1.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
2.
1999 NBA draft
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The 1999 NBA Draft was held on June 30,1999, at the MCI Center in Washington, D. C. Undrafted Pablo Prigioni made his NBA debut at 2012/2013 season as the oldest rookie in league history and these players were not selected in the 1999 NBA draft but have played in the NBA. Theodoros Papaloukas has not played any game in the NBA, but he has one of the most iconic players in the Euroleague for Olympiacos. Archived from the original on 2001-02-16, cS1 maint, BOT, original-url status unknown 1999 NBA Draft at Basketball-Reference. com
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division, the team began play in 1970. Many past and present top NBA players, including LeBron James, Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, the franchise has won five Central Division championships, three Eastern Conference championships, one NBA championship, and have reached the playoffs 20 times in their 46-year history. The 2016 NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors marked the first time in Finals history a team had come back to win the series after trailing three games to one, the Cavaliers began play in 1970 as an expansion team. Their 46-year history has been marked by stretches of strong play and periods of poor play. In the 1970s, under the ownership of Nick Mileti, the team won its first division title in 1976 and they won Game 7, 87–85, on a shot by Snyder with four seconds to go. Injuries, particularly an ankle injury to Chones, led to this teams demise, as the Cavaliers would lose the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics, 4–2. It is widely believed among both Cavaliers fans and players that the Miracle team would have won the 1976 NBA Championship had Chones stayed healthy, the remainder of the 1970s were marked by early playoff losses and eventually Fitchs resignation. The early 1980s were marked by Ted Stepiens ownership, Stepien also oversaw the hiring and firing of a succession of coaches and was involved in making a number of poor trade and free agent signing decisions. The ensuing chaos had an effect on both the Cavaliers on-court performance and lack of local support, losing over 50 games in three straight years. The 1981–82 and 1982–83 combined to lose 24 straight games, which at the time was the NBAs all-time longest losing streak, george and Gordon Gund purchased the Cavaliers from Stepien in 1983. The team was in a transition as they went through nine head coaches from 1980 to 1986, during the 1986 offseason, the Cavaliers acquired Brad Daugherty, Mark Price, Ron Harper and Larry Nance. The Cavaliers entered into a period of decline from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s, the team appeared in the playoffs the next two years, but could not get past the first round. In the 1997 off-season, the team added Shawn Kemp and Wesley Person, as well as a class that included Derek Anderson, Cedric Henderson, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas. This team lost in the first round of the playoffs in 1998, in the early 2000s, the team added Andre Miller, Lamond Murray, Chris Mihm and Carlos Boozer, but could not make it to the playoffs. The 2002–03 season saw the Cavaliers finish 17–65, tied for the worst record in the NBA, the Cavaliers luck changed as they landed the number 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft. With it, the team selected heralded forward and future NBA MVP LeBron James, in 2005, the team would be sold to businessman Dan Gilbert. That year, the team also hired head coach Mike Brown, over the next few years, the Cavaliers built a team around James and Žydrūnas Ilgauskas by adding players including Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and Anderson Varajao
7.
NBA All-Rookie Team
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The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team, the All-Rookie Team is generally composed of two five-man lineups, a first team and a second 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 2012, when Kawhi Leonard, Iman Shumpert, no respect is given to positions. For example, the first team had four forwards, and one guard in 2008, while the first team had four centers, nine All-Rookie Team members have won both the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award during their careers. Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld are the players to accomplish this feat in the same season. National Basketball Association portal General Specific
8.
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
9.
United States men's national basketball team
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The USA Basketball Mens Senior National Team, commonly known as the United States Mens National Basketball Team, represents the United States in international mens basketball. The USA team is the most successful team in competition, winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered. The United States is currently ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings, traditionally composed of amateur players, a 1989 rule change by FIBA allowed USA Basketball to field teams with professional players. The first such team, known as the Dream Team, won the medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. With the introduction of professionals, the team was able to spark a run of dominance after capturing only a bronze medal in 1988. A team of professional players competed at the 1994 FIBA World Championship, in 1996,2000,2008,2012, and 2016 the USA again captured gold medals at the Olympics. Facing increased competition, the USA failed to win a medal at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams. The USA won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals, the USA won gold two years later, though, at the 2008 Summer Olympics with a dominant performance. The USA continued this streak of dominance by going undefeated and capturing gold once more at the 2012 Summer Olympics,2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the United States possessed a clear advantage in the early decades of international play. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the held in London, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo. Roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team, the 1952 team included big man Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star, but Kurland once again led the team to victory. The 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell, the 1972 Olympic mens basketball gold medal game, marking the first ever loss for the USA in Olympic play, is arguably the most controversial in Olympic history. The United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics, the team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union. With three seconds left in the medal game, American forward Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the Americans up 50–49. However, the buzzer sounded before Collins second free throw, immediately following Collins free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. But one official had whistled play to stop with one remaining after hearing the earlier horn. The Soviets argued that they had requested a timeout before Collins foul shots, the referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the games final seconds replayed. However, the clock was in the process of being reset when the referees put the ball in play
10.
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
11.
New York Knicks
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The New York Knickerbockers, commonly referred to as the Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its games at Madison Square Garden, located in the borough of Manhattan. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City, the other is the Brooklyn Nets, along with the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of only two original NBA teams still located in its original city. The Knicks were successful during their years and were constant playoff contenders under the franchises first head coach Joe Lapchick. Beginning in 1950, the Knicks made three appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts. Lapchick resigned in 1956 and the team began to falter. It was not until the late 1960s when Red Holzman became head coach that the Knicks began to regain their former dominance, Holzman successfully guided the Knicks to two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973. The Knicks of the 1980s had mixed success that included six playoff appearances, however, the playoff-level Knicks of the 1990s were led by future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing, this era was marked by passionate rivalries with the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, and Miami Heat. During this time, they were known for playing tough defense under head coaches Pat Riley, during this era, the Knicks made two appearances in the NBA Finals, in 1994 and 1999, though they were unable to win an NBA championship. Since 2000, the Knicks have struggled to regain their former glory, in 2012–13, the franchise won its first division title in 19 years, but was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Indiana Pacers. According to a 2016 Forbes report, the Knicks were the most-valuable NBA franchise, in 1946, basketball, particularly college basketball, was a growing and increasingly profitable sport in New York City. Hockey was another sport at the time and generated considerable profits, however. Max Kase, a New York sportswriter, became the editor at the Boston American in the 1930s. Kase developed the idea of a professional league to showcase college players upon their graduation. Brown, intrigued by the opportunity to attain additional income when the teams were not playing or on the road. Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter, retired sportswriter and then president of Madison Square Garden, was in attendance, Kase originally planned to own and operate the New York franchise himself and approached Irish with a proposal to lease the Garden. Irish explained that the rules of the Arena Managers Association of America stated that Madison Square Garden was required to own any professional teams played in the arena
