1.
Atlanta
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Atlanta is the capital of and the most populous city in the U. S. state of Georgia, with an estimated 2015 population of 463,878. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to 5,710,795 people, Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the intersection of two lines, and the city rose from the ashes of the American Civil War to become a national center of commerce. Atlantas economy is considered diverse, with dominant sectors that include logistics, professional and business services, media operations, Atlanta has topographic features that include rolling hills and dense tree coverage. Revitalization of Atlantas neighborhoods, initially spurred by the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, has intensified in the 21st century, altering the demographics, politics. Prior to the arrival of European settlers in north Georgia, Creek Indians inhabited the area, standing Peachtree, a Creek village located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, was the closest Indian settlement to what is now Atlanta. As part of the removal of Native Americans from northern Georgia from 1802 to 1825, the Creek ceded the area in 1821. In 1836, the Georgia General Assembly voted to build the Western, the initial route was to run southward from Chattanooga to a terminus east of the Chattahoochee River, which would then be linked to Savannah. After engineers surveyed various possible locations for the terminus, the zero milepost was driven into the ground in what is now Five Points. A year later, the area around the milepost had developed into a settlement, first known as Terminus, and later as Thrasherville after a merchant who built homes. By 1842, the town had six buildings and 30 residents and was renamed Marthasville to honor the Governors daughter, later, J. Edgar Thomson, Chief Engineer of the Georgia Railroad, suggested the town be renamed Atlantica-Pacifica, which was shortened to Atlanta. The residents approved, and the town was incorporated as Atlanta on December 29,1847, by 1860, Atlantas population had grown to 9,554. During the American Civil War, the nexus of multiple railroads in Atlanta made the city a hub for the distribution of military supplies, in 1864, the Union Army moved southward following the capture of Chattanooga and began its invasion of north Georgia. On the next day, Mayor James Calhoun surrendered Atlanta to the Union Army, on November 11,1864, Sherman prepared for the Union Armys March to the Sea by ordering Atlanta to be burned to the ground, sparing only the citys churches and hospitals. After the Civil War ended in 1865, Atlanta was gradually rebuilt, due to the citys superior rail transportation network, the state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868. In the 1880 Census, Atlanta surpassed Savannah as Georgias largest city, by 1885, the founding of the Georgia School of Technology and the citys black colleges had established Atlanta as a center for higher education. In 1895, Atlanta hosted the Cotton States and International Exposition, during the first decades of the 20th century, Atlanta experienced a period of unprecedented growth. In three decades time, Atlantas population tripled as the city expanded to include nearby streetcar suburbs
2.
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
3.
Point guard
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The point guard, also called the one or point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position, point guards are expected to run the teams offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time. A point guard, like other player positions in basketball, specializes in certain skills, a point guards primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for his/her team, or sometimes for themselves. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor and this involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break, point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the clock and the game clock, the score. Among the taller players who have enjoyed success at the position is Magic Johnson, other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Derrick Rose and two-time winners Stephen Curry and Steve Nash. In the NBA, point guards are usually about 65 or shorter, having above-average size is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Shorter players tend to be better dribblers since they are closer to the floor, after an opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down court to begin an offensive play. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial, speed is important, a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving him/herself room to work. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring, another major evaluation factor is Assist-to-Turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Still, a point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play and this is a necessity because of the point guards many leadership obligations. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers as a coach on the floor or a floor general, in the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player-coaches. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players, former Suns head coach Mike DAntoni had often allowed Steve Nash to freelance when leading the Suns offense, even letting him call his own plays at times. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are extensions of their coach on the floor. John Stockton is widely considered to be the point guard. He also used the pick and roll maneuvre with Karl Malone, along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard
4.
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
5.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given to the player voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each years game, the league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively, the voting is conducted by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The player with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award, no All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the leagues lockout. As of 2017, the most recent recipient is New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. James first All-Star MVP in 2006 made him the youngest to have won the award at the age of 21 years,1 month. Kyrie Irving, winner of the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, is the second-youngest at 21 years,10 months, theyre notable as being the two youngest to win the award, both as Cleveland Cavaliers. Four of the games had joint winners—Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959, John Stockton and Malone in 1993, ONeal and Tim Duncan in 2000, ONeal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight, Duncan of the U. S. Virgin Islands and Irving of Australia are the only winners not born in the United States. Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens, but are considered international players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D. C. No player trained entirely outside the U. S. has won the award, bob Pettit and Russell Westbrook are the only players to win consecutive awards. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games without winning the All-Star Game MVP, NBA Most Valuable Player Award Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award List of NBA All-Stars General Specific
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
Broadcasting
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Broadcasting began with AM radio, which came into popular use around 1920 with the spread of vacuum tube radio transmitters and receivers. Before this, all forms of communication were one-to-one, with the message intended for a single recipient. Over the air broadcasting is usually associated with radio and television, the receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively small subset, the point is that anyone with the appropriate receiving technology and equipment can receive the signal. The field of broadcasting includes both government-managed services such as radio, community radio and public television, and private commercial radio. The U. S. Code of Federal Regulations, title 47, part 97 defines broadcasting as transmissions intended for reception by the general public, private or two-way telecommunications transmissions do not qualify under this definition. For example, amateur and citizens band radio operators are not allowed to broadcast, as defined, transmitting and broadcasting are not the same. Transmissions using a wire or cable, like television, are also considered broadcasts. In the 2000s, transmissions of television and radio programs via streaming digital technology have increasingly been referred to as broadcasting as well, the earliest broadcasting consisted of sending telegraph signals over the airwaves, using Morse code, a system developed in the 1830s by Samuel F. B. Morse, physicist Joseph Henry and Alfred Vail and they developed an electrical telegraph system which sent pulses of electric current along wires which controlled an electromagnet that was located at the receiving end of the telegraph system. A code was needed to transmit natural language using only these pulses, Morse therefore developed the forerunner to modern International Morse code. Audio broadcasting began experimentally in the first decade of the 20th century, by the early 1920s radio broadcasting became a household medium, at first on the AM band and later on FM. Television broadcasting started experimentally in the 1920s and became widespread after World War II, satellite broadcasting was initiated in the 1960s and moved into general industry usage in the 1970s, with DBS emerging in the 1980s. Originally all broadcasting was composed of signals using analog transmission techniques but in the 2000s. In general usage, broadcasting most frequently refers to the transmission of information, Analog audio vs. HD Radio Analog television vs.9 zettabytes. This is the equivalent of 55 newspapers per person per day in 1986. Historically, there have been several methods used for broadcasting electronic media audio and/or video to the public, Telephone broadcasting. Telephone broadcasting also grew to include telephone services for news and entertainment programming which were introduced in the 1890s. These telephone-based subscription services were the first examples of electrical/electronic broadcasting, Radio broadcasting, audio signals sent through the air as radio waves from a transmitter, picked up by an antenna and sent to a receiver
10.
National Collegiate Athletic Association
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Division I Mens Basketball Tournament and this revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States. In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships, generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in II and III. Division I football was divided into I-A and I-AA in 1978. Subsequently, the term Division I-AAA was briefly added to delineate Division I schools which do not field a football program at all, in 2006, Divisions I-A and I-AA were respectively renamed the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University, as other sports emerged, notably football and basketball, many of these same concepts and standards were adopted. Football, in particular, began to emerge as a marquee sport, the IAAUS was officially established on March 31,1906, and took its present name, the NCAA, in 1910. For several years, the NCAA was a group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, a series of crises brought the NCAA to a crossroads after World War II. The Sanity Code – adopted to establish guidelines for recruiting and financial aid – failed to curb abuses, postseason football games were multiplying with little control, and member schools were increasingly concerned about how the new medium of television would affect football attendance. The complexity of problems and the growth in membership and championships demonstrated the need for full-time professional leadership. Walter Byers, previously an executive assistant, was named executive director in 1951. Byers wasted no time placing his stamp on the Association, as college athletics grew, the scope of the nations athletics programs diverged, forcing the NCAA to create a structure that recognized varying levels of emphasis. In 1973, the Associations membership was divided into three legislative and competitive divisions – I, II, and III, five years later in 1978, Division I members voted to create subdivisions I-A and I-AA in football. Until the 1980s, the association did not offer womens athletics, instead, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, with nearly 1000 member schools, governed womens collegiate sports in the United States
11.
50 Greatest Players in NBA History
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The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History were chosen in 1996 to honor the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association. These fifty players were selected through a vote by a panel of members, former players and coaches. In addition, the top ten coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The fifty players had to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA and were selected irrespective of position played, the announcement marked the beginning of a season-long celebration of the leagues anniversary. Forty-seven of the fifty players were assembled in Cleveland, during the halftime ceremony of the 1997 All-Star Game. At the time of the announcement, eleven players were active, oNeal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the 2010–11 season. The list was made through unranked voting completed by fifty selected panelists, of the last group, thirteen were former NBA players. Players were prohibited from voting for themselves, only three voting veterans were not selected to the team. Eleven players were active in the 1996–97 season, during which the team was announced, oNeal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the 2010–11 season. All of the players have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Lenny Wilkens was the member of the players list to have been selected as a member of the coaches list. At the time of the list, only Pete Maravich was deceased, since then, Wilt Chamberlain, Dave DeBusschere, Paul Arizin, George Mikan, Bill Sharman, Moses Malone, Dolph Schayes and Nate Thurmond have all died. Note, Statistics are correct through the end of the 2010–11 season, alongside the selection of the 50 greatest players, was the selection of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History. The list was compiled based upon unranked selection undertaken exclusively by members of the print, all 10 coaches named were alive at the time of the lists announcement, and four of them—Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, and Lenny Wilkens—were then active. Four have since died, Red Holzman in 1998, Red Auerbach in 2006, Chuck Daly in 2009, Jackson was the last of the ten to coach in the NBA, he announced his retirement after the 2010–11 season. Nelson was the member to have never won a championship as a coach. Wilkens was the member of the coaches list to have been selected as a member of the players list. Nine of the ten coaches are members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
12.
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
