composed of three five-man lineups—a first, second, and third team, typically comprising a total of 15 roster spots. Players receive five points for a first team vote, three points for a team vote, and one point for a third team vote. The five players with the highest point totals make the first team, with the next five making the second team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of any team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. A tie has occurred once, in 1952, when Bob Davies. From 1946 to 1955, players were selected without regard to position, however, since 1956, kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold the record for the most total selections with fifteen. Karl Malone and Shaquille ONeal follow with fourteen total honors, while Schayes, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James have twelve selections. From the 1946–47 season to 1954–55 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five spots, except when there were ties. During this period, players were selected without regard to position, from the 1955–56 season to 1987–88 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this time, players were selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. Since the 1988–89 season, the All-NBA Team has been composed of three teams, each with five spots, except when there are ties. Players are selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. The following table lists players with at least ten total selections. National Basketball Association portal All-NBA Development League Team General Specific
All-NBA First Team
–
Bob Cousy has been selected to the All-NBA team 12 times.
All-NBA First Team
–
Bill Russell (left) has been selected to the All-NBA team 11 times.
All-NBA First Team
–
Wilt Chamberlain has been selected to the All-NBA team 10 times.
All-NBA First Team
–
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also known as Lew Alcindor, has been selected to the All-NBA team a record of 15 times.
12.
All-NBA Second Team
–
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, the team has been selected in every season of the leagues existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1946. The All-NBA Team originally had two teams, but since 1988 it is composed of three five-man lineups—a first, second, and third team, typically comprising a total of 15 roster spots. Players receive five points for a first team vote, three points for a team vote, and one point for a third team vote. The five players with the highest point totals make the first team, with the next five making the second team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of any team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. A tie has occurred once, in 1952, when Bob Davies. From 1946 to 1955, players were selected without regard to position, however, since 1956, kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold the record for the most total selections with fifteen. Karl Malone and Shaquille ONeal follow with fourteen total honors, while Schayes, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James have twelve selections. From the 1946–47 season to 1954–55 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five spots, except when there were ties. During this period, players were selected without regard to position, from the 1955–56 season to 1987–88 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this time, players were selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. Since the 1988–89 season, the All-NBA Team has been composed of three teams, each with five spots, except when there are ties. Players are selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. The following table lists players with at least ten total selections. National Basketball Association portal All-NBA Development League Team General Specific
All-NBA Second Team
–
Bob Cousy has been selected to the All-NBA team 12 times.
All-NBA Second Team
–
Bill Russell (left) has been selected to the All-NBA team 11 times.
All-NBA Second Team
–
Wilt Chamberlain has been selected to the All-NBA team 10 times.
All-NBA Second Team
–
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also known as Lew Alcindor, has been selected to the All-NBA team a record of 15 times.
13.
All-NBA Third Team
–
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States, the team has been selected in every season of the leagues existence, dating back to its inaugural season in 1946. The All-NBA Team originally had two teams, but since 1988 it is composed of three five-man lineups—a first, second, and third team, typically comprising a total of 15 roster spots. Players receive five points for a first team vote, three points for a team vote, and one point for a third team vote. The five players with the highest point totals make the first team, with the next five making the second team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of any team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. A tie has occurred once, in 1952, when Bob Davies. From 1946 to 1955, players were selected without regard to position, however, since 1956, kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan hold the record for the most total selections with fifteen. Karl Malone and Shaquille ONeal follow with fourteen total honors, while Schayes, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, and LeBron James have twelve selections. From the 1946–47 season to 1954–55 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five spots, except when there were ties. During this period, players were selected without regard to position, from the 1955–56 season to 1987–88 season, the All-NBA Team was composed of two teams, each with five roster spots, except when there were ties. During this time, players were selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. Since the 1988–89 season, the All-NBA Team has been composed of three teams, each with five spots, except when there are ties. Players are selected with regard to position, they are listed according to position in the descending order. The following table lists players with at least ten total selections. National Basketball Association portal All-NBA Development League Team General Specific
All-NBA Third Team
–
Bob Cousy has been selected to the All-NBA team 12 times.
All-NBA Third Team
–
Bill Russell (left) has been selected to the All-NBA team 11 times.
All-NBA Third Team
–
Wilt Chamberlain has been selected to the All-NBA team 10 times.
All-NBA Third Team
–
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also known as Lew Alcindor, has been selected to the All-NBA team a record of 15 times.
14.
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
–
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of two five-man lineups, a first and a team, comprising a total of 10 roster spots. Voting is conducted by a panel of 123 writers and broadcasters, prior to the 2013–14 NBA season, voting was performed by the NBA head coaches, who were restricted from voting for players on their own team. The players each receive two points for each first team vote and one point for second team vote. The top five players with the highest point total make the first team, in the case of a tie at the fifth position of either team, the roster is expanded. If the first team consists of six due to a tie. Ties have occurred several times, most recently in 2013 when Tyson Chandler, tim Duncan holds the record for the most total selections to the All-Defensive Team with 15. Kevin Garnett, and Kobe Bryant follow with twelve total honors each, michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Garnett, and Bryant share the record for most NBA All-Defensive first team selections with nine. Scottie Pippen, Bobby Jones, and Duncan made the first team eight times each, walt Frazier and Dennis Rodman made the All-Defensive first team seven times. Ten players born outside the jurisdiction of the United States, plus two players born in U. S. S, on four occasions, the Defensive Player of the Year winner was not voted to the All-Defensive first team in the same year. Player of the Year winners Alvin Robertson in 1986, Dikembe Mutombo, Tyson Chandler, the following table only lists players with at least four First Team selections. National Basketball Association portal General Specific
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
–
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly known as Lew Alcindor, has been on 11 All-Defensive teams.
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
–
Walt Frazier is the only player to have been on all of the first seven All-Defensive first teams.
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
–
Patrick Ewing is the only Jamaican-born player to have been on an All-Defensive team.
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
–
Dennis Rodman has been on the All-Defensive first team seven times.
15.
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
–
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to mens college basketball. The museum is a portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The hall is meant as a complement to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, on November 17,2006 the NABC honored around 180 players, coaches and other notable contributors to college basketball by inducting them into the founding class of the Hall of Fame. Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Dean Smith, John Wooden, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts has indicated it will help with the exhibits. The other interactive portions of the College Basketball Experience are called The Entry Experience, The Fan Experience, the NABC recently renamed the Guardians Classic college tournament the CBE Classic to help promote it
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
–
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
16.
Basketball
–
Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
Basketball
–
Michael Jordan goes for a
slam dunk
Basketball
–
The first basketball court:
Springfield College
Basketball
–
The 1899 University of Kansas basketball team, with James Naismith at the back, right.
Basketball
–
A basketball game between the
Heart Mountain and Powell High School girls teams, Wyoming, March 1944
17.
Basketball at the Summer Olympics
–
Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a sport, basketball was held as a demonstration event in 1904. Womens basketball has played in the Summer Olympics since its first appearance in 1976. United States womens teams have won 8 titles out of the 10 tournaments in which they competed, besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence who has won either the mens or womens tournament. The Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament, Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport, the popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland. Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen—a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin on outdoor tennis courts, dr. Naismith presented the medals to the top three teams. According to the Olympic rules of time, all of the competitors were amateurs. The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948, the American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic tournaments until 1968, without losing a single game. The United States winning streak ended in 1972 under highly controversial circumstances, after the game, the American team refused to accept the silver medal, and the medal has been kept in IOC possession ever since. The Americans reclaimed the gold medal in 1976, with Yugoslavia, in 1980, with the Americans absence due to the boycott, Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals and Italy in the final. The United States regained the title in 1984, by beating Spain in the final, the Soviets won the gold medal for the second time in 1988, after beating the Americans for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game. In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stanković, FIBA approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, by this time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia no longer existed, but their successor states continued to be among the leading forces. Two newly independent countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, Croatia and Lithuania, won the silver, the United States repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was not as successful as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to compete in the Summer Olympics, Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney, with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions. The Americans regrouped in 2008, beating the current FIBA world champions, Spain, in a gold medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the Americans again winning, the first womens tournament was in 1976. The Soviet Union won against five other teams, in 1988, the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game
Basketball at the Summer Olympics
–
Basketball at the Summer Olympics
18.
1992 Summer Olympics
–
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event played in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain in 1992. The games were the first to be unaffected by boycotts since 1972, Barcelona is the second-largest city in Spain, and the birthplace of then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The city was also a host for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, on October 17,1986, Barcelona was selected to host the 1992 Summer Games over Amsterdam, Belgrade, Birmingham, Brisbane, and Paris, during the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland. Barcelona had previously bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics, but they ultimately lost to Berlin, at the Opening Ceremony Greek mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa sang Romiossini as the Olympic flag was paraded around the stadium. Alfredo Kraus later sang the Olympic Hymn in both Catalan and Spanish as the flag was hoisted, the Olympic flame cauldron was lit by a flaming arrow, shot by Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo. The arrow had been lit by the flame of the Olympic Torch, Rebollo overshot the cauldron as this was the original design of the lighting scheme. South Africa was allowed to compete in the Olympic Games for the first time since the 1960 Summer Olympics, after a long suspension for its apartheid policy. After a close race in the Womens 10,000 metres event, white South African runner Elana Meyer and black Ethiopian runner Derartu Tulu ran a victory lap together, hand-in-hand. Following its reunification in 1990, Germany sent a single, unified Olympic team for the first time since the 1964 Summer Olympics. As the Soviet Union had been dissolved in 1991, the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sent their own teams for the first time since 1936, the other Soviet republics competed under the name Unified Team. These nations consisted of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the separation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led to the Olympic debuts of Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to United Nations sanctions, athletes from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were not allowed to participate with their own team, however, some individual athletes competed under the Olympic flag as Independent Olympic Participants. Fermín Cacho won the 1,500 metres in his home country, chinese diver Fu Mingxia, age 13, became the youngest Olympic gold medalist of all time. In mens artistic gymnastics, Vitaly Scherbo from Belarus, won six gold medals, Scherbo tied Eric Heidens record for individual gold medals at a single Olympics, winning five medals in an individual event. In womens artistic gymnastics, Tatiana Gutsu took gold in the All-Around competition edging the United States Shannon Miller, russian swimmers dominated the freestyle events, with Alexander Popov and Yevgeny Sadovyi each winning two events. Sadovyi also won in the relays, evelyn Ashford won her fourth Olympic gold medal in the 4×100-metre relay, making her one of only four female athletes to have achieved this in history. The young Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary won three individual swimming gold medals, in womens 200 metre breaststroke, Kyoko Iwasaki of Japan won a gold medal at age of 14 years and six days, making her the youngest-ever gold medalist in swimming competitions at the Olympics. After demonstrated in six previous Summer Olympic Games, baseball became an Olympic sport
1992 Summer Olympics
–
The 1992 Summer Olympics allowed
NBA players to participate in the basketball competition for the first time; here
David Robinson shoots a free throw for the gold-medal winning
United States "Dream Team".
1992 Summer Olympics
–
Games of the XXV Olympiad
1992 Summer Olympics
–
Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc
1992 Summer Olympics
–
Palau Sant Jordi and
Montjuïc Communications Tower
19.
1996 Summer Olympics
–
A record 197 nations, all current IOC member nations, took part in the Games, comprising 10,318 athletes. The 1996 Summer Games were the first to be staged in a different year from the Winter Games, Atlanta became the fifth American city to host the Olympic Games and the third to hold a Summer Olympic Games. Atlanta was selected on September 18,1990, in Tokyo, Japan, over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto at the 96th IOC Session. Atlantas bid to host the Summer Games that began in 1987 was considered a long-shot and this would be Torontos fourth failed attempt since 1960. The Athens bid was based on the fact that 1996 marked 100 years since the first Summer Games in Greece in 1896, though Athens would eventually host the 2004 Summer Olympics. The Oxford Olympics Study 2016 estimates the outturn cost of the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics at USD4.1 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 151% in real terms. This includes sports-related costs only, that is, operational costs incurred by the committee for the purpose of staging the Games. The competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Atlanta 1996 compares with costs of USD4.6 billion, average cost for the Summer Games since 1960 is USD5.2 billion, average cost overrun is 176%. The 1996 Olympics was predicated on the model established by the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The cost to stage the Games was US$1.8 billion, to pay for the games, Atlanta relied on commercial sponsorship and ticket sales, resulting in a profit of $10 million. Events of the 1996 Games were held in a variety of areas, a number were held within the Olympic Ring, a 3 mi circle from the center of Atlanta. Others were held at Stone Mountain, about 20 miles outside of the city, to broaden ticket sales, other events, such as soccer, occurred in various cities in the Southeast. The opening ceremony featured Céline Dion singing The Power of the Dream, the mascot for the Olympiad was an abstract, animated character named Izzy. In contrast to the tradition of mascots of national or regional significance in the city hosting the Olympiad, Izzy was an amorphous. The 1996 Olympics were the first to have two separate opening ceremony events, Savannah, because of its geographical separation from Atlanta, had its own opening ceremonies on July 18,1996. The event featured Worldwide Connection, a composed by Savannah native Jeffrey Reed and a concert by Trisha Yearwood. Atlantas Olympic slogan Come Celebrate Our Dream was written by Jack Arogeti, the slogan was selected from more than 5,000 submitted by the public to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau
1996 Summer Olympics
–
Georgia Tech Aquatic Center
1996 Summer Olympics
–
Games of the XXVI Olympiad
1996 Summer Olympics
–
The Morris Brown College Stadium.
1996 Summer Olympics
–
Boxing event at the 1996 games
20.
National Basketball Association
–
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
National Basketball Association
–
The
headquarters of the National Basketball Association in the
Olympic Tower at 645
Fifth Avenue,
Midtown Manhattan,
New York City,
USA.
National Basketball Association
–
Cities that hosted teams that played for more than one season in the NBA and/or
BAA from 1947–1959. Only
New York,
Boston, and
Detroit still have the same franchise.
National Basketball Association
–
Bill Russell defending
Wilt Chamberlain in 1966.
National Basketball Association
–
Los Angeles Lakers'
Magic Johnson and Boston Celtics'
Larry Bird in Game Two of the
1985 NBA Finals at Boston Garden.
21.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
–
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as the sports most complete library, in addition to promoting and preserving the history of basketball, dedicated to Canadian physician and inventor of the sport James Naismith, it was opened and inducted its first class in 1959. As of the induction of the Class of 2016 on September 9,2016, the Naismith Hall of Fame was established in 1959 by Lee Williams, a former athletic director at Colby College. In the 1960s, the Basketball Hall of Fame struggled to raise money for the construction of its first facility. The Basketball Hall of Fames Board named four inductees in its first year, in addition to honoring those who contributed to basketball, the Hall of Fame sought to make contributions of its own. In 1979, the Hall of Fame sponsored the Tip-Off Classic and this Tip-Off Classic has been the start to the college basketball season ever since, and although it does not always take place in Springfield, Massachusetts, generally it returns every few years. In the 17 years that the original Basketball Hall of Fame operated at Springfield College, the popularity of the Basketball Hall of Fame necessitated that a new facility be constructed, and in 1985, an $11 million facility was built beside the scenic Connecticut River in Springfield. As the new hall opened, it also recognized women for the first time, with such as Senda Berenson Abbott. In 2002, the Basketball Hall of Fame moved again—albeit merely 100 yards south along Springfields riverfront—into a $47 million facility designed by renowned architects Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, the buildings architecture features a metallic silver, basketball-shaped sphere flanked by two similarly symmetrical rhombuses. The dome is illuminated at night and features 80,000 square foot, including numerous restaurants, the second Basketball Hall of Fame was not torn down but rather converted into an LA Fitness health clubs. The current Basketball Hall of Fame features Center Court, a basketball court on which visitors can play. Inside the building there are a gallery, many interactive exhibits, several theaters. A large theater for ceremonies seats up to 300, the honorees inducted in 2002 included the Harlem Globetrotters and Magic Johnson, a five-time NBA champion, three-time NBA finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist. As of 2011, the current Basketball Hall of Fame has greatly exceeded attendance expectations, despite the new facilitys success, a logistical problem remains for the Basketball Hall of Fame and the City of Springfield. Urban planners at universities such as UMass Amherst have called for the I-91 to be moved, in 2010, the Urban Land Institute announced a plan to make the walk between Springfields Metro Center and the Hall of Fame easier. Since 2011, the induction process employs a total of seven committees to both screen and elect candidates, since 2011, the Veterans and International Committees also vote to directly induct one candidate for each induction class. Contributor Direct Election Committee Note that other committees may choose to elect contributors, for example, the 2014 class included two contributors. However, each screening committee is limited as to the number of candidates it can put forth to the Honors Committee—10 from the North American Committee, any individual receiving at least 18 affirmative votes from the Honors Committee is approved for induction into the Hall of Fame
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
–
A basketball sculpture soars into the sky above the Basketball Hall of Fame in
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
–
The entrance to the former site of the Basketball Hall of Fame near
Metro Center Springfield.
22.
Montana State Bobcats
–
The Montana State Bobcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Montana State University in Bozeman in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and womens basketball, cross country, skiing, tennis, and track and field, womens-only golf and volleyball and their main rivals are the Grizzlies of the University of Montana in Missoula. Both schools are members of the Big Sky Conference, which began competition 54 years ago in the fall of 1963. Montana State Bobcats basketball history includes one of college basketballs legendary teams, the schools basketball teams had acclaimed fame throughout the 1920s by playing racehorse basketball and becoming one of the first schools in the nation to employ what is known as the fast break. The 1928–29 team reached college basketballs zenith by defeating the AAU Champion Cooks Painters in a two-of-three series, the Bobcats were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA Tournament national champion for the 1928–29 season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll and the Helms Athletic Foundation. The Helms Foundation also named Cat Thompson one of the five greatest players in the first half of the 20th century in college hoops, the Montana State Bobcats football team has a proud history. In 1976 the Bobcats of Montana State won a national title in NCAA Division II at Wichita Falls, Texas beating the Zips of Akron. In 1984, the Bobcats returned to a national title game played in Charleston, South Carolina. The MSU Bobcats football is the college team with national titles in three different classifications. The team has won 19 conference titles and has made the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2010,2011 and 2012, Montana State Bobcats rodeo team has a long proud history with the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. For almost 30 years MSU hosted the College National Finals Rodeo, Bobcat Rodeo teams have won 8 national team titles,32 individual national championships and multiple Big Sky Regional crowns. The Bobcats Rodeo team operates under the MSU Department of Student Affairs, Montana State Bobcats Alpine and Nordic Ski team compete in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association and the NCAA Western Region and has produced 13 national champions. The Bobcat Nordic and alpine ski program venues at Bridger Bowl, the Big Sky Conference dropped its sponsorship of skiing and four other sports after the 1974 season. Montana State dropped its baseball program 46 years ago, following the 1971 season, the Big Sky dropped baseball after the 1974 season, along with four other sports. The Bobcat wrestling program won the first three Big Sky titles, the conference discontinued the sport 30 years ago, after the 1987 season
Montana State Bobcats
–
Montana State Bobcats
23.
Irish American
–
Irish Americans are an ethnic group comprising Americans who have full or partial ancestry from Ireland, especially those who identify with that ancestry, along with their cultural characteristics. About 33.3 million Americans—10. 5% of the total population—reported Irish ancestry in the 2013 American Community Survey conducted by the U. S. Census Bureau and this compares with a population of 6.4 million on the island of Ireland. Three million people identified as Scots-Irish, whose ancestors were Ulster Scots who emigrated from Ireland to the United States. An estimated 250,000 migrated to the United States during the colonial era, only 20,000 immigrants of these immigrants from Ireland were Catholics—English, Irish or a few Germans. Catholics numbered 40,000 or 1. 6% of the population of 2.5 million in 1775. The Scots-Irish settled mainly in the back country of the Appalachian Mountain region. Irish Americans signed the documents of the United States—the Declaration of Independence. The early Ulster immigrants and their descendants at first usually referred to simply as Irish. However, most descendants of the Scots-Irish continued to consider themselves Irish or American rather than Scots-Irish, however, beginning in the early 19th century, many Irish migrated individually to the interior for work on large-scale infrastructure projects such as canals and, later in the century, railroads. During the colonial period, Scots-Irish settled in the southern Appalachian backcountry, by the 19th century, through intermarriage with settlers of English and German ancestry, the descendants of the Scots-Irish lost their identification with Ireland. This generation of pioneers. was a generation of Americans, not of Englishmen or Germans or Scots-Irish, in 1820 Irish-born John England became the first Catholic bishop in the mainly Protestant city of Charleston, South Carolina. During the 1820s and 30s, Bishop England defended the Catholic minority against Protestant prejudices, in 1831 and 1835, he established free schools for free African American children. Inflamed by the propaganda of the American Anti-Slavery Society, a mob raided the Charleston post office in 1835, England led Charlestons Irish Volunteers to defend the school. Soon after this, however, all schools for blacks were closed in Charleston. The Irish Catholics concentrated in a few medium-sized cities, where they were visible, especially in Charleston, Savannah. After secession in 1861, the Irish Catholic community supported the Confederacy and 20,000 served in the Confederate Army, civilian leaders of the Irish and the South did embrace the Confederate national project and most became advocates of a hard-war policy. Although most began as unskilled laborers, Irish Catholics in the South achieved average or above average economic status by 1900, the large Erie Canal project was one such example where Irishmen were many of the laborers. Small but tight communities developed in growing such as Philadelphia, Boston, New York
Irish American
–
Charles Carroll, signer of the
United States Declaration of Independence, was the descendant of Irish nobility in
County Tipperary. Signers
Matthew Thornton,
George Taylor and
James Smith were all born in Ireland.
Irish American
–
"Leacht Cuimhneacháin na nGael",
Irish famine memorial located in
Penn's Landing,
Philadelphia
Irish American
–
Gravestone in
Boston Catholic cemetery erected in memory of
County Roscommon native born shortly before the
Great Famine
Irish American
–
The Orange riot of 1871 as depicted in
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. The view is at
25th Street in
Manhattan looking south down
Eighth Avenue.
24.
Swiss German
–
Swiss German is any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and in some Alpine communities in Northern Italy bordering Switzerland. Linguistically, Swiss German forms no unity, the linguistic division of Alemannic is rather into Low, High and Highest Alemannic, varieties of all of which are spoken both inside and outside of Switzerland. The only exception within German-speaking Switzerland is the municipality of Samnaun where a Bavarian dialect is spoken, the dialects of Swiss German must not be confused with Swiss Standard German, the variety of Standard German used in Switzerland. Most people in Germany do not understand Swiss German, therefore, when an interview with a Swiss German speaker is shown on German television, subtitles are required. Unlike most regional languages in modern Europe, Swiss German is the everyday language of all social levels in industrial cities. Using the dialect conveys neither social nor educational inferiority and is done with pride. There are a few settings where speaking Standard German is demanded or polite, e. g. in education, in multilingual parliaments and this situation has been called a medial diglossia, since the spoken language is mainly the dialect, whereas the written language is mainly Standard German. Swiss German speakers on TV or in films are usually dubbed or subtitled if shown in Germany. Dialect rock is a music genre using the language, many Swiss rock bands, however, the Swiss Amish of Adams County, Indiana and their daughter settlements also use Swiss German. Swiss German is a regional or political umbrella term, not a linguistic unity, for all dialects, there are idioms spoken outside Switzerland that are more closely related to them than some Swiss German dialects. Low Alemannic is only spoken in the northernmost parts of Switzerland, in Basel, High Alemannic is spoken in most of the Swiss Plateau, and is divided in an eastern and a western group. Highest Alemannic is spoken in the Alps, each dialect is separable into numerous local subdialects, sometimes down to a resolution of individual villages. Speaking the dialect is an important part of regional, cantonal and national identities, in the more urban areas of the Swiss plateau, regional differences are fading due to increasing mobility, and a growing population of non-Alemannic descent. Despite the varied dialects, the Swiss can still understand one another, but may particularly have trouble understanding Walliser dialects. Most Swiss German dialects, being High German dialects, have completed the High German consonant shift, that is, they have not only changed t to or and p to or, There are, however, exceptions, namely the idioms of Chur and Basel. Basel German is a Low Alemannic dialect, and Chur German is basically High Alemannic without initial or, North of the Benrath line up to the North Sea, this consonant shift did not happen. The Walser migration, going on between the 12th and 13th centuries, spread upper Wallis varieties towards the east and south, into Grisons and even further to western Austria and northern Italy. Informally, a distinction is made between the German-speaking people living in the canton of Valais, the Walliser, and the migrated ones, so, the Walser were pioneers of the liberalisation from serfdom and feudalism
Swiss German
–
French (
Romandy)
25.
Mike Montgomery
–
Michael John Montgomery is a retired American college basketball head coach. He is best known for his 18-year tenure at Stanford, where he led the program to 12 NCAA Tournaments, Montgomery previously served as head coach at the University of Montana. Following his time at Stanford, he coached the Golden State Warriors of the NBA for two seasons before ending his career at the University of California and he announced his retirement from coaching following the 2013-14 season. Over his 32-year collegiate coaching career, Montgomery made 16 NCAA Tournaments, captured 6 conference championships and he also led Stanford to the NIT championship in 1991. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, Montgomery graduated from its Millikan High School and he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from Long Beach State and later a Masters degree in physical education from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Montgomery is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which he joined while at Long Beach State. Montgomery compiled a 677–317 overall record in over 30 years at Berkeley, Stanford and he boasts 31 winning seasons in his 32 years as a head coach at Berkeley, Stanford and Montana. Montgomerys Stanford teams reached the NCAA tournament ten times from 1995 to 2004. Stanford reached the Final Four under Montgomery in 1998, the schools first Final Four appearance in 56 years. He made his appearance along the USA Basketball sidelines in 2002 when he was named an assistant under George Karl for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Brandenburg left after two season for Wyoming in 1978 and Montgomery was promoted, at Montana, Montgomery coached future NBA players Micheal Ray Richardson and Larry Krystkowiak. Prior to Montana, Montgomery was an assistant for three years at Boise State under Bus Connor, and had previously been an assistant for a season each at four different schools, in 2000, Montgomery was named the Naismith and Basketball Times Coach of the Year. He was also named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times, following his career at Stanford, he was awarded the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award. Montgomery left Stanford to become the coach of the Golden State Warriors on May 21,2004. He coached the Warriors for two seasons, during each of which the team compiled identical 34-48 records, Montgomery was terminated as Warriors coach on August 29,2006. On August 30,2007, Stanford University announced that Montgomery was returning to the university as Assistant to the Athletic Director on a part-time basis, according to the announcement, his duties will include fund raising and public relations while also serving as a mentor to Stanfords coaching staff. On April 4,2008, Montgomery was named the coach of the California mens basketball program. In his first season the Golden Bears went 22–10 and made it to the NCAA Tournament, on February 27,2010, Cal defeated Arizona State, 62–46, to clinch at least a tie for the Pacific-10 Conference championship, the first for the school since 1960
Mike Montgomery
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Montgomery in May 2009
Mike Montgomery
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Montgomery huddles with his players in December 2008
26.
Big Sky Conference
–
The Big Sky Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAAs Division I, with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the nine states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, four affiliate members each participate in one sport. Two schools from California are football-only participants, and two schools from the Northeast participate only in mens golf, the name Big Sky came from the popular 1947 western novel by A. B. Guthrie Jr. The 2012–13 season marked the completion of 50 years of competition and 25 years sponsoring women’s collegiate athletics. Before the season the league introduced a new logo to celebrate this, the 25th season of women’s athletics also marked a first for the league, as Portland State won the league’s inaugural softball championship. Womens sports were conducted in the Mountain West Athletic Conference. The Big Sky sponsors championships in 16 sports, including men’s and women’s cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track and field, basketball, there are also championships in football, and in women’s volleyball, soccer, and softball. All 12 of the Big Skys full members will play football in the conference once Idaho drops from the FBS to FCS in 2018, North Dakota will leave the non-football side of the Big Sky in 2018 to join the Summit League. The football team remain in the Big Sky until 2020. Notes Gonzaga, which has not fielded a team since 1941, was a charter member in 1963. Each core member institution is required to participate in all of the 13 core sports, mens core sports are basketball, cross country, football, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and tennis. Womens core sports are basketball, cross country, golf, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, tennis, cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Davis participate as football-only affiliates, otherwise participating in the Big West Conference. Binghamton and Hartford are affiliates in mens golf only, otherwise participating in the America East Conference, before the 2014–15 school year, the latter two schools had participated in mens golf alongside five full Big Sky members in the single-sport America Sky Conference. The return of Idaho brought the number of participating in mens golf to six. The Big Sky is unusual among Division I all-sports conferences in not sponsoring baseball, the conference originally sponsored baseball, with all members participating. When Boise State and Northern Arizona arrived for the 1971 season, competition was split into two divisions of four each, with the winners in a best-of-three championship series. Montana State and Montana soon dropped the sport and by the 1973 season, only six teams remained but the divisions were kept, in May 1974, the Big Sky announced its intention to discontinue five of its ten sponsored sports. It retained football, basketball, cross-county, track, and wrestling, and dropped conference competition in baseball, golf, tennis, swimming, of the eleven Big Sky baseball titles, four each went to Idaho and Gonzaga, and three to Weber State
Big Sky Conference
–
Big Sky Conference
27.
College basketball
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The history of basketball is traced back to a YMCA International Training School, known today as Springfield College, located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The date of the first formal basketball game played at the Springfield YMCA Training School under Naismiths rules is generally given as December 21,1891, Basketball began to spread to college campuses by 1893. Governing bodies in Canada include U Sports and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, each of these various organizations are subdivided into from one to three divisions based on the number and level of scholarships that may be provided to the athletes. The first basketball games in the United States were played at YMCAs in 1891 and 1892, by 1893, the game was being played on college campuses. The original rules for basketball were very different from todays modern rules of the sport, in the beginning James Naismith established 13 original rules, The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist, a player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, the ball must be held by the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it, no shouldering, holding, pushing, striking, or tripping in any way of an opponent is allowed. A foul will be called when a player is seen striking at the ball with the fist, or when violations of rules 3 and 4, if either side makes three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents. A goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the grounds into the basket and stays there, if the ball rests on the edges, and the opponent moves the basket, it shall count as a goal. When the ball out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field, the thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent, if any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them. The umpire shall be the judge of the men and shall note the fouls and he shall have power to disqualify men according to rule 5. The referee shall be judge of the ball and shall decide when the ball is in play, in bounds, to side it belongs. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals, the time shall be two fifteen-minute halves, with five minutes rest between. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winner, the following is a list of some of the major NCAA Basketball rule changes with the year they went into effect. The first known college to field a team against an outside opponent was Vanderbilt University
College basketball
–
A map of all NCAA Division I basketball teams.
28.
Hust Stockton
–
John Houston Hust Stockton was a professional football player, a back in the late 1920s in the National Football League. He played with the Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1925 until 1928, during his final season in 1929, Stockton split time between the Boston Bulldogs and the Providence Steamroller. He was the grandfather of basketball Hall of Fame inductee, John Stockton, born in Parma, Idaho, Stockton set high school football scoring records as a back at Columbia Prep in Portland, Oregon. Originally enrolled at St. Marys College, then in Oakland, California, he transferred as a sophomore in 1922 to Gonzaga in Spokane, Washington, while in college, Stockton was compared to the top back of the era, Red Grange of Illinois. During a Thanksgiving Day game in 1926, a pass from Stockton to Two-Bits Homan netted the Yellow Jackets a 20–14 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Stockton made the same pass to Homan again that season, this time against the Chicago Cardinals for a 7–6 Frankford win. In 1928 against the Chicago Cardinals, Stockton threw an 18-yard pass to Carl Waite for a 19–0 win for the Jackets, at the start of his last season in 1929, Stockton and former Gonzaga teammate Flaherty were in training camp with the New York Giants. Stockton was an assistant coach at his alma mater Gonzaga during the 1927 season, following his football career, he was briefly a professional wrestler in Spokane, and worked for the highway department in Idaho. Career statistics and player information from NFL. com • Pro-Football-Reference • Databasefootball. com
Hust Stockton
–
Hap Moran (left) and Stockton (right) in
1926, with the NFL's
Frankford Yellow Jackets
29.
West Coast Conference
–
The West Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated in NCAA Division I consisting of ten member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington. All of the current members are private, faith-based institutions, seven members are Catholic Church affiliates, with four of these schools being Jesuit institutions. Pepperdine is an affiliate of the Churches of Christ, Brigham Young University is an affiliate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The conferences newest member, the University of the Pacific, is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, during the massive upheaval of conference affiliations in the 1990s, the WCC remained very stable. Before the 2010 realignment that eventually led to Brigham Young joining the conference, the last change of membership was in 1980, at the time, only the Ivy League and Pac-10 had remained unchanged for a longer period. The league was chartered by five northern California institutions, four from the Bay Area and one, Pacific and it began as the California Basketball Association, playing its first game on January 2,1953. After two seasons under that name, the conference expanded to include Los Angeles-area schools Loyola and Pepperdine in 1955, after more than three decades as the WCAC, the name was shortened in the summer of 1989, dropping the word Athletic. The WCC participates at the NCAA Division I level and is considered to be one of the better mid-major conferences in the country, the conference sponsors 13 sports but does not include football as one of them. San Diego and Brigham Young are the only schools fielding a football team, the rest have all dropped the sport, some as early as the 1940s, before the conference existed, and one as late as 2003. Historically, the WCCs strongest sports have been soccer and tennis, the conference has also made its presence felt nationally in mens basketball. San Francisco won two national titles in the 1950s with all-time great Bill Russell. Although the WCACs stature declined in the 1960s, San Francisco was reckoned as a basketball power until the early 1980s. Also of note was Loyola Marymounts inspired run to the Elite Eight in 1990 following the death of Hank Gathers during that seasons WCC championship tournament. As San Francisco was from the 1940s to the early 1980s, Gonzaga has gained recognition as a basketball power. In 2016-17, the Bulldogs advanced all the way to the national championship game--the deepest run by a WCC team since San Francisco went to three consecutive Final Fours from 1955 to 1957. Saint Marys has also made marks for the conference as the Gaels appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2005,2008,2010,2012, and 2013. On May 28,2009, NBA referee Violet Palmer was hired as coordinator of basketball officials for the West Coast Conference and will remain with the NBA. Eventually, with the 2010 realignment opening up new avenues for expansion, the conference decided that it would only seek out private schools, but would not limit its search to faith-based institutions
West Coast Conference
–
West Coast Conference (WCC)
30.
Bob Knight
–
Robert Montgomery Bob Knight is a retired American basketball coach. Knight is best known as the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000. He also coached at Texas Tech and at Army, while at Indiana, Knight led his teams to three NCAA championships, one National Invitation Tournament championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships. He received National Coach of the Year honors four times and Big Ten Coach of the Year honors eight times. In 1984, he coached the USA mens Olympic team to a gold medal, Knight was one of college basketballs most successful and innovative coaches, having perfected and popularized the motion offense. He has also praised for running clean programs and graduating most of his players. Knight remains the object of near fanatical devotion from his former players, in 2008, Knight joined ESPN as a mens college basketball studio analyst during Championship Week and for coverage of the NCAA Tournament. He continued covering college basketball for ESPN through the 2014-15 season, Knight was born in Massillon, Ohio, and grew up in Orrville, Ohio. Knight began his career as a player at Orrville High School and he continued under Basketball Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor at Ohio State in 1958. The Buckeyes lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats in each of the next two NCAA Championship games, of which Knight was also a part. Due in part to the power of those Ohio State teams, playing time was usually scarce for Knight. In the 1961 NCAA Championship game, Knight came off the bench with 1,41 on the clock and Cincinnati leading Ohio State, 61-59. In the words of then-Ohio State assistant coach Frank Truitt, Knight got the ball in the front court. Then crossed over like he worked on it all his life and drove right in and laid it up. That tied the game for us, and Knight ran clear across the floor like a 100-yard dash sprinter and ran right at me and said, See there, coach, to which Truitt replied, Sit down, you hot dog. Youre lucky youre even on the floor, Knight graduated with a degree in history and government in 1962. After graduation in 1962, Knight coached junior varsity basketball at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio for one year, in six seasons at West Point, Knight won 102 games, with his first as a head coach coming against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. One of his players was Mike Krzyzewski, who served as his assistant before becoming a Hall of Fame head coach at Duke
Bob Knight
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Bob Knight in 2008
Bob Knight
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Knight with young fans at
Frank Truitt 's house in
Columbus, summer of 1988
Bob Knight
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Knight watches his team practice in November 2007.
Bob Knight
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Knight (right) with Krzyzewski
31.
Charles Barkley
–
Charles Wade Barkley is an American retired professional basketball player and current analyst on the television program Inside the NBA. Nicknamed Chuck, Sir Charles, and The Round Mound of Rebound, an All-American center at Auburn, he was drafted as a junior by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 5th pick of the 1984 NBA draft. He was selected to the All-NBA First Team five times, the All-NBA Second Team five times and he earned eleven NBA All-Star Game appearances and was named the All-Star MVP in 1991. In 1993, he was voted the leagues Most Valuable Player and during the NBAs 50th anniversary and he competed in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games and won two gold medals as a member of the United States Dream Team. Barkley is an inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2006 for his individual career. Barkley was popular with the fans and media and made the NBAs All-Interview Team for his last 13 seasons in the league, short for a power forward, Barkley used his strength and aggressiveness to become one of the NBAs most dominant rebounders. He was a player who had the ability to score, create plays. In 2000, he retired as the player in NBA history to achieve 20,000 points,10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. Since retiring as a player, Barkley has had a career as a television NBA analyst. He works with Turner Network Television alongside of Shaquille ONeal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson as a studio pundit for its coverage of NBA games and is a spokesman for CDW. In addition, Barkley has written books and has shown an interest in politics, in October 2008, he announced that he would run for Governor of Alabama in 2014. Barkley was born and raised in Leeds, Alabama, ten miles outside Birmingham, as a junior, Barkley stood 510 and weighed 220 pounds. He failed to make the varsity team and was named as a reserve, however, during the summer Barkley grew to 64 and earned a starting position on the varsity as a senior. He averaged 19.1 points and 17.9 rebounds per game, an assistant to Auburn Universitys head coach, Sonny Smith, was at the game and reported seeing, a fat guy. Who can play like the wind, Barkley was soon recruited by Smith and majored in business management while attending Auburn University. Barkley played collegiate basketball at Auburn for three seasons, although he struggled to control his weight, he excelled as a player and led the SEC in rebounding each year. He became a popular crowd-pleaser, exciting the fans with dunks and it was not uncommon to see the hefty Barkley grab a defensive rebound and, instead of passing, dribble the entire length of the court and finish at the opposite end with a two-handed dunk. His physical size and skills earned him the nickname The Round Mound of Rebound
Charles Barkley
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Charles Barkley in 2008
Charles Barkley
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Barkley at the 2010 NBA Hall of Fame induction
Charles Barkley
–
Barkley with President
Barack Obama at the
White House
32.
Terry Porter
–
Terry Porter is an American college basketball coach and former player in the National Basketball Association. He is currently the mens basketball coach at the University of Portland. A native of Wisconsin, he played basketball at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point before being drafted 24th by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1985 NBA draft. In Portland, he played ten seasons with two All-Star Game appearances, Porter spent 17 years in the NBA as a player. He was the ambassador for Portland Trail Blazers. Porter was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 8,1963, Porter played prep basketball, as a forward, at Milwaukees South Division High School. Porter attended college at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, a Division III school and he played under head coach Dick Bennett, and with Brad Soderberg. In four seasons at Stevens Point, Porter averaged 13.5 points,3.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, as a junior, he averaged 18.8 points and shooting over 65 percent from the floor. Twice with the Pointers, as both a junior and a senior, he was named an NAIA First-Team All-American, after the 1984 tournament, Porter was the only NAIA player to be invited to the 1984 U. S. Olympic Team trials. 72 players were invited to the trials, led by head coach Bob Knight, at the trials he said, Im sure a lot of guys might have been surprised to see me here, I didnt even expect to get invited. This competition is a notch up from what Im used to. Porter made it to the final 20, but on a team that was heavy on guards, Porter was cut on May 13,1984 along with Charles Barkley and John Stockton. After the Olympic trials NBA scouts began to notice Porter for his defensive play, nonstop hustle. He commented, I wasnt much good in school, so the big schools didnt come after me. But I guess Ive improved a lot at Point, after three seasons at shooting guard he moved to the point guard position. He was also the only NAIA player named to the Aloha Basketball All-Star Classic, where he was named to the all-tournament team, Porter returned to Wisconsin–Stevens Point to finish his degree in communications, obtained in 1993, with an emphasis in television and radio. He was awarded a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999, going into the 1985 NBA draft, the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs, all looked to draft Porter. And he was considered the second best choice at point guard, behind Sam Vincent, on June 18,1985 the Portland Trail Blazers selected Porter with the 24th overall pick in the NBA Draft
Terry Porter
–
Porter in 2009
33.
Karl Malone
–
Karl Anthony Malone is an American retired professional basketball player. Malone also played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Malone was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 14-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time member of the All-NBA first team. He is considered one of the best power forwards in NBA history, Malone played college basketball at Louisiana Tech University. In his three seasons with Louisiana Tech, he helped the Bulldogs basketball team to its first-ever NCAA tournament in 1984, the Utah Jazz drafted Malone in 1985 with the 13th overall pick in the first round. Malone appeared in the every season in his career, including the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 with the Jazz. He played his season with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he played his third Finals in 2004. However, Malone has the most career postseason losses of any NBA player ever, Malone also competed with the United States national team in the Summer Olympic Games of 1992 and 1996, in both years he won gold medals. After retiring from the NBA, Malone joined the staff of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in 2007 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. Born in Summerfield, Louisiana, Malone was the youngest child of nine children and his father Shedrick Hay was raising a family with another woman he married and committed suicide when Karl Malone was 14, Malone first disclosed that suicide in 1994. As a child, Malone often worked at the farm and chopped trees, hunted and he attended the local Summerfield High School and led its basketball team to three consecutive Louisiana Class C titles from 1979 to his senior season in 1981. Although recruited by University of Arkansas basketball coach Eddie Sutton, Malone enrolled at Louisiana Tech University and he joined the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team in his second year because his grades were too low for freshman eligibility, Malone played under coach Andy Russo. In his second season with Louisiana Tech, Malone averaged 18.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, in each of his three seasons with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Malone was an All-Southland selection. In the 1985 NBA draft, the Utah Jazz selected Karl Malone with the 13th overall pick, in fact, Malone was so convinced the Dallas Mavericks were going to select him with the eighth choice, that he had already rented an apartment in Dallas. Instead, the Mavericks selected Detlef Schrempf, and Malone lasted until Utahs pick at No.13. Under head coach Frank Layden, Malone averaged 14.9 points and 8.9 rebounds in his first season, on January 14,1986, the Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 105–102 to snap the Rockets 20-game winning streak at home. Malone scored 29 points that game, including four free throws followed by a three-pointer by Pace Mannion to rally from a 96–89 deficit with 5 minutes and 36 seconds remaining to a 96–96 tie. For the third season, the Jazz made the postseason. In the four games, Malone improved in his scoring with a 20 points per game average but was still subpar in shooting
Karl Malone
–
Malone in 1997
Karl Malone
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Malone visits U.S. base in Afghanistan.
34.
Isiah Thomas
–
Isiah Lord Thomas III is an American retired basketball player who played professionally for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. A point guard, the 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, Thomas has also been a professional and collegiate head coach, a basketball executive, and a broadcaster. Thomas played collegiately for the Indiana Hoosiers, leading them to the 1981 NCAA championship as a sophomore and he was taken as the #2 pick by the Pistons, playing for them his entire 1981–1994 career and leading the Bad Boys to the 1988–89 and 1989–90 NBA championships. He was later the basketball coach for the Florida International University Golden Panthers for three seasons from 2009 to 2012. Thomas was born on April 30,1961, in Chicago, Illinois, during his junior year, he led St. Joseph to the State Finals and was considered one of the top college prospects in the country. Thomas was recruited to play basketball for Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers. Although he received mail saying Knight tied up his players and beat them, when Knight visited the Thomas home, one of Isiahs brothers, who wanted him to attend DePaul, embarrassed him by insulting the Indiana coach and engaging him in a shouting match. Nevertheless, Thomas chose Knight and Indiana because he felt that away to Bloomington would be good for him. Thomas quickly had to adjust to Knights disciplinarian style, at the 1979 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico Knight got so mad at Thomas he threatened to put him on a plane home. Knight recalled yelling at the freshman-to-be, You ought to go to DePaul, Isiah, prior to the start of his freshman year, the 1979–80 season, Knight became so upset with Thomas that he kicked him out of a practice. According to Thomas, Knight was making a point that no player, however, Thomas quickly proved his skills as a player and became a favorite with both Knight and Indiana fans. His superior abilities eventually would cause Knight to adjust his coaching style, fans would display bed sheets with quotations from the Book of Isaiah and nicknamed him Mr. Wonderful. Because of Thomas relatively short stature at 6 ft 1 in, Thomas and Mike Woodson led the Hoosiers to the Big Ten championship and advanced to the 1980 Sweet Sixteen. The following year, the 1980–81 season, Knight made Thomas the captain, Thomas responded so positively that, as the season unfolded, Knight and Thomas grew as friends. When a Purdue player took a shot at Isiah in a game at Bloomington. And 19 days later, when Thomas hit an Iowa player and was ejected from a game and that year Thomas and the Hoosiers once again won a conference title and won the 1981 NCAA tournament, the schools fourth national title. The sophomore earned the tournaments Most Outstanding Player award, and made eligible for the upcoming NBA draft. In the 1981 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons chose Thomas with the No.2 pick, Thomas made the All-Rookie team and started for the Eastern Conference in the 1982 All-Star Game
Isiah Thomas
–
Isiah Thomas coaching the Knicks
Isiah Thomas
–
A press conference for Isiah Thomas at the
U.S. Century Bank Arena at
Florida International University in Miami.
35.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
–
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
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
–
Abdul-Jabbar in 2014
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
–
Alcindor with the reverse two hand dunk in a game against
Stanford.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
–
Alcindor performing ceremonial net cutting at
Freedom Hall after unprecedented third-straight national title in 1969
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
–
Alcindor shooting over
Wes Unseld of the
Baltimore Bullets
36.
Robert Parish
–
Robert Lee Parish is an American retired basketball center. He was known for his defense, his high arcing jump shooting. Robert Parish was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, in 1996, Parish was also named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. His nickname was The Chief, after the fictitious Chief Bromden, according to Parish, former Celtics forward Cedric Maxwell gave him this nickname because of his stoic nature. He played an NBA-record 1,611 regular season games in his career, in 1965, the NCAA adopted the so-called 1.6 rule to determine academic eligibility of incoming freshmen. Under its provisions, freshmen would academically qualify if their high school grades and this was a violation of NCAA regulations, however, the NCAA had not paid any attention to the schools actions before Parishs recruitment. When Centenary refused to pull the scholarships, the NCAA issued one of the most draconian sanctions in its history, literally within days of its decision, the NCAA repealed the 1.6 rule—but refused to make the five players eligible. A few months later, all five, including Parish, sued the NCAA for their eligibility at Centenary, the decision made Parish a sort of invisible man who racked up huge statistical totals in virtual obscurity. In his four years at Centenary, the Gents went 87-21 and spent 14 weeks in the AP Top 20 poll and he averaged 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds per game during his Centenary career. However, although the school recognizes his records, the NCAA to this day does not include Parish in its record books. For example, the NCAAs official Division I basketball records book includes a list of all players since the 1972–73 season to have averaged 15 rebounds during a season. The only mention of Parishs time at Centenary in the official NCAA record books is that of the Gents appearances in the AP Poll from the 1973–74 through 1975–76 seasons. The NCAA wanted to expel Southwestern Louisiana from the NCAA, between his junior and senior years, he played for the US national team at the 1975 Pan American Games. His difficulties with the NCAA indirectly led to his not being recommended for a spot on the team, Centenary paid his way to Salt Lake City to try out, he made the team, was unanimously elected captain, and led the team to a gold medal. At the time, professional scouts did not question his physical skills, One NBA scout said during Parishs senior season, The jury is still out as to whether Parish can win games for a pro team. He can definitely play in the pros and hes going to get a lot of money, for his part, Parish would say during the same season, I didnt transfer because Centenary did nothing wrong. After college, Parish was drafted in the first round of the 1976 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and he had also been drafted by the Utah Stars in the 1973 ABA Special Circumstances draft and by the Spurs in the 1975 ABA draft. The Warriors were NBA champions in 1975, however, when Parish joined the Warriors, their decline had begun, and they missed the playoffs completely from 1978 to 1980
Robert Parish
–
Parish in 2005
Robert Parish
–
Robert Parish during his tenure with the Celtics
37.
Kobe Bryant
–
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American retired professional basketball player and businessman. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association and he entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, and ranks third on both the leagues all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career and he declared for the NBA draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, despite a feud between them, Bryant and Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was accused of assault in Colorado, but the charges were eventually dropped. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, ONeal was traded to the Miami Heat, Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers, and he led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant was awarded the regular seasons Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, he led the Lakers to two championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions. He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013, although he recovered, his play was limited the following two years by season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing his physical decline, he announced that he would be retiring after the 2015–16 season, at 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1,2010. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won medals as a member of the U. S. national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s, Bryant was born in Philadelphia, as the youngest of three children and the only son of Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the nephew of basketball player John Chubby Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan and his middle name, Bean, is derived from his fathers nickname Jellybean. When Bryant was six, his left the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak fluent Italian, during summers, he would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league
Kobe Bryant
–
Bryant in 2014
Kobe Bryant
–
Bryant's retired No.33 jersey and banner at the Lower Merion High School gym.
Kobe Bryant
–
Bryant was a member of the Lakers teams that won three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000 to 2002.
Kobe Bryant
–
Bryant scored a career high of 81-points against the
Toronto Raptors in
Staples Center, second-highest single scoring performance in NBA history, surpassed only by
Wilt Chamberlain 's
100-point game in
1962.
38.
Magic Johnson
–
Earvin Magic Johnson Jr. is an American retired professional basketball player and current president of basketball operations of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. He played point guard for the Lakers for 13 seasons, after winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his players, he retired again for four years. Johnsons career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and he led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBAs all-time leader in average assists per game, at 11.2. Johnson was a member of the 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team, after leaving the NBA in 1992, Johnson formed the Magic Johnson All-Stars, a barnstorming team that travelled around the world playing exhibition games. Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, Johnson became a two-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame—being enshrined in 2002 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007 and his friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, broadcaster and motivational speaker. Named by Ebony magazine as one of Americas most influential businessmen in 2009, Johnson has numerous business interests. Johnson also is part of a group of investors purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Earvin Johnson Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan to Earvin Sr. a General Motors assembly worker, and Christine, Johnson, who had six siblings, was influenced by his parents strong work ethic. Earvin Jr. would often help his father on the garbage route, Johnson grew up in Lansing, and came to love basketball as a youngster. His favorite basketball player was Bill Russell, whom he admired more for his many championships than his athletic ability and he also idolized players such as Earl Monroe and Marques Haynes, and practiced all day. Magic Johnson came from an athletic family and his father played high school basketball in his home state of Mississippi, and Johnson learned the finer points about the game from him. Johnsons mother, originally from North Carolina, had played basketball as a child. By the time he had reached the grade, Johnson had begun to think about a future in basketball. He had become a dominant junior player, once scoring 48 points in a game
Magic Johnson
–
Johnson in 2007
Magic Johnson
–
Johnson (right) battles
Boston 's
Cedric Maxwell in
1985 NBA Finals
Magic Johnson
–
Johnson with the Lakers, c. 1987
Magic Johnson
–
Magic Johnson's star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
39.
MVP
–
In sports, a most valuable player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best-performing player in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. Initially used in sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields such as business. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, the term is most common in the United States and Canada. In other cases, Player of the Year is used, in Australia, Australian rules football clubs and leagues use the term best and fairest, while those playing rugby league use Player of the Year, such as the Dally M Medal. The National Basketball League, however, uses the American-style MVP for its awards, in many cases the awards are voted on by members of the media. In others the vote is by players, coaches, or umpires, in recent years, online polls from the public decide some awards
MVP
–
Luis Suárez with the
2011 Copa América most valuable player award.
40.
Salt Lake City
–
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and the most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Utah. With an estimated population of 190,884 in 2014, the city lies at the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo Combined Statistical Area. This region is a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along an approximately 120-mile segment of the Wasatch Front and it is one of only two major urban areas in the Great Basin. The city was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young, Isaac Morley, George Washington Bradley and numerous other Mormon followers, who extensively irrigated and cultivated the arid valley. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City—the word great was dropped from the name in 1868 by the 17th Utah Territorial Legislature. Today, however, less than half the population of Salt Lake City proper are members of the LDS Church. It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913, Salt Lake City has since developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry based primarily on skiing, and hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the banking center of the United States. Before Mormon settlement, the Shoshone, Ute, and Paiute had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. The land was treated by the United States as public domain, the first U. S. explorer in the Salt Lake area is believed to be Jim Bridger in 1825, although others had been in Utah earlier, some as far north as the nearby Utah Valley. Frémont surveyed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845, the Donner Party, a group of ill-fated pioneers, had traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley in August 1846. The first permanent settlements in the date to the arrival of the Latter-day Saints on July 24,1847. Upon arrival at the Salt Lake Valley, president of the church Brigham Young is recorded as stating, This is the right place, Brigham Young claimed to have seen the area in a vision prior to the wagon trains arrival. They found the broad valley empty of any human settlement, four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young designated the building site for the Salt Lake Temple, which would eventually become a famous Mormon and Salt Lake City landmark. The Salt Lake Temple, constructed on the block that would later be called Temple Square, construction started in 1853, and the temple was dedicated on 6 April 1893. The temple has become an icon for the city and serves as its centerpiece, in fact, the southeast corner of Temple Square is the initial point of reference for the Salt Lake Meridian, and for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley. The Mormon pioneers organized a new state called Deseret and petitioned for its recognition in 1849, the United States Congress rebuffed the settlers in 1850 and established the Utah Territory, vastly reducing its size, and designated Fillmore as its capital city. Great Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the capital in 1858
Salt Lake City
–
Clockwise from top: The skyline in July 2011,
Utah State Capitol,
TRAX,
Union Pacific Depot, the
Block U, the
City and County Building, and the
Salt Lake Temple.
Salt Lake City
–
Map showing Salt Lake as
Mexican territory in 1838. Source:
Britannica 7th Ed.
Salt Lake City
–
Part of Main Street 1890
Salt Lake City
–
Men lounging outside saloon & Chinese laundry, 1910
41.
Dream Team (basketball)
–
The 1992 United States mens Olympic basketball team, nicknamed the Dream Team, was the first American Olympic team to feature active NBA players. The team is described by American journalists as the greatest sports team ever assembled, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame called the team the greatest collection of basketball talent on the planet. At the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, the team defeated its opponents by an average of 44 points en route to the gold medal against Croatia, chuck Daly served as coach, assisted by Lenny Wilkens, P. J. Carlesimo, and Mike Krzyzewski. Before the 1992 games, only players were allowed to play on the mens Olympic basketball team. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the United States national basketball team, made up of college stars, the defeat increased calls for professionals to be allowed to play in the Olympics. Borislav Stanković of FIBA advocated for this for years, in 1989 FIBA modified its rules allowing professional athletes, such as NBA players, to compete internationally. FIBA agreed in April 1989 to allow professionals to play in the Olympics, USA Basketball asked the NBA to supply players for its 1992 roster, the league was initially unenthusiastic, not foreseeing the cultural phenomenon that the team would become. Sports Illustrated was the first to nickname the forthcoming American roster as the Dream Team, on the cover of its February 18,1991, so many corporate sponsors wished to use the team to advertise their products that some were rejected. Most of the players were at or near the peaks of their NBA careers, Bird had back trouble, but was selected due to the teams historic nature. Robinson had played with the 1988 Olympic team, and was eager to earn a medal at Barcelona. Johnson was retained despite his retirement from the Lakers in November 1991 due to having tested positive for HIV. Ewing, Jordan, and Mullin had won gold at the 1984 games but Malone, clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers and Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons were the candidates for the final professional roster spot. Drexler was added to the team on May 12,1992, as an acknowledgment to the previous amateur system, the US basketball committee decided to include one collegiate player on team, filling the final roster spot. Laettner was the player without any professional experience, and was chosen over Louisiana State Universitys Shaquille ONeal for the final spot on the roster. Jordan refused Dalys suggestion that he serve as the face of the team. There was speculation that Thomas was not part of the team because Michael Jordan would participate only if Thomas was not on the roster. In the book Dream Team, author Jack McCallum quotes Jordan as saying, Rod, I don’t want to play if Isiah Thomas is on the team, to Team USA selection committee member Rod Thorn. Thomas is also alleged to have led a group of NBA veterans that refused to pass to Jordan in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game, in the book When the Game Was Ours, Johnson said Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics
Dream Team (basketball)
–
David Robinson shoots a free throw.
Dream Team (basketball)
–
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were at the end of their professional careers when chosen to be co-captains of the Dream Team.
Dream Team (basketball)
–
Utah Jazz teammates Karl Malone (top) and John Stockton (bottom) were chosen due to their strong on-court chemistry and individual prowess
Dream Team (basketball)
42.
50 Greatest Players in NBA history
–
The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History were chosen in 1996 to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association. These fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of members, former players and coaches. In addition, the top ten coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The fifty players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played, the announcement marked the beginning of a season-long celebration of the leagues anniversary. Forty-seven of the fifty players were assembled in Cleveland, during the halftime ceremony of the 1997 All-Star Game. At the time of the announcement, eleven players were active, oNeal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the 2010–11 season. The list was made through unranked voting completed by fifty selected panelists, of the last group, thirteen were former NBA players. Players were prohibited from voting for themselves, only three voting veterans were not selected to the team. Eleven players were active in the 1996–97 season, during which the team was announced, oNeal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the 2010–11 season. All of the players have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Lenny Wilkens was the member of the players list to have been selected as a member of the coaches list. At the time of the list, only Pete Maravich was deceased, since then, Wilt Chamberlain, Dave DeBusschere, Paul Arizin, George Mikan, Bill Sharman, Moses Malone, Dolph Schayes and Nate Thurmond have all died. Note, Statistics are correct through the end of the 2010–11 season, alongside the selection of the 50 greatest players, was the selection of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History. The list was compiled based upon unranked selection undertaken exclusively by members of the print, all 10 coaches named were alive at the time of the lists announcement, and four of them—Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, and Lenny Wilkens—were then active. Four have since died, Red Holzman in 1998, Red Auerbach in 2006, Chuck Daly in 2009, Jackson was the last of the ten to coach in the NBA, he announced his retirement after the 2010–11 season. Nelson was the member to have never won a championship as a coach. Wilkens was the member of the coaches list to have been selected as a member of the players list. Nine of the ten coaches are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
50 Greatest Players in NBA history
–
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who voted as a player, was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
50 Greatest Players in NBA history
–
Larry Bird, who voted as a team representative, was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
50 Greatest Players in NBA history
–
Wilt Chamberlain, who voted as a player, was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
50 Greatest Players in NBA history
–
Michael Jordan was active at the time of the announcement of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.
43.
Houston Rockets
–
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. The Rockets have won two NBA championships and four Western Conference titles, the team was established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team originally based in San Diego, in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston, the Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets, picking first overall, selected power forward Elvin Hayes, the Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record until the 1976–77 season, when they traded for center Moses Malone. Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award twice and he also led the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981 where they were defeated in six games by the Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird and future Rockets coach Kevin McHale. In 1984, the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon, who would be paired with 7 feet 4 inches Ralph Sampson, nicknamed the Twin Towers, they led the team to the 1986 NBA Finals—the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history—where Houston was again defeated by the Boston Celtics. The Rockets continued to reach the playoffs throughout the 1980s, Rudy Tomjanovich took over as head coach midway through the 1991–92 season, ushering in the most successful period in franchise history. Olajuwon-led Rockets went to the 1994 NBA Finals and won franchises first championship against Patrick Ewing, Houston became the lowest-seeded team in NBA history to win the title. After Yaos early retirement in 2011, the Rockets entered a period of rebuilding, the acquisition of franchise player James Harden in 2012 has launched the Rockets back into championship contention in the mid-2010s. The Rockets, under general manager Daryl Morey, are notable for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics in player acquisitions and style of play. The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard, Breitbard brought in Jack McMahon, then coach of the Cincinnati Royals, to serve as the Rockets coach and general manager. The Rockets lost 67 games in their season, which was an NBA record for losses in a season at the time. Because of the low performance and attendance, Breitbard looked to sell the team, and in 1971, Texas Sports Investments bought the franchise for $5.6 million, and moved the team to Houston. The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas, and the nickname Rockets took on greater relevance after the move. It was also around this time that the Rockets would unveil their classic yellow and red logo, winter left soon after, being fired in January 1973 following a ten-game losing streak, and was replaced by Johnny Egan. Egan led the Rockets back to the playoffs in 1975, where the franchise also managed to win their first round against the New York Knicks, subsequently losing to the veteran Boston Celtics in 5 games
Houston Rockets
–
Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes was selected first overall by the San Diego Rockets in the 1968 NBA Draft.
Houston Rockets
–
Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets
–
A ticket for Game 2 of the 1987 Western Conference Semifinals between the Rockets and the Seattle SuperSonics.
Houston Rockets
–
Rudy Tomjanovich spent all his playing career with the Rockets, and after becoming the team's head coach in 1992 led Houston to two straight championships.
44.
1997 NBA Finals
–
The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Utah Jazz of the Western Conference took on the Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage. The series was played under a format, with the first 2 games in Chicago, the next 3 games in Salt Lake City. The Bulls won the series 4 games to 2, for the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Michael Jordan was named NBA Finals MVP. Hal Douglas narrated the documentary for NBA Entertainment. Bulls and Jazz won a combined 133 regular season games, second most in Finals history, until 2016, the 1997 NBA Finals was the last to feature teams that won a total of at least 130 regular season games. For the Chicago Bulls, the campaign was almost identical to their record-breaking 1995–96 season and they began the season 12–0, and by the All-Star break, was 42–6, putting them on pace to win 70 games for a second year in a row. But some late-season injuries and poor play denied them another 70-win season, the Jazz emerged as a force in the Western Conference during the 1990s, due in large part to its All-Star duo of John Stockton and Karl Malone. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals thrice between 1992 and 1996, but lost on each occasion, however, a different story was written for the 1996–97 season. Powered by league MVP Karl Malone, the Jazz finally asserted themselves atop the Western Conference, in the playoffs, Utah swept the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round and eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the second round. Then, with John Stocktons buzzer-beating, three-point shot in Game 6 of the Western finals, had the Western Conference Finals between the Jazz and the Houston Rockets reached a Game 7, the Finals would have begun on Wednesday, June 4, and follow the similar Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rotation. All times are in Eastern Daylight Time, despite injuring his foot in the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami, Scottie Pippen helped the Bulls to an 84-82 victory over Utah on Sunday. He scored 27 points while Jordan scored 31, the Bulls trailed by one in the 4th, yet were able to grab an 81-79 lead after Pippen blocked Antoine Carr, then made his third 3-pointer with 1,11 remaining. However, John Stockton answered with a 3 of his own with 51.7 seconds left to give Utah an 82-81 lead, Michael Jordan made 1 of 2 free throws with 35.8 seconds left to tie it at 82. Then, Karl Malone was fouled by Rodman with 9.2 seconds left and had a chance to give Utah the lead, Scottie famously psyched him out, saying, Just remember, the mailman doesnt deliver on Sundays, Karl, before he stepped up to the line. Jordan got the rebound and quickly called a time-out with 7.5 seconds left, with the game on the line, the Bulls put the ball in Jordans hands. He dribbled out most of the seconds, then launched a 20-footer that went in at the buzzer to give Chicago a 1-0 series lead. The Bulls simply dominated Game 2, after a hard-fought first quarter, the Bulls took control of the game with a 12-0 second quarter run
1997 NBA Finals
45.
Chicago Bulls
–
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
Chicago Bulls
–
Michael Jordan was drafted third overall by the Bulls in
1984. He won six championships and six
Finals MVPs for Chicago.
Chicago Bulls
–
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
–
United Center
Chicago Bulls
–
Scottie Pippen
46.
Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals
–
The Bulls won 87–86, winning their sixth NBA championship in eight years. Game 6 was the game with the Bulls for Michael Jordan. This game earned the highest TV ratings of an NBA game of all time, Michael Jordan hit a jump shot with 5.2 seconds left in the game to give the Bulls an 87–86 lead. Chicago then held on to win after John Stockton missed a 3-point field goal, the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls finished the regular season tied for the best record in the NBA at 62-20. The Jazz swept the series against the Bulls 2–0, giving them the tiebreaker for home-court advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs. In the finals series, the Jazz had won Game 1, none of the previous 5 Finals appearances for the Bulls had gone to a Game 7. Scottie Pippen scored the basket on a slam dunk that aggravated a back injury, causing him pain. Pippen was limited to 8 points on 4–7 shooting in 26 minutes played, Michael Jordan took 35 of the Bulls 67 shots, leading the team in scoring and minutes played with 45 points in 44 minutes. Karl Malone led the Jazz in both categories with 31 points in 43 minutes. In the first half of the game, while the Jazz led 28-24 with just under 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Jazz guard Howard Eisley saved a pass that almost sent the ball out of bound. As the shot clock was running down, Jazz forward/center Antoine Carr passed the ball a distance to Shandon Anderson. Eisley caught the ball and hit a 3-pointer, but referee Dick Bavetta ruled that Eisley released the ball after the clock expired. Replays showed that the ball had left Eisleys hands with a left on the shot clock. Calling the game for NBC, Bob Costas narrated a replay of Eisleys shot, one second. its on the way, and they missed the call. Although the Jazz held a 49-45 lead at halftime and a 66-61 at the end of the 3rd quarter, John Stockton hit a 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left to give the Jazz an 86–83 lead. Michael Jordan scored a layup on the possession to cut the lead to one. With 18.9 seconds left and the Jazz in possession, Jordan stole the ball from Karl Malone in the low post, bryon Russell guarded Jordan as time wound down.2 seconds left. Neil Funk made the call for the Bulls radio network, Bob Costas, calling the game on television for NBC, had this call
Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals
–
Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals
47.
Michael Jordan
–
Michael Jeffrey Jordan, also known by his initials, MJ, is an American retired professional basketball player, businessman, and principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets. Jordan played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Chicago Bulls and his biography on the NBA website states, By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, Jordan played three seasons for coach Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick. He quickly emerged as a star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, demonstrated by performing slam dunks from the throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames Air Jordan. He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball, in 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. Jordan retired for a time in January 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Wizards. Among his numerous accomplishments, Jordan holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average and highest career playoff scoring average. In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN and he became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015. Jordan is also known for his product endorsements and he fueled the success of Nikes Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself, in 2006, he became part-owner and head of basketball operations for the then-Charlotte Bobcats, buying a controlling interest in 2010. In 2015, Jordan became the first billionaire NBA player in history as a result of the increase in value of NBA franchises and he is the third richest African American, behind Oprah Winfrey and Robert F. Smith. Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Deloris, who worked in banking and his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler. Jordan is the fourth of five children and he has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan, Jr. one older sister, Deloris, and a younger sister, Roslyn. Jordans brother James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U. S. Army. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he highlighted his athletic career by playing basketball, baseball and he tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 511, he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team, motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laneys junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40-point games
Michael Jordan
–
Jordan in 2006
Michael Jordan
–
Jordan playing for the Laney High School varsity basketball team in 1979-80.
Michael Jordan
–
Michael Jordan's jersey in the rafters of The
Dean Smith Center
Michael Jordan
–
Jordan (center) in 1987
48.
Shorts
–
They are called shorts because they are a shortened version of trousers, which cover the entire leg. Shorts are typically worn in warm weather or in an environment where comfort, there are a variety of shorts, ranging from knee-length short trousers that can in some situations be worn as formal clothes to beachwear and athletic shorts. Some types of shorts are worn by women, such as culottes. The American term short pants is probably the nearest equivalent in the US, there they might now be called dress shorts, a somewhat similar garment worn by men in Australia is called stubbies. Shorts is used unqualified in British English to refer to sports shorts, athletic shorts, or casual shorts, the term boxer shorts was an American coinage for a particular kind of mens underwear, and is now common in Britain. However, boxer shorts are often referred to as boxers in the USA, the word pants refers to outerwear in American usage but when used unqualified in British English generally means underwear. In much of Europe and the Americas during the 19th and early 20th centuries shorts were worn as outerwear only by boys until they reached a certain height or maturity. When boys got older, typically around puberty, they would receive their first pair of long trousers and this produced the perception that shorts were only for young boys. Because of this, men would not wear shorts to avoid looking immature, women tended not to wear shorts in most cultures, due to social mores, they were expected to wear dresses, or skirts and blouses. In the 1890s, knee pants became the standard wear for American boys, many urban school portraits from the 1890s show all but the oldest boys wearing knee pants. North American boys normally wore knee pants with short stockings and this began to change after the 1900s when North American boys began wearing knickerbockers, while short pants became more popular in Europe. In the 1930s, shorts started to be worn for comfort by both men and women. However, it was taboo to wear shorts outside certain activities. By the late 20th century however it became common for men to wear shorts as casual wear in summer, however, in many countries there are few formal settings where wearing shorts would be acceptable, as they are considered casual wear. Notable exceptions where men may wear short trousers to the office or at a formal gathering are South Africa, Bermuda, Australia and New Zealand. Since the 1990s, casual office dress has grown to include formal shorts in some UK and U. S. businesses, in some countries adult women can be seen wearing loose-fitting shorts that end at or just below the knee, as these are seen as sufficiently modest. Capris Three quarter pants Media related to Shorts at Wikimedia Commons
Shorts
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U.S. women volleyball players in sports-shorts
Shorts
Shorts
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Leaders welcome a boy into Scouting, March 2010, Mexico City, Mexico. The men and the boy are wearing shorts.
Shorts
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Board shorts.
49.
John Stockton Drive
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In the U. S. state of Utah, U. S. Route 89 is a long north–south state highway spanning more than 502 miles through the central part of the state. Between Provo and Brigham City, US-89 serves as a road, paralleling Interstate 15. The former provides access to national parks and Arizona, and the latter connects I-15 with Logan. When US-89 was established in the state in 1926, the road extended north to US-91 in Spanish Fork. Following the extension of the former to the Canada–US border, Interstate 15 was constructed roughly paralleling US-89 to the west, during this process, US-89 was rerouted in southern Utah and northern Arizona with the old roadway becoming US-89A. US-89 enters Utah from the south inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, about 7 miles north of the Glen Canyon Dam, after leaving the recreation area and passing the small town of Big Water, the highway curves west through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. US-89 stays near the southern boundary, crossing the East Clark Bench and The Cockscomb. At the city of Kanab, US-89 meets the end of US-89A, an alternate route south into Arizona. Here the Mount Carmel Scenic Byway begins, one of the Utah Scenic Byways, the Vermilion Cliffs are ascended via the canyon carved by Kanab Creek. Near the White Cliffs, US-89 meets SR-9 at Mt. Carmel Junction, where travelers can turn to reach Zion National Park. The final step is the Pink Cliffs, where the highway alongside the Virgin River to the highest point on US-89 in southern Utah and the east end of SR-14. As the highway north, the valley narrows significantly into the Circleville Canyon before opening out near the town of Circleville. In this part of the valley, the Sevier River is dammed to create the Piute Reservoir, and US-89 meets SR-62 near Kingston. North of Marysvale, the valley narrows into the Sevier Canyon. Although US-89 follows the I-70 freeway from Sevier to Salina, the old alignment can still be driven, and is state-maintained north of Elsinore as SR-258, SR-118, SR-24, and US-50. Both highways stay mainly in the west half of the Sevier Rivers valley, just south of Salina, I-70 curves to the east, rising alongside Salina Creek, and US-89 exits into downtown Salina, where it rejoins its pre-freeway alignment. North of Salina, US-89 bypasses Redmond and passes through Centerfield to Gunnison, at Gunnison, US-89 turns east before curving northeast into the Sanpete Valley, formed by the San Pitch River, a tributary of the Sevier River. Along US-89 in this valley are several cities, Manti, Ephraim, Mount Pleasant
John Stockton Drive
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U.S. Route 89 at the border of Arizona and Utah
John Stockton Drive
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Map of US-89 (delineated in red)
John Stockton Drive
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Looking south from
Sevier towards the
Sevier Canyon
John Stockton Drive
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State Street approaching the
Utah State Capitol; northbound US-89 turned left here until 2007
