1.
Yonkers, New York
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Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the U. S. state of New York, and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976. It is an suburb of New York City, directly to the north of the Bronx. Yonkerss downtown is centered on a known as Getty Square. The area also houses significant local businesses and non-profits, and serves as a retail hub for Yonkers. This grant was purchased in July 1645 by Adriaen van der Donck, van der Donck was known locally as the Jonkheer or Jonker, a word from which the name Yonkers is directly derived. Van der Donck built a saw mill near where the Nepperhan Creek met the Hudson, van der Donck was killed in the Peach War. His wife, Mary Doughty, was taken captive and ransomed later, near the site of van der Doncks mill is Philipse Manor Hall, a Colonial-era manor house which today serves as a museum and archive, offering many glimpses into life before the American Revolution. The original structure was built around 1682 by Frederick Philipse and his wife Margaret Hardenbroeck, Frederick was a wealthy Dutchman who by the time of his death had amassed an enormous estate, which encompassed the entire modern City of Yonkers, as well as several other Hudson River towns. Philipses great-grandson, Frederick Philipse III, was a prominent Loyalist during the American Revolution, all the lands that belonged to the Philipse family were confiscated and sold. For its first two hundred years, Yonkers was a farming town with an active industrial waterfront. Yonkerss later growth rested largely on developing industry, in 1853, Elisha Otis invented the first safety elevator and the Otis Elevator Company, opened the first elevator factory in the world on the banks of the Hudson near what is now Vark Street. It relocated to larger quarters in the 1880s, the community was incorporated as a village in the northern part of the Town of Yonkers in 1854 and as a city in 1872. In 1874 the southern part of Yonkers, including Kingsbridge and Riverdale, was annexed by New York City as The Bronx, in 1898, Yonkers voted on a referendum to determine if they wanted to become part of New York City. Still, some call the city the Sixth Borough referring to its location on the New York City border, its urban character. The New York City and Northern Railway Company connected Yonkers to Manhattan, a three-mile spur to Getty Square existed until 1943. Aside from being a center, Yonkers also played a key role in the development of entertainment in the United States. In 1888, Scottish-born John Reid founded the first golf course in the United States, St. Andrews Golf Club, bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers circa 1906 by Leo Baekeland, and manufactured there until the late 1920s. Early in the 20th century, Yonkers also hosted a brass era automobile maker, Colt Runabout Company, despite the cars seemingly glowing performance, Yonkers was also the headquarters of the Waring Hat Company, at the time the nations largest hat manufacturer
2.
Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball
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The Pittsburgh Panthers mens basketball is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate mens basketball program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as Pitt, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt mens basketball competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Panthers were retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA Tournament national champion twice by the Helms Athletic Foundation, on March 28,2016, the school announced the hiring of Kevin Stallings as coach after the departure of Jamie Dixon. The University of Pittsburgh began playing basketball in 1905–06 under coach Benjamin Printz. The University did not field a team during the 1909–10 and 1910–11 seasons, flint led the Panthers to eight winning seasons during his ten years at the helm and coached future Pitt coach H. C. Henry Clifford Doc Carlson, MD took over as coach in 1922 and those teams were led by National Player of the Year, 3-time All-American and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Hyatt. Carlson was a coach who would be inducted into the Naismith. He also developed the widely emulated Figure Eight Offense and also experimented with various conditioning techniques, under Carlson, and led by two-time All-American Claire Cribbs, Pitt continued success through the 1930s winning four Eastern Intercollegiate Conference Championships. On February 28,1940, Pitt played in the first ever televised basketball game, Carlson also led Pitt to its first ever NCAA appearance en route to the 1941 NCAA Final Four. Carlsons tenure at Pitts helm lasted for 30 consecutive years before he retired following the 1952–53 season, Pitt moved their competition into the Fitzgerald Field House in 1951, leaving the Pitt Pavilion, housed inside of Pitt Stadium. Pitt would continue to play in the Fieldhouse until 2002, timmons also led Pitt to an NCAA appearance in 1963 and its first NIT appearance in 1964. Timmons was succeeded by head coach Charles Buzz Ridl who became famous for his amoebe defense, with All-American Billy Knight, Ridl led Pitt to the Elite Eight in 1974, with early round victories over St. Josephs and Furman. Pitt lost to national champion North Carolina State in the Eastern Regional Final played in Raleigh. Following the graduation of Knight and Martin, Pitt made an NIT appearance the following year, Pittsburgh native Tim Grgurich, who was an assistant coach under Ridl, became Pitts next head coach. He led Pitt into the inaugural 1976–77 season of the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League and that initial year, Larry Harris, a 66 forward with an impressive outside shot and an ability to score points in traffic, won the league scoring title. Grgurich also led Pitt to the 1980 NIT, Grgurich was succeeded by Lafayette coach Dr. Roy Chipman who began Pitts rollercoaster-like ride back to national significance. In his first season at the helm, the Panthers won the Eastern Eight Conference Tournament, in the 1981 NCAA Tournament, Pitt defeated Idaho in overtime in the first round, they lost to North Carolina in the second round. Chipmans Panthers enjoyed similar success the season, defeating archrival West Virginia for their last Eastern Eight Tournament Championship
3.
1997 NBA draft
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The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25,1997, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No.1 by the Spurs, the Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years. Note, The Washington Wizards forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard, Washington would have had the 17th pick. These players were not selected in the 1997 NBA Draft but have played in the NBA, archived from the original on 2001-02-15. CS1 maint, BOT, original-url status unknown 1997 NBA Draft at Basketball-reference
4.
Seattle SuperSonics
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The Seattle SuperSonics, commonly known as the Sonics, were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. The SuperSonics played in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific. After the 2007–08 season ended, the relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983 and it was then owned by Barry Ackerley, and then Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz. The sale was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on October 24,2006, home games were played at KeyArena, originally known as Seattle Center Coliseum, for 33 of the franchises 41 seasons in Seattle. In 1978, the moved to the Kingdome, which was shared with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. They returned to the Coliseum full-time in 1985, moving temporarily to the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, the SuperSonics won the NBA championship in 1979. Overall, the franchise won three Western Conference titles,1978,1979, and 1996, the franchise also won six divisional titles, the most recent being in 2005, with five in the Pacific Division and one in the Northwest Division. The SuperSonics franchise history, however, would be shared with the Thunder, on December 20,1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein and a group of minority partners were awarded an NBA franchise for the city of Seattle. Schulman would serve as the partner and head of team operations. He named the SuperSonics after Boeings recently awarded contract for the SST project, the SuperSonics were Seattles first major league sports franchise. Beginning play in October 1967, the SuperSonics were coached by Al Bianchi and featured All-Star guard Walt Hazzard and NBA All-Rookie Team members Bob Rule and Al Tucker. The expansion team stumbled out of the gates with a 144–116 loss in their first game, Hazzard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks before the start of the next season for Lenny Wilkens. Wilkens brought a strong game to the SuperSonics, averaging 22.4 points per game,8.2 assists per game. Rule, meanwhile, improved on his rookie statistics with 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game, the SuperSonics, however, only won 30 games and Bianchi was replaced by Wilkens as player/coach during the offseason. Wilkens and Rule both represented Seattle in the 1970 NBA All-Star Game, and Wilkens led the NBA in assists during the 1969–70 season, Schulman also threatened to move his soon-to-be ABA team to Los Angeles to compete directly with the Lakers. The Oscar Robertson suit delayed the merger, and the SuperSonics remained in Seattle, early in the 1970–71 season, however, Rule tore his Achilles tendon and was lost for the rest of the year. The following season, the SuperSonics went on to record their first winning season at 47–35, for the 1972–73 season, Wilkens was dealt to Cleveland in a highly unpopular trade, and without his leadership the SuperSonics fell to a 26–56 record
5.
Center (basketball)
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The center, also known as the five or the big man, is one of the five positions in a regular basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a deal of strength. The tallest player to ever be drafted in the NBA was the 78 Yasutaka Okayama from Japan, the tallest players to ever play in the NBA, at 77, are centers Gheorghe Mureșan and Manute Bol. Standing at 72, Margo Dydek is the tallest player to have played in the WNBA. The center is considered a component for a successful team. But recently, the NBA has turned into a point guard league, great centers have been the foundation for most of the dynasties in both the NBA and NCAA. In the 1960s, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain further transformed basketball by combining height with a level of athleticism than previous centers. Following the retirement of George Mikan, the rivalry of the two big men came to dominate the NBA, many of the records set by these two players have endured today. Most notably, Chamberlain and Russell hold the top eighteen season averages for rebounds, Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA Championships. He joined the Boston Celtics and helped make them one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history, Russell revolutionized defensive strategy with his shot-blocking, rebounding and physical man-to-man defense. His principal rival, Wilt Chamberlain, listed at 71,275 pounds, Chamberlain played college ball for the Kansas Jayhawks, leading them to the 1957 title game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Although the Jayhawks lost by one point in overtime, Chamberlain was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. He also won seven scoring titles, eleven rebounding titles, and four regular season Most Valuable Player awards, including the distinction, in 1960, stronger than any player of his era, he was usually capable of scoring and rebounding at will. Most notably, Chamberlain is the player in NBA history to average more than 50 points in a season. He also holds the NBAs all-time records for rebounding average, rebounds in a single game, in contrast to the Celtics dynasty of the 1960s, the 1970s were a decade of parity in the NBA, with eight different champions and no back-to-back winners. At the college level, the UCLA Bruins, under Coach John Wooden, built the greatest dynasty in NCAA basketball history, UCLA had already won two consecutive titles in 1964 and 1965 with teams that pressed and emphasized guard play. After not winning in 1966, Woodens teams changed their style when Lew Alcindor became eligible and he led UCLA to three championships-in 1967,68 and 69-while winning the first Naismith College Player of the Year Award. During his college career, the NCAA enacted a ban on dunking primarily because of Alcindors dominant use of the shot
6.
Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams to survive the leagues first decade, the Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League s Boston Bruins. The franchises 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, as a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues. The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the Finals, including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010, four Celtics players have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. Their mascot Lucky the Leprechaun is a nod to the teams Irish heritage, in 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player. The Celtics struggled during their years, until the hiring of coach Red Auerbach. In the franchises early days, Auerbach had no assistants, ran all the practices, did all the scouting—both of opposing teams and college draft prospects—and scheduled all the road trips. One of the first great players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags, but when that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy went to the Celtics in a dispersal draft. After the 1955–56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade and he sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the second overall pick in the draft. Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarily well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the champion Celtics for more than a decade. With Bill Russell, the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, Russell went on to win 11 championships, making him the most decorated player in NBA history. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, however, with the acquisition of K. C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade. In 1959, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers, during that time, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals five times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry that has spanned generations. In 1964, the Celtics became the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. On December 26,1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tommy Heinsohn, joining Tom Satch Sanders, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, the Celtics defeated St. Louis 97–84. Boston won its next 11 games with Naulls starting in place of Heinsohn, the Celtics of the late-1950s–60s are widely considered as one of the most dominant teams of all time. Auerbach retired as coach after the 1965–66 season and Russell took over as player-coach, with his appointment, Russell also became the first African-American coach in any U. S. pro sport
7.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the Denver Larks in 1967 as a franchise of the American Basketball Association. It changed its name again to the Nuggets in 1974, after the name change, the Nuggets played for the final ABA Championship title in 1976, losing to the New York Nets. The team has had periods of success, qualifying for the ABA Playoffs for all seasons from 1967 to the 1976 ABA playoffs where it lost in the finals. The team joined the NBA in 1976 after the ABA–NBA merger and qualified for the NBA playoffs in nine seasons in the 1980s. However, it has not made an appearance in a round since its last year in the ABA. The Nuggets play their games at Pepsi Center, which they share with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League. In 1967, one of the ABAs charter franchises was awarded to a group in Kansas City, Missouri, however, Trindle was unable to find a suitable arena in the Kansas City area. League commissioner George Mikan suggested moving the team to Denver, after agreeing to name Denver native and former NBA player Vince Boryla as general manager, Trindle moved his team to Denver as the Denver Larks, named after Colorados state bird. The Trindle group was severely undercapitalized, leading Mikan to order the Larks to post a $100,000 performance bond or lose the franchise, hours before the deadline, Trindle sold a ⅔ controlling interest to Denver trucking magnate Bill Ringsby for $350,000. Ringsby then renamed the team the Rockets, after his companys long-haul trucks, playing at the Denver Auditorium Arena, the Rockets had early successes on the court, developing a solid fan base along the way. However, the team had a history of early playoff exits, early, they had a solid lineup led by Byron Beck and Larry Jones, then later by Beck and Ralph Simpson. Wright played four seasons with Denver, controversial rookie Spencer Haywood joined the team for the 1969–70 season. Haywood was one of the first players to turn pro before graduating from college, and the NBA initially refused to let him play in the league. Haywood averaged nearly 30 points and 19.5 rebounds per game in his only ABA season, being named ABA MVP, ABA rookie of the year, the team finished 51-33, winning their division, before exiting the playoffs in the 2nd round. Just before the start of the 1970–71 season, Haywood signed with the Seattle SuperSonics, the team tumbled to a 30-54 record and attendance suffered. Ringsby sold the team to San Diego businessmen Frank Goldberg and Bud Fischer in 1972
8.
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
9.
Miami Heat
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The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the leagues Eastern Conference Southeast Division and they play their home games at the American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami. The team owner is Carnival Corporation owner Micky Arison, the president and general manager is Pat Riley. The mascot is Burnie, an anthropomorphic fireball, formed in 1988 as an expansion team, the Heat have won three league championships, five conference titles and eleven division titles. In 2013, the Heat won twenty-seven regular season games in a row, in 2016, Forbes valued the Heat at $1.3 billion as the tenth most valuable among NBA franchises. In 1987 the NBA granted one of its four new teams to Miami. The Miami Heat began their early years with much mediocrity, only making the two times in their first eight years and falling in the first round both times. Upon the purchasing of the franchise by Micky Arison in 1995, Pat Riley was brought in as the team president, Riley acquired center Alonzo Mourning and point guard Tim Hardaway to serve as the centerpieces for the team, transforming Miami into a championship contender throughout the late 1990s. With them they brought in a new team trainer, Cody Posselt. The Heat underwent a dramatic turnaround in the 1996–97 season, improving to a 61–21 record – a franchise record at the time and that same year, Miami earned the moniker of Road Warriors for its remarkable 32–9 record on the road. Their biggest rivals of the time were the New York Knicks, Rileys former team, a period of mediocrity followed after, highlighted by missing the playoffs in 2002 and 2003. In the 2003 NBA draft, with the fifth overall pick, free-agent swing-man Lamar Odom was signed from the Los Angeles Clippers. Just prior to the start of the 03–04 season, Riley stepped down as coach to focus on rebuilding the Heat. In the offseason, Riley engineered a summer blockbuster trade for Shaquille ONeal from the Los Angeles Lakers, Alonzo Mourning returned to the Heat in the same season, serving as a backup to ONeal. Returning as championship contenders, Miami finished with a 59–23 record, sweeping through the first round and the semifinals, Miami went back to the Conference Finals for the first time in eight years, where it met the defending champion Detroit Pistons. Despite taking a 3–2 lead, Miami lost Wade to injury for Game 6, the Heat would go on to lose Game 7 at home despite Wades return. In the summer of 2005, Riley brought in free agent Gary Payton from the Boston Celtics. After a disappointing 11–10 start to the 05–06 season, Riley relieved Van Gundy of his duties, the Heat made it to the Conference Finals in 2006 and in a re-match, defeated the Pistons, winning the series 4–2
10.
Rebound (basketball)
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In basketball, a rebound, colloquially referred to as a board, is a statistic awarded to a player who retrieves the ball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds are also given to a player who tips in a shot on his teams offensive end. Rebounds in basketball are a part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made. A rebound can be grabbed by either a player or a defensive player. The majority of rebounds are defensive because the team on defense tends to be in position to recover missed shots. Offensive rebounds give the team another opportunity to score whether right away or by resetting the offense. A block is not considered a rebound, a ball does not need to actually rebound off the rim or backboard for a rebound to be credited. Rebounds are credited after any missed shot, including air balls, if a player takes a shot and misses and the ball bounces on the ground before someone picks it up, then the person who picks up the ball is credited for a rebound. Rebounds are credited to the first player that gains possession of the ball or to the player that successfully deflects the ball into the basket for a score. A rebound is credited to a team when it gains possession of the ball after any missed shot that is not cleared by a single player, great rebounders tend to be tall and strong. Because height is so important, most rebounds are made by centers and power forwards, the lack of height can sometimes be compensated by the strength to box out taller players away from the ball to capture the rebound. For example, Charles Barkley once led the league in rebounding despite usually being much shorter than his counterparts, also, some shorter guards can be excellent rebounders as well such as point guard Jason Kidd who led the New Jersey Nets in rebounding for several years. Great rebounders must also have a sense of timing and positioning. Great leaping ability is an important asset, but not absolutely necessary, players such as Larry Bird and Moses Malone were excellent rebounders, but were never known for their leaping ability. Bird has stated, Most rebounds are taken below the rim, the action can also be called blocking out. A team can be boxed out by players using this technique to stop the other team from rebounding. Because fighting for a rebound can be physical, rebounding is often regarded as grunt work or a hustle play. Overly aggressive boxing out or preventing being boxed out can lead to personal fouls, statistics of a players rebounds per game or rebounding average measure a players rebounding effectiveness by dividing the number of rebounds by the number of games played
