1.
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
2.
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (basketball)
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Palmeiras, is a Brazilian mens professional basketball club that is based in São Paulo, Brazil. It is a part of the multi-sports club Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, the club competes in the Brazilian League. Leandro Barbosa and Oscar Schmidt, two of the best Brazilian basketball players of all time, started their careers at Palmeiras, Palmeiras won the Brazilian Championship in 1977. NBB Team Page Official Website LatinBasket. com Team Page
3.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
4.
Basketball
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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
5.
1964 Summer Olympics
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The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from October 10 to 24,1964. The 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia, Tokyo was chosen as the host city during the 55th IOC Session in West Germany, on May 26,1959. These games were also the first to be telecast internationally without the need for tapes to be overseas, as they had been for the 1960 Olympics four years earlier. The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite and these were also the first Olympic Games to have color telecasts, albeit partially. Certain events like the sumo wrestling and judo matches, sports huge in Japan, were tried out using Toshibas new color transmission system, history surrounding the 1964 Olympics was chronicled in the 1965 documentary film Tokyo Olympiad, directed by Kon Ichikawa. The games were scheduled for mid-October to avoid the citys midsummer heat and humidity, the previous Olympics in Rome in 1960 started in late August and experienced hot weather. The following games in 1968 in Mexico City also began in October, the 1964 Olympics were also the last to use a traditional cinder track for the track events. A smooth synthetic all-weather track was used for the first time at the 1968 Olympics, the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo. Tokyo won the rights to the Games on May 26,1959, at the 55th IOC Session in Munich, West Germany, over bids from Detroit, Brussels and Vienna. Toronto was an early bidder again in 1964 after the attempt for 1960. Yūji Koseki composed the song of the opening ceremony. Yoshinori Sakai, who lit the Olympic Flame, was born in Hiroshima on August 6,1945, kumi-daiko was first exhibited to a world-wide audience at the Festival of Arts presentation. Judo and womens volleyball, both sports in Japan, were introduced to the Olympics. Japan won gold medals in three events, but Dutchman Anton Geesink won the Open category. The Japanese womens volleyball won the gold medal, with the final being broadcast live. The womens pentathlon was introduced to the athletics events, soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won two gold medals, a silver medal and two bronze medals. She held the record for most Olympic medals at 18 which stood until broken by American swimmer Michael Phelps in 2012, czechoslovakian gymnast Věra Čáslavská wins 3 gold medals, including the individual all-around competition, crowning her the new queen over the reigning champion Larisa Latynina. Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser won the 100 m freestyle event for the time in a row
6.
Brazil national basketball team
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The Brazil national basketball team represents Brazil in FIBAs basketball competitions. The team is governed by the Brazilian Basketball Confederation, abbreviated as CBB and they have been a member of the International Federation of Basketball since 1935. Brazils basketball team remains among the most successful in the Americas and it is the only team besides the United States that has appeared at every Basketball World Cup since it was first held in 1950. Basketball was initially introduced to Brazil by Professor Augusto Shaw in 1896, in 1912, he began organizing the first state tournament and in 1922 the first national team made its debut at games against Argentina and Uruguay. As in the case of football, South America was initially ahead of the rest of the world, in that decade, Brazilian basketball was supported by professional football clubs, to include it as a new sports section, although amateur in nature. Later, these clubs became professional and supported the team with world-class players. In the following years, Brazil became a regular at international competitions. Its basketball squad participated in the first official basketball tournament at the Summer Olympics 1936 in Berlin, in 1939, the first continental championship was held in Rio de Janeiro. In the 40s, basketball was catching on more layers of society, the sport received the ultimate accolade at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. There, against all odds, the directed by Moacyr Daiuto managed to achieve the bronze medal. The team recorded six wins until it stopped due to the semi-final defeat to France. In the bronze match, Brazil beat Mexico. They managed to feature ten amateur players, the pre-Olympic Brazil concentration was very poor in resources. After its time-consuming journey to London, the team was astonishment when they saw how the U. S. team practiced, Brazil only had two for the whole team. One of the pillars of Brazilian basketball was the boldness of its coaches. The father of all is Togo Renan Soares, Kanela. Working in the shadow of the giant football, Kanela understood that basketball would add more followers if it could offer new emotions. He aimed to get the media involved, so the game was conceived as a spectacle based on its dynamism
7.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
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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
