1.
20th Century Fox
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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is an American film studio currently owned by 21st Century Fox. It is one of the Big Six major American film studios and is located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, the studio was formerly owned by News Corporation. 20th Century Fox is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America, in 2015, 20th Century Fox celebrated its 80th anniversary as a studio. Spyros Skouras, then manager of the Fox West Coast Theaters, the studios biggest star, Will Rogers, died in a plane crash weeks after the merger. Its leading female star, Janet Gaynor, was fading in popularity and promising leading men James Dunn, at first, it was expected that the new company was originally to be called Fox-20th Century, even though 20th Century was the senior partner in the merger. However, 20th Century brought more to the bargaining table besides Schenck and Zanuck, the new company, 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation, began trading on May 31,1935, the hyphen was dropped in 1985. Schenck became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, while Kent remained as President, Zanuck became Vice President in Charge of Production, replacing Foxs longtime production chief Winfield Sheehan. The company established a training school. The contracts included an option for renewal for as long as seven years. For many years, 20th Century Fox claimed to have founded in 1915. For instance, it marked 1945 as its 30th anniversary, however, in recent years it has claimed the 1935 merger as its founding, even though most film historians agree it was founded in 1915. The companys films retained the 20th Century Pictures searchlight logo on their credits as well as its opening fanfare. Also on the Fox payroll he found two players who he built up into the studios leading assets, Alice Faye and seven-year-old Shirley Temple, favoring popular biographies and musicals, Zanuck built Fox back to profitability. Thanks to record attendance during World War II, Fox overtook RKO, while Zanuck went off for eighteen months war service, junior partner William Goetz kept profits high by going for light entertainment. The studios—indeed the industrys—biggest star was creamy blonde Betty Grable, in 1942, Spyros Skouras succeeded Kent as president of the studio. Together with Zanuck, who returned in 1943, they intended to make Foxs output more serious-minded. During the next few years, with pictures like The Razors Edge, Wilson, Gentlemans Agreement, The Snake Pit, Boomerang, and Pinky, Zanuck established a reputation for provocative, adult films. Fox also specialized in adaptations of best-selling books such as Ben Ames Williams Leave Her to Heaven, starring Gene Tierney and they also made the 1958 film version of South Pacific
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Michael Jordan
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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
4.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, as of 2015, the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes, having an estimated value of $2.7 billion. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the states nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. The team was propelled by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBAs official website as the leagues first superstar, after struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikans retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Boston Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired another center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had won multiple MVP awards and this team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and a Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley. After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnsons retirement, the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille ONeal, led by ONeal, Bryant, and another Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002, securing the franchise its second three-peat. After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won two championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010. The Lakers hold the record for NBAs longest winning streak,33 straight games,21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Four Lakers—Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, ONeal, and Bryant—have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards, Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind the scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team. Inspired by Minnesotas nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes, Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas, to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on the team. The Lakers had a roster which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan. In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record, in 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America, and Mikans 28.3 point per game scoring average set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals they won the championship, beating the Washington Capitols four games to two, the following season, the team improved to 51–17, repeating as champions. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring title at 28.4 ppg, one of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons, became infamous as the lowest scoring game in NBA history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round, during the 1951–52 season, the Lakers won 40 games, finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which won in seven games
5.
Minnesota Timberwolves
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 1989, the team is owned by Glen Taylor, the Timberwolves play their home games at Target Center, their home since 1990. Despite losing in the first round in their first seven attempts, Garnett was also named the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for that season. The team has been in rebuilding mode for the past decade since missing the playoffs in 2005, Garnett returned to the Timberwolves in a February 2015 trade and finished his career there, retiring in the 2016 offseason. NBA basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1989 for the first time since the Minneapolis Lakers departed for Los Angeles in 1960. The NBA had granted one of its four new teams on April 22,1987 to original owners Harvey Ratner. The franchise conducted a name the team contest and eventually selected two finalists, Timberwolves and Polars, in December 1986, the team then asked the 842 city councils in Minnesota to select the winner and Timberwolves prevailed by nearly 2-1. The team was named the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 23,1987. Minnesota is home to the largest population of timberwolves in the lower 48 states, the Timberwolves debuted on November 3,1989, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road 106–94. Five days later, they made their debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Two nights later on November 10, the Wolves got their first win, the Timberwolves, led by Tony Campbell with 23.2 ppg, went on to a 22–60 record, finishing in sixth place in the Midwest Division. Playing in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the expansion Timberwolves set an NBA record by drawing over 1 million fans to their home games. This included a crowd of 49,551 on April 17,1990, the next season, the team moved into their permanent home, the Target Center, and improved somewhat, finishing 29–53. However, they fired their coach, Bill Musselman. They fared far worse in the 1991–92 NBA season under Musselmans successor, ex-Celtics coach Jimmy Rodgers, finishing with an NBA-worst 15–67 record. One of the few highlights from that era was when the Target Center served as host of the 1994 All-Star Game where Rider won the Slam Dunk Contest with his between-the-leg East Bay Funk Dunk. As winning basketball continued to elude the Wolves, Ratner and Wolfenson nearly sold the team to New Orleans interests in 1994 before NBA owners rejected the proposed move, eventually, Glen Taylor bought the team and named Kevin McHale general manager
6.
San Antonio Spurs
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The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its games at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams to remain intact in the NBA after the 1976 ABA–NBA merger, the Spurs five NBA championships are the fourth most in history behind only the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls. The Spurs currently rank first among active franchises for the highest winning percentage in NBA history, in their 40 NBA seasons since 1976–77, the Spurs have won 21 division titles. With their 50th win in the 2016–17 season, the Spurs extended their record for most consecutive 50-win seasons to 18. Thus, since the 1997–98 season, the Spurs have had 20 consecutive seasons with a percentage of.610 or greater during the regular season which is also an NBA record. Only the teams current head coach, Gregg Popovich, who had been the general manager before replacing Bob Hill in 1996, has had a longer tenure with the Spurs. The Spurs are the only team in any of the four major U. S. professional sports leagues. Since 2003, the team has been forced on a road trip for much of February since the AT&T Center hosts the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. This is informally known as the Rodeo Road Trip, the Spurs have consistently posted winning road records during this period, including an NBA-record longest single road trip winning streak. When the Spurs have won the NBA title, the victory parades have been boat trips on the San Antonio River Walk. The San Antonio Spurs started out as the Dallas Chaparrals of the version of the American Basketball Association. Coached by player/coach Cliff Hagan the Dallas Chaparrals were one of 11 teams to take the floor in the season of the upstart ABA. The Chaps second season was a bit of a disappointment, as the finished in 4th place with a mediocre 41–37 record. In the playoffs the Chaparrals quickly fell to the New Orleans Buccaneers, the team suffered from poor attendance and general disinterest in Dallas. While the Chaparrals had been successful on the court, they were sinking financially by their third season. After missing the playoffs for the first time in their existence in the 1972–73 season, a group of 36 San Antonio businessmen, led by Manager/Angelo Drossos, Chairman of the Board/John Schaefer and President/Red McCombs, worked out a lend-lease deal with the Dallas ownership group
7.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
8.
Vince Carter
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Vincent Lamar Vince Carter is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. He is 6 feet 6 inches tall and plays shooting guard and small forward. A high school McDonalds All-American, Carter played three years at the University of North Carolina and he won the 1999 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and won the Slam Dunk Contest at the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend. That summer, he represented the United States in the Summer Olympics and he quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his leaping ability and slam dunks, earning him nicknames such as Vinsanity, Air Canada, and Half-Man, Half-Amazing. He led the Raptors to their first three playoff appearances, in 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets, and he helped lead them to three playoff berths. In July 2009, Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic and he joined the Mavericks in 2011 and the Grizzlies in 2014. Carter scored his 20, 000th career point in 2011, becoming the 37th player in history to do so. Off the court, Carter established his Embassy of Hope Foundation, assisting children and their families in Florida, New Jersey and Toronto. He was recognized in 2000 as Child Advocate of the Year by the Childrens Home Society, during the 1997–1998 season, he was a member of new coach Guthridges Six Starters system that featured Antawn Jamison, Shammond Williams, Ed Cota, Ademola Okulaja, and Makhtar NDiaye. During his sophomore and junior seasons, Carter helped North Carolina to consecutive ACC Mens Basketball Tournament titles and Final Four appearances. He finished the 1997–98 season with a 15.6 points per game average and was named second-team All-American, First-Team All-ACC, in May 1998, Carter declared for the 1998 NBA draft, following his classmate Jamison, who had declared earlier that spring. During his NBA career, Carter continued his coursework at North Carolina, the Raptors struggled in their early years as did their expansion cousins, the Vancouver Grizzlies. Carter was instrumental in leading the Raptors to the playoffs in 2000 for the first time in franchise history and he also led them to a then-franchise high of 47 wins and their first ever playoff series win in 2001, advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Carters rookie season was the shortened 50-game 1999 season, after the NBA locked out its players in 1998–99, Carter started almost every game for coach Butch Carter, averaged 18.3 points per game, and eventually won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He won the contest by performing an array of dunks including a 360° windmill, ESPN referred to the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest as, one of the most memorable contests in the entire run. In Carters first two seasons, he and his distant cousin Tracy McGrady formed a formidable one-two punch as Raptor teammates. The two led the Raptors to their first playoff berth in the 2000 NBA Playoffs, but they were swept in the first round by the New York Knicks, in three games. Upon McGradys departure to the Orlando Magic as an agent in a sign and trade deal
9.
Allen Iverson
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Allen Ezail Iverson is an American retired professional basketball player who played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He played both the guard and point guard positions. Iverson was an eleven-time NBA All-Star, won the All-Star game MVP award in 2001 and 2005, Iverson attended Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, and was a dual-sport athlete. He earned the Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in football and basketball, and won the Division AAA Virginia state championship in both sports. After high school, Iverson attended Georgetown University for two years, where he set the record for career scoring average and won Big East Defensive Player of the Year awards both years. Following two successful years at Georgetown, Iverson declared eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the first overall pick and he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996–97 season. Winning the NBA scoring title during the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 and his regular season career scoring average of 26.7 points per game ranks sixth all-time, and his playoff career scoring average of 29.7 points per game is second only to Michael Jordan. Iverson was also the NBA Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 season, Iverson represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. He also played for the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and the Memphis Grizzlies, Iverson was rated the fifth-greatest NBA shooting guard of all time by ESPN in 2008. He officially announced his retirement from basketball on October 30,2013. On April 4,2016, Iverson was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Allen Iverson was born on June 7,1975 in Hampton, Virginia to a single 15-year-old mother, Ann Iverson and he attended Bethel High School, where he started as quarterback for the school football team, while also playing running back, kick returner and defensive back. He also started as point guard for the basketball team. During his junior year, Allen was able to both teams to Virginia state championships, as well as earning The Associated Press High School Player of the Year award in both sports. On February 14,1993, Iverson and several of his friends were involved in an altercation with several patrons at an alley in Hampton. Allegedly, Iversons crowd was raucous and had to be asked to quiet down several times, shortly thereafter, a huge fight erupted, pitting the white crowd against the black crowd. During the fight, Iverson allegedly struck a woman in the head with a chair and he, along with three of his friends who are also black, were the only people arrested. Iverson, who was 17 at the time, was convicted as an adult of the charge of maiming by mob
10.
Jason Kidd
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Jason Frederick Kidd is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. Previously a point guard in the NBA, he was a ten-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He won an NBA Championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, raised in Alameda, California, Kidd played college basketball for the California Golden Bears and was drafted second overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft. He was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season with the Mavericks, then, from 1996 to 2001, Kidd played for the Phoenix Suns and later for the New Jersey Nets from 2001 to 2008. He led the Nets to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, in the middle of the 2007–08 season, Kidd was traded back to Dallas, where he won his only NBA championship in 2011. After finishing his career with the New York Knicks in 2012–13. He finished his career ranked second on the NBA all-time lists in career assists and steals. Kidd was born in San Francisco, and raised in a middle class section of Oakland. His father, Steve, was African-American, and his mother, as a youth, Kidd was highly scouted for AAU teams and tourneys, garnering various all-star and MVP awards. He attended the East Oakland Youth Development Center and frequented the city courts of Oakland, where he often found himself pitted against future NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton. During that year, he received a host of individual honors, including the Naismith Award as the nations top high school player. The all-time prep leader in assists and the states seventh-highest career scorer, Kidd was voted California Player of the Year for the second time, on January 31,2012, Kidd was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonalds All Americans. His 110 steals set an NCAA record for most steals by a freshman and set record for most steals in a season. He was also selected a First Team All-American, the first Cal player to be so named since 1968, as well as Pac-10 Player of the Year, becoming the first sophomore to receive that honor. The Golden Bears made the NCAA Tournament again as a fifth seed, Kidd was also named a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden Awards as college basketballs top player and subsequently opted to enter the NBA draft in 1994. In 2004, Cal retired Kidds number 5 jersey, Kidd was selected as the second pick overall by the Dallas Mavericks, behind Glenn Robinson of Purdue, and just ahead of Dukes Grant Hill. In his first year, he averaged 11.7 points,5.4 rebounds and 7.7 assists, the year before the Mavericks drafted Kidd, they finished the season with the worst record in the NBA at 13–69
11.
Tracy McGrady
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Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. is an American retired professional basketball player who played professionally in the National Basketball Association. He is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, McGrady entered the NBA straight from high school after being selected in the 1997 NBA draft with the ninth overall pick in the first round by the Toronto Raptors. He played in the NBA for the Raptors, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and he also played for the Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association. In 2013, after the Spurs lost that years NBA Finals he announced his retirement from the NBA, McGrady was ranked #75 on SLAM Magazines Top 75 Players of All-Time in 2003. McGradys style of play has been compared to that of George Gervin, kobe Bryant has cited Tracy McGrady as the toughest player he ever played against. In April 2017, McGrady was announced as an inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2017, Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr. was born in Bartow, Florida. He played high school basketball and baseball at Auburndale High School in Auburndale and he then transferred to Mount Zion Christian Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. McGrady created a buzz after his performance in the Adidas ABCD Camp. He was named High School Player of the Year by USA Today, McGrady was selected with the ninth overall pick by the Toronto Raptors in the 1997 NBA draft. For most of the 1997–98 season, he received playing time. McGrady has described his year as hell, feeling lonely in Toronto. Late in the season, Walker resigned and McGrady began playing more under new coach Butch Carter on the condition that McGrady improve his work ethic, before the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, the Raptors drafted McGradys distant cousin Vince Carter. The two became inseparable, teammate Dee Brown once said, They say theyre cousins, but Siamese twins is more like it. By the 1999–2000 season, the duo had developed a reputation for their athleticism, McGrady, now playing significant minutes, was a contender for the Sixth Man of the Year Award before being elevated to Torontos starting backcourt in late March. Behind McGrady and Carters play, the Raptors finished the season with a 45-37 record, for the year, McGrady averaged 15.4 points,6.3 rebounds,3.3 assists, and a career-high 1.9 blocks per game. In the first round of the postseason, the Raptors were swept by the New York Knicks, after the 2000 Playoffs, McGrady became a free agent, signing a six-year, $67.5 million contract with the Orlando Magic. Hill would play in four games during the 2000–01 season and 47 games total throughout his tenure with the team, forcing McGrady into a larger leadership. He was also voted the leagues Most Improved Player, with a 43-39 record, the Magic entered the playoffs as the Easts seventh seed, matched up with the Bucks
12.
Steve Nash
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Stephen John Steve Nash, OC, OBC, is a Canadian retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association. He was an eight-time NBA All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA selection, twice, Nash was named the NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the Phoenix Suns. He currently serves as manager of the Canadian national team. After a successful high school career in British Columbia, Nash earned a scholarship to Santa Clara University in California. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA Tournament appearances, and he was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. Nash graduated from Santa Clara as the teams leader in assists and was taken as the 15th pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He made minimal impact and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, by his fourth season with the Mavericks, he was voted to his first NBA All-Star Game and had earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season and he became a free agent after the 2003–04 season and returned to the Phoenix Suns. In the 2004–05 season, Nash led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals and was named the leagues MVP and he was named MVP again in the 2005–06 season and was runner-up for a third consecutive MVP to Nowitzki in 2006–07. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth-greatest point guard of all time, Nash led the league in assists and he is also ranked as one of the top players in NBA league history in three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists, and assists per game. Nash has been honoured for his contributions to various philanthropic causes, in 2006, he was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2007 and invested to the order in 2016, Nash has been a co-owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer since the team entered the league in 2011. In 2012, he was named manager of the Canadian mens national basketball team. Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, to a Welsh mother, Jean and his family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan when he was 18 months old, before settling in Victoria, British Columbia. He therefore holds British as well as Canadian citizenship, before the family settled in Canada, his father played professional soccer in various parts of the world. Nash often played soccer and ice hockey with his younger brother Martin, in grade eight, however, he told his mother that one day he would play in the NBA and would become a star. He was neighbour to future NHL stars Russ and Geoff Courtnall, there, he starred in basketball, soccer, and rugby union. While playing basketball during his season, Nash averaged 21.3 points,11.2 assists
