The Britannica Guide To Basketball

Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.
) in association with Rosen Educational Services, LLC 29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010. Copyright 2011 Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Rosen Educational Services materials copyright 2011 Rosen Educational Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Distributed exclusively by Rosen Educational Services. For a listing of additional Britannica Educational Publishing titles, call toll free (800) 237-9932. First Edition Britannica Educational Publishing Michael I. Levy: Executive Editor J.E. Luebering: Senior Manager Marilyn L. Barton: Senior Coordinator, Production Control Steven Bosco: Director, Editorial Technologies Lisa S. Braucher: Senior Producer and Data Editor Yvette Charboneau: Senior Copy Editor Kathy Nakamura: Manager, Media Acquisition Adam Augustyn, Assistant Editor and Assistant Manager, Sports Rosen Educational Services Jeanne Nagle: Editor Nelson S: Art Director Cindy Reiman: Photography Manager Karen Huang: Photo Researcher Matthew Cauli: Designer, Cover Design Introduction by Adam Augustyn Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Britannica guide to basketball / edited by Adam Augustyn. p. cm. (The world of sports) In association with Britannica Educational Publishing, Rosen Educational Services. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61530-577-3 (eBook) 1. BasketballJuvenile literature. I. Augustyn, Adam. II. Britannica Educational Publishing. III. Title. IV. Series. GV885.1.B75 2012 796.323dc22 2011008268 Cover, pp. 1, 23, 35, 46, 112, 145, 178, 201, 202, 212, 215, 217, back cover Shutterstock.com; background image pp. v, vi, vii, viii www.istockphoto.com/Mark Stahl; pp. 8, 12, 18, 28, 38, 61, 104, 122, 138, 149, 155, 162, 173, 185 www.istockphoto.com/Designs 4601 LLC; remaining interior background image www.istockphoto.com/Jeremy Lewis
Contents
Introduction x Chapter 1: The History of Basketball 1 The Early Years 2 James A. Naismith 3 U.S. College Basketball 6 Changes to the Game 7 Hank Luisetti 9 Coaching Strategies 10 Accounting for Height 11 The Advent of Televised Games 14 Tournament Play 14 March Madness 15 The Modern Age of NCAA Play 17 John Wooden 19 Collegiate Womens Play 20 Pat Summitt 21 Chapter 2: Professional Basketball in the U.S. 23 Harlem Globetrotters 24 Early Professional Leagues 25 The NBA 26 Business and Development 29 The WNBA 29 Cynthia Cooper 32 International Competition 32 Phog Allen 33 Chapter 3: Play of the Game Rules Common Basketball Terms John Stockton Principles of Play 35 35 39 41 42
4 18
30
Offense Defense Chapter 4: The National Basketball Association Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Bill Russell Willis Reed Central Division Scottie Pippen Isiah Thomas Southeast Division Bob Pettit Elvin Hayes Western Conference Southwest Division Hakeem Olajuwon Northwest Division Lenny Wilkens Jerry Sloan Pacific Division Jerry West Chapter 5: Selected Basketball Hall of Famers, 1959 to 1993 George Mikan Joe Lapchick Red Auerbach Bob Cousy Dolph Schayes Bill Sharman Elgin Baylor Wilt Chamberlain Jerry Lucas Oscar Robertson Bill Bradley
43 44
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46 48 48 51 56 60 63 68 73 74 80 81 81 84 88 93 98 100 106
68 122
112 112 114 115 116 118 119 120 121 124 126 128
Dean Smith Jack Twyman John Havlicek Rick Barry Walt Frazier Pete Maravich Bob Knight Al McGuire Julius Erving Bill Walton Chapter 6: Selected Basketball Hall of Famers, 1994 through the Present Carol Blazejowski Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Anne Donovan Cheryl Miller Nancy Lieberman Larry Bird Wayne Embry Mike Krzyzewski Moses Malone Magic Johnson Earl Lloyd Geno Auriemma Charles Barkley Phil Jackson Patrick Ewing Michael Jordan David Robinson Karl Malone Chapter 7: Other Basketball Greats Carmelo Anthony Kobe Bryant
129 131 132 133 135 136 137 140 141 143
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145 145 147 148 151 153 154 156 158 160 161 163 165 166 168 170 172 175 176
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178 178 179
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Tim Duncan Teresa Edwards Kevin Garnett Allen Iverson LeBron James Rebecca Lobo Alonzo Mourning Shaquille ONeal Dennis Rodman Sheryl Swoopes Yao Ming Epilogue Appendix: Basketball Championship Winners NBA Championship WNBA Championship NCAA Mens Championship NCAA Womens Championship FIBA Mens World Championship FIBA Womens World Championship Glossary Bibliography Index
182 183 184 187 189 191 192 194 196 198 199 201
185 189
202 202 205 205 208 209 211 212 215 217
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IntroductIon
INTRODUCTION
asketball is a truly global game. Invented by a Canadian who lived in the United States, it is one of the most popular spectator sports in Europe and is played extensively in China. People worldwide seem to like the sport for its simplicity; only a flat surface, a hoop, and a ball are required to play. Another attraction is the beauty inherent in basketball. The individuals who engage in the sport at its highest levels display a grace and athleticism that is both unparalleled and often enrapturing. Basketball is rare among popular sports in that it has a discrete and well-documented origin. The game was created by James A. Naismith in December 1891, at a college in Springfield, Mass., where he was a physical education instructor. Tasked by his boss to create an indoor activity for the students that could be played during the winter, Naismith developed a game that involved shooting a soccer ball into two peach baskets. (The first basketball was introduced in 1894, and an open basket with a net was
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7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7
adopted in 191213.) The rules of the sport initially did not allow players to dribble the ball. Instead, players remained stationary when handling the ball until they passed it down the court to a teammate. Early basketball courts were often irregularly shaped. Players sometimes had to avoid stairways and pillars that were part of the field of play, and baskets were frequently fastened to gymnasium balconies, which let spectators swat at the ball as it neared the goal. The young game was not just mechanically different from modern basketball, but stylistically different as well. The professional version of the sport played in the late 19th and early 20th century was a bruising and bloody affair, with extremely low-scoring contests marred by a great amount of on-court violence. As the game grew in popularity, members of the larger crowds began to get in on the act, grabbing and punching at players. Courts began to be encased in chicken-wire cages to separate the participants from the hostile fans. This type of enclosure gave rise to popular nickname cagers for basketball players. Considering where the sport was invented, it is not surprising that basketball first caught on in American colleges. The University of Kansas was particularly important in the development of the game. From 1898 to 1937, Naismith was the chairman of the schools physical education department, and he was also the coach of the Kansas basketball team for 11 years. One of his players was Phog Allen, who returned to Kansas to serve as basketball coach between 1920 and 1956. Allen became known as the father of basketball coaching, for a great number of similarly iconic future coaches, such as Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp, played under him at Kansas. His coaching philosophy was propagated throughout the sport, helping define basketball for generations.
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7 Introduction
College basketball grew in national popularity in the 1920s and 30s while the pro gamewhich was home to the increasingly violent cagersstruggled for public acceptance. Game play at this time left quite a bit to be desired, with scores routinely kept below 30 points owing to the popular strategy of stalling the game by passing the ball back and forth without attempting to score, in order to run out the clock. A number of rules were instituted in the 1930s that sped up the game, notably the creation of a midcourt line that needed to be passed within 10 seconds of a possession and the rewarding of the ball to the defensive team after a made basket. (Prior to that, a jump ball had followed every score.) Another important innovation came courtesy of Stanford Universitys Hank Luisetti, who popularized the running one-handed shot in the late 1930s. The one-handed shot, which replaced the static two-handed shot, later evolved into the jump shot, which resulted in a much more athletic game. The National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the first prestigious collegiate postseason tournament, began in 1938. Organized by New York City basketball writers and played in New Yorks Madison Square Garden, the NIT brought media attention and glamour to the college game. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)the organization that administrates intercollegiate athletics in the United Statesstarted its own championship tournament in 1939. The NCAA tournament was overshadowed by the NIT until 1950, when the latter was rocked by a gambling scandal. Consequently, the NCAA saw a tremendous rise in popularity. Today the NCAA tournamentcommonly referred to as March Madnessis one of Americas most popular spectator sporting events, as tens of millions of fans tune in to (and wager on) the tournament every year.
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Professional basketball in the United States took longer to catch on than did the college game. This was due in part to the peripatetic nature of early pro-league players, who usually sold their services to the highest bidder on a per-game basis. As a result, teams had extremely volatile rosters, which would result in games of spotty quality and unreliable league finances. One team that was an early sensation was the Original Celtics, a barnstorming club from New York City that thrived in the years before World War I. In 1926 the allblack team the Savoy Big Five was founded in Chicago. The team became known as the Harlem Globetrotters in 1930. The Globetrotters proceeded to establish themselves as the most successful barnstorming club in the history of the sport. They continue to entertain crowds around the world with their comedy-infused basketball games into the present day. The first basketball league to assume major league status was the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which began play in 1946. The BAA put an emphasis on skilled play over the brawling of older leagues like the National Basketball League (NBL). The BAA instituted player contracts with a reserve rule that prevented players from hopping from team to team. The stable and profitable BAA merged with the NBL in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA instituted a 24-second shot clock in the 195455 season, which forced teams on offense to speed up their play and made the sport vastly more appealing to casual fans. The NBAs popularity was buoyed by the national attention given to the leagues most dominant dynasty, the Boston Celtics of the 1950s and 60s. Led by cigarchomping head coach Red Auerbach, the Celtics won 11 of the 13 NBA championships between 1957 and 1969. The
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7 Introduction
Boston teams of this era featured celebrated stars such as point guard Bob Cousy, guard-forward John Havlicek, and centre Bill Russell, who served as the teams player-coach for the last two championships over this period, becoming the leagues first African American head coach in the process. Throughout the 1960s, the Celtics frequently played the Los Angeles Lakers for the championship series. The two teams met in the NBA finals six times over that decade, with the Celtics winning on each occasion. These Lakers squads also starred some of the best players in basketball history, namely Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain. Despite the fact that the Lakers lost each of their Finals match-ups with Boston in the 1960s, the seeds were sown for an enduring bicoastal rivalry that has resulted in 12 total championship face-offsand counting. In 1967 the American Basketball Association (ABA) was formed as a direct challenge to the NBAs basketball dominance. The ABA soon became famous for its freewheeling style of play and fan-friendly innovations, including the three-point shot and the slam dunk contest. The new league also managed to draw talent equal to that playing in the NBA at the time, such as future Hall of Famers Connie Hawkins, David Thompson, and Julius Dr. J Erving. In 1976 a lawsuit settlement resulted in the absorption of four ABA franchises by the NBA and the dissolution of the remainder of the upstart league. Despite being short-lived, the ABA had a lasting impact on the sport, as it helped usher in an era of flashy individualism that was enormously popular with basketball fans. The NBA reached a new high-water mark in the early 1980s as the Lakers and Celtics, led by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, respectively, again emerged as the two best
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franchises in the league. Johnson and Bird had a fierce but friendly personal rivalry that dated back to their college days, when Johnsons Michigan State University topped Birds Indiana State University in the 1979 NCAA championship game. At the professional level, the two captured the basketball worlds attention as fans everywhere chose to root for one of the vastly disparate yet equally beloved personas: Johnson, the charismatic and smiling African American point guard who dazzled with his pinpoint passes and unmatched court vision, and Bird, the quiet and occasionally cantankerous Caucasian forward who possessed one of the keenest long-distance shots in the games history. The pair met in the NBA finals three times in the 1980s, with Johnsons Lakers coming out on top twice. Bird and Johnson were not the only talented players who thrived in the 1980s and 90s. Charles Barkley, Isiah Thomas, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others, made names for themselves as well. However popular any of these players were, the sports greatest global iconand, in the eyes of many observers, the single greatest athlete of all timewas Michael Jordan. Soon after getting drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984, Jordan established himself as one of the most prolific scorers ever to step on a court. The charming and talented Jordan became internationally known not just for his basketball prowess, but for his unprecedented prowess as a pitchman. His numerous endorsement deals made him an international brand. Known for his fierce competitiveness and iron will, Jordan led the Bulls to six championships in eight years. At the dawning of the 21st century, basketball faced something of a crisis. Labour woes forced the cancellation of a large part of the 199899 season, and Jordans
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7 Introduction
retirement in 1998 left the NBA without a transcendent superstar for the first time in decades. Attendance and television ratings fell, leading some to question if the league was long for the upper ranks of professional sports. Such fears were eventually put to rest with the ascendance of celebrated stars such as Shaquille ONeal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, and LeBron James. The NBA broke yearly league-wide attendance records numerous times between 2005 and 2011. While other popular American sports such as baseball and gridiron football do not have proper professional leagues for female athletes, women have played basketball at the highest level for decades (in addition to the prominence of the highly successful womens NCAA basketball). The most prosperous of these professional leagues is the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA), which began play in 1997. A very lucrative venture, the WNBA has propelled players such as Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper to levels of fame on par with that of their male peers. Basketball is the only major sport of a wholly American origin, but that has not prevented it from being embraced around the globe. The game has become second in popularity to soccer in a great number of countries, and many professional leagues in Europe and South America have teams that are nearly as skilled as those in the NBA. The sport boasts two marquee international competitions, the Olympic Games and the Fdration Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA) world championships. These events put basketball at the forefront of the global sporting worlds consciousness every two years. The games worldwide popularitywhich continues to grow each yearensures that basketball will remain one of the most universally beloved sports for the foreseeable future.
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the hIstory of BasketBall
chapter 1
asketball is a relatively simple game played between two teams of five players each on a rectangular court, usually indoors. Each team tries to score by tossing the ball through the opponents goal, an elevated horizontal hoop and net called a basket. The only major sport strictly of U.S. origin, basketball was invented by James A. Naismith (18611939) on
James Naismith (middle right, in gray suit jacket), with members of the first basketball team, in Springfield, Mass. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Britannica Guide to Basketball
or about Dec. 1, 1891, at the International Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) Training School (now Springfield College), Springfield, Mass., where Naismith was an instructor in physical education. For that first game of basketball in 1891, Naismith used as goals two half-bushel peach baskets, which gave the sport its name. The students were enthusiastic. After much running and shooting, William R. Chase made a midcourt shotthe only score in that historic contest. Word spread about the newly invented game, and numerous associations wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules, which were published in the Jan. 15, 1892, issue of the Triangle, the YMCA Training Schools campus paper. While basketball is competitively a winter sport, it is played year-roundon summer playgrounds; in municipal, industrial, and church halls; in schoolyards and family driveways; and in summer campsoften on an informal basis between two or more contestants. Many grammar schools, youth groups, municipal recreation centres, churches, and other organizations conduct basketball programs for youngsters of less than high school age. Jay Archer, of Scranton, Penn., introduced biddy basketball in 1950 for boys and girls under 12 years of age, the court and equipment being adjusted for size.
THE EARLy yEARS

In the sports early years the number of players on a team varied according to the number in the class and the size of the playing area. In 1894 teams began to play with five on a side when the playing area was less than 1,800 square feet (167.2 square metres); the number rose to seven when the gymnasium measured from 1,800 to 3,600 square feet
The History of Basketball
JAMES A. NAISMITH
(b. Nov. 6, 1861, Almonte, Ont., Can.d. Nov. 28, 1939, Lawrence, Kan., U.S.) James A. Naismith was a Canadian-American physical education director who, in December 1891, at the International Young Mens Christian Association Training School, afterward Springfield (Mass.) College, invented the game of basketball. As a young man, Naismith (who had no middle name but adopted the initial A) studied theology and excelled in various sports. In the autumn of 1891 he was appointed an instructor by Luther Halsey Gulick, Jr., head of the Physical Education Department at Springfield College. Gulick asked Naismith and other instructors to devise indoor games that could replace the exercises used at the school during the winter. For his new game Naismith selected features of soccer, American football, field hockey, and other outdoor sports but, in theory, eliminated body contact between players. Because his physical education class at that time was composed of 18 men, basketball originally was played by nine on each side. This number eventually was reduced to five. The first games employed half-bushel peach baskets as targets, so a stepladder was needed to retrieve the ball after infrequent goals. Naismiths original rules, prohibiting walking or running with the ball and limiting physical contact, are still the basis of a game that spread throughout the world. In 1898 Naismith received an M.D. from Gross Medical College, Denver, Colo., afterward the University of Colorado School of Medicine. From that year until 1937 he was chairman of the physical education department at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where he also coached basketball until 1908. In addition to basketball, he is credited with inventing the protective helmet for football players. Incorporated in 1959, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., was is named in his honour.
(334.5 square metres) and up to nine when the playing area exceeded that. In 1895 the number was occasionally set at five by mutual consent; the rules stipulated five players two years later. This number has remained ever since.
The courts often were of irregular shape with occasional obstructions such as pillars, stairways, or offices that interfered with play. In 1903 it was ruled that all boundary lines must be straight. Originally, players wore one of three styles of uniforms: knee-length football trousers; jersey tights, as commonly worn by wrestlers; or short padded pants, which were forerunners of todays uniforms, plus knee guards. In 1893 the Narragansett Machinery Co. of Providence, R.I., marketed a hoop of iron with a hammock style of basket. Originally a ladder, then a pole, and finally a chain fastened to the bottom of the net was used to retrieve a ball after a goal had been scored. Nets
A basketball goal (metal rim without a net) hangs from a post near the balcony of a Springfield, Mass., gymnasium in 1900. Hulton Archive/ Getty Images
open at the bottom were adopted in 191213. In 189596 the points for making a basket (goal, or field goal) were reduced from three to two, and the points for making a free throw (shot uncontested from a line in front of the basket after a foul had been committed) were reduced from three to one. Baskets were frequently attached to balconies, making it easy for spectators behind a basket to lean over the railings and deflect the ball to favour one side and hinder the other; in 1895 teams were urged to provide a 4-by-6-foot (1.2-by-1.8-metre) screen for the purpose of eliminating interference. Soon after, wooden backboards proved more suitable. Glass backboards were legalized by the professionals in 190809 and by colleges in 190910. In 192021 the backboards were moved 2 feet (0.6 metre), and in 193940 they were moved 4 feet, in from the end lines to reduce frequent stepping out-of-bounds. Fanshaped backboards were made legal in 194041. A soccer ball (football) was used for the first two years. In 1894 the first basketball was marketed. It was laced, measured close to 32 inches (81 cm), or about 4 inches (10 cm) larger than the soccer ball, in circumference, and weighed less than 20 ounces (567 grams). By 194849, when the laceless molded ball was made official, the size had been set at 30 inches (76 cm). While basketball helped swell the membership of YMCAs because of the availability of their gyms, within five years the game was outlawed by various associations because gyms that had been occupied by classes of 50 or 60 members were now monopolized by only 10 to 18 players. The banishment of the game induced many members to terminate their YMCA membership and hire halls to play the game, thus paving the way to the professionalization of the sport.
Since Naismith and five of his original players were Canadian, it is not surprising that Canada was the first country outside the United States to play the game. Basketball was introduced in France in 1893, in England in 1894, in Australia, China, and India soon thereafter, and in Japan in 1900.
U.S. COLLEGE BASKETBALL

The first college to play the game was either Geneva College (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania) or the University of Iowa. C.O. Bemis heard about the new sport at Springfield and tried it out with his students at Geneva in 1892. At Iowa, H.F. Kallenberg, who had attended Springfield in 1890, wrote Naismith for a copy of the rules and also presented the game to his students. At Springfield, Kallenberg met Amos Alonzo Stagg, who became athletic director at the new University of Chicago in 1892. The first college basketball game with five on a side was played between the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa in Iowa City on Jan. 18, 1896. The University of Chicago won, 1512, with neither team using a substitute. Kallenberg refereed that gamea common practice in that eraand some of the spectators took exception to several of his decisions. The colleges formed their own rules committee in 1905. By 1913 there were at least five sets of rules: collegiate, YMCAAmateur Athletic Union, those used by state militia groups, and two varieties of professional rules. Teams often agreed to play under a different set for each half of a game. To establish some measure of uniformity, the colleges, Amateur Athletic Union, and YMCA formed the Joint Rules Committee in 1915. This group was renamed the National Basketball Committee (NBC) of
the United States and Canada in 1936, which served as the games sole amateur rule-making body. In 1979, however, the colleges broke away to form their own rules committee. (In that same year, the National Federation of State High School Associations likewise assumed the task of establishing separate playing rules for the high schools.) Today the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rules Committee for men is a 12-member board representing all three NCAA divisions. It has six members from Division I schools and three each from Divisions II and III. The committee has jurisdiction over colleges, junior colleges, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and Armed Forces basketball. There is a similar body for womens play.
Changes to the Game

Basketball at the college level developed from a structured, rigid game in the early days to one that is often fast-paced and high-scoring. Individual skills improved markedly, and, although basketball continued to be regarded as the ultimate team game, individualistic, oneon-one performers came to be not only accepted but used as an effective means of winning games. In the early years games were frequently won with point totals of less than 30, and the game, from the spectators viewpoint, was slow. Once a team acquired a modest lead, the popular tactic was to stall the game by passing the ball without trying to score, in an attempt to run out the clock. The NBC, seeing the need to discourage such slowdown tactics, instituted a number of rule changes. In 193233 a line was drawn at midcourt, and the offensive team was required to advance the ball past it
The addition of the shot clock, seen ticking down the time above the basket during a 2009 Big Ten tournament contest, is considered a landmark change to the college game. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
within 10 seconds or lose possession. Five years later, in 193738, the centre jump following each field goal or free throw was eliminated. Instead, the defending team was permitted to inbound the ball from the out-of-bounds line underneath the basket. Decades passed before another alteration of like magnitude was made in the college game. After experimentation the NCAA Rules Committee installed a 45-second shot clock in 1985 (reduced to 35 seconds in 1993), restricting the time a team could control the ball before shooting, and one year later it implemented a three-point shot rule for baskets made beyond a distance of 19.75 feet (6.0 metres). In 2008 the three-point line was moved to 20.75 feet (6.3 metres) from the basket. Stanford Universitys Hank Luisetti was the first to use and popularize the one-hand shot in the late 1930s. Until then the only outside attempts were two-handed push shots. In the 1950s and 60s a shooting style evolved from Luisettis push-off one hander to a jump shot, which is released at the top of the jump. West Virginia University guard Jerry West and Purdue Universitys Rick Mount were two players who demonstrated the devastating effectiveness of this shot.
HANK LUISETTI
(b. June 16, 1916, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.d. Dec. 17, 2002, San Mateo, Calif.) Hank Luisetti was a collegiate basketball player who revolutionized the sport by introducing the one-handed shot. Angelo Enrico Luisetti honed his running one-handed shot (technically not a jump shot, as he kept his feet on the ground) on the playgrounds of his native San Francisco. The 6-foot-2-inch (1.88-metre) Luisetti played at Stanford University from 1935 to
1938. When his one-handed shot debuted on the national stage at a highly publicized 1936 game in Madison Square Garden, it was met with skepticism by the basketball establishment. Over time, however, it grew in popularity and eventually led to the replacement of the static game of two-handed set shots with more scoring and action. Luisetti was also innovative in his dribbling and behind-theback passing. A three-time All-American, Luisetti was the first collegiate player to score 50 points in a game; his career total points were 1,596 in four years. In addition to winning three Pacific Conference championships, Luisettis team popularized the fast-break offense and a combination of man-to-man and zone defense. After his collegiate career ended, Luisetti was a member of a number of nationally known amateur teams, but he never played professionally. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
Coaching Strategies
Coaching strategy changed appreciably over the years. Frank W. Keaney, coach at the University of Rhode Island from 1921 to 1948, is credited with introducing the concept of fast break basketball, in which the offensive team rushes the ball upcourt hoping to get a good shot before the defense can get set. Another man who contributed to a quicker pace of play, particularly through the use of the pressure defense, was Adolph Rupp, who became the University of Kentuckys coach in 1931 and turned its program into one of the most storied in basketball history. Defensive coaching philosophy, similarly, has undergone change. Whereas pioneer coaches such as Henry Iba of Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University) or Long Island Universitys Clair Bee taught
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strictly a man-to-man defense, the zone defense, developed by Cam Henderson of Marshall University in West Virginia, later became an integral part of the game.
Accounting for Height

Over the years one of the rule-makers chief concerns was to neutralize the advantage of taller players. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) Joe Lapchick was considered very tall when he played for the Original Celtics in the 1920s but, as even taller players appeared, rules were changed in response. To prevent tall players from stationing themselves near the basket, a rule was instituted in 193233 prohibiting the player with the ball from standing inside the foul lane with his back to the basket for more than three seconds. The three-second rule later applied to any attacking player in the foul lane. In 1937 38 a new rule forbade any player from touching the ball when it was in the basket or on its rim (basket interference), and in 194445 it became illegal for any defending player to touch the ball on its downward flight toward the basket (goaltending). Nevertheless, with each passing decade, the teams with the tallest players tended to dominate. Bob Kurland (7 feet [2.13 metres]) led Oklahoma A&M to two NCAA championships in the 1940s and led the nation in scoring in 194546. In the same era George Mikan (6 feet 10 inches [2.08 metres]) scored more than 550 points in each of his final two seasons at DePaul University before going on to play nine professional seasons in which he scored more than 11,000 points. Mikan was an outstanding player, not only because of his size but because of his ability to shoot sweeping hook shots with both hands.
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DeMarcus Cousins of the University of Kentucky Wildcats dunks during the 2010 NCAA tournament. Dunking was temporarily banned beginning in 1967 because officials believed the shot gave taller players an unfair advantage. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
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In the 1950s Bill Russell (6 feet 9 inches [2.06 metres]) led the University of San Francisco to two NCAA championships before going on to become one of the greatest centres in professional basketball history. Wilt Chamberlain (7 feet 1 inch [2.16 metres]) played at the University of Kansas before turning professional in the late 1950s. He is regarded as the greatest all-around big man ever to play. It remained, however, for Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), also 7 feet 1 inch, to most influence the rules. After his sophomore year (196667) at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the dunk shot was banned from collegiate basketball, ostensibly because the rules committee felt, again, that the big men had too great an advantage. The rule was rescinded beginning with the 197677 season, and the dunk shot became an important part of the game, electrifying both fans and players. So too have other players who were not as tall affected the games development. Bob Cousy, playing at Holy Cross College and later for the Boston Celtics, was regarded as one of the games first great playmakers. He was among the first to use the behind-the-back pass and between-the-legs dribble as effective offensive maneuvers. Later such smaller players as Providence Colleges Ernie DiGregorio, the University of North Carolinas Phil Ford, and Indianas Isiah Thomas proved the importance of their role. Between those two extremes are players such as Louisiana State Universitys Pete Maravich, who set an all-time collegiate scoring record of 44.5 points per game in the 196970 season; Magic Johnson, the point guard who led Michigan State University to a championship in 1979 and the Los Angeles Lakers to several NBA championships; Oscar Robertson, a dominating performer for the University of Cincinnati in the late
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1950s and for the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1970s; Larry Bird of Indiana State University, a forward of exceptional versatility who led the Boston Celtics to several championships; and Michael Jordan, a great all-around player with the University of North Carolina in the 1980s who is widely considered the best professional player in the history of the sport.
The Advent of Televised Games

Nothing influenced the college games growth more than television, however. The NCAA championship games were televised nationally from 1963, and by the 1980s all three major television networks were telecasting intersectional college games during the November-to-March season. Rights fees for these games soared from a few million dollars to well over $50 million by the late 1980s. As for broadcasting the NCAA finals, a television contract that began in 2003 gave the NCAA an average of $545 million per year for the television rights. This exponential growth in broadcast fees reflected the importance of these games to both networks and advertisers. Profits such as these inevitably attract gamblers, and in the evolution of college basketball the darkest hours have been related to gambling scandals. But, as the game began to draw more attention and generate more income, the pressure to win intensified, resulting in an outbreak of rules violations, especially with regard to recruitment of star players.
Tournament Play
The most identifiable phase of college basketball in America is the postseason tournament held in
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Marchpopularly known as March Madness. Interest in the NCAA tournament paralleled the growth of the game. The first basketball tournament was staged by the Amateur Athletic Union in 1897 and was won by New York Citys 23rd Street YMCA, later to become a traveling professional team known as the New York Wanderers. Although the YMCA was prominently identified with the game in its early years, it did not hold its first national tournament until 1923 (the event took place until 1962). The first national tournament for colleges was held in 1937 and was conducted by an organization in Kansas City, Mo., that later became the NAIA.
MARCH MADNESS
March Madness is an informal term that refers to the NCAA Division I mens and womens basketball championship tournaments and the attendant fan interest inand media coverage ofthe events. The single-elimination tournaments begin each March and consist of fields of 64 (for the womens tournament) and 68 (for the mens) teams that qualify either by winning their conference title or by being chosen as an at-large entry by the NCAAs selection committee. The first mens tournament was held in 1939, but it was overshadowed for most of the first two decades of its existence by the NIT, which was considered more prestigious and usually featured the best teams in the country. The NCAA tournament gradually began to draw the top teams and more television revenue. By the time the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) began its record run of seven consecutive titles in 1967, the tournament was firmly established as the premier college basketball postseason championship series in the United States. The size of the tournament field increased incrementally from eight teams in 1939 to 64 teams in 1985. A 65th team and corresponding play-in game were added in 2001, when a new conference with
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an automatically qualifying champion was created and the NCAA did not want to lower the number of high-profile at-large schools it could invite to the tournament. In 2011 the NCAA added three additional opening-round games to the field, bringing the field to 68 teams. The first womens tournament was a 32-team event held in 1982, and it expanded to its current field of 64 in 1994. The tournament format (not including the play-in games) consists of four subsets known as regions, each of which contains 16 teams that are seeded number 1 to number 16 by the selection committee and then matched up according to seed, with the No. 1 seed playing number 16, No. 2 playing No. 15, and so on. (The selection committee generally comprises university athletic directors and conference commissioners.) Two of the four first-round games pit the four lowest-seeded teamsoften the champions of the smallest conferences in the NCAAagainst each other to determine two of the 16 seeds, while the other two first-round games feature the final four at-large teams, which are traditionally 11 or 12 seeds. The second- and third-round games take place later in the first week of the tournament at eight geographically dispersed sites. Having won both their first- and second-round games, 16 teams, referred to as the Sweet Sixteen, move on to the second week of play. These remaining teams then proceed to four regional sites and are further winnowed to an Elite Eight and a Final Four, the last of which advances to yet another location for the national semifinals and finals in the third week of the competition. The sizable field often produces pairings of large schools from highly regarded conferences with smaller automatic qualifiers. First-round upsets, where the smaller qualifier wins, can lead to underdogs, known as Cinderella teams, advancing far in the tournament. It is a common practice for fans to fill out tournament brackets with their predictions before the event begins and to enter their brackets into office pools (or on the Internet) with friends and coworkers. Studies have shown that American workers become less productive during March Madness, as large numbers of basketball fans frequently monitor the status of their brackets or discuss the tournament (or even watch the games) while on the job.
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New York City basketball writers organized the first National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1938, but a year later the New York City colleges took control of the event. Until the early 1950s the NIT was considered the most prestigious American tournament, but, with the growth of the college-run NCAA championship, the NIT became a consolation event for teams that failed to make the NCAA selections. The first NCAA tournament was played in 1939. From there, NCAA play grew in stages. The first era ran through 1964, when it was essentially a tournament for champions of various conferences. There were just eight teams in the 1939 field. By 1963, that number had expanded to 25 teams, all champions of their respective conferences, plus several successful independent teams. The most outstanding teams of the 1940s and 50s participated in both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. After the gambling scandals that followed the 1950 NIT championship, a rule was passed prohibiting a team from playing in both. Afterward the NCAA tournament progressively outgrew the NIT.
The Modern Age of NCAA Play

In 1964 the second era dawned as the UCLA Bruins, coached by John Wooden, began a period of domination over the NCAA field. From that season until 1975 Wooden led his teams to 10 NCAA championships. Only championships won by Texas Western University (now University of Texas at El Paso) in 1966 and North Carolina State in 1974 interrupted UCLAs reign. In the eyes of many, the UCLA dynastic period probably had a regressive effect on the games growth; a sport with such high predictability lost some of its attractiveness.
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UCLA coach John Wooden (back row, far right) with his 1969 NCAAtitle-winning team, which was led by centre Lew Alcindor (front row, second from left). Rich Clarkson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images 18
The third growth stage came with the end of UCLAs dominance. Champions began to emerge from all sections of the country, with a notable accumulation of titles in the state of North Carolina, home to modern college basketball powers Duke University and the University of North Carolina. As the third stage progressed, March Madness became a sporting event now comparable in general public interest and media attention to the Super Bowl and the World Series. Championships at the Division II, Division III, and NAIA levels also continued to grow in interest, reaping some of the fallout from the popularity of Division I.
JOHN WOODEN
(b. Oct. 14, 1910, Hall, Ind., U.S.d. June 4, 2010, Los Angeles, Calif.) By directing teams of the University of California at Los Angeles to 10 NCAA championships in 12 seasons (196465, 196773, 1975), John Wooden established himself as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time. Several of his UCLA players became professional basketball stars, notably Lew Alcindor (afterward Kareem AbdulJabbar), Bill Walton, and Gail Goodrich. At Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., Wooden, a guard, gained All-America honours as a basketball player for three seasons (193032) and won a Western Conference (Big Ten) medal for athletic and scholastic excellence. He coached high school basketball in Kentucky and Indiana before entering the U.S. Navy in 1943, where he served as a physical education instructor. After his World War II service, he was the head basketball coach and athletic director at Indiana State Teachers College (now Indiana State University) in Terre Haute from 1946 to 1948. He was appointed head coach at UCLA in 1948 and retired in 1975, with a record of 620 wins and 147 losses, for an .808 percentage, which earned him the nickname the Wizard of Westwood (Westwood being the Los Angeles neighbourhood in which UCLA is located). His 40-year record was 885 wins and 203 losses, a percentage of .813. Among Woodens most 19
notable accomplishments at UCLA are two record-winning streaks: 88 consecutive games (over the course of four seasons) and 38 consecutive NCAA tournament games. He was named the NCAAs College Basketball Coach of the Year on six occasions (1964, 1967, 196970, 197273). Wooden was the first person to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (1960) and a coach (1973). The John R. Wooden Award annually honours the nations outstanding player as chosen by a media poll. Wooden, with Steve Jamison, wrote two books on lessons from his experience as a coach: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and off the Court (1997) and Wooden on Leadership (2005).
Collegiate Womens Play

Clara Baer, who introduced basketball at the H. Sophie Newcomb College for Women in New Orleans, influenced the womens style of play with her set of womens rules, published in 1895. On receiving a diagram of the court from Naismith, Baer mistook dotted lines, indicating the areas in which players might best execute team play, to be restraining lines, with the result that the forwards, centres, and guards were confined to specified areas. This seemed appropriate because many felt that the mens game was too strenuous for women. Womens rules over the years frequently have been modified. Until 1971 there were six players on a team, and the court was so divided that the three forwards played in the frontcourt and did all the scoring while the three guards covered the backcourt. Senda Berenson staged the first womens college basketball game in 1893 when her freshman and sophomore Smith College women played against one another. In April 1895 the women of the University of California (Berkeley) played Stanford University. Despite a multitude of hindrances (such as
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PAT SUMMITT
(b. June 14, 1952, Henrietta, Tenn., U.S.) As womens basketball coach at the University of Tennessee (1974 ), Pat Summitt became the winningest coach in the history of NCAA basketball. Patricia Head grew up on a dairy farm, where she developed the toughness that would become her trademark. She first played basketball in a hayloft, and her aggressive and instinctive play at the University of Tennessee at Martin earned her spots on national teams. In 1975 she won gold at the Pan-American Games and the following year overcame a serious knee injury to cocaptain the U.S. Olympic team to a silver medal in Montreal. Soon afterward she retired as a player to concentrate on coaching. Named head coach of the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1974, she posted a 168 record in her inaugural season. (In 1980 she married R.B. Summitt; the couple divorced in 2008.) Driven and uncompromising, Summitt demanded the best from her players and was known for her strenuous practices and the legendary look that would send athletes for cover. In 1987, months
Pat Summitt (far right) and members of the University of Tennessees womens basketball team posing with Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, 2008. Staff Sgt. Christina M. OConnell/U.S. Army 21
after earning her 300th win, she guided the Lady Vols to their first NCAA championship. With Summitt at the helm, the team went on to claim seven more titles (1989, 1991, 199698, and 200708). In 1996 Summitt notched her 600th victory, becoming only the second woman to tally that many wins on the court. Two years later she led Tennessee to an unprecedented third consecutive NCAA championship, capping a perfect season (390). The title came just days after she received the Associated Presss Coach of the Year award. In 2005 she earned her 880th victory, breaking Dean Smiths record. Four years later she became the first NCAA basketball coach to register 1,000 career wins. In addition to collegiate basketball, Summitt also coached on the international level, leading the U.S. womens team to gold at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. A noted motivator, she released two self-help books, Reach for the Summit and Raise the Roof (each with Sally Jenkins), in 1998. Summitt was the recipient of numerous honours, and in 2000 she was named Naismith College Coach of the Century. That year she was also inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
being thought unladylike), womens basketball gradually secured a foothold. In 1971, when womens rules were changed to reduce the number on a team from six players to five and women were freed from the limits imposed by the half-court game, the level of individual skills and competition quickly rose. In the early 1980s control of the womens college game was shifted from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA, a move that not only streamlined the operation and made it more efficient but also added to the visibility of womens basketball. The womens NCAA championship tournament runs concurrently with the mens, and many of the games are nationally televised. Womens basketball became an Olympic sport in 1976.
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professIonal BasketBall In the u.s.
chapter 2
he professional game first prospered largely in the Middle Atlantic and New England states. Trenton (New Jersey) and the New York Wanderers were the first great professional clubs, followed by the Buffalo (New York) Germans, who started out in 1895 as 14-year-old members of the Buffalo YMCA and, with occasional new members, continued for 44 years, winning 792 out of 878 games. A group of basketball stylists who never received the acclaim they deserved (because in their heyday they played for various towns) consisted of Edward and Lew Wachter, Jimmy Williamson, Jack Inglis, and Bill Hardman. They introduced the bounce pass and long pass as offensive weapons and championed the rule (adopted 192324) that made each player, when fouled, shoot his own free throw. Before World War II the most widely heralded professional team was the Original Celtics, which started out in 1915 as a group of youngsters from New York City, kept adding better players in the early 1920s, and became so invincible that the team disbanded in 1928, only to regroup in the early 1930s as the New York Celtics. They finally retired in 1936. The Celtics played every night of the week, twice on Sundays, and largely on the road. During the 192223 season they won 204 of 215 games.
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HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS
The Harlem Globetrotters are a predominantly black professional U.S. basketball team that plays exhibition games all over the world, drawing crowds as large as 75,000 to see the players spectacular ball handling and humorous antics. The team was organized in Chicago in 1926 as the all-black Savoy Big Five. Sports promoter Abe Saperstein acquired the team soon after and owned it until his death in 1966. In January 1927 the team debuted in Hinckley, Ill., under the name New York Globetrotters. The name was changed in 1930 to Harlem Globetrotters to capitalize on the cultural notoriety of one of New Yorks African American neighbourhoods. The barnstorming team amassed an impressive record over the next decade and in 1939 participated in the first professional basketball championship, losing to the Harlem Rens in the final game. The next year the Globetrotters won the tournament.
Members of the Harlem Globetrotters warming up before a 2005 game. Denis Doyle/Getty Images
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7 Professional Basketball in the U.S.
It was about this time that they first experimented with adding comedy to their games. Inman Jackson was the first to assume the role of clown prince on the team. As the National Basketball Association became racially integrated in the 1950s, the opportunities for competitive games on the barnstorming circuit dried up. As a result, the team made comedic entertainment its central focus. Some outstanding Globetrotters were Reece Goose Tatum, Marques Haynes, Clarence Wilson, Meadowlark Lemon, Wilt the Stilt Chamberlain, Herb Geese Ausbie, and Lynette Woodard, the first woman to play for the team. Mannie Jackson, a former player, purchased the team in 1993. In 2000 the team returned to competitive play with a series of exhibition games against top collegiate teams. In 2002 the team was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Another formidable aggregation was the New York Renaissance (the Rens), organized by Robert Douglas in 1923 and regarded as the strongest all-black team of all time. During the 192526 campaign they split a six-game series with the Original Celtics. During the 193233 season the Rens won 88 consecutive games. In 1939 they defeated the Harlem Globetrotters and the Oshkosh All Stars in the world championship pro tournament in Chicago. Among the great professional clubs were the teams of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and East Liverpool, Ohio, as well as the New York Nationals, the Paterson (New Jersey) Crescents, and the South Philadelphia Hebrew All Starsbetter known as the Sphas.
EARLy PROFESSIONAL LEAGUES

The first professional league was the National Basketball League (NBL), formed in 1898. Its game differed from
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the college game in that a chicken-wire cage typically surrounded the court, separating players from often hostile fans. (Basketball players were long referred to as cagers.) The chicken wire was soon replaced with a rope netting, off which the players bounced like prizefighters in a boxing ring. The cage also kept the ball from going out-of-bounds, thus quickening the pace of play. In these early days players were also permitted to resume dribbling after halting. Despite the lively action of the game, the NBL and other early leagues were short-lived, mostly because of the frequent movement of players, who sold their services on a per-game basis. With players performing for several cities or clubs within the same season, the leagues suffered games of unreliable quality and many financially unstable franchises. The Great Depression of the 1930s hurt professional basketball, and a new NBL was organized in 1937 in and around the upper Midwest. Professional basketball assumed major league status with the organization of the new Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946 under the guidance of Walter A. Brown, president of the Boston Garden. Brown contended that professional basketball would succeed only if there were sufficient financial support to nurse the league over the early lean years, if the game emphasized skill instead of brawling, and if all players were restricted to contracts with a reserve rule protecting each team from raiding by another club. Following a costly two-year feud, the BAA and the NBL merged in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association (NBA).
THE NBA
To help equalize the strength of the teams, the NBA established an annual college draft permitting each club
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to select a college senior in inverse order to the final standings in the previous years competition, thus enabling the lower-standing clubs to select the more talented collegians. In addition, the game was altered through three radical rule changes in the 195455 season: 1. A team must shoot for a basket within 24 seconds after acquiring possession of the ball. 2. A bonus free throw is awarded to a player anytime the opposing team commits more than six (later five, now four) personal fouls in a quarter or more than two personal fouls in an overtime period. 3. Two free throws are granted for any backcourt foul. After a struggle to survive, including some large financial losses and several short-lived franchises, the NBA took its place as the major professional basketball league in the United States. A rival 11-team American Basketball Association (ABA), with George Mikan as commissioner, was launched in the 196768 season, and a bitter feud developed with the NBA for the top collegiate talent each season. In 1976 the ABA disbanded, and four of its teams were taken into the NBA. The NBA grew increasingly popular through the 1980s. Attendance records were broken in that decade by most of the franchises, a growth pattern stimulated at least in part by the increased coverage by cable television. The NBA play-offs follow the traditional 82-game schedule, involving 16 teams and beginning in late April. Played as a best-of-seven series, the final pairings stretch into late June.
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Amir Johnson was the last NBA player drafted straight out of high school. Since 2005 players must be out of high school for at least one year before being drafted. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
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BUSINESS AND DEvELOPMENT

Although basketball is traditionally a winter game, the NBA still fills its arenas and attracts a national television audience in late spring and early summer. As the popularity of the league grew, player salaries rose to an annual average of more than $5 million by the mid-2000s, and some superstars earned more than $20 million yearly. The NBA has a salary cap that limits (at least theoretically, as loopholes allow many teams to exceed the cap) the total amount a team can spend on salaries in any given season. In 2001 the NBA launched the National Basketball Development League (NBDL). The league served as a kind of farm system for the NBA. Through its first 50 years the NBA did not have an official system of player development or a true minor league system for bringing up young and inexperienced players such as exists in Major League Baseball. College basketball has been the area from which the NBA did the vast majority of its recruiting. By 2000 this had begun to change somewhat, as players began to be drafted straight out of high school with increasing frequency. In 2005 the NBA instituted a rule stipulating that domestic players must be at least age 19 and have been out of high school for one year to be eligible for the draft, which in effect required players to spend at least one year in college or on an international professional team before coming to the NBA.
THE WNBA
Individual women stars have been heavily recruited by colleges since the games early years, but the players frequently found that there was no opportunity for them
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Team members from the original WNBA franchises pose for a 1997 publicity photo in Brazil. 2003 NBA Entertainment. Photo by Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE/Getty Images
to play beyond the college level. Leagues were occasionally formed, such as the Womens Professional Basketball League (WPBL); begun in 1978, the WPBL lasted only three years. Eventually filling the void was the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA). The WNBA was created in 1997 by the NBA Board of Governors as a womens analogue to the NBA. Each of the first eight WNBA franchises was located in a city that was also home to an NBA team, often with nicknames and uniform colours that were evocative of their mens
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counterparts. The NBA owned each of the franchises until 2002, when it began allowing the sale of franchises to ownership groups in cities that did not have NBA teams and to groups in NBA cities that were unaffiliated with those NBA teams. The first four WNBA titles were won by the Houston Comets, with teams that featured two of the leagues first superstars in Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes. Helped by the dissolution of the rival American Basketball League in 1999, the WNBA grew in the early years of the 21st century to become the most successful American womens professional sports league ever, helped along by the popularity of outstanding players such as Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and Lauren Jackson. The WNBA is divided into two divisions that each consist of six teams and are aligned as follows: Eastern Conference Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics
Western Conference Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury San Antonio Silver Stars Seattle Storm Tulsa Shock
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CyNTHIA COOPER
(b. April 14, 1963, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) Cynthia Cooper was the first Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the WNBA. In the WNBAs inaugural season (1997), Cooper led the league in scoring while leading her team, the Houston Comets, to the championship. She was named MVP of both the regular season and the play-offs that year. Cooper was raised in the Watts section of Los Angeles. She began playing organized basketball at age 16 and quickly took to the sport. She earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California, where she played in the shadow of Cheryl Miller while helping the team to national championships in 1983 and 1984. After college Cooper played professionally in Europe, primarily for a team in Parma, Italy, where she blossomed into a potent scorer and a tenacious defender. She was a member of the 1988 U.S. national team that won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, S.Kor. By the end of the WNBAs inaugural season, Cooper had established herself as the leagues first great player. Along with star teammates Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson, Cooper led the Comets to titles in 1998, 1999, and 2000, each time being recognized as the MVP of the play-offs. She was named the league MVP for the second time in 1998. Cooper retired in 2000 and became the head coach of the WNBAs Phoenix Mercury the following year. She returned to playing basketball in 2003 and permanently retired from the game in 2004 with WNBA career per-game averages of 21 points, 4.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.56 steals. Cooper was named the womens basketball head coach at Prairie View (Texas) A&M University in 2005. She was selected for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The success of international basketball was greatly advanced by Forrest C. (Phog) Allen, a Naismith disciple and a former coach at the University of Kansas, who led the movement for the inclusion of basketball in the
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PHOG ALLEN
(b. Nov. 15, 1885, Jamesport, Mo., U.S.d. Sept. 16, 1974, Lawrence, Kan.) Regarded as the first great basketball coach, Phog Allen was also instrumental in making basketball an Olympic sport. From 1905 to 1907 at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Forrest Clare Allen played for James Naismith, who invented basketball. Allen coached the team during his final two years on campus (190709). After graduating he pursued a degree in osteopathic medicine and later gained a national reputation for his skillful treatment of athletic injuries. After stints as a baseball umpire (during which he earned his nickname because of his foghorn voice) and as a coach of all sports at Warrensburg Teachers College (now Central Missouri State University), Allen returned to the University of Kansas in 1920 as athletic director, football coach, and basketball coach. Allens Kansas Jayhawk basketball teams of 192056 won 771 games and lost 233; his 195152 team won the championship of the NCAA. In 1936 the Helms Foundation retroactively awarded the 1922 and 1923 national championships to Allens Jayhawks. His teams won 24 Big Eight Conference championships (known as the Big Six Conference from 1929 to 1947 and now known as the Big 12). He retired as the winningest coach in college basketball. Regarded as the father of basketball coaching, Allen played a key role in establishing the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1927 and developed the talents of many successful coaches, including Adolph Rupp, Dutch Lonborg, and Dean Smith. He was instrumental in adding basketball to the Olympic Games program in 1936, and in 1952 he coached the American team that won the Olympic gold medal in Helsinki. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959. The University of Kansas Jayhawks have played basketball at the Forrest C. Phog Allen Fieldhouse since 1955.
Olympic Games in 1936 and thereafter. Basketball has also been played in the Pan-American Games since their inauguration in 1951. The international game is governed by the Fdration Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIBA). World
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championships began in 1950 for men and in 1953 for women. Under international rules the court differs in that there is no frontcourt or backcourt, and the free throw lanes form a modified wedge shape. There are some differences in rules, including those governing substitutions, technical and personal fouls, free throws, intermissions, and time-outs. Outside the United States there are few places that strictly separate amateur from professional athletes. Basketball has caught on particularly well in Italy. The Italian professional basketball league (Lega Basket) is highly regarded and popular in that country. Spain also has several basketball leagues, the main one being the ACB (Asociacin de Clubes de Baloncesto). The other major centre of European basketball is eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans. Although the European leagues are not formally aligned with the American NBA, there are links between European and American basketball. It is not uncommon for European players to be drafted by the NBA, nor is it uncommon for American players to play in Europe. American players in the European leagues tend to be older players who have finished successful NBA careers in the United States or younger players who have not yet been drafted into the NBA.
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chapter 3
T
play of the Game

he standard American basketball court is in the shape of a rectangle 50 feet (15.2 metres) by 94 feet (28.7 metres); high school courts may be slightly smaller. There are various markings on the court, including a centre circle, free throw lanes, and a three-point line, that help regulate play. A goal, or basket, 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter is suspended from a backboard at each end of the court. The metal rim of the basket is 10 feet (3.0 metres) above the floor. In the professional game the backboard is a rectangle, 6 feet (1.8 metres) wide and 3.5 feet (1.1 metres) high, made of a transparent material, usually glass; it may be 4 feet (1.2 metres) high in college. The international court varies somewhat in size and markings. The spherical inflated ball measures 29.5 to 30 inches (74.9 to 76 cm) in circumference and weighs 20 to 22 ounces (567 to 624 grams). Its covering is leather or composition.
RULES
The rules governing play of the game are based on Naismiths five principles: use of a large, light ball, handled with the hands; no running with the ball; no player being restricted from getting the ball when it is in play; no personal contact; and a horizontal, elevated goal. The rules are spelled out in specific detail by the governing bodies of the several branches of the sport and cover the playing court and equipment, officials, players, scoring and timing, fouls, violations, and other matters. The officials include a referee and two umpires in college play (two referees and a crew chief in NBA play), two timers, and two
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A section of the original 1891 rules to the game of basketball, written by James Naismith. The rules manuscript fetched more than $4 million at a 2010 Southebys auction. Chris Hondros/Getty Images
scorekeepers. One player on each team acts as captain and speaks for the team on all matters involving the officials, such as interpretation of rules. Professional, international, and high school games are divided into four periods, college games into two. Since the 189596 season, a field goal has scored two points and a free throw one point. When the ABA was founded in 1967, it allowed three points for shots made from outside a boundary line set 25 feet (7.6 metres) from the basket. With varying distances, the change was adopted officially by the NBA in 1979 and, in 1985, by colleges. Basketball is a rough sport, although it is officially a noncontact game. A player may pass or bounce (dribble) the ball to a position whereby he or a teammate may try for a basket. A foul is committed whenever a player makes such contact with an opponent as to put him at a
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7 Play of the Game
disadvantage. For the 200102 season the NBA approved a rule change that eliminated touch fouls, meaning brief contact initiated by a defensive player is allowable if it does not impede the progress of the offensive player. If a player is fouled while shooting and the shot is good, the basket counts and he or she is awarded one free throw (an unhindered throw for a goal from behind the free throw, or foul, line, which is 15 feet [4.6 metres] from the backboard). If the shot misses, the player gets a second free throw. If a foul is committed against a player who is not shooting, then the fouled players team is awarded either the possession of the ball or a free throw if the other team is in a penalty situation. A team is in a penalty situation when it has been called for a set number of fouls in one period (five in one quarter in professional and international play, and seven in one half in the college game). In college basketball, penalty free throws are one-and-one in natureconsisting of one free throw that, if made, is followed by a seconduntil the opposing team commits a 10th foul in a half. At that point, a double bonus situation is created where all fouls automatically result in two free throws. A pair of penalty free throws are immediately earned when teams enter the penalty situation in both the NBA and international play. Infractions such as unsportsmanlike conduct or grasping the basket rim are technical fouls, which award to the opposition a free throw and possession of the ball. Overly violent fouls are called flagrant fouls and also result in free throws and possession for the opposition. Players are allowed a set number of personal fouls per game (six in the NBA, five in most other competitions) and are removed from the game when the foul limit is reached. Other common infractions occur when a player (with the ball) takes an excessive number of steps or slides;
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Flagrant fouls, like the one committed by the Milwaukee Bucks Charlie vilaneau (left), are obvious and unnecessarily physical infractions against an opponent. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
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7 Play of the Game
fails to advance the ball within five seconds while being closely guarded; causes the ball to go out-of-bounds; steps over the foul line while shooting a free throw; steps over the end line or sideline while tossing the ball in to a teammate, or fails to pass the ball in within five seconds; runs with, kicks, or strikes the ball with his fist; dribbles a second time after having once concluded his dribble (double dribble); remains more than three seconds in his free throw lane while he or his team has the ball; causes the ball to go into the backcourt; retains the ball in the backcourt more than 10 seconds (changed in the NBA to 8 seconds for 200102); or fails to shoot within the time allotted by the shot clock (24 seconds in the NBA and international play, 30 in the WNBA, and 35 in college). The penalty is loss of the ball. Opponents throw the ball in from the side.
COMMON BASKETBALL TERMS

There are a number of terms used to describe the action on a basketball court. Some of the most common are listed in this section. Blocking: Any illegal personal contact that impedes the progress of an opponent who does not have the ball. Dribble: Ball movement by bouncing the ball. A dribble ends when a player touches the ball with both hands simultaneously or does not continue his dribble. Field goal: Any shot made from the the field of play other than a free throw. One of the main field goals is the layup, in which the shooter, while close to the basket, jumps and lays the ball against the backboard so it will rebound into the basket or just lays it over the rim. Away from the basket, players use a one-hand push shot from a stride, jump, or standing position and a hook shot, which
39
is overhead. Some players can dunk or slam-dunk the ball, jamming the ball down into the basket. Held ball: Called when two opponents have one or two hands so firmly upon the ball that neither can gain possession without undue roughness. It also is called when a player in the frontcourt is so closely guarded that he cannot pass or try for a goal or is obviously withholding the ball from play. Jump ball: A method of putting the ball into play. The referee tosses the ball up between two opponents who try to tap it to a teammate. The jump ball is used to begin games and, in the professional game, when the ball is possessed by two opposing players at the same time. Pass: Throwing, batting, or rolling the ball to another player. The main types are (1) the chest pass, in which the ball is released from a position in front of the chest, (2) the bounce pass, in which the ball is bounced on the floor to get it past a defensive opponent, (3) the roll pass on the floor, (4) the hook pass (side or overhead), and (5) the baseball pass, in which the ball is thrown a longer distance with one hand in a manner similar to a baseball throw. A pass that precedes a made field goal is called an assist. Pivot: A movement in which a player with the ball steps once or more in any direction with the same foot while the other foot (pivot foot) is kept at its point of contact with the floor. Pivot player: Another term for centre; also called a post player. He may begin the offensive set from a position just above the free throw line. Rebounding: Both teams attempting to gain possession of the ball after any try for a basket that is unsuccessful, but the ball does not go out-of-bounds and remains in play.
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7 Play of the Game
JOHN STOCKTON
(b. March 26, 1962, Spokane, Wash., U.S.) John Stockton is considered one of the greatest point guards ever to play the sport. In his 19-year career with the Utah Jazz, he set NBA records for most career assists (15,806) and steals (3,265). Stockton played collegiate basketball at Gonzaga University in his hometown of Spokane, Wash., where he became the schools alltime leader in assists and steals. He was selected by the Jazz in the first round of the 1984 NBA draft. Stockton became the teams starting point guard in his fourth season, and he promptly led the league in assists in his first year leading the Jazz offense. That 198788 season was the first of nine consecutive seasons in which Stockton was the NBAs assist leader; he achieved a single-season record of 1,164 assists in 199091. A great number of his assists came on passes to power forward Karl Malone, with whom Stockton formed one of the most effective pick-and-roll combinations in NBA history. At 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 metres) tall, Stockton made up for his lack of height with his tenacious, high-energy play that was sometimes viewed as dirty by his opponents. A particularly energetic on-ball defender, he twice led the NBA in steals (198889, 199192). Stockton never missed the play-offs in his nearly two decades playing for the Jazz, butdespite leading the team to a five conference finals appearances and two berths in the NBA finals (1997, 1998)he retired in 2003 having never won an NBA championship. He won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. mens national basketball team (1992, 1996). Stockton garnered 10 career All-Star Game selections and was named first-team All-NBA twice (199394, 1994 95). He was honoured as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Screen, or pick: Legal action of a player who, without causing more than incidental contact, delays or prevents an opponent from reaching his desired position. Traveling: Progressing in any direction in excess of the prescribed limits, normally two steps, while holding the ball.
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Turnover: Loss of possession of the ball by a team through error or a rule violation.
PRINCIPLES OF PLAy
Each team of five players consists of two forwards, two guards, and a centre, usually the tallest man on the team. At the beginning of the first period of a game, the ball is put into play by a jump ball at centre court; i.e., the referee tosses the ball up between the opposing centres, higher than either can jump, and when it descends each tries to tap it to one of his teammates, who must remain outside the centre circle until the ball is tapped. Subsequent periods of professional and college games begin with a throw in from out-of-bounds. Jump balls are also signaled by the officials when opposing players share possession of the ball (held ball) or simultaneously cause it to go out-of-bounds. In U.S. college games the alternate-possession rule is invoked in jump ball situations, with teams taking turns getting possession. After each successful basket (field goal) the ball is put back in play by the team that is scored on, by one player passing the ball in from behind the end line where the score was made. The ball is put in play in the same manner after a successful free throw or, if two have been awarded, after the second if it is successful. After nonshooting violations the ball is awarded to the opposing team to be passed inbounds from a point designated by an official. A player who takes possession of the ball must pass or shoot before taking two steps or must start dribbling before taking his second step. When the dribble stops, the player must stop his movement and pass or shoot the ball.
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7 Play of the Game
The ball may be tapped or batted with the hands, passed, bounced, or rolled in any direction.
Offense
As basketball has progressed, various coaches and players have devised intricate plays and offensive maneuvers. Some systems emphasize speed, deft ball handling, and high scoring; others stress ball control, slower patterned movement, and lower scoring. A strategy based on speed is called the fast break. When fast-break players recover possession of the ball in their backcourt, as by getting the rebound from an opponents missed shot, they race upcourt using a combination of speed and passing and try to make a field goal before their opponents have time to set up a defense. Some teams, either while following an overall game plan or as an alternative when they do not have the opportunity for a fast break, employ a more deliberate style of offense. A guard brings the ball down the court toward the basket, and the team maintains possession of the ball in the frontcourt by passing and dribbling. The team in possession of the ball then screens opponents in an effort to set up a play that will free a player for an open shot. Set patterns of offense generally use one or two pivot, or post, players who play near the free throw area at low post positions (within a few feet of the basket) or high post positions (near the free throw line). Pivot players are usually the taller players on the team and are in position to receive passes, make passes to teammates, shoot, screen for teammates, and tip in or rebound (recover) missed shots. All the players on the team are constantly on the move, executing patterns designed to give one player a favourable shot and, at the
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same time, place one or more teammates in a good position to tip in or rebound if that player misses.
Defense
Systems of defense also have developed over the years. One of the major strategies is known as man-to-man. In this system each player guards a specific opponent, except when switching with a teammate when he is screened or in order to guard another player in a more threatening scoring position. Another major strategy is the zone, or five-man, defense. In this system each player has a specific area to guard irrespective of which opponent plays in that area. The zone is designed to keep the offense from driving in to the basket and to force the offense into taking long shots. A great many variations and combinations have been devised to employ the several aspects of both man-to-man
The Minnesota Timberwolves (in white) set up a zone defense during a 2004 game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. David E. Klutho/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
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7 Play of the Game
and zone defensive strategies. The press, which can be either man-to-man or zone, is used by a team to guard its opponent so thoroughly that the opposition is forced to hurry its movements and especially to commit errors that result in turnovers. A full-court press applies this pressure defense from the moment the opposition takes possession of the ball at one end of the court. Well-coached teams are able to modify both their offensive and defensive strategies according to the shifting circumstances of the game and in response to their opponents particular strengths and weaknesses and styles of play.
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the natIonal BasketBall assocIatIon
chapter 4
he National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league formed in the United States in 1949 by the merger of two rival organizations, the National Basketball League (founded 1937) and the Basketball Association of America (founded 1946). In 1976 the NBA absorbed four teams from the American Basketball Association (ABA), which disbanded that year.
The NBA has seen its popularity as an entertainment powerhouse soar under commissioner David Stern, shown at the 2009-10 championship ceremony in Los Angeles. Stern became commissioner in 1984. Jeff Gross/Getty Images 46
7 The National Basketball Association
By the early 1980s the NBA was plagued by moneylosing franchises, low attendance, declining television ratings, and limited national appeal. The league soon rebounded under the leadership of David Stern, NBA commissioner from 1984, who helped transform it into an international entertainment company. Aggressive marketing highlighted star players such as Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and especially Michael Jordan. Other innovations included league limits on player salaries (known as a salary cap), lucrative broadcast rights for network and cable television, and expanded All-Star Game festivities. The NBA membership was divided into two conferences, each with three divisions. As of 2011, there are 30 teams, aligned as follows: Eastern Conference Atlantic Division: Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors Central Division: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks Southeast Division: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
Western Conference Southwest Division: Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs Northwest Division: Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz
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Pacific Division: Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings
The top-ranking teams at the end of each season engage in a play-off to determine the NBA champion, which claims the title of world champion. Probably the most outstanding team in NBA history was the Boston Celtics, which, led by centre Bill Russell, won 11 of 13 titles from 195657 to 196869. Other dominant clubs were the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers in the 1950s, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics in the 80s, and the Chicago Bulls in the 90s.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics Based in Boston, the Celtics are one of the most successful franchises in sports history, having won 11 of 13 NBA championships from 1957 to 1969 and 17 titles overall. Founded in Boston in 1946 by Walter Brown, the Celtics were charter members of the Basketball Association of America, a forerunner of the NBA (established in 1949). At the time of the teams founding, Brown also managed the Boston Garden, on whose distinctive parquet court the green-and-white-clad Celtics thrived until the franchise moved to a new arena, now known as TD Garden, in 1995. The team posted a losing record in each of its first four seasons, which prompted the hiring of head coach Red Auerbach in 1950. The Celtics run as a sports dynasty began in the mid1950s under Auerbach, who later served as the teams
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A bevy of championship banners hang from the rafters of TD Garden, home court of the Boston Celtics. Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
general manager and president. The team won its first title in the 195657 season after defeating the St. Louis Hawks in a closely contested final series, which included a doubleovertime deciding seventh game. With a lineup of Hall of Famers that included Frank Ramsey, Ed Macauley, Bill Sharman, ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, dominating centre Bill Russell (five times the leagues Most Valuable Player), and later Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, and John Havlicek, the Celts won eight consecutive NBA titles between the 195859 and 196566 seasonsa record for the four major North American team sports and triumphed again in 1968 and 1969. Bostons ascent coincided with the postwar proliferation of television sets in the United States, helping the team and its players become iconic figures as the sports national profile grew. Among the highlights of the Celtics unprecedented championship run are Russell twice
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gathering an NBA finals-record 40 rebounds in a game (1960, 1962) and Havliceks series-clinching steal of an inbounds pass in game seven of the 1965 Eastern Division finals, which elicited the famous call of Havlicek stole the ball! by announcer Johnny Most. The matchups between Russell, who served as the Celtics player-coach from 1966 to 1969 and Wilt Chamberlain, first as a Philadelphia 76er and then with the Los Angeles Lakers, were at the core of some of the most dramatic games in NBA play-off history. Havlicek was still a key contributor, along with Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White, on teams coached by Heinsohn that won titles in 1974 and 1976. The second of those championships included a dramatic triple-overtime victory over the Phoenix Suns in game five of the finals. In 1978 the Celtics were involved in an unusual transaction after the NBA blocked the teams owner, Irv Levin, from moving the franchise to his native California. Instead, Levin and John Y. Brown, owner of the Buffalo Braves, traded franchises. That same year Boston acquired one of the greatest players in league historyand arguably the most beloved Celtic of all timewhen they selected sharpshooting forward Larry Bird in the NBA draft. The NBA reached new levels of popularity with the excitement generated by the supremacy battle between the Lakers, led by Magic Johnson, and a Celtics team led by Bird (who had a rivalry with Johnson dating back to their college days), playing alongside Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge. The team advanced to the NBA finals five times in the 1980s and won championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. In the mid-1990s the Celtics experienced the first prolonged play-off drought in the franchises historysix straight years beginning with the 199596 season. When
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BILL RUSSELL
(b. Feb. 12, 1934, Monroe, La., U.S.) Regarded in his day as the greatest defensive centre in the history of the NBA, Bill Russell set standards by which other exceptionally tall players were judged (his height was 6 feet 10 inches). On April 18, 1966, he became the first black coach of a major professional sports team (the Boston Celtics) in the United States. Reared in Oakland, Calif., William Felton Russell led the University of San Francisco to NCAA championships in two consecutive seasons (195455 and 195556). He played on the U.S. team that won the 1956 Olympic basketball gold medal in Melbourne, Austl. The history of professional basketball changed when Celtics coach Red Auerbach traded established star Easy Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks for the rights to draft Russell. With Russell turning shot-blocking into an art form, Boston dominated the NBA for more than a decade. With Russell at centre, the Celtics won 9 championships (1957, 195966) in 10 seasons and two more (196869) with Russell as player and coach. He retired as a player in 1969 and later coached the Seattle SuperSonics (197377) and the Sacramento Kings (19871988). Russell also worked as a sports announcer, wrote a syndicated column, and did television news commentary. On five occasions Russell was voted the Most Valuable Player in the NBA. In 1967 the Associated Press (AP) named him one of the five members of its All-America collegiate team for the preceding 20 years, and later the AP selected him the outstanding professional basketball player of the 1960s. His autobiography, Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man, was published in 1979. In 2010 it was announced that he would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
the Celtics returned to the postseason, they often lost in the early rounds. This changed during the 200708 season when the Celtics made the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history, finishing with the leagues best record and posting a 42-win improvement after the off-season addition of superstars Kevin Garnett and Ray
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Allen to a team that already included perennial all-star Paul Pierce. They advanced to the NBA finals, where they defeated the rival Lakers for a ninth time and won the 17th title in franchise history. The two franchises again won their respective conference championships and faced off for the NBA title in the 200910 season, with the Lakers winning the championship in seven games. New Jersey Nets Based in Newark, N.J., the Nets won two championships (1974, 1976) as a member of the ABA. The franchise was founded in 1967 and was known as the New Jersey Americans during its first season. The team began playing its home games on Long Island in the 196869 season, which led the team to change its name to the New York Nets. While they advanced to the ABA finals in 197172, the Nets failed to finish higher than third place in any of their first six seasons. In 1973 the team traded for superstar forward Julius Erving, who instantly turned the franchise around and led it to a 25-win improvement on its previous season in his first year in New York. The Nets won the ABA title that season, and Erving led the team to a second championship in 1976. When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Nets were forced to raise $8 million in order to join the established league. Lacking many viable assets, the team sold Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers, and its fortunes quickly turned for the worst: the team had five straight losing seasons upon joining the NBA (though they did qualify for the play-offs in 1979 with a 3745 record). The franchise returned to New Jersey in 1977 and took on its current name. In 1981 the Nets moved into their new home in the Meadowlands (having played the
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previous four seasons on the home floor of the Rutgers University basketball team), hired Larry Brown as their head coach (he left after two seasons), and drafted power forward Buck Williams. A tenacious rebounder, Williams was named Rookie of the Year and led the Nets to their first NBA winning record during the 1981 82 season. The Nets qualified for the play-offs that year and in each of the next four, but only once did they win their first postseason series during that span, in 1984 when they knocked off the defending NBA champion Philadelphia 76ers. After a five-season drought the Nets returned to the play-offs in 199192, with a promising young team featuring guards Kenny Anderson and Draen Petrovi, as well as forward Derrick Coleman. However, this Nets squad was undone by Petrovis sudden death in a car accident in 1993 and a spate of misbehaviour and inconsistent play by Anderson and Coleman that resulted in a near-complete roster turnover by the end of the 199596 season, after producing three first-round postseason eliminations in the early 1990s. New Jersey had one more winning season through the remainder of the decade and began the 2000s by finishing second to last in their division. In 2001 the Nets traded for point guard Jason Kidd, who instantly revitalized the team and led them to a 26-win improvement from their 200001 record in his first year in New Jersey. Behind the play of Kidd and forward Richard Jefferson, the Nets won the Eastern Conference championship and advanced to the NBA finals in both 2002 and 2003, but they lost each time. The Nets returned to the play-offs in each the following four seasons, but their level of play precipitously fell off soon thereafter, and the teams 1270 record in 200910 was the worst in franchise history.
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New York Knicks Based in New York City, the Knicks (which is a shortened version of their official nickname, Knickerbockers) have won two NBA championships (1970, 1973) and are among the most lucrative franchises in professional basketball. The team was established in 1946 as part of the newly founded Basketball Association of America, which became the NBA in 1949. The Knicks had winning records in each of their first nine seasons, and they advanced to the NBA finals in three consecutive years (195153), losing each time. The Knicks fielded mediocre to poor teams the remainder of the decade and into the early 1960s, but the teams fortunes began to change with the drafting of centre Willis Reed in 1964. Reed was named the NBAs Rookie of the Year for the 196465 season, and he led the Knicks to regular postseason berths from his third season to his retirement in 1974. The Knicks, under the direction of coach Red Holtzman, won their first title at the close of the 196970 season with a talented roster featuring four future Hall of Famers: Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, and Dave DeBusschere. Their finals showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers that year was one of the most dramatic play-off series in NBA history. Games three and four were both decided in overtime, and the seventh and deciding game featured an injured Reedwho had not played since tearing a muscle in his thigh in game fivelimping onto the court before the game to a raucous reception from the home crowd at Madison Square Garden. Reed scored only the Knicks first two baskets of the game, but he inspired his team to close the door on the Lakers, giving New York its first NBA championship. The Knicks and the Lakers would battle in the
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The five starting players for the 1969-70 New york Knicks: (left to right) Dick Barnett, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere, and Willis Reed. New York Daily News/Getty Images
finals two more times in the next three years, generating a heated rivalry that saw New York claim another NBA championship in 1973. As the Knicks roster of superstars began to age, the team slowly fell out of consistent postseason contention, though in the early to mid-1980s the Knicks Madison Square Garden home court was the base for one the eras most explosive scorers, Bernard King. The Knicks slide culminated in the teams posting the leagues third worst record in the 198485 season (partly because of a careerthreatening injury to King), whichcombined with some luck in the NBA draft lotteryallowed the team to select centre Patrick Ewing with the first overall draft choice in 1985. Behind Ewing, the Knicks enjoyed many winning seasons and consistently qualified for postseason play, including two more berths in the NBA finals, but the team never won a title in Ewings 15 seasons in New York. Five
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WILLIS REED
(b. June 25, 1942, Hico, La., U.S.) A professional basketball player and professional and collegiate basketball coach, Willis Reed is best remembered for his dramatic return from a serious injury to play for the New York Knicks in game seven of the 1970 NBA finals. Reed left his home in rural Louisiana to attend Grambling State College (now University) from 1961 to 1964; there he ushered the basketball squad to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship in 1961. Reed joined the Knicks in 1964 as a second-round draft pick. That season he averaged 19.5 points per game and was named NBA Rookie of the Year. The Knicks went to the NBA title game in 1970, and Reed earned the Most Valuable Player award for the regular season, the championships, and the All-Star game. He was the first NBA player to be honoured with all three distinctions in the same season. During his 10-year career with the Knicks, Reed was the teams inspirational leader. His mere presence could lift the team, as evidenced by events of the 1970 NBA finals against Wilt Chamberlain and the Los Angeles Lakers. Unable to play in the sixth game because of a thigh injury, Reed hobbled onto the court just before the start of the decisive seventh game, touching off an emotional scene. When Reed sank the games first basket, the Madison Square Garden crowd erupted, helping the Knicks to victory. A series of knee injuries slowed Reed over the years, and he retired in 1974, having compiled 12,183 points and 8,414 rebounds in his career. After leaving the Knicks as a player, Reed returned to coach the team for the 197778 season and part of the 197879 campaign. He coached collegiate basketball at Creighton (Omaha, Neb.) and St. Johns (New York, N.Y.) universities. Reed held other NBA coaching positions, with the Sacramento (Calif.) Kings, the Atlanta Hawks, and the New Jersey Nets, where he was also general manager. In 1981 Reed was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
of these play-off defeats came at the hands of Michael Jordans dominant Chicago Bulls teams of the late-1980s to mid-1990s, and the two franchises developed a heated rivalry (often witnessed courtside by the Knicks most
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prominent celebrity fan, film director Spike Lee). Ewing was traded in 2000, and the Knicks entered a string of losing seasons soon thereafter. The Knicks hired former Detroit Pistons All-Star guard Isiah Thomas as team president in 2003. Under his guidance, the Knicks payroll grew to unprecedented levels, but the team continually finished at or near the bottom of their conference standings. In addition to their on-court failures, the Knicks were mired in a series of off-court scandals, which led many observers to brand Thomass Knicks as the worst-run franchise in professional sports. Thomas was fired in 2008, and the Knicks entered a rebuilding mode with a new front office and a new coaching staff, who soon brought in star players Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony in an attempt to re-energize the franchise and its fans. Philadelphia 76ers Based in Philadelphia, the 76ers have won three NBA championships (1955, 1967, 1983) and have advanced to the NBA finals on nine occasions. Often referred to simply as the Sixers, the team is the oldest franchise in the NBA and is named for the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. The team was founded in 1939 in Syracuse, N.Y., as the Nationals but perhaps was better known as simply the Nats. The Nationals orginally were an independent team, unaffiliated with any professional basketball league, but in 1946 they joined the National Basketball League (NBL). In 1949 the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA, and the Nationals lost the inaugural NBA finals to the Minneapolis Lakers. After another finals loss in 1954, the franchise won its first title the following season, behind the stellar play of forwardcentre Dolph Schayes.
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Despite never missing the postseason in their 14 years in the NBA, the Nationals were not a profitable team, and in 1963 they were sold, relocated to Philadelphia (which the Warriors had abandoned for San Francisco in 1962), and renamed. Midway through the 196465 season, the 76ers traded for centre Wilt Chamberlainpossibly the most dominant basketball player of all time. During the 196667 season, led by Chamberlain and a strong supporting roster that included guard Hal Greer and forward Billy Cunningham, the 76ers posted the then best regularseason record in league history (6813; surpassed five years later by the Los Angeles Lakers, which was in turn bested by the 199596 Chicago Bulls) and won their second NBA championship. The 76ers coach, Alex Hannum, left the team after the 196768 season to work closer to his family on the West Coast, and an unhappy Chamerlain demanded a trade. He was sent to the Lakers in the off-season, and the team failed to advance past the first round of the postseason in each of the next three seasons. The Sixers downward spiral continued through the early 1970s, and they reached a historic low when they finished the 197273 season with a record of 973. After a return to the play-offs and another first-round exit in 1976, the Sixers decided to spend their way back to respectability, paying $3 million to the New York Nets of the ABA to acquire Julius (Dr. J) Erving before the 197677 season. In his first year, Erving led the 76ers to the NBA finals, where they would lose to the Portland Trail Blazers in six games. The Sixers qualified for the play-offs in each of Ervings 11 years in Philadelphia, which included three more trips to the NBA finals. The most memorable of these postseason berths took place after the 198283 regular season. That Sixers team was so overpowering that centre Moses Malone guaranteed an undefeated postseason run before the play-offs began. Philadelphia almost lived up to
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Malones bold statement, losing only one play-off game en route to capturing the teams third NBA championship. In 1984 the 76ers drafted forward Charles Barkley, who became the face of the team after Erving and Malone left Philadelphia later in the decade. A stellar individual performer, Barkley failed to lead the 76ers deep into the postseason during his time in Philadelphia. After his trade to the Phoenix Suns in 1992, the Sixers entered rebuilding mode. Philadelphia experienced a team-record seven-year play-off drought from the 199192 season to the 199798 season, but the play of young superstar Allen Iverson took the league by storm and revived the franchise. Iverson led the 76ers to the 2001 finals, but the franchise lost to the Lakers for a fifth time in the NBAs championship series. Toronto Raptors Based in Toronto, the Raptors are the only current Canadian NBA franchise. The Raptors joined the NBA in 1995 as an expansion team alongside the Western Conferences Vancouver Grizzlies. The two expansion teams were the first NBA franchises based in Canada. An earlier team, the Toronto Huskies, played in the Basketball Association of Americaone of the forerunners of the NBAduring the 194647 season; the Grizzlies franchise moved to Memphis, TN, in 2001. The Raptors finished in last place in their division in each of their first three seasons in the league. Toronto acquired its first superstar, guard-forward Vince Carter, in a 1998 draft-day trade. A five-time all-star for Toronto, Carter helped the franchise reach its first play-off berth, during the 19992000 season. In 200001 the Raptors again qualified for the postseason and advanced to the conference semifinals, a dramatic seven-game loss to the eventual conference champion, the Philadelphia 76ers. After a winning campaign that ended in a first-round
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postseason elimination in 200102, Toronto entered into a four-year stretch of losing seasons, which was marked by the trade of the disgruntled Carter in 2004. The Raptors returned to the postseason in 200607, with a team featuring standout centre-forwards Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani, but were knocked out in the opening round of the play-offs in both that season and the following, and the franchise subsequently failed to post winning records.
Central Division
Chicago Bulls Based in Chicago, the Bulls are probably most associated with former shooting guard Michael Jordan, who led the team to six NBA championships (199193, 199698) and is viewed by many observers as the greatest basketball player of all time. The franchise was established in 1966 and got off to a promising start, with the best record ever for an NBA expansion team33 wins and 48 losses. Led by standouts Bob Love, Chet Walker, Jerry Sloan, and Norm Van Lier, the Bulls qualified for the play-offs every year between the 196970 and 197475 seasons, but they advanced past the first round only twice. After the talented foursome left the team, the Bulls slid into mediocrity and posted losing seasons through most of the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984 Chicago drafted Jordan with the third overall selection of the NBA draft, and the team began its ascent to dominance. Jordan won the NBAs Rookie of the Year award in the 198485 season and led Chicago to the first of 14 consecutive play-off berths. However, his stellar individual play did not immediately translate to
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Scottie Pippen (right) celebrating with Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan during the 1992 Eastern Conference Finals. Pippen turned out to be a crucial acquisition for the Bulls. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images 61
postseason success for his team, as the Bulls lost in the first round of the play-offs in each of Jordans first three years. In 1987 Chicago added forward Scottie Pippen, who perfectly complemented Jordans skills and dramatically improved the overall quality of the young team. In 1989 the Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, only to be eliminated from the play-offs for the second consecutive year by the Detroit Pistons. Following the 1988-89 season, the Bulls replaced head coach Doug Collins with Phil Jackson. Jackson and assistant coach Tex Winter installed the triangle offense, an offensive scheme predicated on the precise spacing of players and movement without the ball, which discouraged opposing defensive players from double-teaming Jordan. With the new offense in place, Jordan, Pippen, and a roster of key role playersincluding gritty forward Horace Grant, veteran centre Bill Cartwright, and three-point shooting specialist John Paxsonpushed the Pistons to a seventh game before losing in the 1990 Eastern Conference finals. The Bulls finally overcame their persistent adversaries the following year, sweeping Detroit in four games to earn a berth in the 1991 NBA finals, where the Bulls defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for their first title. The Bulls repeated as champions in 1992 and 1993, becoming the first NBA team to win three consecutive titles since the Boston Celtics won eight in a row between 1959 and 1966. Jordan retired before the 199394 season, citing a lack of interest in basketball and a desire to pursue a career in professional baseball, and the Bulls regressed in his absence, losing in the second round of the 1994 play-offs. In March 1995 Jordan returned to the team, but his late addition to the Bulls roster was not enough to prevent another early postseason exit.
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SCOTTIE PIPPEN
(b. Sept. 25, 1965, Hamburg, Ark., U.S.) Forward Scottie Pippen won six NBA titles (199193, 199698) as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Pippen played high school basketball but stood just 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 metres) upon graduation. However, he had grown 2 inches (5 cm) by the time he entered the University of Central Arkansas, where he initially served as manager of the basketball team before earning a spot on the roster. By his senior year he was 6 feet 7 inches (2 metres) tall and was the teams best player. In 1987 the Seattle SuperSonics selected Pippen in the first round of the NBA draft and traded him to Chicago. During his rookie season (198788), he became a regular in the Bulls lineup. Pippen possessed a notably multifaceted skill set: his size and strength served him well under the basket, while his ball-handling skills and shooting touch made him a threat from the outside. On defense, his long arms and quick footwork made him an imposing force and helped Pippen earn selection to the NBAs AllDefensive first team eight times over the course of his career. When Pippen arrived in Chicago, he was overshadowed by teammate Michael Jordan, who already had been an All-Star in each of his first three years in the NBA. Playing alongside possibly the greatest player of all time, Pippen nevertheless began to draw attention for his own stellar play and was named to the first of seven career All-Star games in 1990. Pippen was a key contributor to the Bulls three consecutive NBA championships from 1991 to 1993, and, with Jordans retirement after the third title-winning season, Pippen became the primary star on the team. He led the Bulls to a 5527 record during the 199394 season and was named first team All-NBA, but his first season in the spotlight was marred by his refusal to reenter a crucial play-off game with 1.8 seconds remaining because coach Phil Jackson diagrammed the final play to go to another player. Pippen was again first team All-NBA in 199495, but his dominance and Jordans late-season return to basketball were not enough to advance the Bulls past the second round of the play-offs. Pippen and Jordan were joined by forward Dennis Rodman before the 199596 season, and the trio guided the Bulls to another three straight NBA titles (199698).
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With Jordans second retirement and Jacksons departure from the team, the Bulls entered into rebuilding mode and traded Pippen to the Houston Rockets in 1998. The following year, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he had four fairly productive seasons, though no longer at an All-Star level. Before the start of the 200304 season, he signed again with Chicago but played only 23 games owing to injuries. In 2004 he retired from the NBA. Pippen won two Olympic gold medals playing for the U.S. mens basketball team, including a stint as a member of the famed Dream Team at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona (his second gold came in 1996). He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
The team added flamboyant and controversial star rebounder Dennis Rodman in the 1995 offseason, and the reenergized Bulls tore through the league the next year, setting an NBA record with 72 wins and only 10 losses. The Bulls capped their run by beating the Seattle Supersonics in the 1996 NBA finals. Chicago advanced to the finals again in 1997 and 1998, and the Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz to capture the NBA title on each occasion. After guiding the team to six championships in eight years, Jacksonwho had grown unhappy with the teams management, especially with general manager Jerry Krause, to whom some had ascribed much credit for the Bulls successdecided to leave Chicago after the 199798 season. His departure spurred Jordans second retirement, Pippens demand to be traded to a new team, and Rodmans decision to sign with the Lakers. Without Jackson and their three best players, the suddenly talentdepleted Bulls finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference the following four straight seasons. A slow rebuilding process resulted in Chicagos returning
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to the play-offs three consecutive times beginning in the 200405 season, but, generally, the Bulls have struggled to field consistently winning teams in the post-Jordan era. Cleveland Cavaliers Based in Cleveland, the Cavaliers have won one Eastern Conference title (2007). The Cavaliers began play as an NBA expansion team in 1970 under the ownership of the ambitious entrepreneur Nick Mileti, who at one time owned not only the Cavs but also baseballs Cleveland Indians and the citys World Hockey Association franchise (the Cavaliers have since gone through several changes of ownership). Coached by Bill Fitch and playing in the antiquated Cleveland Arena, the Cavs finished their first season with the worst record in the league, a frustrating exercise that was epitomized by John Warren unwittingly shooting at and scoring in the opponents basket during one game. The teams poor season did net them the first overall selection in the 1971 NBA draft, which they used to select guard Austin Carr, the Cavaliers first star player. Cleveland slowly improved through the early 70s, and in the 197576 season Fitch guided a team featuring Carr, forward Bobby (Bingo) Smith, and centre Nate Thurmonda key mid-season acquisitionto a 4933 record and the teams first division championship. The first play-off series in team history (an Eastern Conference semifinal against the Washington Bullets) was highlighted by three last-second game-winning shots by the Cavs, and the series became known as the Miracle of Richfield (for the suburban location of the Coliseum, the teams home arena from 1974 to 1994). After winning the seven-game series, the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games.
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Cleveland followed its Miracle season with two consecutive winning campaigns that each led to play-off berths, but the Cavs were eliminated in the first round both times. The team then entered into a period marked by poor front-office decisions and high head-coach turnover, and the Cavs posted losing records in each season between 197879 and 198687. In 1985, however, Wayne Embry took over as the teams general manager and hired Lenny Wilkens as the Cavs head coach for the 198687 season. Wilkens shaped the Cavs into a defensive-minded squad that quickly saw a good measure of success. With a roster that featured centre Brad Daugherty, guard Mark Price, and forward Larry Nance, the Cavs won 42 games in the 198788 season but were eliminated by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the play-offs. The next years postseason series against Jordans Bulls, however, proved to be significantly more memorable. The Cavs finished the 198889 regular season with a then-franchise-best 5725 record, which was second only to that of the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Clevelands first-round series against the Bulls extended to a deciding fifth game, which ended when Jordanafter dramatically hanging in midair as defender Craig Ehlo passed bymade a buzzer-beating basket that became known simply as The Shot. The Cavaliers matched their all-time best record during the 199192 season, and they defeated the New Jersey Nets and the Boston Celtics in the play-offs en route to a berth in the Eastern Conference finals. There they once again faced off against the Bulls, who eliminated the Cavs in six games. The Cavs moved to a new arena in downtown Cleveland in 1994. They advanced to the play-offs five
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times in the six seasons between 199293 and 199798, but advanced past the first round on just one occasiona conference semifinal loss to the Bulls in 1993and then posted losing records for six consecutive seasons, including a conference-worst 1765 mark in 200203. That finish resulted in the Cavaliers again gaining the first selection in the NBA draft, which they used to select LeBron James, a much-touted high school star from nearby Akron. James guided the Cavaliers back to the postseason in 200506, and one year later the franchise made its first appearance in the NBA finals, where the young Cavs were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. In 200809 the Cavaliers won 66 games, posting the best record in the NBA that season. However, after easily sweeping the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the postseason, the Cavs were upset by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals. Detroit Pistons Based in Auburn Hills, Mich., the Pistons have won three NBA championships (1989, 1990, 2004). Established in 1941 as the Zollner Pistons (named for team owner and auto parts manufacturer Fred Zollner) and based in Fort Wayne, Ind., the Pistons originally played in the National Basketball League (NBL), in which they won two league championships (1944, 1945). The Pistons joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the 194849 seasondropping Zollner from their nameand they became part of the NBA in 1949 when the league was created from the merger of the BAA and the NBL. The Pistons advanced to the NBA finals in 1955 and 1956 but lost on each occasion. The franchise was moved to Detroit in 1957 in order to capitalize on the financial benefits of a larger market.
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ISIAH THOMAS
(b. April 30, 1961, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) Considered one of the best point guards in the history of the game, Isiah Thomas led the Detroit Pistons to consecutive world championships in 1989 and 1990. He was named to the NBAs 50th Anniversary AllTime Team in 1996. Thomas developed exceptional basketball skills at an early age and became a highly sought-after college prospect. After helping the U.S. team win the gold medal in the PanAmerican Games in 1979, he entered Indiana University, leading the Hoosiers to a national championship in 1981. He then Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas entered the NBA draft and was (left), dribbling past Magic Johnson in the second overall pick, selected 1987. Rick Stewart/Getty Images by the Detroit Pistons. Though considered small, standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 metres) tall, Thomas proved himself to be a dominant player on the strength of his ball-handling skills and his fearless drives to the basket. In 1988 he led Detroit to the NBA finals, narrowly losing the title to the Los Angeles Lakers. In a 1989 rematch, however, the Pistons prevailed, capturing their first NBA championship. The following year, the Pistons repeated as champions by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers, and Thomas was named Most Valuable Player of the finals. Detroits title teams were noted for their tough, physical play, earning the nickname Bad Boys. During his 13-year career, Thomas became the Pistons all-time leader in points, assists, steals, and games played. He was also the fourth NBA player to amass more than 9,000 assists. In the years following his retirement as a player in 1994, Thomas served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers (200003) and as a top executive for the 68
Toronto Raptors (199498), the Continental Basketball Association (19982000), and the New York Knicks (200308). In 2006 he became head coach of the Knicks. However, after posting a 56108 record during his first two seasons, he was fired in 2008. The following year he became the head coach of the mens basketball team at Florida International University in Miami. Thomas was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Despite the presence of such stars as Bailey Howell, Jimmy Walker, Dave DeBusschere, and Dave Bing, the Pistons posted losing records in each of their first 13 seasons in Detroit (though they did occasionally qualify for the postseason, owing to the small size of the NBA at the time). Detroit chose future Hall of Fame centre Bob Lanier with the first selection of the 1970 NBA draft, but the teams mediocrity continued as they had only three winning seasons in Laniers 10 years with the Pistons. The Pistons ascent to the upper echelon of the NBA began with the drafting of point guard Isiah Thomas in 1981. Thomas was joined by Bill Laimbeer, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, and Vinnie Johnson to form teams that made three consecutive trips to the NBA finals. In 1988 the Pistons lost the finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in a dramatic seven-game series, but the Pistons swept a rematch between the two teams in 1989 to capture the franchises first title since its move to Detroit 32 years earlier. The Piston successfully defended their championship in the 1990 finals against the Portland Trail Blazers. Under the guidance of head coach Chuck Daly, these Detroit teams were characterized by their extremely physicalsome would say dirtystyle of play, which earned them the nickname Bad Boys. After another trip to the conference finals in 1991 (a loss to Michael Jordan and the ascendant Chicago Bulls), Detroit regressed and
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did not field a team that advanced past the first round of the play-offs for the remainder of the decade, despite the presence of such stars as Dumars and Grant Hill in the mid- to late 1990s. Under the guidance of new general manager Dumars, the Pistons overhauled their roster in the early 2000s, adding Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace. These players soon helped Detroit return to the NBA elite, securing the team an NBA championship over the Lakers in 2004 and a finals appearance in 2005, when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games. All told, the Pistons of that era reached the Eastern Conference finals in six consecutive seasons (from 200203 to 200708). Most of the key players from this run had left the team by the 200910 season, and the Pistons then entered into a rebuilding period. Indiana Pacers Based in Indianapolis, the Pacers won three league championships (1970, 1972, 1973) while playing in the ABA. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the original members of the ABA, taking the name Pacers in honour of Indiana being home to the Indianapolis 500 automobile race and the states long history of harness racing. Coached by Bob (Slick) Leonard (196880), the Pacers lost in the ABA finals in their second season but won the ABA title the next year with a team led by forward Roger Brown, one of the young leagues first superstars, and centre Mel Daniels. In 1971 the Pacers added forward George McGinnis and proceeded to win two consecutive championships in 1972 and 1973. The team joined the NBA alongside three other ABA franchises in 1976, having never missed the play-offs in its nine seasons in the upstart league.
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Initially, the Pacers were much less successful in the NBA, posting just one winning season in their first 13 years in the league. In 1987 the team drafted shooting guard Reggie Miller, who would go on to become the Pacers career scoring leader. Miller was joined on the team by centre Rik Smits in 1988, and in 198990 Indiana began a streak of seven consecutive postseason berths. The team reached the conference finals in 1994 and 1995, losing in seven games each time. After missing out on the play-offs in the 199596 season, the Pacers advanced to the conference finals once more the following season under the guidance of first-year head coach Larry Bird but were eliminated by the eventual-champion Chicago Bulls in another seven-game series. Indiana returned to the Eastern Conference finals in 1999, only to lose at that stage for the fourth time in six years. The Pacers finally broke through to the NBA finals in 2000 after defeating their frequent play-off rival the New York Knicks in the conference finals. However, the Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games and were denied their first NBA title. Following the season, the Pacers experienced a great deal of personnel turnover, which included the retirements of Smits and Bird and a trade for young forward Jermaine ONeal. ONeal and Miller helped the team to five straight play-off berths from 200001 to 200405, which included another loss in the Eastern Conference finals. After Millers retirement in 2005, Indiana made one more postseason appearance (a first-round loss in 200506) before beginning a rebuilding effort centred around forward Danny Granger. Milwaukee Bucks Based in Milwaukee, Wis., the Bucks have won two conference championships (1971, 1974) and one NBA title (1971).
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The Bucks were founded in 1968 and had a last-place divisional finish in their inaugural season. Despite winning 11 more games than their fellow expansion team the Phoenix Suns, the Bucks won a coin toss to earn the first pick in the 1969 NBA draft, which they used to select collegiate superstar Lew Alcindor (known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from 1971). With Alcindor, Milwaukee improved its win total by 29 games in 196970 to finish the season with the second best record in the NBA (56 26), behind the New York Knicks, who then eliminated the Bucks in the Eastern Division finals. In the following off-season the Bucks traded for future Hall of Fame point guard Oscar Robertson, who helped lead Milwaukee to a league-best 6616 mark in 197071. The Bucks then easily defeated the San Francisco Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Baltimore Bullets in the postseason to win the NBA title in just their third season, a record for the four major North American professional team sports. Milwaukee qualified for the play-offs in each of the following three seasons, including a berth in the 1974 NBA finals, where the Bucks lost a seven-game series to the Boston Celtics. Robertson retired after the 197374 season, and Abdul-Jabbar went to the Lakers the following year in a six-player trade engineered by Wayne Embry, who had become the first black general manager in professional sports when he took that position with the Bucks in 1972. A reconfigured Bucks team with Don Nelson as its head coach (197687) and featuring forward Marques Johnson, guard Sidney Moncrief, and guard-forward Junior Bridgeman began in 197980 a streak of 12 straight playoff appearances for the franchise. The team advanced to two consecutive conference finals in 198283 and 198384 but was beaten by the Philadelphia 76ers and the Celtics, respectively. Moncrief and forward Terry Cummings were the Bucks star players in 198586, when Milwaukee made
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its third Eastern Conference finals appearance in four years only to again be denied an NBA finals berth at the hands of the Celtics. The Bucks advanced no further than the second round of the play-offs in the following five seasons, and in the 199192 season the team entered into a seven-year postseason drought. A bright spot for the franchise came in 1994, when the Bucks won the NBA draft lottery and selected forward Glenn Robinson. Robinson and sharpshooting guard Ray Allen led the Bucks back to the postseason in 199899. Milwaukee was defeated by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the play-offs that season and in the following one. In 200001 the Bucks advanced to another Eastern Conference finals appearance, though the team lost to the 76ers in seven games. All-star guard Michael Redd guided the Bucks to three more play-off berths in the following 10 years, but further success eluded the team: Milwaukee posted only three total winning seasons in the first decade of the new millennium.
Southeast Division
Atlanta Hawks Based in Atlanta, the Hawks were one of the original franchises of the NBA when the league was established in 1949. The team won its only NBA championship in 1958. Originally founded in Moline and Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa, as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in 1946, the team played in the National Basketball League for three seasons before the founding of the NBA. They relocated to Milwaukee, Wis., before the 195152 season and shortened their nickname to the Hawks. After years of middling success, the Hawks drafted future Hall of Famer Bob Pettit with the second overall pick of the 1954
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BOB PETTIT
(b. Dec. 12, 1932, Baton Rouge, La., U.S.) A clumsy player in high school, Bob Pettit turned himself into a graceful 6-foot-9-inch (2.06-metre) athlete, and today he is considered to be the first really agile player of exceptional height in professional basketball. After getting cut from his high school basketball team as both a freshman and a sophomore, Robert E. Lee Pettit, Jr., began a singleminded practice regimen that resulted in him playing a starring role in his high schools state title win during his senior year. He attended Louisiana State University in his hometown of Baton Rouge, where he was a two-time consensus All-American (1953, 1954). In 1953 he led the Tigers to a berth in the Final Four (national championship semifinals). Pettit was selected by the Milwaukee Hawks with the second overall pick of the 1954 NBA draft. As one of the sports first big men with the skills to play away from the basket, Pettit made an immediate impact in the professional ranks, earning Rookie of the Year and first-team All-NBA honours in his initial season in the league. In each season but his last, he led the Hawks (who moved to St. Louis in 1955) in scoring and rebounding. Twice (during the 195556 and 195859 seasons) he was the NBA scoring champion and was voted the leagues Most Valuable Player. Pettit led the Hawks to four berths in the NBA finals (1957, 1958, 1960, and 1961) and to their first NBA championship (1958). In the deciding sixth game of the 1958 finals, he scored a then postseason-record 50 points in a defeat of the Boston Celtics to clinch the title for the Hawks. In 792 NBA regular season games, Pettit scored 20,880 points (an average of 26.4 points a game) and captured 12,851 rebounds, both of which were NBA records at the time of Pettits retirement in 1965. During his 11-year career, he garnered 10 All-NBA first team selections and was named to 11 All-Star Games. Pettit was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970 and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.
NBA draft, and the teams fortunes began to improve. The Hawks moved to St. Louis, Mo., in 1955 and advanced to the NBA finals in 1957, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in seven games. The Hawks defeated the Celtics in
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their finals rematch the following season, earning the first title in franchise history. Although the Hawks returned to the play-offs in all but one of the following 15 seasons, they advanced to the finals only twice, losing to the Celtics on both occasions. The Hawks were sold to a Georgia-based group in 1968, and they relocated to Atlanta. The early Atlanta teams featured such stars as Pete Maravich, Walt Bellamy, and Lou Hudson. In 1982 the Hawks acquired the most recognizable superstar of its Atlanta years in a post-draft trade that brought rookie Dominique Wilkins into the fold. Wilkinsknown as the Human Highlight Film because of his impressively acrobatic slam dunksled the Hawks to four consecutive 50-win seasons in the 1980s and made his mark as one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history. His individual accomplishments did not lead to postseason success for his team, however, as Atlanta did not advance past the second round of the NBA play-offs in any of his 12 seasons with the Hawks. The 19992000 season was the beginning of the longest play-off drought in Atlantas history, but the Hawks returned to postseason play during the 200708 season with a young team that pushed the eventual-champion Celtics to seven games in their first-round series. Charlotte Bobcats Based in Charlotte, N.C., the Bobcats franchise is the youngest in the NBA. The Bobcats joined the NBA in 2004 as the leagues 30th franchise. The teams owner was Robert L. Johnson, an American media mogul who, with the founding of the Bobcats, became the first African American majority owner of a franchise in one of the four major team sports leagues in the United States. Although the Bobcats featured talented young players such as Rookie of the
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Year centre-forward Emeka Okafor and forward Gerald Wallace, the team was not an early success: it finished with a losing record and in last or second-to-last place in its division in each of its first five seasons in the NBA. In 2006 basketball great Michael Jordan, a native of North Carolina, became minority owner and general manager of the team, and in 2008 Charlotte hired Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown to try to turn around the franchises fortunes. In 2010 Jordan took over majority ownership of the Bobcats. Charlotte finished the 200910 season with the first winning record in franchise history, earning the team its first play-off berth. Miami Heat Based in Miami, the Heat have won one NBA championship (2006). The Heat, along with the Charlotte Hornets, entered the league in 1988 as an expansion team. Miami won just 15 games in its first season but improved on its record in each of the next three seasons, culminating in a play-off berth (albeit with only a 3844 regular-season mark) in 199192. The Heat was swept by the eventualchampion Chicago Bulls in the first round of the postseason and returned to the play-offs in 199394, only to again lose (to the Atlanta Hawks) in the first postseason series. In 1995 future Hall of Fame head coach Pat Riley took charge of the Heat. In just his second season with Miami, Riley guided a team featuring all-stars Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway to a surprising 6121 record and a division title. In the 199697 postseason the Heat defeated the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks in the first two rounds of postseason play, with the series against the Knicks including a notorious bench-clearing brawl in game five that marked the beginning of a fierce rivalry between the two franchises. The Heats play-off run in 1997 ended
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in the Eastern Conference finals, where the team lost to the Chicago Bulls. Miami won three consecutive division championships beginning in the 199798 season. However, the Heat was eliminated by the Knicks in each of those respective postseasons, which included a stunning upset in 1999, when Miami became the second team in NBA history to lose its first-round series as a conferences top seed in the playoffs. Miamis six-year play-off streak ended in 200102, and, after the team limped to a last-place divisional finish in 200203, Riley stepped down as head coach to focus on his duties in the Heats front office. After drafting guard Dwyane Wade in 2003, the Heat returned to the play-offs the next season. With the acquisition of centre Shaquille ONeal in 2004, the Heat won 59 games and a division title in the 200405 regular season and followed by sweeping the New Jersey Nets and Washington Wizards in the play-offs before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. Riley returned as head coach 22 games into the 200506 season, and Miami defeated the Pistons in a conference finals rematch before dispatching the Dallas Mavericks in six games to win the Heats first NBA championship. Emerging superstar Wade led the Heat to a number of winning seasons since 2006, but Miami did not advance past the first round of the play-offs in any of those years. The franchises fortunes appeared to again be on the upswing after the 200910 season when free-agent Wade agreed to a long-term deal with the Heat and was joined by fellow superstar LeBron James and All-Star power forward Chris Bosh. Orlando Magic Based in Orlando, Fla., the Magic have won two Eastern Conference titles (1995, 2009).
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The franchise, along with the Minnesota Timberwolves, joined the NBA as an expansion team in the 198990 season. During its first three years the Magics play was mediocre and the team posted losing records, but the Magic began a remarkably quick turnaround when it selected centre Shaquille ONeal with the first overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft. Led by ONeal, the Magic added 20 wins to its previous years total in his first season to finish with a 4141 record and a tie for the last play-off position in the Eastern Conference, which it lost in a tiebreaker with the Indiana Pacers. The lost tiebreaker proved fortuitous, for it placed the Magic in the 1993 draft lottery, which the Magic won despite having only a 1.5 percent chance of attaining the first overall draft choice. The team traded the player it selected, Chris Webber, for the third selection, point guard Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway, and future draft picks. The young Magic team qualified for its first play-off berth in the 199394 season, an accomplishment it bettered in 199495 by advancing to the NBA finals in its sixth year of existence. The Magic was swept by the Houston Rockets in four games, but the teams future nevertheless seemed bright. At the end of the 199596 season, however, ONeal moved to the Los Angeles Lakers after signing the largest free-agent contract in NBA history, and Orlando was left without its marquee player. The Magic entered into a period of regular-season success followed by losses in the first round of the postseason, during which the franchise traded away the injury-plagued Hardaway in 1999. Orlando sank to the worst record in the league in 200304, but the team again won the draft lottery at the end of the season. The Magic used its selection to draft high-school centre Dwight Howard, who provided the low-post dominance the team had lacked since ONeals departure, and the Magic began another turnaround. The
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Magic added free-agent forwards Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, and the team reached the second round of the play-offs in 200708. Behind the exceptional play of the star trio, the Magic once again advanced to the NBA finals during the 200809 season, where it lost to the Lakers in five games. Turkoglu left the team the following off-season, but the Magic had another strong campaign in 200910 before ultimately losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. Washington Wizards Based in Washington, D.C., the Wizards (then known as the Washington Bullets) made four trips to the NBA finals in the 1970s and won an NBA championship in 1978. Founded in 1961 as the Chicago Packers, the team relocated to Baltimore, Md., in 1963 and became the Bullets. In 1973, after moving to Landover, Md., they played a season as the Capital Bullets, and in 1974 they became the Washington Bullets, a name they kept until 1995, when owner Abe Pollin renamed the team the Washington Wizards because of the violent overtones of the word bullet. The Bullets reached the NBA play-offs for the first time in franchise history during the 196465 season, but it was not until the 1970s that future Hall of Fame players such as Earl Monroe, Gus Johnson, Wes Unseld, and Elvin Hayes made the Bullets yearly contenders for the NBA championship. The Bullets finished atop their division six times in that decade and qualified for the play-offs each year, winning their only NBA title in the 197778 season. The 197778 Bullets team finished the NBA regular season with an unimpressive record of 44 wins and 38 losses, but they had a string of three consecutive play-off series upsets to capture Washingtons first professional sports championship in 36 years.
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ELvIN HAyES
(b. Nov. 17, 1945, Rayville, La., U.S.) Elvin Hayes was one of the most prolific scorers and rebounders in the history of the NBA. After averaging 35 points per game in high school in Louisiana, Hayes went to the University of Houston (Texas), where he was named All-America three times. He averaged 31 points and 17.2 rebounds per game for Houston and was selected as the College Player of the Year in 1968. That year Hayes, known as the Big E, scored 39 points as Houston ended the 47-game winning streak of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Lew Alcindor (later Kareem AbdulJabbar) in front of 52,693 people at the Houston Astrodome; it was the first nationally televised collegiate basketball game. At 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 metres), Hayes was known as the Big E. He was the first pick in the 1968 NBA draft and led the league in scoring as a rookie with 28.4 points per game for the San Diego (later Houston) Rockets. He also averaged 17.1 rebounds. Hayes was traded to the Baltimore (Md.) Bullets in 1972 and led the team, which by 1975 had moved to Landover, Md., and renamed themselves the Washington Bullets, to the 1978 NBA title. When Hayes retired in 1984, he ranked as the second-leading scorer in league history with 27,313 points, an average of 21 per game, and was third in rebounds with 16,279 (12.5 per game). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and was named one of the NBAs 50 greatest players in 1996.
The Bullets teams of the following decades were less successful, though they routinely made the play-offs through the mid-1980s with teams variously featuring guard Jeff Malone, centre Moses Malone, and forward Bernard King. From the 198889 season to the 200304 season, however, Washington qualified for the postseason only once. In 2000 retired NBA superstar Michael Jordan became minority owner and the president of basketball operations of the team. He came out of retirement to play
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for the Wizards the following year, but he was relatively ineffective in his return to the court and retired permanently in 2003. Soon thereafter, citing poor management decisions by Jordan, Pollin shocked fans and commentators by choosing not to retain the best-known player in basketball history as team president. The Wizards returned to the postseason in the mid-decade, led by the play of all-stars Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, but fell back to the lower echelons of the league in the 200809 season and traded most of their star players soon thereafter.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks Based in Dallas, the Mavericks have won one Western Conference title (2006). The Mavericks were founded in 1980 and, like most expansion teams, struggled in their first seasons in the NBA. Dallas posted its first winning season and gained a play-off berth in its fourth year, behind young stars Mark Aguirre, Derek Harper, and Rolando Blackman. The team continued to infuse its roster with talent through savvy draft choices in the mid-1980s, and the Mavericks qualified for the postseason in five consecutive years from the 198384 season to the 198788 season, which included a berth in the Western Conference finals in 1988. By 1990 many of the teams star players had left Dallaseither via free agency or tradesand the Mavericks fell into a prolonged period of futility. The team finished with a losing record in each year of the
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following decade, including back-to-back woeful seasons of 1171 and 1369. The Mavericks turnaround began with the arrival of point guard Steve Nash and forward Dirk Nowitzki before the 199899 season. In 2000 Internet entrepreneur Mark Cuban purchased the franchise and initiated a new era of free spending for the Mavericks. Cuban, one of the leagues most flamboyant and outspoken owners, upgraded the teams facilities and made Dallas an attractive location for free agents for the first time in years. Head coach and general manager Don Nelson oversaw the acquisition of quality supporting talent, and Dallas trotted out high-powered offenses led by Nash, Nowitzki, and sharpshooter Michael Finley. The Mavericks were routinely one of the top teams in the Western Conference in the first decade of the 21st century, and, despite Nashs having left Dallas in 2004, they advanced to the first NBA finals berth in team history in 2006, when they lost to the Miami Heat in six games. Houston Rockets Based in Houston, the Rockets have won two NBA championships (1994, 1995) and four Western Conference titles. The team was founded as the San Diego Rockets in 1967 and moved to Houston in 1971 after four losing seasons. The early Rockets teams were led by a pair of future Hall of FamersElvin Hayes, who had starred for the University of Houston, and diminutive Calvin Murphy as well as by Rudy Tomjanovich, who would later coach the Rockets for 12 seasons. Houston traded for elite centre Moses Malone two games into the 197677 season, and that year the Rockets posted the first winning season in franchise history and advanced to the conference finals. The Rockets surpassed this feat during the
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The National Basketball Association
198081 season whenafter finishing the regular season with an unimpressive record of 40 wins and 42 losses Houston amassed three consecutive play-off series upsets en route to a berth in the NBA finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics. Malone left the team in 1982, and the Rockets fell to the lower echelon of the NBA in his absence. In 1984 the Rockets drafted Hakeem Olajuwon, another future Hall of Fame centre (and another University of Houston alumnus), who quickly became the face of the franchise. Olajuwon teamed with another towering post player, Ralph Sampson (both were over 7 feet [2.13 metres] tall), to lead the Rockets to another NBA finals appearance in 1986, in which they were again defeated by the Celtics. The Rockets continued to qualify for the postseason throughout the 1980s, but they failed to advance past the second round of the play-offs for the rest of the decade. Tomjanovich took over head coaching duties midway through the 199192 season, ushering in the most successful period in franchise history. Houston won back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995 seasons behind inspired play from Olajuwon and key contributions from guard Sam Cassell, forward Robert Horry, and (in 1995) forward Clyde Drexler (yet another former University of Houston star). The team added Charles Barkley in 1996, but the presence of three of the NBAs 50 greatest players of all time (Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley) was not enough to propel Houston past the Western Conference finals. Each one of the aging trio had left the team by 2001, and the Rockets of the early 21st century, led by superstars Tracy McGrady and 7-foot 6-inch (2.29-metre) Yao Ming from China, have followed the trend of consistent regular-season respectability followed by playoff underachievement.
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HAKEEM OLAJUWON
(b. Jan. 21, 1963, Lagos, Nigeria) Hakeem Olajuwon led the Houston Rockets to consecutive NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Olajuwon was unfamiliar with basketball until age 15, instead playing association football (soccer) and team handball in Lagos, Nigeria. After two years of familiarizing himself with the sport, the 7-foot (2.13-metre) centre was recruited to play collegiate basketball in the United States at the University of Houston. In Olajuwons first season, Houstonwhich also featured future NBA star Clyde Drexler and earned the nickname Phi Slamma Jamma for its above-the-rim playadvanced to the Final Four (national championship semifinals) of the 1982 NCAA tournament. The next year, Houston returned to the Final Four but lost the national championship game to North Carolina State University in a dramatic upset; even so, Olajuwon was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. In 1984 Houston again advanced to the NCAA tournaments final game, but the national championship eluded Olajuwon once more as his team fell to Georgetown University, led by star player Patrick Ewing. Olajuwon left college after his junior year and was selected by the Houston Rockets with the first pick in the 1984 NBA draft. The Rockets reached the play-offs in his first year with the team, and in his second they narrowly failed to win the championship, losing to the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals. The Rockets regressed slightly in the following years, advancing past the first round of the play-offs just once between 1987 and 1992, but Olajuwon continued his impressive individual play, which was highlighted by his tenacious defensive ability and his incredibly nimble footwork on offense. His signature move was known as the Dream Shake (after his nickname the Dream), a series of feints, spins, and drop steps he would perform close to the basket that often confounded opposing defenders and left Olajuwon with an open shot. Olajuwon reached the pinnacle of his career in the mid-1990s. He was named the NBAs Defensive Player of the Year for the 1992 93 and 199394 seasons and was also the leagues Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 199394. His MVP season was capped with a sevengame victory over the New York Knicks in the NBA finals, and
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Olajuwon was named finals MVP for his efforts. He led the Rockets to a second championship the following year and was again named finals MVP. His production slipped due to injuries and age in the late 1990s, and in 2001 he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, where he played only one season before retiring in 2002. At the time of his retirement, Olajuwon ranked 7th in career points scored in the NBA and 11th in career rebounds; he was also the leagues all-time leader in blocked shots. A 12-time All-Star, Olajuwon was named one of the NBAs 50 greatest players in 1996, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Memphis Grizzlies Based in Memphis, Tenn., the Grizzlies have had just three winning seasons in franchise history. The Grizzlies played their first game in 1995 and were originally based in Vancouver as one of the two Canadian expansion franchises (alongside the Toronto Raptors) to join the NBA that year. They were immediately one of the worst teams in the league, winning no more than 19 games in each of their first four seasons and finishing at the bottom of their divisional standings in five of the six years they spent in Vancouver. This prolonged futility took its toll on the Grizzlies attendance numbers and profitability, and the teams ownership moved the franchise to Memphis in 2001 in a bid to increase revenue. In the newly relocated teams first draft, it added Spanish forward Pau Gasol, who would go on become the Grizzlies first all-star player. The team hired basketball icon Jerry West to serve as general manager in 2002. West quickly turned the teams fortunes around, and in 200304 Memphis won 50 games (a 22-win improvement from the previous season) to earn the first play-off berth
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in franchise history. The Grizzlies lost in their opening postseason series that year and experienced the same fate in both 200405 and 200506. Memphiss successful run was short-lived, and the team fell to a last-place finish in 200607. West left the Grizzlies in 2007, and Gasol was traded in 2008 as the team began a rebuilding effort. New Orleans Hornets Based in New Orleans, the Hornets have won just one division title in team history. The Hornets were founded in 1988 and were originally located in Charlotte, N.C. Early Hornets teams featured fleet-footed, 5-foot-3-inch (1.60-metre) point guard Muggsy Bogues and sharpshooter Dell Curry, but, like most expansion teams, they won few of their games. The team drafted forward Larry Johnson in 1991 and centre Alonzo Mourning in 1992, and the pair helped Charlotte to its first play-off appearance (and postseason series win) in the 199293 season. The Hornets went on to make the play-offs three additional times in the 1990s but never advanced past the second round. In 19992000 the Hornets, behind the standout play of guard Baron Davis, began a stretch of five consecutive postseason appearances but again failed to progress any farther than one series win in a given year. Despite the teams on-court success, the Hornets had game attendance numbers among the lowest in the league, in part due to the personal unpopularity of team owner George Shinn, who had lobbied for a new, more profitable, publicly funded arena soon after having had to defend himself on a sexual assault charge in a nationally televised civil trial (he was acquitted). Shinn moved the franchise to New Orleans in 2002 after his last bid for a new arena was rejected by Charlotte voters.
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After playing just three years in New Orleans, the Hornets were forced to temporarily relocate to Oklahoma City for the 200506 and 200607 seasons because of damage caused to their home arena by Hurricane Katrina. Upon their return to New Orleans for the 200708 season, the teamwhich was coming off of two consecutive fourth-place finishessurprisingly posted a 5626 record and won the first division title in franchise history. Led by budding-star point guard Chris Paul and forward David West, the Hornets advanced to the conference semifinals that season only to lose in seven games. San Antonio Spurs Based in San Antonio, Texas, the Spurs won four NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) during one of the most dominant stretches in NBA history. The team started out in 1967 as the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA. The Chaparrals were moderately successful, but the team was sold to a group of San Antonio businessmen in 1973, relocated, and renamed the Spurs. George (the Iceman) Gervina future Hall of Famer who joined the franchise midway through the 197374 seasonwas the star of the early San Antonio teams, a high-scoring shooting guard who would help establish the Spurs as a consistent contender throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Spurs joined the NBA when the league agreed to absorb the four most successful ABA franchises in 1976 after the younger league began to struggle financially. Defying predictions of mediocrity, the team immediately posted winning records and stood up to the NBAs best teams. Capturing five division titles in their first seven seasons of NBA play, the Spurs continually made the play-offs but could not surmount the championship hurdle.
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After Gervin was traded from the team in 1985, the Spurs experienced a four-year string of losing seasons. The slump ended with the addition of superstar centre David Robinson in 1989. Robinsons presence was the catalyst for a 35-win improvement in the 198990 season for the Spurs, and the team qualified for the postseason in each of his first seven years in San Antonio, but he could not carry the team past the conference finals on his own. Fortune shone on the Spurs in 1997 when, after an injury-plagued 2062 season, the Spurs won the NBA Draft Lottery, which allowed them to choose forward Tim Duncan with the first overall selection of that years draft. Duncan teamed with a healthy Robinson to lead the Spurs to a 36-win improvement in the 199798 season, and the duo, nicknamed the Twin Towers, followed that remarkable year by guiding the team to the 1999 NBA championship. In 2003, which was Robinsons last season with the team, they won another title and thus allowed him to end an illustrious career on top. The Spurs remained dominant after Robinsons retirement, combining veterans and promising young talent with the defensive philosophy of coach Gregg Popovich. Duncan was joined by rising stars Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker (who both played complementary roles in the Spurs 2003 title) during championship runs in 2005 and 2007.
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets Based in Denver, the Nuggets appeared in the ABA finals on one occasion (1976), but have never won an NBA conference title. Originally known as the Denver Rockets, the team was one of the founding franchises of the ABA in 1967. Led by local favourite Byron Beck out of the University
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of Denver, the Rockets had winning records in each of their first three seasons. Anticipating a move to the NBA, where the Houston Rockets were already established, the team changed its name to the Denver Nuggets in 1974. The newly christened Nuggets posted the best record in the ABA in 197475 behind the standout play of guardforward Ralph Simpson. However, Denver was upset by the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division finals. The Nuggets did advance to the ABA finals the following year after once again having the best record in the league, but they lost to the New York Nets in six games. The Nuggets were one of the four teams from the ABA that joined the NBA in 1976. In the first post-merger season, the Nuggets proved to be the most successful of the former ABA squads, winning a division title and appearing in the play-offs, where they lost to the eventual champion, the Portland Trail Blazers. Led by future Hall of Fame members Dan Issel and David Thompson, Denver won its division for a second straight year in 197778, and in the postseason the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference finals before being eliminated by the Seattle Supersonics. In 1980 Denver traded for forward Alex English, who would go on to become the franchises all-time leading scorer in 10 and a half seasons with the Nuggets. During Englishs second season with Denver, Doug Moe took over as head coach. Moe and English guided high-scoring Nuggets teams, who were also notable for often giving up almost as many points as they scored, to nine consecutive postseason berths between 198182 and 198990, including another conference finals appearancea fivegame loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 198485. However, English and Moe both left the team after the 198990 season, having never brought a title to Denver. The 1990s were not particularly noteworthy for the Nuggets, with one considerable exception: the 199394
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season. In 199394, the only time the team posted a winning record between the 199091 and 19992000 seasons, the Nuggets had a 4240 record, which earned them the eighth (the lowest) seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a first-round series against the Seattle Supersonics, owners of the best record in the NBA that season. Led by centre Dikembe Mutombo, the Nuggets rallied from a 20 series deficit to win three straight games (including a deciding fifth game in Seattle) to become the first eighth seed in NBA play-off history to defeat a top-seeded team. The Nuggets momentum after the upset could not be sustained, and the team was eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the play-offs. In the 2003 NBA draft, the Nuggets selected forward Carmelo Anthony with the third overall choice. In the 200304 season, Anthonys presence helped spur a 26-win improvement from the previous season, and the Nuggets ended an eight-year play-off drought. Denver qualified for the postseason each year from the 200304 season to 200708, but the Nuggets failed to advance past the first round on each occasion. The team acquired veteran point guard Chauncey Billups early in 200809, and at the end of the season he helped Anthony guide the Nuggets to victories in both the first and second round of the Western Conference play-offs before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals. A multiplayer trade sent Anthony and Billups to the New York Knicks early in 2011. Minnesota Timberwolves Based in Minneapolis, Minn., the Timberwolves have won one division title and reached the conference finals on one occasion. The Timberwolves began play in 1989 as an expansion team alongside the Eastern Conferences Orlando Magic. As a new team, the T-Wolves unsurprisingly struggled
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in their initial years in the league, winning no more than 29 games in any of their first seven seasons. In 1995 the Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations, former Boston Celtic star Kevin McHale, a Minnesota native, drafted teenage forward Kevin Garnett straight out of high school. Garnett soon led the team to the first play-off berth (199697) and winning season (199798) in franchise history. While Garnett turned the teams fortunes around, he was unable to lead it past the first round of postseason play in any of Minnesotas first seven playoff berths, through the 200203 season. Before the 200304 season the Timberwolves added veteran guards Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell. That season the team won its first division title and its first play-off series, advancing to the Western Conference finals before ultimately being eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers. In 200405 the Timberwolves failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time in eight years. They traded away Garnett in 2007 in an effort to spur the rebuilding of the franchise. Oklahoma City Thunder Now based in Oklahoma City, the franchise was located in Seattle for the first 41 years of its existence, during which, as the Seattle Supersonics, it won three conference titles (1978, 1979, 1996) and the 1979 NBA championship. The Supersonics (named for Seattles aerospace industry and usually shortened to the Sonics) began play as an NBA expansion team in 1967 and were the first major North American sports franchise based in the Pacific Northwest. Early teams were notable for featuring playercoach Lenny Wilkens, guard Fred (Downtown Freddie) Brown, and all-star centre-forward Spencer Haywood, who joined the Sonics in 1971 after winning a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that allowed him to become the
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first player to join the league before he was four years out of high school. The Sonics did not qualify for the playoffs until the 197475 season, when the team, under the guidance of second-year head coach Bill Russell, earned a postseason berth by finishing 4339 and defeated the Detroit Pistons in a three-game first-round play-off series. Twenty-two games into the 197778 season, Wilkens returned to Seattle to serve as the teams head coach. He turned around a Sonics team that was 517 at the time of his hire and led them to a fourth-place conference finish. In the postseason the Sonics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Denver Nuggets en route to the NBA finals, where they lost to the Washington Bullets in seven games. The two teams met in the finals again the following season, with the Sonics led by guards Dennis Johnson and Gus Williams, as well as centre Jack Sikmawinning the rematch in five games to capture the franchises first NBA championship. Seattle advanced to the conference finals again in 197980 but was eliminated by a Lakers team featuring rookie sensation Magic Johnson. The 1980s saw the Sonics frequently qualify for the play-offs, with one notable postseason run coming in 198687. That season the Sonics limped into the playoffs with a 3943 record, good for the seventh seed in the Western Conference, but managed to upset the higherseeded Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets en route to another conference finals loss to the Lakers. George Karl became Seattles head coach midway through the 199192 season, taking over a high-flying team that starred point guard Gary Payton and power forward Shawn Kemp. In Karls first full season at the helm (199293), the Supersonics advanced to a Western Conference finals showdown with the Phoenix Suns, a close seven-game
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LENNy WILKENS
(b. Oct. 28, 1937, Brooklyn, N.y., U.S.) One of the games most accomplished playmaking guards, Lenny Wilkens also coached a number of NBA teams to 1,332 wins, the second most in league history, behind only Don Nelson. His total of 1,155 losses as a coach is an NBA record. At Providence College the slender, left-handed Leonard Randolph Wilkens made good use of his calm, patient nature to become adept at both dishing out assists and playing heady defense. By the time the St. Louis Hawks drafted him in 1960, Wilkens was ready to step right into the starting lineup. Over his 15-year career with the Hawks, Seattle Supersonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers, Wilkens, always a skilled floor general, also developed into a prolific scorer, compiling 17,772 career points, along with 7,211 assists. A nine-time all-star, he ranks among the NBAs elite in those categories, as well as in free throws and minutes played. Before ending his playing career, Wilkens took on the role of player-coach, first with the Supersonics (196970 to 197172) and then with the Trail Blazers (197475 to 197576). As a full-time coach, he guided the Supersonics (197778 to 198485), winning a championship in 197879; the Cavaliers (198687 to 199293), who despite several strong seasons could never advance beyond the Michael Jordanled Chicago Bulls in the play-offs; the Atlanta Hawks (1993 94 to 19992000); the Toronto Raptors (200001 to 200203); and the New York Knicks (200405). He also coached the U.S. mens basketball team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. Moreover, Wilkens was vice president of the National Basketball Players Association (196169), served as president of the NBA Coaches Association, held a number of jobs in the Supersonics front office, and served as a game analyst on basketball television broadcasts. He also wrote an autobiography, Unguarded: My Forty years Surviving in the NBA (2001). Wilkens was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1989 and as a coach in 1998.
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contest that the Suns ultimately won. The following season saw the Sonics register the best record in the NBA during the regular season only to become the first topseeded team in league history to lose in the first round of the play-offs to an eighth-seeded team (the Denver Nuggets). In 199596 the Sonics posted a 6418 record, the best in the Western Conference that year and at the time the 10th best in NBA history. In the postseason the Supersonics won their first three play-off series to earn a berth in the NBA finals, where they met Michael Jordan and the dominant Chicago Bulls (owners of the best record in NBA history [7210] that season), who defeated Seattle in a six-game series. Karl was fired in 1998 after the Sonics followed their NBA finals run with two consecutive seasons that ended in a second-round play-off loss after the team had won a division title. Seattle then entered into a period of rebuilding in which it qualified for the postseason just twice (both times as a seventh seed) in six seasons. Led by head coach Nate McMillan (who played with the team from 1986 to 1998, which earned him the nickname Mr. Sonic) and the deft shooting of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, the Sonics won a surprising division championship in 200405 and advanced to the conference semifinals. While the team was struggling in the first years of the 2000s, a number of off-court events took placeincluding the sale of the Sonics to a group of Oklahoma-based investors and the state and city governments refusals to pay for a publicly funded arenathat ultimately led to the franchises relocation to Oklahoma City in 2008. The move was made only after the resolution of a lawsuit brought by the city, which resulted in Seattle retaining the rights to the Sonics name and history in the event that another NBA franchise begins play in the city. Renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team quickly rebuilt and,
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behind the standout play of forward Kevin Durant, the Thunder qualified for the play-offs in their second season in Oklahoma City. Portland Trail Blazers Based in Portland, Ore., the Trail Blazers have won one NBA championship (1977) and three conference titles (1977, 1990, 1992). The Trail Blazers joined the league as an expansion team in 1970. Their name is an allusion to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which ended not far from present-day Portland. The Blazersa nickname commonly used by fans and mediafinished last in their division in each of their first four seasons and five of their first six seasons. One bright spot during those years was the play of forward-centre Sidney Wicks, who had been drafted by the team in 1971 and was named an all-star in each of his first four NBA seasons. Portland underwent a stunning turnaround in 197677, which began with the franchise posting its first winning record (4933) during the regular season. Unhindered by their lack of play-off experience, the Blazersfeaturing a front line of Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas, along with guard Lionel Hollins, and guided by first-year head coach Jack Ramsaybeat the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, and Los Angeles Lakers in the postseason to advance to the NBA finals. There they faced the Philadelphia 76ers, who won the first two games of the series before Portland stormed back to win the final four games and capture the NBA title. The Trail Blazers returned to the play-offs in each of the next four seasons, but they lost in their opening postseason series on each occasion. After missing the postseason in 198182, the Blazers returned to the play-offs in 198283, the first of 21 consecutive play-off berths for the franchise. In 1983 the Trail
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Blazers drafted guard Clyde Drexler, who would go on to play 12 seasons with the team and become the franchises all-time leading scorer and rebounder. With Drexler, the Blazers continued their play-off streak but advanced past the first round of the postseason just once in Drexlers first six seasons in Portland. The Blazers gained a measure of ignominy at the 1984 NBA draft, where, with the second pick, they selected Sam Bowie (who would go on to play just four injury-riddled seasons with Portland) over future superstar Michael Jordan, who was chosen by the Bulls with the very next pick. In 198990 the Trail Blazersled by Drexler, point guard Terry Porter, and forward Jerome Kerseywon their first three play-off series to capture the Western Conference title. In the NBA finals the team was defeated by the Detroit Pistons in five games. The Blazers were eliminated by the Lakers in the conference finals the following season after posting a franchise-best 6319 record, and in 199192 Portland once again advanced to the NBA finals but lost the six-game series to the Chicago Bulls. The Blazers then returned to their earlier pattern of play-off disappointment, losing in the first round in six straight seasons from 199293 to 199798. Portland broke its streak in 199899, as the team advanced to the conference finals only to be swept by the San Antonio Spurs. The following season saw the Blazers again reach the conference finals, where they lost a close seven-game series to the Lakers that was notable for the Trail Blazers squandering a 15-point fourth quarter lead in the deciding contestat the time the largest lead ever surrendered in the final period of a seventh game of a play-off series. In the early 2000s the team acquired the pejorative nickname Jail Blazers for the large numbers of Portland players who had legal troubles. At about the same time, the Blazers play-off appearance streak came to an end, and the franchise entered into a rebuilding period that
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reached its nadir in a last-place divisional finish in 2005 06. Behind the play of all-star guard Brandon Roy, the Trail Blazers returned to the postseason in 200809. Utah Jazz Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Jazz have won two conference championships (1997, 1998). Originally based in New Orleans, whose storied music history gave the Jazz its name, the team played its first game in 1974. Early Jazz teams were noteworthy for the presence of high-scoring guard Pete Maravich, who was an all-star three times in his five years in New Orleans but who never led the Jazz to a winning record or a divisional finish higher than fourth place. In 1979 the franchises financial difficulties led to a relocation to Salt Lake City, where it somewhat incongruously retained the name Jazz. Shortly before beginning its first season in Utah, the team traded for Adrian Dantley, who became the key figure in the Jazzs ascent to the upper echelon of the Western Conference. In the 198384 season, Dantley led the Jazz to a 4537 record and a division title. While the Jazz lost in the conference semifinals to the Phoenix Suns, the teams first play-off appearance marked the beginning of a streak of 20 consecutive postseason berths for the franchise. In 1984 Utah drafted point guard John Stockton, and the following year it drafted forward Karl Malone. With the trade of Adrian Dantley to the Detroit Pistons in the 1986 off-season, Stockton and Malone took over as the faces of the franchise. Known for their deft use of the pick-androll maneuver, Stockton and Malonewho, at the time of their retirements, were respectively the NBAs all-time leader in assists and the leagues second highest career scorerformed arguably the most prolific guard-forward duo in basketball history, leading the Jazz to its greatest achievements to date.
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JERRy SLOAN
(b. March 28, 1942, McLeansboro, Ill., U.S.) Basketball player and coach Jerry Sloan was one of the best defensive guards and hard-nosed rebounders in the history of the NBA as a Chicago Bull and later became the first coach to win 1,000 games with a single team, the Utah Jazz. After attending the University of Illinois briefly and then working in an oil field, Gerald Eugene Sloan played collegiately for Evansville University, which he led to consecutive Division II championships in 1964 and 1965. After playing one year for the Baltimore Bullets, Sloan was selected in the expansion draft by the Bulls for that franchises maiden season. His intense playing stylecharacterized by some opponents as dirtyearned Sloan admiration in Chicago and understandable enmity elsewhere. In his 11 years as a player in the NBA, Sloan took considerable punishment on the court, mainly because he did not back away from making skin-peeling dives for loose balls or from taking charges from behemoths such as Wilt Chamberlain. Sloans knack for outleaping taller opponents to snatch one-handed rebounds reminded some Chicago Stadium fans of an eagles pouncing on its prey. When the equally tough Norm Van Lier joined Sloan in 1971, the Bulls had what some believe was the NBAs best-ever defensive backcourt. But, despite the scoring punch provided by forwards Chet Walker and Bob Love and the rebounding and slick passing contributed by centre Tom Boerwinkle during much of the eight-year reign of combative coach Dick Motta, the Bulls could not win the NBA title. In 1976 a knee injury ended Sloans career, over the course of which he had averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He became the Bulls coach in 1979 but was fired after two and a half seasons of trying to rebuild the team in his image. In 1984, after a short tenure as a scout, Sloan became an assistant to Frank Layden, head coach of the Utah Jazz. Layden stepped down in 1988 to allow Sloan to take over the team. Bringing the same values of self-reliance and total effort that he had learned in the oil fields and had employed as a player to his no-nonsense work ethic as the coach of the Jazz, Sloan built the team into a dominant force in the Western Conference. Blessed with one of the NBAs best inside-outside combinationspower forward
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Karl Malone and point guard John Stocktonthe Sloan-coached Jazz piled up 50-win seasons year after year, repeatedly making runs in the play-offs and earning Sloan one of the best career winning percentages in league history. But while he could not win a championship as a player or coach with the Chicago Bulls, neither could he win a championship against Chicago, as the Michael Jordanled Bulls denied the Jazz the NBA title in the finals in 1997 and 1998. In February 2011 Sloan abruptly resigned as coach of the Jazz. His career totals included 1,221 coaching wins. In 2009 Sloan was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Early in the 198889 season, Jerry Sloan became the Jazzs head coach, replacing Frank Layden, who moved to the teams front office. In his third full season with Utah, Sloan guided the Jazz to a berth in the Western Conference finals, where the team was defeated by the Portland Trail Blazers. Utah advanced to the conference finals twice more (1994, 1996) in the following four seasons but lost to the Houston Rockets and the Seattle Supersonics, respectively. The Jazz finally broke through to the NBA finals in 1997 but, like most of the other teams of that era, had to go through Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls to capture the championship, and the Jazz was beaten by the Bulls in six games. The two teams met again in the 1998 NBA finals, where the Jazz was seconds away from forcing a deciding game seven on its home court when Jordan made a gamewinning shot in the closing moments of game six to again deny Stockton and Malone an NBA title. The pair led the Jazz to play-off appearances in each season from 199899 to 200203, but the team never advanced past the conference semifinals, and both players left the Jazz in 2003. The Jazz drafted point guard Deron Williams in 2005, and after a three-year absence the team returned to the
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play-offs in Williamss second season. Utah beat the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors in the postseason to advance to the conference finals, where the Jazz lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs in five games. The Jazz continued to be one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference in subsequent seasons but has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 200607.
Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors Based in Oakland, Calif., the Warriors have won two NBA championships (1956, 1975) and one Basketball Association of America (BAA) title (1947). The Warriors were founded in 1946 and originally based in Philadelphia. One of the original members of the BAA, the team won the leagues first championship behind the play of future Hall of Fame forward Joe Fulks, the BAAs inaugural scoring leader. The Warriors lost in the BAA finals the next season, and in 1949 the team became a part of the NBA when the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL). The Warriors finished higher than fourth place in their division just once in their first six seasons in the new league. In 195556, however, the Warriors, led by forward Paul Arizin and centre Neil Johnston, posted the best record in the league and captured their first NBA title. In 1959 Philadelphia added local product Wilt Chamberlain, who would go on to become one of the greatest players in NBA history. While with the Warriors, he famously scored an NBA-record 100 points in a 1962 contest, in what would prove to be the teams final year in Philadelphia. A group of San Francisco Bay-area
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investors purchased the franchise after the 196162 season and moved the team, which became known as the San Francisco Warriors. The Warriors reached the NBA finals in 1964 with a team dominated by Chamberlain and in 1967 with a substantially rebuilt squad that featured forward Rick Barry, centre Nate Thurmond, and guard-forward Jeff Mullins, only to lose on each occasion. Barry, who had led the league in scoring in 196667, became one the first stars to leave the NBA for the upstart ABA, when he signed with the Oakland Oaks the next year. Former Warriors player Al Attles took over as the teams head coach during the 196970 season, and he proceeded to lead the franchise for all or part of 14 seasons. In 1971 the franchisewhich had been experiencing years of disappointing financial returnsrelocated across the East Bay to Oakland and changed its name to the Golden State Warriors. In 197475 the Warriors, led again by Barry (who had returned to the team in 1972), upset the favoured Washington Bullets in the NBA finals, and Attles became the first African American full-time head coach to win an NBA title (Bill Russell had previously won a championship as a player-coach). After returning to the postseason in each of the following two years, the Warriors level of play fell off precipitously, and they finished last in their division in five of the nine seasons between 197778 and 198586. In the late 1980s the Warriors became known for head coach Don Nelsons characteristic up-tempo style, which relied on smaller players and an emphasis on scoring over defense. This era is best personified by the 198990 and 199091 squads that were nicknamed Run T.M.C. (a reference to the rap group Run-DMC) for the first names of the high-scoring trio of point guard Tim Hardaway, shooting guard Mitch Richmond, and small forward Chris
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Mullin. While Nelsons teams were entertaining, they failed to advance past the second round in the play-offs over this period, and Nelson left the Warriors during the 199495 season. Golden State then entered into a period that saw them post last- and second-to-last-place finishes in every season but one from 199495 to 200506. Nelson returned to the Warriors in 200607, and the team made its first trip to the play-offs in 13 years that season. The Warriors then made NBA history by becoming the first eighth-seeded (lowest-seeded) team to defeat a top-seeded team in a seven-game postseason series by eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the play-offs. Golden State followed that remarkable campaign by missing the play-offs in three straight seasons, and Nelson was forced to resign in 2010. Los Angeles Clippers Based in Los Angeles, the Clippers have had just two winning seasons since moving to that city in 1984. The franchise was originally based in Buffalo, N.Y., and was known as the Buffalo Braves upon joining the NBA in 1970 alongside fellow expansion teams Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers. The Braves posted losing records in each of their first three seasons before running off three consecutive winning campaigns that also resulted in postseason berths behind the standout play of guard-forward Randy Smith and future Hall of Fame centre-forward Bob McAdoo. The Braves were part of an unusual franchise swap in 1978, when the owner of the Boston Celtics, Irv Levin, a Californian, wanted to move the Celtics to his home state but was prevented by the NBA from moving the historic franchise. As a compromise, the owner of the Braves, John Y. Brown, traded franchises with Levin, who relocated his new team to San Diego for the 197879 season. Then known as the San
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Diego Clippers, the franchise was one of the worst teams in the league during its six-year stay in the city, finishing in either last or second-to-last place in each season. In 1981 the Clippers were sold to Donald Sterling, a Los Angelesbased real estate mogul, who moved the team to his home city in 1984. The team did not fair any better in its new home, finishing with a losing record in each season from 198485 to 199091. In 199192 the Clippers, led by forward Danny Manning, posted a 4537 record and advanced to the Western Conference play-offs, where they lost in their first-round series. Following a .500 regular season the next year, the team again lost its opening postseason series. The Clippers returned to their losing ways in 1993 94, which began a stretch in which the team placed last in its division eight times in 11 seasons through 200304. A ray of hope for Clippers fans came in 200506, as a promising squad featuring forward Elton Brand and centre Chris Kaman won 47 games and advanced to the second round of the play-offs, but they lost a seven-game series to the Phoenix Suns. Even this limited success was short-lived, and the team fell back to a last-place divisional finish two years later. The Clippers under Sterlings ownership have been often cited as the worst franchise in North American professional team sports. Los Angeles Lakers Based in Los Angeles, the Lakers are one of the most successful and popular professional franchises in all American sports. The franchise has won a combined 16 Basketball Association of America (BAA) and NBA titles, second in league history to their rival the Boston Celtics. The franchise that would become the Lakers was founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems and played in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team moved to Minneapolis, Minn., in 1947, and its name was changed to
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Pat Riley, courtside during his tenure as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was known almost as much for his sartorial splendour as for his coaching skills. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images 104
the Lakers to reflect the Minnesota state nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. That same year the Lakers acquired George Mikan, who became professional basketballs first dominant big man and the first in a series of great Laker centres. The Lakers joined the BAA (the official precursor of the NBA) for the 194849 season and won the final BAA championship. The NBA was formed in 1949, and Mikan and the Lakerswhich also featured future Hall of Famers Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, and (from 1953) Clyde Lovellettewon four of the first five league titles, establishing professional basketballs first dynasty. Attendance at Lakers games fell after Mikans retirement in 1956, and the team moved to Los Angeles before the 196061 season. The Lakers advanced to the NBA finals six times in the 1960s but lost to the Celtics in each appearance despite the presence of all-time greats Elgin Baylor and Jerry West (who would later assemble a number of Lakers championship teams as the teams general manager). During the 197172 season, however, the Lakersled by West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlainset NBA records for longest winning streak (33 games) and best regular season record (6913; broken in the 199596 season by the Chicago Bulls) on their way to the NBA championship, the teams first title since relocating to Los Angeles. The Lakers again reached the finals in 197273 but lost to the New York Knicks. After that season Chamberlain retired, and the teams fortunes took a turn for the worse as the Lakers missed the play-offs in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history in 197475 and 197576. The Lakers entered the most dominant period in their franchise history when they selected Magic Johnson in the first overall pick of the 1979 NBA draft. Johnson teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and (from 1982) James Worthy to take the Lakers to eight
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JERRy WEST
(b. May 28, 1938, Cheylan, W.v a., U.S.) Player, coach, and general manager Jerry West spent four noteworthy decades with the Los Angeles Lakers. A frail youth, Jerome Alan West overcame his early physical shortcomings by putting in long hours practicing his shot and developing the quick release that would become his signature. He grew dramatically during the summer before his senior year and then led his high school to a state championship, drawing the attention of colleges nationwide. As a sharpshooting 6-foot-3-inch (1.91-metre) guard for West Virginia University, West became the schools all-time leading scorer and rebounder, and he was twice named an All-American (1959, 1960). West was drafted by the Lakers with the second overall pick of the 1960 NBA draft. The reserved West was initially thought by some to be an ill fit for Los Angeles, but he readily acclimated to the L.A. media spotlight and proved to be one of the most popular figures in franchise history. (His early, derisive nickname Zeke from Cabin Creekwhich he despisedwas not even an accurate reference to his proper hometown of Cheylan but rather referred to a nearby unincorporated area.) He compiled a career scoring average of 27.0 points per game, failing to average more than 20 points per game in just his rookie season, and he was named an all-star in each of his 14 seasons in the league. As spectacular as his individual achievements wereWests tendency to make important last-second shots earned him earn the moniker Mr. Clutchhis Lakers teams did not reach a similar level of success in an era dominated by the Boston Celtics: West led his team to nine berths in the NBA finals, but the Lakers won just one championship (1972). In addition to his professional and collegiate accomplishments, West was a member of the U.S. mens basketball team that won the gold medal at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games. After his retirement in 1974, he served as the Lakers head coach for three seasons (197679), guiding them to 145 wins and 101 losses over that span. West then spent three years as a scout for the Lakers before becoming the teams general manager in 1982. He shaped squads that won five NBA titles between 1982 and 2000, his final year
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with the franchise. West worked in the front office of the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007, assembling the first play-off teams for the young franchise. His front-office acumen led to two NBA Executive of the Year awards (1995, 2004). West was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980 and in 1996 was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. The greatest testament to his enduring impact on the sport of basketball is perhaps the fact that a photo of West served as the model for the ubiquitous red, white, and blue NBA logo.
appearances in the NBA finals over the following decade, resulting in five NBA championships (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988). This era became known as Showtime, not only for the flamboyant, often spectacular playing style orchestrated by Johnson and polished head coach Pat Riley but also for the courtside presence of Hollywood stars, most notably Jack Nicholson. Additionally, the renewed LakersCeltics rivalrythe two teams facing off for the NBA title in 1984, 1985, and 1987 and, more specifically, Johnsons battles with Bostons Larry Birdpropelled the NBA to new levels of popularity in the 1980s. After Abdul-Jabbars retirement in 1989 and Johnsons in 1991, the Lakers fortunes took a turn for the worse. The team still regularly made the play-offsthe Lakers missed postseason play only five times in the teams first 60 seasonsbut failed to advance to the NBA finals for the longest period of time in team history. That changed during the 19992000 season, however, when newly hired head coach Phil Jackson guided the Lakers, featuring Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant, to the first of three consecutive titles. ONeal was traded away in 2004, but a reconfigured Laker team with Bryant as the focal point
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advanced to the 2008 NBA finals, which they lost to Boston in six games. The Lakers returned to the finals the following season, where they routed the Orlando Magic in five games to capture the franchises 15th championship. In the 200910 season the Lakers made their third consecutive finals appearance, where they defeated the Celtics in a dramatic seven-game series. Phoenix Suns Based in Phoenix, the Suns have won two Western Conference titles (1976, 1993). The franchise was established in 1968, and the Suns first seasons were moderately successful, and the team showcased the talents of the Original Sun Dick Van Arsdale and future Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins. In 1976, a 4240 Phoenix team featuring longtime franchise favourites Alvan Adams and Paul Westphal went on a surprising postseason run in which the Sunderalla Suns pulled off upsets in the first two rounds to reach the NBA finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics in a dramatic six-game series. The finals were highlighted by a triple-overtime shootout in game five, but the Suns were overpowered and fell in the sixth game. In 1977 the Suns drafted Walter Davis, who would go on to set the franchise scoring record during his 11 years with the team. The Suns traded for point guard Kevin Johnson in the middle of the 198788 season and signed free agent forward Tom Chambers in the off-season. The two would form the core of a reinvigorated team that advanced to the conference finals in both 1989 and 1990, the first two of 13 consecutive play-off berths for the franchise. In 1992 Phoenix traded for perennial All Star Charles Barkley in an effort to secure a title. Although Barkley played well enough to earn the NBAs Most Valuable Player (MVP) award his first year in Phoenix, the team fell to
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the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 NBA finals. Phoenix failed to advance to the finals again during the remainder of Barkleys time with the team, and the Suns entered into a rebuilding mode at the turn of the 21st century. The team drafted high school phenomenon Amare Stoudemire in 2002 and reacquired point guard Steve Nash (who was originally drafted by the Suns) in 2004. Nashs up-tempo playing style perfectly complemented the skill sets of Stoudemire and forward Shawn Marion, and the Suns transformed into an exciting high-scoring team. The teams offensive firepower was not enough to propel it past the conference finals, however, and the Suns traded for powerful centre Shaquille ONeal during the 200708 season in an effort to develop a championship-calibre defense. The presence of ONeal was not enough to propel the Suns past the first round of the play-offs, and he was traded away in 2009. A young Suns team rebuilt around Nash and Stoudemire made an impressive run in 200910 before losing in the Western Conference finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento Kings Currently based in Sacramento, Calif., the franchise won an NBA championship in 1951 when it was known as the Rochester Royals. The Royals franchise was founded in 1945 in Rochester, N.Y., as a member of the National Basketball League (NBL). An instant success, the team won the NBL title in its first season in the league (194546) and reached the NBL finals in each of the following two years. It joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) for the 194849 season and moved to the NBA before the next season when that league was formed from the merger of the BAA and the NBL. In 1951 the Royals, led by three future Hall of Famersguards Bob Davies and Bobby Wanzer and
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centre-forward Arnie Risenwon the NBA championship by defeating the New York Knicks in a seven-game series. While this strong group of players did not win another title, the Royals were one of the best teams of the early NBA, reaching the division finals (akin to the modern NBAs conference finals) three times between 194950 and 195354. The 195455 season saw the Royals post the first losing record in franchise history, and the team finished the remaining seasons of the decade below .500 as the aging members of the Royals roster were replaced by young stars such as forwards Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes (whose enduring friendship, especially after Stokes became disabled, is one of professional sports most engaging stories). As the NBA continued to grow through the 1950s, the Royals relocated to the much larger city of Cincinnati in 1957, adding centre-forward Wayne Embry to the roster the next year. In 1960 the Royals acquired the University of Cincinnatis star guard Oscar Robertson as a territorial pick (from 1947 to 1965 the NBA allowed teams to forfeit their first-round draft choice to select, prior to the regular draft, a college player from the immediate area). Led by the Big O, the Royals made two consecutive trips to the division finals in 196263 and 196364, losing to the eventual-champion Boston Celtics on each occasion. Despite the addition in 1963 of forward Jerry Lucas like Robertson, a territorial pick (from Ohio State) and a future Hall of Famerthe team failed to advance out of the first round of the play-offs in its three other postseason berths in the 1960s. Coached by Bob Cousy (196973), the struggling Royals were sold to a group of businessmen based in Kansas City, Mo., in 1971. After playing one final season in Cincinnati, the franchise was relocated to Kansas City before the
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197273 season and renamed the Kings because the citys Major League Baseball team had already claimed the name Royals. In its first three seasons after the move, the team divided its home games between Kansas City and Omaha, Neb., and was known as the Kansas CityOmaha Kings over this period. Although it featured the on-court heroics of all-star guard Nate (Tiny) Archibald at the beginning of its 13-season tenure in Kansas City, the team was mostly mediocre during this period, qualifying for the play-offs five times and advancing past its first play-off series just once, a surprising run to the 1981 conference finals after a 4042 regular season. In 1983 the Kings were again sold to an out-of-state ownership group, and, after playing two lame-duck seasons in Kansas City, the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985. The Kings had a losing record in each of their first 13 years in Sacramentofinishing in last or second-to-last place 10 times during that stretchdespite the strong play of all-star shooting guard Mitch Richmond for much of the 1990s. The franchises fortunes began to turn in 199899, as the Kings qualified for the first of eight consecutive postseason appearances. The high point of this streak came in 200102, when the team, led by forwards Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic, had the best record in the NBA and reached the Western Conference finals, which it lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in an exciting seven-game series. Since 200607 Sacramento has failed to return to the play-offs.
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chapter 5
selected BasketBall hall of famers, 1959 to 1993

he Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame was established in 1959, but an actual physical buildinglocated in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketballdid not open to the public until 1968. The Hall of Fame inducts not only Americans, but also international players, coaches, and contributors to the history of the game. Players are eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame after they have been retired for five years. Coaches and referees are also eligible after having been retired for five years, but active coaches and referees may be inducted if they have been active for at least 25 years. Contributors (a category that includesamong others commissioners, team executives, and broadcasters) may be inducted at any time. This chapter features biographies of Hall of Famers (arranged chronologically by year of induction) who joined the Hall in its first 35 years of existence. The list runs the gamut from the games first icons to the stars of the ABA.
GEORGE MIKAN
(b. June 18, 1924, Joliet, Ill., U.S.d. June 1, 2005, Scottsdale, Ariz.)
George Mikan was a basketball player and executive who was selected in an Associated Press poll in 1950 as the
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7 Selected Basketball Hall of Famers, 1959 to 1993
greatest basketball player of the first half of the 20th century. Standing about 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 metres), he was the first of the outstanding big men in the postWorld War II professional game. Mikan received his undergraduate and legal education at DePaul University in Chicago, where Coach Ray Meyer transformed him from an awkward player into a hookshooting offensive force. After a brief period with the Chicago American Gears (194647) of the professional National Basketball League, he joined the Minneapolis Lakers (194754 and 195556; now the Los Angeles Lakers), a team that was successively in the NBL, the Basketball Association of America, and, from 1949, the NBA. In nine seasons he scored 11,764 points in 520 regular games for an average of 22.6 points a game, and he scored 2,141 points in 91 championship games for a 23.5-point average. With Mikan at centre, the Lakers won six championships from 194748 through 195354 (195051 season excepted).
George Mikan, sporting his trademark goggles, taking a practice layup. New York Daily News/Getty Images 113
After retiring in 1956, he coached the Lakers for part of the 195758 season. In a era when the professional game was known for its rough play, the lanky and nearsighted Mikan, wearing thick protective goggles, hardly looked the part of a basketball star. However, despite numerous broken bones and countless cuts and bruises, Mikan thrived in the sport and handed out just as much punishment to his opponents. When the ABA was founded on Feb. 2, 1967, Mikan was named its commissioner (chief executive). He resigned on July 14, 1969, because the ABA office was to be moved to New York City from Minneapolis, where he was a successful lawyer and businessman. Mikan was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959.
JOE LAPCHICK
(b. April 12, 1900, Yonkers, N.Y., U.S.d. Aug. 10, 1970, Monticello, N.Y.)
The professional and collegiate basketball player and coach Joe Lapchick was a major influence in both professional and collegiate basketball. Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick left high school in Yonkers in 1914 and played semiprofessional and professional basketball so successfully that at one point he was earning $75 a game and was playing in four leagues at once. The Celtics of New York, with whom he played (192227), were so good that they were disbanded in 1928 as a threat to the American Basketball League (ABL). He played with the Cleveland Rosenblooms, leading them to successive championships (192930) until the ABL went out of business in 1930. He then played with the original Celtics, who barnstormed throughout the United States but themselves disbanded in 1936.
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Lapchick became a collegiate coach at St. Johns University ( Jamaica, N.Y.; 193647, 195665), during which time his teams won four National Invitational Tournaments (NIT; 194344, 1959, 1965). From 1947 to 1956 he was coach of the NBAs New Y ork Knicks. Lapchick popularized the give-and-go play in which one player makes a short pass to a teammate and cuts for the basket to receive a pass and shoot. After his retirement as a coach, he was a sports coordinator at a country club.
RED AUERBACH
(b. Sept. 20, 1917, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.d. Oct. 28, 2006, Washington, D.C.)
Iconic basketball coach Red Auerbach led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships and an 885455 winloss record. Arnold Jacob Auerbach began coaching at St. Albans Preparatory School (1940) and Roosevelt High School (194043), both in Washington, D.C. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy (194346), and after the war he coached the Basketball Association of Americas Washington Capitals and the NBAs Tri-Cities Blackhawks before becoming coach of the Celtics in 1950. Under Auerbach the Celtics dominated the NBA, making the play-offs in each of his 16 seasons as coach of the team and winning eight straight championships from 1959 to 1966. Auerbachs talented Celtics teams featured 11 future Hall of Famers, including Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Bill Russell, and Bill Sharman. His trademark as a Celtics coach was lighting a victory cigar on the bench in the closing seconds of games, delighting Celtic fans and infuriating the fans of their opponents. Auerbach retired in 1966 as coach and became president and general manager
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of the Celtics. Under his management the Celtics won six additional NBA titles. He retired as general manager in 1984 but remained active in promoting the Celtics tradition. Auerbach was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968.
BOB COUSy
(b. Aug. 9, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.)
A basketball player and coach and collegiate coach, Bob Cousy was one of the greatest ball-handling guards in the NBA, expert both at scoring and at playmaking. Robert Joseph Cousy played collegiate basketball at the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.; 1949 50), where he was an All-American. He joined the Boston Celtics in 1950 and eventually teamed with talented players such as Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, and K.C. Jones. Cousy adopted the competitive spirit of his coach Red Auerbach and directed the Celtics play in six championship seasons (1957, 195963). Known as Houdini of the Hardwood, he dazzled fans with his dribbling skill and behind-the-back passes. The flashiness of his play, however, was not without substance. Cousy led the NBA in assists from 1953 to 1960, his one-game record of 28 (1959) standing until 1978. After he left the Celtics in 1963, Cousy coached at Boston College (196369), where he guided the team to five postseason tournaments. He returned to professional basketball in 1969 as head coach of the Cincinnati Royals (and played in seven games that season). Cousy coached the team (which became the Kansas CityOmaha Kings in 1972) until November 1973. From 1975 to 1979 he served as commissioner of the American Soccer League and later became a marketing consultant and part-time television
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Bob Cousy is considered by many to be the sports first great point guard, adept at passing, scoring, and general ball-handling. Hy Peskin/Sports Illustrated/ Getty Images
commentator for the Celtics. In 1996 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest players of all time. Cousy was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.
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DOLPH SCHAyES
(b. May 19, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.)
One of the games best-known players in the 1950s, Dolph Schayes became the first in the history of the NBA to score 15,000 points in a career. An exception to the sports maxim that nice guys finish last, the sharp-shooting, tough-rebounding Schayes is remembered for a wide smile and enthusiasm for basketball that made him one of the most popular players in the professional ranks during a 16-year career that spanned the era of two-hand set shots and high-flying jump shots. In 1948 the Syracuse Nationals (usually shortened to the Nats) of the National Basketball League (NBL) won a bidding war for Adolph Schayes, a native New Yorker who had starred at New York University and whose services were also sought by the New York Knicks, then a part of the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The two leagues merged a year later, and with a raft of standout performers, including Schayes, under the same tent, the new NBA began its slow climb toward parity with major league baseball and professional football. Although he was easygoing, Schayes was anything but a gentle giant; learning to deal out punishment as well as take it, he became a fierce rebounder. He never stopped trying to improve. The Nats won just one NBA championship, in 195455, but Schayes was a tower of consistent performance. The memory of Schayes unleashing his accurate two-handed set shot was indelible for his early fans; however, he came on the scene at a time of great change in playing techniqueswhen the very survival of professional basketball seemed to hang in the balanceand skillfully adapted his play to suit the evolving game. During the 195455 season Nats owner Danny Biasone convinced
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the NBA to install the 24-second shot clock, which is popularly credited with saving the professional game. Schayes made an easy transition to the new, wide-open style that resulted. Indeed, Schayes led the Nats in scoring every season that he played in Syracuse, where his fame lingered long after the franchise moved to Philadelphia in 1963 to become the 76ers. After retiring as a player, Schayes coached briefly for the 76ers (196466) and the Buffalo Braves (197071). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1973. His son Danny also had a long NBA career (19812000) with a variety of teams after playing collegiately at Syracuse University.
BILL SHARMAN
(b. May 25, 1926, Abilene, Texas, U.S.)
Guard Bill Sharman is best known for his skills as a freethrow shooter and as a long-range field-goal marksman. After graduation from the University of Southern California (1950), William Walton Sharman played both professional baseball and basketball. In 1955 he left the Brooklyn Dodgers organization to focus on basketball. He first played basketball with the Washington (D.C.) Capitols (195051) of the Basketball Association of America. In 10 seasons (195161) with the Boston Celtics, he averaged 17.8 points a game in regular-season play (12,665 points in 710 games). The Celtics won the NBA title in four of Sharmans last five seasons. He established NBA career records for free-throw shooting average in regular seasons (.883, with 3,143 successful throws in 3,557 attempts; record later broken) and play-off series (.911, with 370 of 406). In the play-offs following the 195859 season, he set another NBA standard with 56 consecutive successful free-throw
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attempts. Sharman was named to the NBA All-Star first team in three successive seasons (195659) and to the second team in 1953, 1955, and 1960. After his retirement as a player, Sharman became a coach, directing the Cleveland Pipers to the American Basketball League (ABL) title in 196162, the Utah Stars to the ABA title in 197071, and the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA title in 197172. He was named NBA coach of the year in 1972. In that 197172 season, the Lakers won an NBArecord 33 straight games. He retired as a coach in 1976 and became general manager of the Lakers, a position he held until 1982. He served as the Lakers club president from 1982 to 1986 and subsequently was a special adviser to the franchise. Sharman was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player (1975) and a coach (2004), becoming only the third person in basketball history to be so honoured. In 1996 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest players of all time.
ELGIN BAyLOR
(b. Sept. 16, 1934, Washington, D.C., U.S.)
Elgin Baylor is regarded as one of the games greatest forwards. His graceful style enabled him to score and rebound with seeming ease. Baylor, 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) tall, was an AllAmerican (1958) at Seattle University, where he played from 1955 to 1958, guiding the team to the NCAA championship tournament finals in 1958. He was drafted with the first overall selection of the 1958 NBA draft by the Minneapolis Lakers (who relocated to Los Angeles in 1960) and earned Rookie of the Year honours in his initial season with the Lakers. During his 14-year career he averaged 27.4 points per game, with a 38.2 average in the 196162 seasona
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feat made even more impressive by the fact that, as a U.S. Army reservist, Baylor played only on weekends and did not practice with the Lakers that season. His 71 points in a 1960 game was an NBA record until it was broken by Wilt Chamberlains 100 (1962). Baylor set the single-game scoring record for the NBA finals when he tallied 61 points against the Boston Celtics in game five of the 1962 finals. Though he played with some of the finest players in Laker franchise history, including Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Gail Goodrich, he never won an NBA championship. He was named to the All-NBA first team 10 times, and he retired as the NBAs third-leading all-time rebounder with a career total of 11,463. Baylor was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 and was named one of the NBAs 50 greatest players of all time in 1996. After his playing career ended, Baylor coached the New Orleans Jazz (197479). In 1986 he was named vice president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. Despite being named Executive of the Year in 2006, his tenure managing the Clippers was marked by mostly losing seasons and clashes with team ownership, and he resigned from his position in 2008.
WILT CHAMBERLAIN
(b. Aug. 21, 1936, Philadelphia, Penn., U.S.d. Oct. 12, 1999, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Wilt Chamberlain was one of the greatest offensive players in the history of the game. During his 196162 season he became the first player to score more than 4,000 points in an NBA season, with 4,029, averaging an astounding 50.4 points per game. As a teenager, Wilton Norman Chamberlain was sought after by more than 100 colleges and universities
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The Los Angeles Lakers Wilt Chamberlain scoring amid a sea of defenders during a 1970 game against the Seattle Supersonics. Wen Roberts/AFP/ Getty Images 122
after his play at Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. He played two years (195658) at the University of Kansas, after which he joined the Harlem Globetrotters for a year (195859). He went to the NBA in 1959, playing with the Philadelphia Warriors (195965; the team moved and became the San Francisco Warriors in 1962), going back to Philadelphia to play for the 76ers (196568), and finishing his career with the Los Angeles Lakers (196873). The 7-foot (2.1-metres) tall Chamberlain had a long-standing (but good-natured) rivalry with Boston Celtic Bill Russell, and many credit the increase in the popularity of professional basketball to the excitement generated around games featuring these two players. With 31,419 points scored over the span of his professional career, Wilt the Stilt held the NBA record for points scored until 1984, when his record was surpassed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Other highlights of Chamberlains NBA career include a career average of 30.1 points per game, an NBA record until it was broken by Michael Jordan, and a career average of 22.9 rebounds per game. Chamberlain owns the top four single-season scoring averages in league history, including his NBA-record 50.4 points per game mark in 196162 (the other three coming, in descending order, during the 196263 [44.8 points per game], 196061 [38.3], and 195960 [37.6] seasons). His 100 points against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Penn., on March 2, 1962, still stands as professional basketballs top single-game feat. He also scored 56 or more points 61 times in regular-season games, tallied 36 field goals in a game (March 2, 1962), and captured 55 rebounds in a game (Nov. 24, 1960). Chamberlains proudest feat was never having fouled out of an NBA game. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. His autobiography, written with David Shaw, Wilt: Just Like Any Other 7-Foot Black Millionaire Who Lives Next Door,
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was published in 1973. Chamberlain also published a more revealing book about his personal life entitled A view from Above in 1991.
JERRy LUCAS
(b. March 30, 1940, Middletown, Ohio, U.S.)
One of the best rebounders in the sports history, Jerry Lucas was named (in 1996) one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time. Lucas was a tall, intelligent youth with dexterous hands and 20/10 eyesight that made him a natural shooter. A 6-foot-8-inch (2.03-metre) forward, he led Middletown High Schools boys basketball team to 76 consecutive wins and two Ohio state high school championships. In 1959 Lucas enrolled at Ohio State University. He had accepted an academic scholarship rather than an athletic one, so he would have the option of quitting the basketball team if he lost interest in playing. Lucas teamed with John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, and Bob Knight on the formidable Ohio State teams of the early 1960s. The Buckeyes posted a total win-loss record of 786 during Lucass three years on the varsity basketball squad, appearing in three consecutive NCAA championship games and winning the championship in 1960. Lucas led the NCAA in field goal percentage all three years and led in rebounding twice, and he was named national Player of the Year twice (1961 and 1962). During his college years Lucas also starred on the 1960 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. After his senior season at Ohio State, Lucas was the focus of a bidding war between the NBA and the upstart American Basketball League (ABL). He was chosen by the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) in the 1962 NBA draft but instead signed with the ABL s Cleveland
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Pipers after the team offered him an incentive-laden contract that contained a series of stock options and promises of future graduate school funding. The Pipers then tried to use the leverage provided by the acquisition of the popular Lucas to force their way into the NBA, but legal difficulties stemming from the proposed move financially crippled the Pipers, who folded before Lucas played a game with the team. Lucas sat out of professional basketball for a year before joining the Cincinnati Royals for the 196364 season. Luke helped lead the team to the second best record in the NBA in his first year with the Royals and was named the leagues Rookie of the Year. He was named first team All-NBA in 1965, 1966, and 1968 and was an all-star in each of his six seasons in Cincinnati. Although his teammates included future Hall of Fame members Oscar Robertson and Jack Twyman as well as powerful centre Wayne Embry, Lucas and the Royals were cursed to play in the era of the Boston Celtics dominance of the league and never advanced past the divisional finals in the NBA play-offs. Four games into the 196970 season, Lucas was traded to the San Francisco Warriors, whom he helped lead back to the play-offs in 197071, when Lucas was again named an all-star. At the end of the season, the Warriors traded Lucas to the New York Knicks. He was slated to serve as a reserve in New York, but a season-ending injury to Willis Reed thrust the versatile Lucas into the starting lineup at centre, and he played a key role in the Knicks advance to the 197172 NBA finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. When the Knicks defeated the Lakers in a finals rematch in 197273, Lucas became the first basketball player to win a championship at every major level of play: high school, college, Olympic, and professional. After retiring from professional basketball in 1974, Lucaswhose prodigious memory had impressed
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teammates and media for decadesdeveloped a system of memory education, and he wrote a number of books on the subject, including The Memory Book (1974; cowritten with Harry Lorayne) and Learning How to Learn (2001). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980.
OSCAR ROBERTSON
(b. Nov. 24, 1938, Charlotte, Tenn., U.S.)
Oscar Robertson starred in both the collegiate and professional ranks and is considered one of the top players in the history of the game. As a player with the Cincinnati (Ohio) Royals in 196162, he averaged double figures in points (30.8), rebounds (12.5), and assists (11.4) per game, a feat unmatched by any other player. Robertson grew up in Indianapolis, Ind., where he led Crispus Attucks High School to two state championships. In 1956 he received an athletic scholarship to the University of Cincinnati and became the first African American to play basketball there. In three seasons of collegiate basketball, he averaged 33.8 points per game and helped the Cincinnati Bearcats twice reach the Final Four of the NCAA basketball tournament. He set 14 NCAA records during his college days. In 1960 he won a gold medal in Rome as a member of the U.S. Olympic team. Robertson was the first selection of the 1960 NBA draft and earned Rookie of the Year honours that season with the Cincinnati Royals. Measuring 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 metres) and weighing more than 200 pounds (91 kg), Robertson was larger than most guards. He was able to use his size to gain position for scoring and rebounding. the Big O was also a superior ball handler, leading the league in assists six times. He was named the NBAs Most
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Oscar Robertson (No. 14) made a name for himself in the NBA first with the Cincinnati Royals, then the Milwaukee Bucks. Robert Abbott Sengstacke/ Archive Photos/Getty Images
Valuable Player for the 196364 season, in which he averaged 31.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 11 assists per game. Robertson was traded in 1970 to the Milwaukee (Wis.) Bucks, where he teamed with Lew Alcindor (later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and won the NBA title that season. Robertson retired from the NBA in 1974 with 26,710 career
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points (25.7 per game), 7,804 rebounds (7.5 average), and 9,887 assists (an NBA record at the time). He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. After his playing days ended, Robertson pursued a career in business and from 1981 was chief executive officer of a Cincinnati-based chemical company.
BILL BRADLEy
(b. July 28, 1943, Crystal City, Mo., U.S.)
The collegiate and professional basketball player Bill Bradley later served as a U.S. senator and was a candidate for the U.S. presidency during the 2000 election. William Warren Bradley began to play basketball at age nine and became one of the best players in Missouri high school basketball history. At Princeton University (N.J.), Bradley, a forward, was a playmaker and high scorer, averaging 30.1 points a game during three seasons. He led the team to three straight Ivy League titles, earning All-American recognition each time. He was the first basketball player to win the Amateur Athletic Unions Sullivan Award for the amateur athlete of the year (1965). He played on the U.S. team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. After graduation he deferred a contract offer from the New York Knicks in order to study at Oxford University (M.A. 1968) as a Rhodes scholar. He joined the Knicks during the 196768 season and played with them until his retirement in 1977. During Bradleys career the Knicks won two NBA championships (1970, 1973), with disciplined, aggressive defense. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. Bradley wrote two books about his NBA experiences: Life on the Run (1977) covers professional basketball players during two weeks of the 197374 season,
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and v alues of the Game (1998) contains essays in which Bradley reflects on the qualities necessary to succeed at both basketball and life. After his retirement from professional basketball, Bradley immediately turned to politics. Without having held a lesser office he was elected to the U.S. Senate from New Jersey in 1978 and served three six-year terms. A liberal Democrat, he announced his candidacy for the U.S. presidency on Jan. 12, 1999, but lost the Democratic nomination to Al Gore.
DEAN SMITH
(b. Feb. 28, 1931, Emporia, Kans., U.S.)
As coach at the University of North Carolina (196197), Dean Smith amassed 879 career victories and retired as the most successful mens collegiate basketball coach. His record was later broken by Bob Knight in 2007. Smith graduated in 1953 from the University of Kansas, where he earned degrees in mathematics and physical education and played basketball under the legendary Phog Allen. Smith was a reserve guard on the Kansas team that won the NCAA title in 1952. He served briefly as an assistant coach on Allens staff before joining the U.S. Air Force in 1954. He was as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy until 1958, when he joined the coaching staff of Frank McGuire at the University of North Carolina. In 1961 Smith became North Carolinas head coach, inheriting a program that had won the NCAA championship in 1957 under McGuire, who left to coach in the NBA after the school received sanctions for recruiting violations. Smith struggled in his first few seasons, but under his guidance North Carolina became one of collegiate
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basketballs elite programs, winning at least 20 games for 30 of his final 31 seasons (including the last 27 consecutively). Smith led North Carolina to 11 appearances at the Final Four (the semifinals of the NCAA tournament) and two NCAA championships (1982 and 1993); his team also won the NIT championship in 1971. He coached the U.S. basketball team to a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. (In 2005 his record for most career victories in NCAA basketball was broken by womens coach Pat Summitt.) A master innovator, Smith is perhaps best identified with the four-corner offense (developed earlier by John McLendon), which was designed to run time off the game clock to preserve a small lead; this strategy was so successful that it later led to the adoption of a shot clock in collegiate basketball. Other tactics that Smith devised included the run-and-jump defense (a full-court pressure defense that involved players switching defensive assignments on the run) and the foul-line huddle (in which one player would relay instructions from Smith to the other players before a foul shot). Hallmarks of his teams were that players acknowledged a pass from a teammate after scoring a basket and used their fist to signal that they were tired and needed a substitute. More than 95 percent of Smiths players earned their college degrees, and many of them, including Michael Jordan and James Worthy, went on to become standouts in the NBA. Others, such as Larry Brown and Roy Williams, became renowned coaches at the collegiate or professional level. Smith was also known for his strong commitment to racial integration, becoming one of the first white coaches in the South to recruit African American players in the 1960s. In 1986 the Tar Heels new home arena was named the Dean E. Smith Center in his honour. He is the author of Basketball: Multiple Offense and
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Defense (1982), A Coachs Life (1999), and The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life of Coaching (2004).
JACK TWyMAN
(b. May 11, 1934, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.)
A six-time NBA All-Star, Jack Twyman is perhaps best remembered for the years of support he provided to teammate Maurice Stokes, who was incapacitated by an on-court injury. From being an awkward player, cut three straight times by his high school basketball team, John Kennedy Twyman went on to star for the University of Cincinnati, where he averaged 24.6 points and 16.5 rebounds per game as a senior, earning All-America honours. He played professionally with the Royals, who moved from Rochester, N.Y., to Cincinnati, Ohio, following the 195657 season. Twyman averaged 19.2 points per game and racked up a total of 15,840 points in an 11-year (195566) career that earned him a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. The compassion that Twyman, who is of Irish descent, showed for the stricken Stokes, an African American, at a time when segregation was still commonplace in the United States set an example that resonated far beyond the boundaries of sports. The relationship between the two men began with a shared hometown, Greater Pittsburgh. When both were drafted by the Royals out of college in 1955, they drove to Rochester together to begin their professional careers. In the final game of the 195758 season, Stokes, already recognized as one of the NBAs dominant forwards, fell hard and struck his head. Later, he lapsed into a coma. Diagnosed with posttraumatic encephalopathy, Stokes was virtually immobile and bedridden for the remaining 12 years
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of his life. (He died of a massive heart attack at age 36 in 1970 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.) When Stokess family could not pay his medical bills, Twyman pursued workmens compensation benefits for Stokes and had himself appointed his friends legal guardian. Twyman spent countless hours caring for Stokes and taught him to communicate by blinking his eyes, with resultant publicity touching off a wave of worldwide goodwill. Twyman also organized an annual benefit basketball game to raise money for Stokess care. If people want to remember me for helping Maurice and not what I did on the basketball court, thats fine, Twyman said after he retired, to pursue a career as an analyst on NBA telecasts and later as a businessman. The story of Twyman and Stokess relationship was told in the motion picture Maurie (1973).
JOHN HAvLICEK
(b. April 8, 1940, Martins Ferry, Ohio, U.S.)
John Havlicek came to be regarded as the best sixth man (bench player) in the history of the NBA while a member of the Boston Celtics. He was the first player to compile 16 consecutive 1,000-point seasons (196378). At Ohio State University Havlicek teamed with Jerry Lucas and Bob Knight and won the NCAA championship in 1960. After graduation he was drafted by both the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League and the Celtics. After getting cut by the Browns, he joined the Celtics in 1962. At 6 feet 5 inches (1.95 metres), Hondo played both forward and guard on the Celtics teams that won eight NBA championships (196366, 196869, 1974, 1976). Widely regarded as one of the most complete players in the history of the NBA, he was noted for his boundless
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energy at both ends of the court and for his clutch scoring in crucial games. Havlicek was at the centre of one of the most famous plays in NBA history whenin the closing seconds of game seven of the 1965 Eastern Division finalshe deflected a Philadelphia 76ers inbounds pass to seal a one-point Boston victory, a moment that was immortalized by Celtics announcer Johnny Mosts impassioned call of Havlicek steals itHavlicek stole the ball! Havlicek was named an all-star in 13 consecutive seasons (196566 to 197778) and was a five-time All-Defensive first-team selection. Despite coming off the bench for the majority of his career, he held the NBA record for most games played (1,270) and was third on the leagues all-time points-scored list upon his retirement in 1978. In 1996 he was named one of the top 50 players in NBA history, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
RICK BARRy
(b. March 28, 1944, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.)
One of the most prolific scorers and accurate free throw shooters in the sports history, Rick Barry was a first-team all-league selection nine times in his 14 seasons playing in both the NBA and the ABA. As a senior at the University of Miami, Richard Francis Dennis Barry III led the NCAA in scoring with 37.4 points per game and was named an All-American. He was selected by the San Francisco Warriors with the second overall pick in the 1965 NBA draft. In his rookie year Barry was named an all-star and first-team All-NBA, honours he repeated the following season as he led the league in scoring and helped the Warriors reach the NBA finals, which they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Unhappy with his pay and the Warriors coaching, Barry joined the Oakland Oaks of the upstart ABA. Not only did Barry become a minority owner of the team, but his father-in-law and former college coach, Bruce Hale, was hired as the Oaks head coach. Barry was forced to sit out the 196768 season, however, because of the resulting legal dispute between the two leagues. He led the Oaks to an ABA title in 196869, but soured on the team when it announced that it was relocating to Washington, D.C., and he re-signed with the Warriors in an attempt to remain in the Bay Area. However, a court order forced Barry to return to the ABA, and, after an abbreviated season in Washington, he was dealt to the New York Nets. After two productive seasons with the Nets, he was obligated to honour the contract he had signed with the Warriors three years earlier, and Barry returned to the NBA. Barrys second stint with the Warriors lasted six seasons, by far his longest tenure with any professional team. He led the Warriors to the 1975 NBA title and was named the finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 29.5 points per game in his teams four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets. Barry signed with the Houston Rockets in 1978, but his level of play dramatically fell off, and he retired in 1980 after two disappointing seasons in Houston, the only seasons in which he did not receive all-star honours during his 14-year career. He retired as the all-time leader in free throw percentage for both the ABA and the NBA (the latter record has since been broken), and he was famous for his distinctive, old-fashioned underhand method of shooting free throws. After his playing days ended, Barry worked as a commentator on NBA television broadcasts. Four of his sons also played professional basketball, including Brent, who was a member of two championshipwinning San Antonio Spurs teams, making the Barrys the
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second father-son duo to capture NBA titles (preceded by Matt Guokas, Sr., and Matt Guokas, Jr., and followed by Bill Walton and Luke Walton). Barry was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996.
WALT FRAzIER
(b. March 29, 1945, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.)
Walt Frazier was one of the finest professional guards in the late 1960s and early 70s. Walter Frazier, Jr., was named All-American three times at Southern Illinois University, which he led to the National Invitational Tournament championship in 1967, earning tournament Most Valuable Player recognition. Standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.9 metres) and weighing some 200 lb (91 kg), Frazier was the first-round selection of the New Y ork Knicks in the 1967 draft and was named to the leagues All-Rookie team. In 196970, his third season in the league, he made his first of seven All-Star appearances, finishing the season with an average of nearly 21 points per game, 8.2 assists, and 6 rebounds. That season, Frazier helped the Knicks win their first NBA title, scoring 36 points and making 19 assists in the decisive seventh game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks won a second NBA title in 1973, with Frazier averaging 21.1 points, 5.9 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game. He played with the Knicks through the 197677 season and finished his 13-year professional career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing 51 games in 197778 and 15 more games in parts of his final two seasons. Frazier scored 15,581 points in his NBA career, averaging 18.9 points per game. He also had more than 5,000 assists and nearly that many rebounds, averaging about
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6 of each per game. He was selected for the leagues AllDefensive team seven times. His autobiography, written with Joe Jares, was titled Clyde (1970), which was also the nickname Knicks coach Red Holtzman gave him, from the movie Bonnie and Clyde. He was known for his sartorial flamboyance and for his cool demeanour on the court. Frazier was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987 and named one of the NBAs 50 greatest players in 1996.
PETE MARAvICH
(b. June 22, 1947, Aliquippa, Pa., U.S.d. Jan. 5, 1988, Pasadena, Calif.)
The most prolific scorer in the history of Division I mens college basketball, Pete Maravich helped transform the game in the 1960s and 70s with his ballhandling and passing wizardry. A spectacular shooting star, Maravich rocketed through college and professional ranks driven by an insatiable desire to be the greatest that resulted in an eventful but short life. Some of Peter Press Maravichs urge to excel was instilled in him by his father, Press Maravich, who was the head basketball coach at Clemson University and North Carolina State University before he took the reins at Louisiana State University (LSU). Maravich was compelled by his father to endlessly hone his basketball skills, and the practice methods of the teenaged Maravich are the stuff of legend, including dribbling while on marathon runs, while riding a bicycle, and out the window of a car while a passenger. In the process he perfected an array of moves that made the ball seem like an appendage to his body. On an individual basis, there appeared to be no scoring, passing, ballhandling, faking, or mindboggling maneuver Pistol Pete could notor would
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notattempt. In three varsity seasons at LSU under his fatherin an era when freshmen were prohibited from playing with the varsityhe rang up an NCAA Division I scoring record with 3,667 career points. He led all college scorers three straight times, averaging an NCAA record 44.5 points per game as a senior in 196970. On the court Maravich was the consummate showman; skinny, with a mop of tousled brown hair, and always wearing his trademark floppy socks, he electrified the LSU faithful at the John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum. Off the court he was shy, almost reclusive except with close friends, and he drank, ultimately becoming an alcoholic. Maravichs professional career was marred by resentment over the $1.9 million contract (by far the highest-paying to date) he received when the Atlanta Hawks made him their first draft choice in 1970. By then Pistol Pete had grown into a finely tuned, 6-foot-5-inch (1.96-metre) guard, although his unlimited potential went largely unfulfilled in 10 NBA seasons. Injuries took their toll as he moved on to the New Orleans Jazz, with whom he won his only NBA scoring title with a 31.1 average in 197677. The franchise relocated to Utah in 1979, where Maravichs role diminished. Released by the Jazz, he finished his career with the Boston Celtics. After basketball he searched for a lifestyle that would bring him peace running through vegetarianism, yoga, and Hinduism, among other pursuits before finding solace in Christianity. He died of a heart attack at age 40.
BOB KNIGHT
(b. Oct. 25, 1940, Massillon, Ohio, U.S.)
Bob Knight amassed the most coaching victories in NCAA Division I mens basketball history (902).
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Coach Bobby Knight emphatically makes his point to Texas Techs Decensae White during a 2007 game in Oklahoma. A volatile temper marked Knights entire coaching career. Jamie Squire/Getty Images 138
Robert Montgomery Knight played basketball and football in high school, and he was a reserve on the Ohio State University national championship basketball team in 1960. After spending two years as an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy (Army), he was promoted to head coach in 1965 and became the youngest varsity basketball coach in NCAA history. Knight was an immediate success at Army because of his coaching philosophy, which stressed discipline, unselfish play, and relentless man-to-man defense. He took the head coaching job at traditional power Indiana University in 1971, and he led the Hoosiers to an appearance in the NCAA tournaments Final Four (championship semifinals) in his second season. His 197576 team produced a perfect 320 record and won the NCAA championship. The Hoosiers also won national titles in 1981 and 1987. In 1984 Knight coached the U.S. mens basketball team to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Knights tenure at Indiana was marked by instances of extremely temperamental behaviour. He drew national attention for throwing a chair across the court during a game in 1985, and he was repeatedly fined for outbursts toward officials and NCAA representatives. In March 2000 he was accused of having choked a former player during a practice in 1997. More allegations of verbal and physical abuse came from past Indiana players and university employees in the following months, and an investigation by the school led to the implementation of a zero tolerance policy for Knights actions. An altercation with an Indiana student in September 2000 led to the coachs dismissal, despite Knights protestations that he had done nothing wrong. Knight returned to college basketball in 2001 as the head coach of Texas Tech University. On Jan. 1, 2007, Knight won his 880th career game, breaking Dean Smiths
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record for all-time NCAA mens basketball coaching victories. Knight abruptly resigned from Texas Tech in February 2008 and turned his coaching duties over to his son, Pat. In spite of his controversial reputation, Knight was commended by many (including numerous former players and their parents) for his teaching ability and the high graduation rates of his teams.
AL MCGUIRE
(b. Sept. 7, 1928, New York, N.Y., U.S.d. Jan. 26, 2001, Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Collegiate basketball coach Al McGuire was a master at game coaching. Alfred James McGuire learned the game in the hard school of Queens street basketball. He later played for St. Johns Preparatory School and St. Johns College, both in Brooklyn, and played in the professional NBA, with the New York Knicks (195154) and with the Baltimore Bullets (195455). He then turned to coaching. McGuire served as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H., 195557) before becoming head coach at Belmont Abbey College (Belmont, N.C.; 1957 64), where he compiled a record of 10964. In 1965 he joined Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisc.; also athletic director from 1971) and soon established one of the best basketball programs in the country. At Marquette his teams won 295 games and lost 80 and made 11 postseason appearances, including 9 NCAA tournaments. Marquette won the 1970 NIT and the NCAA national championship in 1977, the last game McGuire coached. He was a master of tactics in the final minutes of a game. His penchant for drawing technical fouls from officials was viewed as a weakness by his critics and as
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a psychological ploy by his admirers. McGuire also was noted as an excellent recruiter. After retiring in 1977, McGuire became a television commentator for collegiate games. His plainspoken, unorthodox style proved highly popular with listeners and players alike. He announced games until March 2000, when failing health forced him to retire. McGuire was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
JULIUS ERvING
(b. Feb. 22, 1950, Roosevelt, N.Y., U.S.)
Julius Erving was one of the most colourful and exciting figures in basketball during the 1970s and 80s. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Erving played forward and was noted for his fast breaks, balletic leaps toward the basket, and climactic slam dunks. While playing in high school, Erving won an athletic scholarship to the University of Massachusetts. In two seasons there he became one of only five players ever to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds per game in a collegiate career. He was still generally unknown, however, when he left Massachusetts after his junior year and joined the Virginia Squires of the ABA in 1971. He was traded to the New York Nets two years later. In his five seasons in the ABA, Dr. J led the league in scoring three times, was the leagues Most Valuable Player in its last three years, and led the Nets to championships in 1974 and 1976. When the ABA merged with the NBA in 1976, the Nets sold Ervings contract to the Philadelphia 76ers. Erving led the 76ers to the NBA finals four times in seven years, including their 1983 championship win. He was
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Julius Erving gliding to the basket during a 1983 contest between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
voted the NBAs Most Valuable Player in 1981. He retired in 1987 after having become the third professional player to have scored a career total of 30,000 points. After his playing career ended, Erving spent time as a television basketball analyst (199397) and served in the front office of the Orlando Magic (19972003). In 1996 Erving was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
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BILL WALTON
(b. Nov. 5, 1952, La Mesa, Calif., U.S.)
Bill Walton is considered one of the best all-around post players in the sports history. After graduating from high school, William Theodore Walton III embarked on an outstanding collegiate career at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), leading his team to a pair of NCAA national championships under legendary coach John Wooden in 1972 and 1973. Walton was selected as the Most Outstanding Player of both tournaments and established an NCAA tournament career record for field goal percentage at 68.6 percent (109 of 159 field goals) from 1972 to 1974. He also set the single-tournament mark by shooting 76.3 percent (45 of 59) in 1973. Arguably the most impressive feat of his collegiate career was the key role he played in UCLAs NCAA-record 88-game winning streak, as he led the team to the final 73 victories of that run during his first two and a half years at the school. Walton was named the NCAA player of the year in three consecutive seasons (197274). The Portland Trail Blazers selected Walton with the first pick in the first round of the 1974 NBA draft. After steadily improving his game, he led the Trail Blazers in 1977 to their first NBA championship. He fully realized his potential during that season, averaging nearly 19 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3.2 blocks per game. Walton led the league in blocked shots and rebounding, was named to the NBA all-defensive team, and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 1977 playoffs. Walton continued to display his dominance during the 197778 campaign, ultimately winning the NBAs MVP award after tallying 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists,
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and 2.2 blocks per game that season. In addition to making the All-NBA first team and the All-NBA defensive team, Walton was honoured as the play-off MVP for the second consecutive year even though the Trail Blazers failed to repeat as champions. Throughout his career, nagging injuries continually slowed Walton. In 1978, following the two most impressive seasons of his young career, he suffered the first of several serious injuries; he developed chronic foot and knee problems that forced him to sit out the entire season. Portland, concerned that Walton was injury-prone, traded him to the San Diego Clippers after the 197879 season. After appearing in just 14 games in his first year with San Diego, Walton sat out the entire 198081 and 198182 seasons because of more foot problems. He spent three more quiet seasons in San Diego before being traded to the Boston Celtics in 1985. Staying relatively healthy, Walton became an integral component of an already talented Celtics team and, in a reserve role, helped Boston win the NBA title in 1986. His efforts were rewarded with the NBAs Sixth Man Award for the 198586 season. Having played just 468 games over 10 seasons, Walton retired after the 198687 campaign. A famous free spirit, he was known for his social activism, outspoken opinions, and devotion to the Grateful Dead rock band. Viewed by many as the best-passing big man of all time, Walton was honoured as one of the NBAs 50 alltime greatest players in 1996. Following his retirement, he became an outspoken analyst on NBA television broadcasts until chronic back problems forced him to step away from his second profession in 2009. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
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chapter 6
selected BasketBall hall of famers, 1994 throuGh the present
he individuals covered in this chapter were all affiliated with transformational moments in basketball history. The NBA players herein primarily played in the 1980s and 90s, when the league had reached the peak of its popularity worlwide and had an unprecedented cultural influence. The 1980s were also the time during which womens basketball broke through a glass ceiling of sorts. Female players began to finally receive serious coverage in the American national sports media, thanks to the play of icons such as Anne Donovan and Cheryl Miller. Also included in this chapter are trailblazers such as Wayne Embry (the NBAs first African American general manager) and Earl Lloyd (the first black NBA player). The following biographies are arranged chronologically by year of Hall of Fame induction.
CAROL BLAzEJOWSKI
(b. Sept. 29, 1956, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.)
Basketball player and sports executive Carol Blazejowskis playing career featured a number of notable records and firsts. Blazejowski grew up in Cranford, New Jersey, and began playing basketball on a school team in her senior
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year of high school in 1974. The following year she joined the team at Montclair (N.J.) State College. A highly competitive player, Blazejowski (known as Blaze) set long-standing records for the highest womens career scoring average (31.7 points per game [ppg]) and single-season average (38.6 ppg). She was a three-time All-American (1976, 1977, and 1978), and in 1978 she was awarded the first annual Wade Trophy for Womens Basketball Player of the Year. On March 6, 1977, Blazejowski scored a record 52 points against Queens College before a crowd of 12,000 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 1979 Blazejowski was on the first U.S. womens basketball team to win a gold medal at the World University Games (WUG) in Mexico City. Two years earlier, she had played at the WUG in Sofia, Bulgaria, when the U.S. team won a silver medal. Both years Blazejowski was the teams top scorer, with 129 points total (18.4 ppg) in 1979 and 164 points total (20.5 ppg) in 1977. At the 1979 Pan American Games, she was part of the U.S. womens basketball team that won the silver medal. Although she had been selected for the 1980 Olympic team, Blazejowski was deprived of the opportunity to compete when the U.S. government called a boycott of the Moscow Games. In 198081 she played for the New Jersey Gems in the Womens Basketball League (WBL) until the WBL went bankrupt. During that season she led the league in scoring and was named Most Valuable Player. Throughout the 1980s, Blazejowski worked in promotions and marketing for sporting goods firms such as Adidas. In 1990 she took a position with the NBA in the Consumer Products Group. While working for the NBA, she became involved in the development of the WNBA. Before the WNBAs debut in the summer of 1997, she signed on as vice president and general manager of the New York Liberty professional team. Having been promoted to president
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Selected Basketball Hall of Famers, 1994 through the Present
of the team in 2008, she left the Liberty in 2010. In 1994 Blazejowski became one of the few women inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
(b. April 16, 1947, New York, N.Y., U.S.)
As a 7-foot-1.75-inch (2.18-metre) centre, Kareem AbdulJabbar dominated the game throughout the 1970s and early 80s. Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor played for Power Memorial Academy on the varsity for four years, and his total of 2,067 points set a New York City high school record. His offensive skill was so developed coming out of high school that the collegiate basketball rules committee, fearing he would be able to score at will, made dunking illegal prior to his enrollment at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1965. Despite the new rule, he set a UCLA scoring record with 56 points in his first game. Playing for coach John Wooden, Alcindor helped lead UCLA to three NCAA championships (1966 68), and during his stay at UCLA the team lost only two games. The no-dunking rule was rescinded after Alcindor graduated. Alcindor joined the NBA Milwaukee Bucks in 1969 and was Rookie of the Year in 1970. In 1971 the Bucks won the NBA championship, and Alcindor led in scoring (2,596 points) and game-point average (31.7); he also led in these statistics in 1972 (2,822 points; 34.8). In 1971 Alcindor, who had converted to Islam while at UCLA, took his Arabic name. In 1975 he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, who won the NBA championship in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. In 1984 he surpassed Wilt Chamberlains career scoring total of 31,419 points.
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Although Abdul-Jabbar lacked the physical strength of NBA centres Wilt Chamberlain and Willis Reed, he brought an excellent shooting touch to the position and a wide range of graceful post moves, including his sweeping, nearly indefensible sky hook. He also was an outstanding passer. Abdul-Jabbar retired at the end of the 198889 season, having been voted Most Valuable Player a record six times. By the end of his extraordinarily long career, he had set NBA records for most points (38,387), most field goals made (15,837), and most minutes played (57,446). He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. Away from the basketball court Abdul-Jabbar pursued interests in acting and writing. He appeared on television and in a handful of films, including a memorable turn as a copilot in the comedy Airplane! (1980). His autobiography, Giant Steps, was published in 1983. In addition to his own experiences, he has written on the African American experience, including Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African American Achievement (1996; with Alan Steinberg). He also did some basketball coaching and consulting.
ANNE DONOv AN
(b. Nov. 1, 1961, Ridgewood, N.J., U.S.)
Anne Donovan is often credited with revolutionizing the centre position in womens basketball. As a 6-foot-8-inch (2.03-metre) college freshman, Donovan faced high expectations when she entered Old Dominion University (ODU), home of one of the countrys most successful womens basketball programs, immediately following the conclusion of future Hall of Famer Nancy Liebermans career. Donovan did not disappoint.
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Anne Donovan (centre) of the United States shooting over Polona Dornik (left) and Sladjana Golic (right) of yugoslavia during the 1988 World Amateur Basketball Championship. Focus on Sports 149
She helped the Monarchs to an NCAA national championship in her first season and went on to establish a storied collegiate career (197983), culminating with her selection as national player of the year in 1983. Donovan was a three-time All-American (198183), led the country in rebounding in 1982, and set school records in scoring (2,719 points), rebounding (1,976), and blocked shots (801). Her total of 801 blocks is the highest in NCAA history but technically not a record, because the NCAA did not officially keep that statistic until 198788. Donovan was named to the U.S. Olympic team three times (1980, 1984, and 1988) and contributed to the gold medal drives of 1984 and 1988, making her one of only two women basketball players to win two gold medals. She was also selected to play on seven other U.S. national teams between 1977 and 1988 and was a cocaptain of world championship and Pan American teams in 1986 and 1987. Donovan played semiprofessionally in Japan from 1983 to 1988 and in Italy from 1988 to 1989. In 1989 she returned to the United States to accept an assistant coaching position at her alma mater. Donovan remained on the Old Dominion staff until 1995, when she became head coach at East Carolina University, where she served until 1998. After leaving East Carolina she was the head coach for a number of WNBA franchises. In 2004 Donovan led the Seattle Storm to its first WNBA championship. She became the head coach of Seton Hall University in 2010. Donovan also won a gold medal as the head coach of the U.S. national team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In addition to coaching, she worked with several organizations involved with womens basketball, including serving on the executive committee for USA basketball and the organizing committee for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. Donovan was widely recognized as the prototype centre who altered the profile of the position in womens
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basketball. While she was a dominant presence around the offensive and defensive basket, she still was mobile enough to run the floor, possessed good passing skills, and had an above-average shooting range of 1517 feet (4.55 metres). Widely regarded as the first centre to develop into such a complete player, she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
CHERyL MILLER
(b. Jan. 3, 1964, Riverside, Calif., U.S.)
One of the greatest players in the history of womens basketball, Cheryl Miller is credited with both popularizing the womens game and elevating it to a higher level. While growing up in southern California, Miller displayed extraordinary talent on the basketball court. She stayed close to her family by choosing to attend college at the University of Southern California (USC), where she quickly became a star. In 1983, her first season at USC, Miller burst onto the national scene by leading the Trojans to the NCAA womens basketball championship. Although just a freshman, she was selected as the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the NCAA tournament because of her ability to dominate games with her all-around athleticism. In addition to having a shooting touch that made her dangerous from anywhere on the court, Miller was an intimidating defender and a dominating rebounder. In 1984 she led USC to another national title, and she was named MOP of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. Miller followed up her two NCAA championship seasons by leading the U.S. womens team to its first Olympic gold medal in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. After completing her career at USC, Miller returned to
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the international arena. In 1986 she led American teams to titles at the womens World Basketball Championship in Moscow and at the Goodwill Games, in which the United States defeated the Soviet Union to secure the gold medal. When she left USC, Miller was widely considered the best womens basketball player in the schools history. She earned All-American honours in each of her four seasons and was a three-time NCAA player of the year selection (198486). In her 128-game career Miller established herself among the all-time NCAA leaders with 3,018 points (23.6 per game) and 1,534 rebounds (12.0 per game). At the close of her collegiate career, she was second in NCAA tournament career scoring with 333 points (20.8 per game) and first in career rebounding with 170 (10.6 per game). She was the first USC basketball playermale or female to have her jersey number retired by the university. Miller returned to her alma mater in 1993 as head coach of USCs womens basketball team. During her two years at the helm, the Trojans compiled a 4414 record and won the 1994 Pacific-10 conference title. In 1995 she left coaching to become a commentator, analyst, and reporter for NBA coverage on a number of television networks. In 1996 Miller became the first female analyst to broadcast a nationally televised mens professional basketball game. In 1997, upon the establishment of a new womens professional basketball league, the WNBA, Miller returned to the court as head coach and general manager of the Phoenix Mercury. She resigned from that position in 2000 and returned to broadcasting. Millers younger brother Reggie was an all-star shooting guard for the NBAs Indiana Pacers from 1987 to 2005. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
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NANCy LIEBERMAN
(b. July 1, 1958, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.)
A pioneer in womens basketball, Nancy Lieberman recorded several unprecedented accomplishments in a playing career that spanned three decades. Growing up, Lieberman had the toughness, court savvy, and natural ability to compete in the male-dominated New Y ork City basketball scene. She entered Old Dominion University in 1976 and led the school to consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) championships in 197879 and 197980. An intelligent and extraordinarily quick point guard, she was known for her precision passing and tenacious defense as well as her accurate shooting touch, which enabled her to average 18.1 points per game over her four-year career. She was named national player of the year twice and ended her collegiate career as Old Dominions all-time leader in assists and steals. At the international level she helped lead the United States to a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning 1976 U.S. Olympic team; she made the 1980 team as well, but the squad did not compete because of an American boycott of the Games. In the early 1980s, professional basketball in the United States offered few, if any, opportunities for women. Nevertheless, after the close of her career at Old Dominion, Lieberman aspired to stay involved in the game she loved. In 1980 she was the number-one draft pick of the Dallas Diamonds of the Womens Basketball League (WBL), a fledgling womens professional league. The WBL folded in 1982, leaving its players without a professional league once again. In 1984 Lieberman was the first draft pick of a newly created professional circuit, the Womens American
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Basketball Association (WABA). Because fan interest in a womens professional league still was not strong enough to generate financial success, however, the WABA was also short-lived. Reluctant to leave the United States for Europe, where she had several offers to play professionally, Lieberman continued to look for new opportunities at home. She became the first woman to try out for an NBA team and the first to play in a mens professional league, in 1986 with the Springfield Fame in the United States Basketball League (USBL). In 1988 Lieberman was chosen by the Washington Generals to play against the Harlem Globetrotters, making her the first woman to participate in a Globetrotters world tour. Approaching the age of 40 but still a talented player, she joined the Phoenix Mercury of the newly formed WNBA for the 1997 season. In 2008 she joined the WNBAs Detroit Shock, which had a depleted roster at the time, for one game. Lieberman was the Shocks head coach and general manager from 1998 to 2000. She then served as a television analyst for womens basketball before becoming the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks NBA Developmental League team in 2009. Lieberman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.
LARRy BIRD
(b. Dec. 7, 1956, West Baden, Ind., U.S.)
While leading the Boston Celtics to three NBA championships (1981, 1984, and 1986), Larry Bird established himself as one of the greatest pure shooters of all time. Bird was raised in French Lick, Ind., and attended Indiana State University, where he helped revive the basketball program and led the team to a 331 record in his senior season. That season ended with a loss to Michigan
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An indispensable part of the Celtics teams of the 1980s, Larry Bird was famous for his clutch shooting, supreme self-confidence, and fierce competitiveness. Getty Images 155
State University in the NCAA championship game (1979), which was the first meeting of Bird and Magic Johnson, a rivalry that would become the centrepiece of the NBAs popularization during the 1980s. Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics after his junior year at Indiana State (1978) but did not play professionally until the 197980 season, when he won the Rookie of the Year award after contributing to one of the largest single-season turnarounds in NBA history (a 32-win improvement). Over the course of his 13 seasons with the Celtics, the self-described hick from French Lick cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history. A 6-foot-9-inch (2.06-metres) forward, he was known for his unflappable confidence and clutch shooting ability, which together created an intimidating presence on the court. The Celtics won their first NBA title with Bird (and 14th overall) in 1981; they repeated with title wins in 1984 and 1986. Bird was a 12-time All-Star and won three consecutive league Most Valuable Player awards (198486), the first noncentre to do so. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998. Bird retired in 1993 and moved to a front-office position with the Celtics. He became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers (despite having no previous coaching experience) in 1997 and was named Coach of the Year after his first season. Bird resigned in 2000 and became the Pacers president of basketball operations in 2003.
WAyNE EMBRy
(b. March 26, 1937, Springfield, Ohio, U.S.)
A professional basketball player, Wayne Embry was also the first African American to serve as the general manager of a professional sports franchise.
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A native of Ohio, Embry starred for the Miami (of Ohio) University basketball team (which retired his jersey) before becoming a member of the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) in 1958. Nicknamed the Wall, Embry, at 6 feet 8 inches (2 metres) tall and 240 pounds (109 kg), was a massive presence at centre on Royals teams that featured Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. Although a capable scorer, he is better remembered as a rebounder and defender who matched up with the great centres of his era, most notably Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. After eight seasons with the Royals (19581966) he finished out his career with two seasons with the Boston Celtics and one more with the Milwaukee Bucks, who made him the teams general manager in 1972. In eight years as general manager, he helped build a Bucks team that made the play-offs four times. During this period Embry convinced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, unhappy and withdrawn as a player in Milwaukee, that his superb skill would be recognized if he passed the test of time, a prediction that proved to be abundantly accurate. In 1985 Embry became the general manager and vice president of the Cleveland Cavaliers and worked with coach Lenny Wilkens to establish the Cavaliers as one of the winningest teams in the NBA in the late 80s and early 90s, though they repeatedly fell victim in the play-offs to the great Chicago Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan. From 1992 to 1994 Embry was the Cavaliers executive vice president, and in 1994 he became the teams president and chief operating officer. He left the Cleveland organization in 2000 and became the senior basketball adviser of the Toronto Raptors in 2004. Embry was named executive of the year by The Sporting News in 1992 and received the same honour from Sports Illustrated in 1998. In 1999 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was coauthor with Mary
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Schmitt Boyer of The Inside Game: Race, Power, and Politics in the NBA (2004). He also served as member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
MIKE KRzyzEWSKI
(b. Feb. 13, 1947, Chicago, Ill., U.S.)
College basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski led the Duke University Blue Devils to four NCAA national championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010) and 11 Final Four (championship semifinals) berths. As a high school basketball player, Michael William Krzyzewski led Chicagos Catholic League in scoring for two years. He played collegiately at the United States Military Academy (Army) under legendary coach Bob Knight. He coached service teams and the U.S. Military Academy Prep School for five years, then was Knights
Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski talking to his team during a time-out in the closely contested 2010 NCAA championship game versus Butler University. Duke eventually took the title, winning 61-59. Andy Lyons/Getty Images 158
assistant at Indiana University for one season before Army hired Krzyzewski in 1975. He was a surprising selection in 1980 to coach Duke on Knights adviceand his career there began shakily with no recruits in 1981 and a combined record of 2134 the next two seasons. But Krzyzewskis fourth Duke team, in 1983 84, went 2410 and began a streak of 11 consecutive seasons with at least 20 victories and NCAA tournament berths. Coach K led the Blue Devils to five consecutive Final Fours between 1988 and 1992, the second longest such streak in NCAA history. Included in that run were the schools first two national championships, coming in 1991 and 1992. The second championship-winning team went 342 and was the top-ranked team in the country for the entire season. The Blue Devils reached the national championship game again during the 199394 season but lost to the University of Arkansas. Duke went 1318 the following season as Krzyzewski missed 19 games due to back surgery, and the Blue Devils failed to participate in March Madness for the first time since 198283. Krzyzewski guided Duke to increasingly better tournament finishes over the next four years, ending in another national championship game berth in 199899, where the Blue Devils were defeated by the University of Connecticut. Duke returned to the final in 200001, beating the University of Arizona to win its third title. In 2005 Krzyzewski won his record 66th career NCAA tournament game. He became the fourth NCAA Division I coach to garner 800 career victories in 2008, and two years later he directed Duke to the schools fourth national championship. In addition to his collegiate coaching success, Krzyzewski led the U.S. mens national team to gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and at the 2010 world championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
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MOSES MALONE
(b. March 23, 1955, Petersburg, Va., U.S.)
Moses Malone was the dominating centre and premier offensive rebounder in the NBA during the 1980s. He led the Philadelphia 76ers to a championship in 1983. Malone, who led Petersburg High School to 50 consecutive victories and two state championships, was one of the most sought-after college basketball prospects in history. He chose to bypass college, however, and sign with the Utah Stars of the ABA in 1974, thereby becoming the first player to enter professional basketball directly from high school. When the ABA dissolved in 1976, he was acquired by the NBAs Buffalo Braves, who traded him to the Houston Rockets two games into the 197677 season. Quick and tenacious, Malone, who stood 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 metres), was noted for his all-around play. An outstanding offensive rebounder with an accurate shooting eye from the floor and free-throw line, he was named the leagues Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1979 and 1982. He signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1982, teaming with Julius Erving and the following year winning the NBA championship. Malone was named MVP of the championship series and of the league in 1983. For six of the seven seasons from 1978 to 1985, he led the NBA in rebounds. Malone was a member of eight NBA teams, including the Washington Bullets and the Atlanta Hawks. During his 18 years in the league, he set records for most free throws made (8,531; since broken by Karl Malone) and most offensive rebounds (6,731). He retired in 1994, having scored 27,409 points and collected 16,212 rebounds, which ranked him among the NBAs all-time top 10 in both categories. In 1997 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest
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players in NBA history, and in 2001 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
MAGIC JOHNSON
(b. Aug. 14, 1959, Lansing, Mich., U.S.)
Dazzling point guard Magic Johnson led the Los Angeles Lakers to five championships. The son of an autoworker, Earvin Johnson, Jr., earned his nickname Magic in high school for his creative and entertaining ballhandling. He was an intense competitor who led his high school team to a state championship in 1977 and led Michigan State University to the NCAA championship in 1979handing Larry Bird and Indiana State its only defeat of that season. Johnson left Michigan State after his sophomore season and was selected by the Lakers with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft. Johnson achieved his greatest success in the professional ranks, where he guided the Lakers to NBA championships in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. His first championship came in his rookie season, and in the sixth and title-clinching game of the 197980 NBA finals Johnson remarkably played all five positions to secure the Lakers championship, helping him become the first rookie to win the NBA finals Most Valuable Player award. He was also named the league MVP in 1987, 1989, and 1990. He played point guard and brought new versatility to that position. At 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 metres), he was a dangerous scorer from anywhere on the court and a capable rebounder, averaging 19.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over his 13-year career. However, he was best known for innovative no-look and bounce passes and a knack of making big plays in the clutch. The battles for
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Point guard Earvin Magic Johnson, seen here handling the ball during a game in the 1990s, was a playmaker extraordinaire, known for his uncannily accurate passes. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images 162
league supremacy between Johnsons Lakers and Birds Boston Celtics spurred a new era of fan interest and NBA prosperity. On Nov. 7, 1991, Johnson shocked the basketball worldand made headlines around the globewhen he announced that he was HIV-positive and was immediately retiring from the sport. At the time of his initial retirement, Johnson was the NBAs all-time leader in assists (9,921; broken in 1995 by John Stockton). He returned to basketball to participate in the 1992 All-Star Game (of which he was the MVP) and in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, where he helped the NBAsuperstarladen Dream Team capture the mens basketball gold medal. Later he served briefly as head coach of the Lakers (1994), and he also played with the team for a portion of the 199596 season. He was a minority owner of the franchise from 1994 to 2010. After his retirement from basketball, Johnson became an extremely successful entrepreneurwith estimated holdings of approximately $500 million as of 2010and a prominent HIV/AIDS activist. In 1996 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest players of all time. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
EARL LLOyD
(b. April 3, 1928, Alexandria, Va., U.S.)
Earl Lloyd was the first African American to play in the NBA. In the spring of 1950 Lloyd, who played collegiate basketball at West Virginia State College, was the second black player to be drafted by an NBA team; Chuck Cooper had been chosen by the Boston Celtics a few picks
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Earl Lloyd (right) meeting U.S. vice Pres. Joe Biden in the White House, Washington, D.C., 2010. Official White House Photo by David Lienemann
before Lloyds selection by the Washington Capitols. Nate (Sweetwater) Clifton, however, was the first African American to sign an NBA contract, joining the New York Knicks that summer. The schedule resulted in Lloyd being the first black player to take the court in an NBA game, on Oct. 31, 1950. He scored six points in that first game. Lloyd enjoyed a long career in the NBA and continued his pioneering role as a coach. After a brief stint in the army, he returned to the NBA, where he was a key player for the Syracuse Nationals (195258), helping the team win the championship in 1955. He finished his playing career with the Detroit Pistons (195860). He later rejoined the Pistons as the first African American assistant coach (196870) in the league and the second African American head coach (197172). He also worked as a scout for the Pistons. In 2003 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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GENO AURIEMMA
(b. March 23, 1954, Montella, Italy)
Basketball coach Geno Auriemma led the University of Connecticut womens team to seven NCAA national championships between 1995 and 2010 and to an unprecedented four undefeated seasons. Luigi Auriemmas family immigrated from Italy to Norristown, Pa., when he was seven years old. While attending West Chester State College (now West Chester University of Pennsylvania), Auriemma took an assistant coach position with the womens team at St. Josephs University in nearby Philadelphia. After graduating in 1981, Auriemma joined the coaching staff at the University of Virginia. In 1985with no previous head coaching experiencehe was hired as the Connecticut head coach. He quickly remade Connecticut, which had just one winning season in its history before Auriemma took over, into one of the premier programs in the country. After posting a 1215 record in his first year with the Huskies, Auriemma led the team to winning records in each successive season of his tenure. Auriemma guided the Huskies to a Big East Conference championship in his fourth season and to the Final Four of the NCAA championship tournament in his sixth. In the 199495 season Connecticut won each of its 35 games and captured its first national championship. The Huskies defeated the University of Tennessee in the championship game, which marked the beginning of a long-running rivalry between the two schools and between Auriemma and Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt in particular. Connecticut won a second title in 19992000, and in 200102 the team posted another undefeated season and captured the first of three consecutive NCAA
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championships. The Huskies went 390 during the 2008 09 season to bring their championship total to six under Auriemma. Connecticut matched that result the following season to win another title and in the process broke its own record (established between 2001 and 2003) for most consecutive victories, when the team won its 71st straight game in March 2010.
CHARLES BARKLEy
(b. Feb. 20, 1963, Leeds, Ala., U.S.)
Basketball player and television personality Charles Barkleys larger-than-life character made him one of the most popular figures in NBA history. Over the course of his 16-year NBA career, he became just the fourth player to amass 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists. Barkley was a nondescript high school basketball player until a 6-inch (15-cm) growth spurt helped him become one of the better players in Alabama during his senior year and earn a scholarship to Auburn University. He was an all-conference selection in each of his three seasons at Auburn, and in 1984 he was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth overall pick of the NBA draft. Listed at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres) tall but by most accounts about 2 inches (5 cm) shorter, the Round Mound of Rebound was very undersized for a forward, but his great leaping ability and his skill at establishing position around the basket using his considerable strength quickly made him one of the elite rebounders in the game. He made the first of 11 consecutive AllStar Game appearances in 1987, but the 76ers success as a team was limited. With the exception of a run to the Eastern Conference finals during his rookie season (on a team led by future Hall of Famers Julius Erving and
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Moses Malone), Barkley and the 76ers never advanced farther than the second round of the play-offs during his eight seasons in Philadelphia. His inability to get the 76ers a championship led some to question whether he should be considered a truly elite player. Coupling this with Barkleys outspokenness, which made him unpopular with the teams front office, the team decided to trade him to the Phoenix Suns in 1992. After helping the Suns post the NBAs best record in his first season with the team, Barkley won the leagues Most Valuable Player award. In the following postseason he led the Suns to the NBA finals, a six-game loss to the Chicago Bulls. That season was the highlight of Barkleys tenure in Phoenix, and in 1996 he was traded to the Houston Rockets. He again had an immediate positive impact on a franchise, as the Rockets reached the conference finals in the 199697 season. However, Barkley failed to win his long-sought championship in Houston, and he retired in 2000. Barkley was a member of two U.S. mens basketball teams that won Olympic gold medals (1992, 1996). He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Barkleys postretirement fame arguably surpassed that of his playing days. Always a popular pitchman, he continued to appear in commercials for a wide variety of products after he last stepped off a court. But he was best-known as a commentator on an award-winning NBA studio show on the Turner Network Television cable channel and as a frequent talk show guest. Beginning with his years as a player, Barkley was never shy about expressing his opinionsoften with a large dose of humourwhich helped him create a persona that transcended the basketball world.
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PHIL JACKSON
(b. Sept. 17, 1945, Deer Lodge, Mont., U.S.)
Employing an unorthodox New Age coaching style grounded in Eastern philosophy and Native American mysticism, Phil Jackson coached his teams to 11 NBA championships. Philip Douglas Jackson spent most of his youth in Montana but attended high school in North Dakota. His parents, Pentecostal ministers, preached and practiced a strict religious lifestyle, so sports were Jacksons outlet and eventually his ticket to the outside world. As a member of the University of North Dakota basketball team, he averaged 27.4 points per game as a senior and was named an All-American. Chosen by the NBAs New York Knicks in the 1969 draft, the by then long-haired flower child rode a bicycle to home games in Madison Square Garden, steeped himself in Zen Buddhism, and ingested some mood-altering substancesa countercultural lifestyle he later chronicled in his memoir Maverick (1975). As a professional, the 6-foot-8-inch (2-metre) Jackson was an awkward, stoop-shouldered forward plagued by chronic back pain and caught in the culture clash between cosmopolitan Manhattan and his spartan boyhood. Yet, playing beyond his physical limitations, he became a key role player on Knicks teams that won NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, sharing the court with future Hall of Famers Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Earl Monroe, and Jerry Lucas. In the process Jackson also absorbed the principles of winning basketball from Knicks coach Red Holzman. He remained a member of the Knicks through the 197778 season and then finished out his career with two seasons as a New Jersey Net.
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Phil Jackson first earned his NBA coaching stripes with the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. He took over head coaching duties for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Jackson cut his coaching teeth with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, whom he led to a championship in 1985. In 1987 he became an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. When he replaced the fired Doug Collins as the Bulls head coach in 1989, Jackson wasted no time installing assistant coach Tex Winters triangle offense. He also employed some of the loose-reign management techniques he learned from Holzman with a team that featured the games finest player, Michael Jordan, and budding superstar Scottie Pippen, a pair who were as gifted defensively as they were with the ball in their hands and who Jackson let rove on defense to spread havoc and create turnovers. The results were unprecedented: six NBA championships (twin three-peats, (199193 and 199698). The 199596 Bulls amassed a spectacular regular season record of 72 wins and 10 losses, and Jackson won 200 games faster than any other coach to date.
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After leaving the Bulls and taking a year away from basketball, Jackson returned to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, blessed with another pair of superstars, behemoth centre Shaquille ONeal and wunderkind scoring machine Kobe Bryant, whom Jackson guided to three consecutive championships (200002). Jackson stepped away from the game again for a year in 2004 but returned as the Lakers coach in 2005. He guided the Lakers to another title during the 200809 NBA season to earn his 10th championship, surpassing Red Auerbach for the most titles as a head coach in league history. In 200910 Jackson won his fifth championship with the Lakers and 11th overall. In addition to leading group meditation sessions and burning sage to break losing streaks, Jackson frequently assigned books to be read by his players. He also wrote several books, including Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood W arrior (1995), More Than a Game (2001, with Charley Rosen), and The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul (2004). From Jacksons hippie days to his status as the reigning genius among contemporary NBA coaches was a quantum leap, reflecting a sea change in American attitudes and customs. Yet Jackson bridged those cultural differences with spectacular success. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and named one of the 10 greatest coaches of all time in 1996.
PATRICK EWING
(b. Aug. 5, 1962, Kingston, Jam.)
One of the dominant stars of his era, Patrick Ewing is primarily known for his years playing with the New York Knicks. Ewing arrived in the United States from Jamaica at age 11, and he was introduced to basketball relatively late
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in life while a schoolboy in Cambridge, Mass. He quickly overcame his initial awkwardness on the court and became a hotly recruited player in high school, eventually taking a scholarship offer from Georgetown University. A 7-foot (2.13-metre) centre, Ewing had an outstanding collegiate career at Georgetown, where he led the Hoyas to three appearances in an NCAA Division I national championship game and to a national title in 1984. Additionally, he was named an All-American three times and was voted the Most Outstanding Player of the 1984 Division I basketball tournament. He was drafted with the first overall selection of the 1985 NBA draft by the Knicks, who had earlier that year won the first NBA draft lottery ever held. Ewing was touted as a franchise-saving player as soon as he joined the Knicks, and the young player quickly became the focus of intense media pressure. Over the course of his career, he was selected as an NBA all-star 11 times and led the Knicks to 13 play-off appearances in his 15 years with the teamincluding a trip to the 1994 NBA finalsbut he ultimately failed to lead the Knicks to a title. He also set a number of Knicks franchise records, including points scored, rebounds, and blocked shots. After a pair of one-year stints with the Seattle Supersonics (200001) and the Orlando Magic (200102), Ewing retired in 2002 as one of the greatest players in league history to have never won an NBA titlepossibly because his playing career largely coincided with Michael Jordans years of basketball dominance. He entered into coaching after his retirement, serving as an assistant coach for a number of NBA franchises from 2003. In addition to his storied collegiate and professional careers, he was a member of two gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball teams, including the dominant 1992 Dream Team that consisted of NBA superstars (his other gold medal
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came in 1984). Ewing was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
MICHAEL JORDAN
(b. Feb. 17, 1963, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.)
Widely considered to be the greatest all-around player in the history of the game, Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships (199193, 199698). Jordan grew up in Wilmington, N.C., and entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981. As a freshman, he made the winning basket against Georgetown in the 1982 national championship game. Jordan was named College Player of the Year in both his sophomore and junior years, leaving North Carolina after his junior year. He led the U.S. basketball team to Olympic gold medals in 1984 in Los Angeles and in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. In 1984 Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. In his first season (198485) as a professional, he led the league in scoring and was named Rookie of the Year. After missing most of the following season with a broken foot, he returned to lead the NBA in scoring for seven consecutive seasons, averaging about 32 points per game. He was only the second player (after Wilt Chamberlain) to score 3,000 points in a single season (198687). Jordan was named the NBAs Most Valuable Player five times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998) and was also named Defensive Player of the Year in 1988. In October 1993, after leading the Bulls to their third consecutive championship, Jordan retired briefly to pursue a career in professional baseball. He returned to basketball in March 1995. In the 199596 season Jordan
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Michael Jordans unparalleled basketball skills, engaging personality, and numerous product endorsements helped make him the games first global icon. Getty Images 173
led the Bulls to a 7210 regular season record, the best in the history of the NBA. From 1996 to 1998 the Jordan-led Bulls again won three championships in a row, and each time Jordan was named MVP of the NBA finals. After the 199798 season Jordan retired again. His career totals at that time included 29,277 points (31.5 points per game average), 2,306 steals, and 10 scoring titles. Jordan remained close to the sport, buying a share of the Washington Wizards in January 2000. He was also appointed president of basketball operations for the club. However, managing rosters and salary caps was not enough for Jordan, and in September 2001 he renounced his ownership and management positions with the Wizards in order to be a player on the team. His second return to the NBA was greeted with enthusiasm by the league, which had suffered declining attendance and television ratings since his 1998 retirement. After the 200203 season, Jordan announced his final retirement. He ended his career with 32,292 total points and a 30.12-points-per-game average, which was the best in league history. In 2006 Jordan became minority owner and general manager of the NBAs Charlotte Bobcats. He bought a controlling interest in the team in 2010 and became the first former NBA player to become a majority owner of one of the leagues franchises. At 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres), Jordan, a guard, was an exceptionally talented shooter and passer and a tenacious defender. He earned the nickname Air Jordan because of his extraordinary leaping ability and acrobatic maneuvers. During his playing career Jordans popularity reached heights few athletes (or celebrities of any sort) have known. He accumulated millions of dollars from endorsements (most notably for his Air Jordan basketball shoes). He also made a successful film, Space Jam (1996), in which he starred with animated characters Bugs Bunny and
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Daffy Duck. In 1996 the NBA named him one of the 50 greatest players of all time, and in 2009 he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
DAvID ROBINSON
(b. Aug. 6, 1965, Key West, Fla., U.S.),
Athletic centre David Robinson won two NBA titles with the San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003). Robinson played basketball at the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., leading the academy team to the NCAA tournament in 1985, 1986, and 1987. Although Robinson proved himself one of the best collegiate players in the country, some observers considered it a gamble when the Spurs chose him with the first pick of the 1987 NBA draft, since he had to serve two years of active duty in the U.S. Navy after graduationtime when he would not play for the Spurs or play regularly against top-flight competition. After serving his navy term as a civil-engineering officer, Robinson joined the Spurs in 1989. He quickly established himself as one of the best centres in the NBAaveraging 24.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 3.9 blocked shots per game during his rookie seasonand won the NBAs Rookie of the Year award. Additionally, the Admiral helped the Spurs win 35 more games than they had during the previous seasonat the time the best oneyear improvement in league history. The following season Robinson continued to play extremely well, making the All-NBA first team and the All-NBA defensive first team; the Spurs lost in the first round of the play-offs, however, and Robinsona graceful player whose finesse near the basket ran counter to the traditional physicality of NBA centresbegan to develop a reputation as a player who was soft and unable to win big games.
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Robinson continued to garner individual accolades throughout his early career: he was named the NBAs Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and the Most Valuable Player in 1995, and he earned a place on the leagues official list of the 50 greatest players in NBA history (1996), but his teams routinely disappointed in the postseason. This changed during the 199899 season, when Robinson teamed with second-year power forward Tim Duncan to lead the Spurs to the franchises first NBA championship. The duo won another title in the 200203 season, after which Robinson retired. At the time of his retirement, he ranked among the top 25 players in NBA history in career points and rebounds and was fourth alltime in blocked shots. In addition to his success in the NBA, Robinson was a member of two gold medal-winning U.S. mens basketball teams, including the NBA superstar-filled Dream Team that dominated the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona (he won a second gold at the 1996 Games in Atlanta). In 2009 he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
KARL MALONE
(b. July 24, 1963, Summerfield, La., U.S.)
Owner of the NBA career records for free throws attempted (13,188) and made (9,787), Karl Malone also ranks second in career points scored (36,928), field goals made (13,528), and minutes played (54,852). In 1996 Malone, known as the Mailman because he always delivered, was named one of the NBAs 50 all-time greatest players. After a successful collegiate career at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Malone entered the NBA in 1985 as a first-round draft pick of the Utah Jazz. Standing 6 feet 9
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inches (2.06 metres) tall and weighing 260 pounds (117.5 kg), the muscular player quickly established himself as the dominant power forward in the league. He and point guard John Stockton ran the pick-and-roll play to perfection, with Stockton piling up assists and Malone piling up points. Widely celebrated for his intense workout regimens and his durabilityhe never missed more than two games in any of his 18 seasons with UtahMalone was a tenacious rebounder who could score both by muscling in shots in the low post as well as via his efficient mid-range jump shot. Malone helped the Jazz reach the play-offs in each of his seasons with the team. While the Jazz failed to win a championship during his career, Malone did lead the team into the NBA finals in 1998 and 1999, losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls each time. He was named to the All-NBA first team 11 times and won gold medals at the Olympics in 1992 and 1996. He was twice named the NBAs Most Valuable Player (1997, 1999). In 2003 Malone left the Jazz and played his final season (200304) with the Los Angeles Lakers, who helping them reach the NBA finals (a loss to the Detroit Pistons). He became the director of basketball promotions and the assistant strength-and-conditioning coach at Louisiana Tech in 2007. In 2010 Malone was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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chapter 7
other BasketBall Greats

here a number of standout basketball players who have yet to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Most of the following individuals are active players not yet eligible for induction, but some are retired stars still awaiting their call from Springfield. Regardless of their Hall of Fame status, they are among the most illustrious players in basketball history. (The following biographies are listed in alphabetical order.)
CARMELO ANTHONy
(b. May 29, 1984, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.)
Forward Carmelo Anthony is credited with turning the Denver Nuggets, then the worst team in the NBA, into a play-off team in his first season. Anthony, who grew up in a high-crime neighbourhood in Baltimore, Md., was sent by his mother to school in western Virginia to provide a better learning environment. In 200203 Anthony attended Syracuse University and led the basketball team to its first NCAA championship. Anthony received the 200203 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, partly because of the 33 points he scored in the semifinal game. He also was named Big East Conference Freshman of the Year (2002 03). After his freshman year of college basketball, Anthony entered the NBAs 2003 draft.
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7 Other Basketball Greats
Anthony was the third pick in the draft of that season and signed on with the Denver Nuggets for a three-year contract worth almost $9 million. In his rookie year he started in all 82 regular season games, posting an average of 36.5 minutes playing time per game. He averaged 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game that season. He helped lead the Nuggets to 43 wins, more than doubling their win record from the previous season and earning the team a spot in the play-offs. Anthonys rookie season was considered to be second only to that of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James. After his first season Anthony improved his game performance, averaging 28.9 points per game in the 200607 season and becoming the second youngest player in NBA history to score 5,000 points. He helped the Nuggets reach the 2008-09 Western Conference finals, where the team lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers. Anthonys tenure in Denver, however, was marked by the clubs play-off disappointments, as the Nuggets lost in the first round of six of the seven postseasons into which he led them. Amid much speculation as to how the smallmarket Nuggets could pay Anthony, a free agent at the seasons end, he was traded to the Knicks in February 2011 In addition to his professional achievements, Anthony was a member of both the 2004 bronze-medal-winning U.S. mens Olympic basketball team and the 2008 gold-medalwinning team.
KOBE BRyANT
(b. Aug. 23, 1978, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.)
Considered one of the finest basketball players of all time, Kobe Bryant helped lead the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA to five championships (200002; 200910).
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Bryants father, Joe (Jelly Bean) Bryant, was a professional basketball player who spent eight seasons in the NBA and eight more playing in Italy, where Bryant went to school. When his family returned to the United States, Bryant played basketball at Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., where he received several national Player of the Year awards and broke the southeastern Pennsylvania scoring record set by Wilt Chamberlain with 2,883 points.
Kobe Bryant driving to the basket during a 2010 game against the San Antonio Spurs. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images 180
Bryant opted to forgo college and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft when he graduated from high school. The Charlotte Hornets chose him with the 13th pick of the 1996 draft. He was traded to the Lakers shortly thereafter and became the second youngest NBA player in history when the 199697 season opened. He quickly proved his merit with the Lakers and was selected for the NBA All-Star Game in just his second season, becoming the youngest all-star. Bryant was forced to share the role of the Lakers star player with his popular and talented teammate Shaquille ONeal. The two had an uneasy relationship, but they found success under the leadership of Phil Jackson, who became coach of the Lakers in 1999. Bryant, a shooting guard, and ONeal, a centre, meshed into a remarkably effective combination, and, by the time Bryant was 23, the Lakers had won three consecutive NBA championships. After winning their third title in 2002, Bryant and the Lakers encountered difficulties. In the 2003 play-offs the Lakers were defeated in the second round. Several months later Bryant was accused of raping a young woman in Colorado. He maintained his innocence, and all charges were eventually dropped. The incident, however, greatly tarnished his image. Led by Bryant, the Lakers returned to the finals in 2004, but they were upset by the Detroit Pistons. ONeal subsequently was traded, and Bryant emerged as the teams sole leader. Bryant led the league in scoring during the 200506 and 200607 seasons, and in 2008 he was named the leagues MVP for the first time in his career. Bryant won his fourth NBA title in 2009, and he was named the finals MVP after averaging a stellar 32.4 points per game in the series. He led the Lakers to their third straight Western Conference championship in 200910, and he was once more named NBA finals MVP after the Lakers defeated
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the Boston Celtics in a seven-game series. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was also a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. mens basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
TIM DUNCAN
(b. April 25, 1976, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands)
Unassuming forward-centre Tim Duncan led the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA to four championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007). In his youth, Timothy Theodore Duncan excelled in freestyle swimming and had hopes of participating in the Olympics after seeing his older sister, Tricia, compete as a member of the Virgin Islands swim team in 1988. The following year, however, Hurrican Hugo destroyed most of the islands swimming pools, and Duncan was left unable to train. He began playing basketball and proved a natural at the sport, but he attracted little interest from college scouts. In 1993 Duncan entered Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., where he gained national attention with his all-around play and poise. He was predicted to be the number one pick in the NBA draft following his junior year, but Duncan elected to stay in school. In his final season he received the John R. Wooden Award as the outstanding collegiate player in the United States. After graduating with honours in 1997, Duncan was the Spurs first overall pick. He and teammate David Robinson formed the dominating tandem known as the Twin Towers, and in 1998 Duncan was named Rookie of the Year. The following season he averaged 24 points and 17 rebounds in the NBA finals against the New York Knicks to give the Spurs the franchises first NBA title and earn himself the finals Most Valuable Player award. In 2000 he
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was named co-MVP of the All-Star Game, but he later suffered a knee injury that ended his season and forced him to withdraw from the U.S. mens Olympic basketball team. After recovering from his injury, Duncans performance in the 200102 seasonin which he became the 14th NBA player to have registered more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a single seasonsecured him the leagues MVP award. In 2003 he led the Spurs to victory over the New Jersey Nets, scoring a triple double (21 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists) in the decisive sixth game to claim the NBA title and his second finals MVP award. He was also named MVP for his regular-season play. In 2004 Duncan finally realized his dream of competing in the Olympics, helping the U.S. mens basketball team win a bronze medal at the Athens Games. Following the retirement of Robinson in 2003, Duncan was named captain of the Spurs. In the 200405 season, San Antonio defeated the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, to win their third championship. That year Duncan became just the fourth player to win three finals MVP awards. In 2007 the Spurs swept the Cleveland Cavaliers to capture another title. Off the court, Duncan was involved in charitable works. In 2001 he created the Tim Duncan Foundation, which, among other things, worked to raise funds for youth sports and recreation in San Antonio, WinstonSalem, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
TERESA EDWARDS
(b. July 19, 1964, Cairo, Georgia, U.S.)
The most decorated player in the history of the U.S. national basketball team, point guard Teresa Edwards guided the U.S. national team to gold medals in 14 of 18
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major international tournaments between 1981 and 2000, including four Olympic championships and two world championships. She holds the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest basketball player to win an Olympic gold medal. Edwards claimed that as a girl she was drawn to basketball because it was the one game in which she could trounce the boys. As a student at the University of Georgia (198386), the 5-foot-11-inch (1.8-metre) Edwards played guard for the womens basketball team and averaged 15.5 points and 5.1 assists per game. She helped the team win three Southeastern Conference titles and achieve a record of 116 wins to 17 losses. In 1984, while still in college, Edwards played on the U.S. womens Olympic basketball team, winning her first Olympic gold medal. After graduating from college, she played professional basketball in Italy, Japan, Spain, and France. In 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000, Edwards was again selected for the U.S. womens Olympic basketball team; the team won gold medals in 1988, 1996, and 2000 and a bronze medal in 1992. The American Basketball League (ABL), a professional league for women in the United States, began play in 1996 and allowed Edwards her first chance to play professionally in her home country. When the ABL folded in 1999, Edwards went into semiretirement. In 2003 she signed with the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA, with whom she played for two seasons.
KEvIN GARNETT
(b. May 19, 1976, Mauldin, S.C., U.S.)
One of the most versatile and dominant players of his time, Kevin Garnett led the Boston Celtics to an NBA championship in 2008.
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The Celtics Kevin Garnett shoots over Udonis Haslem of the Miami Heat in 2010. Originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007. Jim Rogash/Getty Images 185
Garnett played three seasons of high school basketball in South Carolina before transferring to a school in Chicago for his senior year. In 1995 the 6-foot-11-inch (2.1metre) Garnett averaged 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 6.5 blocked shots per game while leading his team to a city championship, and he was named national Player of the Year by numerous organizations. After earning the Most Valuable Player award at the McDonalds All-American basketball game and providing an impressive workout for NBA scouts, he declared himself eligible for the 1995 NBA draft. He was chosen by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the drafts fifth overall selection, becoming the first person in 20 years to be drafted by an NBA team directly from high school. Garnett made an immediate impact on the NBA; his mix of size, athleticism, and shooting ability made him a difficult matchup for his opponents. In his second season, he was chosen to play in the NBA All-Star Game, and he led the Timberwolves to the franchises first play-off appearance. In 1997 he signed a contract extension that promised him $126 million over six yearsthe highestpaying long-term contract in the history of American professional sports at that time. Garnetts stint in Minnesota produced a string of notable individual accomplishments he was named an All-Star in 10 of his first 12 seasons and was the NBAs Most Valuable Player for the 200304 seasonbut his team advanced past the first round of the play-offs only once and never made it to the NBA finals. After the 200607 season, the Timberwolves management decided to enter into a rebuilding period, and they traded Garnett to the Boston Celtics for a record seven players. In his first year with Boston, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and he teamed with fellow All-Stars Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to help the Celtics to the NBA championship. Garnett helped an aging Boston
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team reach the NBA finals for the second time in three years during the 200910 season, but the Celtics were ultimately defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
ALLEN IvERSON
(b. June 7, 1975, Hampton, Va., U.S.)
Known for both explosive play on the court and controversy away from the game, Allen Iverson became the first great athlete to be strongly identified with the hip-hop movement. Athletic success and controversy came to Iverson at an early age. At Bethel High School, he led the schools gridiron football and basketball teams to state championships his junior year. At age 17 he was jailed after being accused of starting a racially charged brawl in a bowling alley, but his conviction was later overturned because of lack of evidence. He was offered a scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where in two years he averaged 23 points per game and won two Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards before making the decision to leave school to play professionally. Iverson was chosen first overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Although he was one of the smallest players in the league, standing 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall and weighing 165 pounds (75 kg), Iverson immediately made a big splash, leading his team with a scoring average of 23.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year honours. His quickness and his signature crossover dribble often left even the best defenders helpless. Off the court his baggy clothing, flashy jewelry, and braided hair were not part of the image the NBA wanted to promote. During his early years in the league, he clashed frequently with coaches and team
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officials, was portrayed by the media as a selfish, disruptive player, and had several run-ins with the law. Yet he developed a huge following of young fans who identified with his rebellious image. Despite the controversies that followed him, the Answer proved his talent on the court, taking the league scoring title in 199899 and winning the scoring title, the steals title, and Most Valuable Player honours in 200001 while guiding the 76ers to the NBA finals. In the middle of the 200607 season he was traded to the Denver Nuggets, where he was teamed with young superstar Carmelo Anthony. Iverson was an extremely proficient scorer, and in 2007 he became the sixth fastest player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points. Denver, however, failed to advance beyond the first round of the play-offs, and Iverson expressed a desire to play for a contender. Three games into the 200809 season, he was traded to the Detroit Pistons, but the Pistons finished the season with a losing record and were swept in the first round of the playoffs, leading Iverson and the team to part ways. Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies in September 2009, but, unhappy with his role on the team, he left the Grizzlies after playing only three games, and his contract was terminated soon thereafter. Iverson then announced his retirement from professional basketball, but he instead returned for a second stint with the 76ers after signing with the team in December 2009. The return of the still-popular Iverson led to an upswing in home attendance for the 76ers that proved to be short-lived. He left the team in February 2010 to spend time with his ailing daughter, and the next month the 76ers announced that he would not return for the remainder of the 200910 season. In October 2010 Iverson signed a two-year contract with Besiktas, a Turkish professional team.
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LEBRON JAMES
(b. Dec. 30, 1984, Akron, Ohio, U.S.)
Drafted directly out of high school, LeBron James became the youngest player in NBA history to achieve a number of benchmarks, including winning the Rookie of the Year award and scoring 10,000 career points. A locally known basketball prodigy since elementary school, James was named Ohios Mr. Basketball (high school player of the year) three times while leading Akrons St. VincentSt. Mary High School to three Ohio state championships in his four years on the team. He became a national media sensation in his junior year after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, where he was billed by the magazine as The Chosen One. James was
LeBron James immediately became a franchise player when he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. In 2010, James was at the centre of the most publicized free-agency deal in NBA history when he joined the Miami Heat. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images
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the consensus national high school player of the year in his senior season, and he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers (whose former home area sat halfway between Akron and Cleveland) with the first overall selection of the 2003 NBA draft. Additionally, he signed an unprecedented $90 million endorsement contract with the Nike shoe company before he ever played a professional game. Despite the pressures brought on by these singular circumstances, King James led the Cavaliers in scoring, steals, and minutes played over the course of the 200304 season, winning the leagues Rookie of the Year award in the process. A 6-foot-8-inch (2.03-metre) point forward who was as adept at bringing the ball down the court as at playing near the basket, James presented a unique challenge for opposing teams. His game progressed over the following years. He was voted one of the starting forwards on the Eastern Conference All-Star team during his second season, and in his third season he led the Cavaliers to their first play-off berth in nine years. These accomplishments were exceeded during the 200607 season, when James guided Cleveland to the franchises first berth in the NBA finals: after the Cavaliers upset the favoured Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals, but Jamess impressive postseason play led many observers to place him among the very best players in the league. He led the NBA in scoring during the 200708 season and earned first team All-NBA honours, but the Cavaliers lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics in a dramatic seven-game series in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James piloted the Cavaliers to a team-record 66 wins during the 200809 season, which helped to earn him the leagues Most Valuable Player award. The following season James averaged nearly 30 points per game as he was again named MVP.
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At the end of the 200910 season, James became arguably the most sought-after free agent in NBA history when his contract with the Cavaliers expired, and he began a prolonged courtship process with a number of teams that had in some cases been planning for his free agency for over two years. In an unprecedented hour-long television special, criticized by many for its undue grandiosity, James announced that he was signing with the Heat. In addition to his achievements in the NBA, James was a member of the U.S. mens Olympic basketball teams that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Games and the gold medal at the 2008 Games. He also published a memoir, Shooting Stars (2009; cowritten with Buzz Bissinger), that chronicles his years as a high school standout.
REBECCA LOBO
(b. Oct. 6, 1973, Southwick, Mass., U.S.)
One of the original stars of the Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA), Rebecca Lobo is best known for her outstanding college career at the University of Connecticut. Lobo was part of a close-knit, basketball-oriented family. Her sister, Rachel, was a basketball coach at Salem (Mass.) State College, and her brother, Jason, later a lawyer, played basketball for Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Lobo began breaking records in the sport at Southwick-Tolland High School, becoming the all-time leading scorermale or femalein Massachusetts state history while also managing to star in field hockey, athletics (track and field), softball, and academics. Lobo matriculated to the University of Connecticut, where in 1995 she led the womens basketball team to its first NCAA title and a perfect 350 record. For her efforts
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she was named Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Final Four competition, the Associated Presss Player of the Year, and the Naismith National Player of the Year. She also won the Wade Trophy for her leadership on and off the court, as well as the NCAAs Woman of the Year award for her outstanding achievements in athletics, academics, and community leadership. Over her college career she averaged 16.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and blocked 396 shots. A 6-foot-4-inch (1.9-metre-) forward, Lobo became one of the original players of the newly formed WNBA, which began play in 1997. Her first five seasons were spent with the New York Liberty. She was acquired by the Houston Comets in 2002 and retired the following year. Lobos professional career was marred by injury (a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee sidelined her for two seasons), and she was never the dominant player in the WNBA that she had been as a collegian. With her mother, Ruth Ann Lobo, she cowrote The Home Team (1997), an autobiographical account of Ruth Anns battle with breast cancer. Lobo married sportswriter Steve Rushin in 2003 (becoming known as Rebecca Lobo-Rushin thereafter), and she worked for ESPN as a commentator following her retirement.
ALONzO MOURNING
(b. Feb. 8, 1970, Chesapeake, Va., U.S.)
Alonzo Mourning is notable for recovering from a kidney transplant to win an NBA championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. Mourninga centre 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 metres) tallplayed collegiate basketball at Georgetown
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University, in Washington, D.C. He was the second overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, and he spent three seasons with the team before being traded to the Heat. A seven-time NBA All-Star, he was named the leagues Defensive Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000 and earned first team All-NBA honours in 1999. He won gold medals with the U.S. team at the 1994 world championships and at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Shortly after the Olympics, he was diagnosed with focal glomerulosclerosis, a disease that affects the filtering process of the kidneys. Mourning played in only 13 games the following season but recovered to make the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team in 2002. His condition worsened, however, and he sat out the 200203 season. As a free agent, he signed a four-year contract with the New Jersey Nets in 2003 but was forced to retire in November because of his kidney problems. He received a kidney from his cousin in December and began working toward an NBA comeback soon thereafter. Mourning returned to the Nets for the 200405 season and was subsequently traded to the Toronto Raptors, but he refused to report to the team. After a buyout that again allowed him to become a free agent, he re-signed with the Heat in March 2005. He played limited minutes in his second stint with the Heat but was a valuable reserve as Miami advanced to the 2006 NBA finals. Mourning had his best game of the play-offs in the Heats decisive game-six victory over the Dallas Mavericks, which gave Miami its first championship in franchise history. In December 2007 Mourning suffered a severe knee injury, which forced him to miss the remainder of the 200708 season. He retired from the NBA in January 2009.
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SHAqUILLE ONEAL
(b. March 6, 1972, Newark, N.J., U.S.)
One of the most imposing physical presences to ever step on a basketball court, Shaquille ONeal was named to the NBA list of its 50 greatest players of all time in 1996, after having played just four full seasons in the league. As a high-school senior in San Antonio, Texas, ONeal attracted the attention of college recruiters when his team won the state championship. He attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the nation. He was named the consensus College Player of the Year in 1991. ONeal left school and entered the NBA draft in 1992 and was taken with the first pick by the Orlando Magic. In 2000, however, he finished his studies and earned a degree from LSU. Named NBA Rookie of the Year in 199293, Shaq led the Magic to a 4141 record, 20 wins better than the previous season. Two years later he won the scoring title and led Orlando to the finals against the Houston Rockets. After Houstons sweep of the Magic, ONeal developed a reputation for losing big games. ONeals great size and strengthhe stood 7 feet 1 inch (2.16 metres) tall and weighed 315 pounds (143 kg)made him virtually impossible to stop on the offensive end of the court. He was, however, a poor free-throw shooter, and opponents adopted a strategy (known as Hack-a-Shaq) of intentionally fouling him, knowing that he was less likely to make free throws than to score a field goal. ONeal was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in 1996, the same year he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. Although ONeal
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Shaquille ONeal posing with the Los Angeles Lakers 2001 NBA championship trophy and his own NBA finals Most v aluable Player award. Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
continued to dominate on offense, his teams also continued to disappoint in the play-offs. That changed in 19992000, when, under new Lakers coach Phil Jackson, ONeal became the leagues Most Valuable Player. At Jacksons urging, ONeal became more of a team player, paying special attention to his defense, rebounding, and free-throw shooting. The result was that ONeal led the Lakers to championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003. In 2004 ONeal was traded to the Miami Heat, where he teamed with the talented young guard Dwyane Wade to lead Miami to an NBA championship in 2006. Injuries limited ONeals production over the following seasons, and he was traded to the Phoenix Suns in February 2008. ONeals playing style did not mix well with the Suns up-tempo game, anddespite having had a very solid 200809 seasonhe was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers
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in 2009 as Phoenix began a rebuilding process. He signed with the Boston Celtics in 2010. ONeal had limited success as a rapper and as an actor, starring in such feature films as Blue Chips (1994), Kazaam (1996), and Steel (1997). His gregarious personality and charm made him a popular pitchman throughout his career.
DENNIS RODMAN
(b. May 13, 1961, Trenton, N.J., U.S.)
One of the most skilled rebounders, best defenders, and most outrageous characters in the history of the professional game, Dennis Rodman was a key part of two NBA championship teams with the Detroit Pistons (198990) and three with the Chicago Bulls (199698). Rodman, who was 5 feet 11 inches (1.75 metres) tall when he graduated from high school in Dallas and who tried and failed to make the school basketball team four times, shot up more than another 7 inches (18 cm) and earned a spot on the Cooke County Junior College team in Dallas in 1981. A scholarship to play at Southeastern Oklahoma State University followed. Proving himself to be a prodigious collegiate rebounder, he was drafted in 1986 by the Pistons and was pivotal to the success of Detroits Bad Boys championship teams. In addition to being a tenacious defensive player (he was named seven times to the NBAs All-Defensive team), Rodman became a ferocious rebounder. Although he was not an exceptional leaper, his timing, tenacity, and desire, combined with his ability to enrage opponents by holding, grabbing, and shoving, made Rodman one of the leagues top rebounders. He led the league in rebounding seven straight seasons (199192 to 199798),
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finishing with an astounding total of 11,954 in 14 professional seasons. Following his tenure with the Pistons, the Worm played briefly with the San Antonio Spurs (199395) before moving on to the Bulls. It was during this period that Rodmanhaving already established a reputation for on-court temper tantrums and erratic off-court behaviourbecame known for outlandish antics that made him a national celebrity. In addition to repeatedly defying the authority of coaches and league officials, Rodman turned his body into a gallery of tattoos, piercings, and ever-shifting day-glo hair colour; he also engaged in a wild partying lifestyle, famously dating popular music diva Madonna. He was later briefly married to Baywatch television star Carmen Electra (his second marriage), and, at one point, clad in a brides gown, he staged a wedding with himself. At times, when Rodmans mood swings made his behaviour seem uncontrollable, even his admirers suspected a breakdown was near. The image most fans preferred for Rodman was as a Bad Boy, living on the edge. Bulls coach Phil Jackson and the teams superstar Michael Jordan overlooked his behaviour, but Rodman always seemed to rise to the occasion on court, especially when a key rebound was needed. Unquestionably he played a vital role in the last three of the Bulls six NBA titles during the Jordan dynasty of the 1990s. Rodmans contributions were much more marginal during his final stops in the NBA: 23 games with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 199899 season and 12 games with the Dallas Mavericks in 19992000. He tried his hand at acting in motion pictures and at professional wrestling but was not particularly successful in either of these fields. As time passed, Rodman, the author or coauthor of three works of autobiographyAs Bad as I Wanna Be (1996), W alk on the Wild Side (1997), and I Should Be Dead by Now
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(2005)found himself increasingly less in the limelight that he seemed to crave. In the end, sociologists may have more to say about the life and times of Dennis Rodman than basketball buffs. Yet for all his charisma, controversy, bizarre behaviour, and off-court trips in and out of reality, two facts will stand out clearly amid the confusion surrounding Rodmans NBA career. He was a great rebounder and an even more spectacular entertainer. When the final verdict on the Rodman enigma arrives, however, his strange, powerful personality will likely take precedence over mere statistics.
SHERyL SWOOPES
(b. March 25, 1971, Brownfield, Tex., U.S.)
Sheryl Swoopes won three WNBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards (2000, 2002, 2005) and four WNBA titles (19972000) as a member of the Houston Comets. After being named the 1991 national Junior College Player of the Year, Swoopes transferred to Texas Tech University. There she won the National Player of the Year award in her senior season as she led the Lady Raiders to the 1993 NCAA national championship (where Swoopes set a record for most points scored in the title game, with 47). She joined the Comets before the WNBAs inaugural campaign in 1997, and she helped the team win that seasons WNBA title. Swoopes and the Comets reeled off three additional championships in the next three years, the last of which (in 2000) came after a regular season in which she scored a career-high 20.7 points per game and won the leagues MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Swoopes won both the MVP and Defensive
198
Player of the Year awards again in 2002. She repeated as Defensive Player of the Year in 2003 after leading the league in steals per game, and in 2005 she became the leagues first three-time MVP. In 2005 Swoopes made national news when she revealed that she was gay, becoming the most prominent athlete in a North American team sport to do so. A back injury limited her to appearances in just three games in 2007, and in 2008 she joined the Seattle Storm but was released at the end of the season. Swoopes played with the Greek team Esperides in 2010. A five-time All-WNBA first-team selection, Swoopes also won three Olympic gold medals as a member of the U.S. womens national basketball team (1996, 2000, 2004).
yAO MING
(b. Sept. 12, 1980, Shanghai, China)
Chinese basketball player Yao Ming became an international star as a centre for the Houston Rockets. Yao was born to accomplished basketball-playing parents who each stood more than 6 feet (1.8 metres) tall. From an early age Yao towered over his classmates. By the time he was 12 years old, he was attending a local sports academy and practicing basketball several hours a day. In 1997 he joined the Shanghai Sharks of the China Basketball Association. By the time he led the Chinese team to a respectable 10th-place finish at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Yao had become a national icon. The 7-foot-6-inch (2.29-metre) Yao was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. In the 200203 season he was voted by fans to start for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game and was a unanimous selection to the leagues All-Rookie
199
team. Although the Rockets narrowly missed making the NBA play-offs in 2003, Yao helped lead the team to a 4339 recordan impressive turnaround from the Rockets 2854 record just one season earlier. With his soft shooting touch and deft passing ability, Yao earned all-star honours in each of the following six seasons and helped the Rockets to play-off appearances in five of those years (2004, 2005, 200709). However, he suffered a series of broken bones in his legs and feet over the course of his first seven years with the Rockets, and his 200809 season ended during the play-offs as the result of a broken foot, which then failed to heal properly. He underwent surgery during the following off-season, but the damage was so severe that he missed the entire 200910 NBA season. Yao returned for five games at the start of the 201011 season before suffering a stress fracture in his ankle, and it was announced that he would be sidelined for the remainder of the season. Yaos impact on basketball culture extended far past his on-court accomplishments. He drew large crowds wherever the Rockets played, and Houston games were broadcast to huge audiences in China and other Asian countries. A media favourite, Yao became a pitchman for numerous companies and was the focus of the NBAs efforts to popularize the league around the globe.
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epIloGue
uch like gridiron football, basketball has changed dramatically from its incipient 19th-century form to its current state. The intensely physical, slow-moving game that James A. Naismith developedwith competitors whose feet never left the groundhas evolved into a graceful, high-flying event that features players who are considered by many to be the greatest pure athletes in the world. Modern basketball is also the most stylish of the major team sports, and certain star playersfrom Walt Frazier to Michael Jordan and Allen Iversonhave had an indelible impact on basketball that has reverberated into the wider culture as well.
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appendIx: BasketBall champIonshIp WInners

NBA CHAMPIONSHIP
NATiONAl BASkeTBAll ASSOCiATiON (NBA) CHAmPiONSHiP season winner runner-up results
194647 194748 194849 194950 195051 195152 195253 195354 195455 195556 195657 195758 195859 195960 Philadelphia Warriors Chicago Stags Baltimore Bullets Minneapolis Lakers Minneapolis Lakers Rochester Royals Minneapolis Lakers Minneapolis Lakers Minneapolis Lakers Syracuse Nationals Philadelphia Warriors Boston Celtics St. Louis Hawks Boston Celtics Boston Celtics 41 Philadelphia Warriors 42 Washington Capitols 42 Syracuse Nationals New York Knickerbockers New York Knickerbockers New York Knickerbockers Syracuse Nationals Fort Wayne Pistons Fort Wayne Pistons St. Louis Hawks Boston Celtics Minneapolis Lakers St. Louis Hawks
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42 43 43 41 43 43 41 43 42 40 43
7 Appendix: Basketball Championship Winners
season
196061 196162 196263 196364 196465 196566 196667 196768 196869 196970 197071 197172 197273 197374 197475 197576 197677 197778 197879 197980 198081 198182 198283 198384 198485
winner
Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Philadelphia 76ers Boston Celtics Boston Celtics New York Knickerbockers Milwaukee Bucks Los Angeles Lakers New York Knickerbockers Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Washington Bullets Seattle SuperSonics Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Philadelphia 76ers Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers
runner-up
St. Louis Hawks Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers San Francisco Warriors Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers San Francisco Warriors Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Baltimore Bullets New York Knickerbockers Los Angeles Lakers Milwaukee Bucks Phoenix Suns Seattle SuperSonics Washington Bullets Philadelphia 76ers Houston Rockets Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Boston Celtics
203
results
41 43 42 41 41 43 42 42 43 43 40 41 41 43 40 42 42 43 41 42 42 42 40 43 42
Golden State Warriors Washington Bullets Portland Trail Blazers Philadelphia 76ers
season
198586 198687 198788 198889 198990 199091 199192 199293 199394 199495 199596 199697 199798 199899 1999 2000 200102 200203
winner
Boston Celtics Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons Detroit Pistons Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls Houston Rockets Houston Rockets Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Lakers
runner-up
Houston Rockets Boston Celtics Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns New York Knickerbockers Orlando Magic Seattle SuperSonics Utah Jazz Utah Jazz New York Knickerbockers Indiana Pacers Philadelphia 76ers New Jersey Nets New Jersey Nets Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons Dallas Mavericks Cleveland Cavaliers Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Boston Celtics
results
42 42 43 40 41 42 43 40 42 42 42 41 42 41 40 42 41 43 42 40 42 41 43
Portland Trail Blazers 41 Portland Trail Blazers 42
200001 Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers San Antonio Spurs
200304 Detroit Pistons 200405 San Antonio Spurs 200506 Miami Heat 200607 San Antonio Spurs 200708 Boston Celtics 200809 Los Angeles Lakers 200910 Los Angeles Lakers
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WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP
WOmeNS NATiONAl BASkeTBAll ASSOCiATiON (WNBA) CHAmPiONSHiP* year winner runner-up results
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Houston Comets Houston Comets Houston Comets Houston Comets Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks Detroit Shock Seattle Storm Sacramento Monarchs Detroit Shock Phoenix Mercury Detroit Shock Phoenix Mercury New York Liberty Phoenix Mercury New York Liberty New York Liberty Charlotte Sting New York Liberty Los Angeles Sparks Connecticut Sun Connecticut Sun Sacramento Monarchs Detroit Shock San Antonio Silver Stars Indiana Fever 10 21 21 20 20 20 21 21 31 32 32 30 32
2010 Seattle Storm Atlanta Dream 30 *Best-of-three final series until 2005; thereafter best-of-five series.
NCAA MENS CHAMPIONSHIP

DiviSiON i NATiONAl COlleGiATe ATHleTiC ASSOCiATiON (NCAA) CHAmPiONSHiPmeN year winner runner-up score
1939 1940 Oregon Indiana Ohio State Kansas 4643 6042
205
year
1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
winner
Wisconsin Stanford Wyoming Utah Oklahoma A & M Oklahoma A & M Holy Cross Kentucky Kentucky CCNY Kentucky Kansas Indiana La Salle San Francisco San Francisco North Carolina Kentucky California (Berkeley) Ohio State Cincinnati Cincinnati Loyola (Ill.) UCLA UCLA Texas Western UCLA UCLA UCLA
runner-up
Washington State Dartmouth Georgetown Dartmouth New York North Carolina Oklahoma Baylor Oklahoma State Bradley Kansas State St. Johns (N.Y.) Kansas Bradley La Salle Iowa Kansas Seattle West Virginia California (Berkeley) Ohio State Ohio State Cincinnati Duke Michigan Kentucky Dayton North Carolina Purdue
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score
3934 5338 4634 4240 4945 4340 5847 5842 4636 7168 6858 8063 6968 9276 7763 8371 5453 8472 7170 7555 7065 7159 6058 9883 9180 7265 7964 7855 9272
year
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 UCLA UCLA UCLA UCLA
winner
runner-up
Jacksonville Villanova Florida State Memphis State Marquette Kentucky Michigan North Carolina Duke Indiana State UCLA North Carolina Georgetown Houston Houston Georgetown Duke Syracuse Oklahoma Seton Hall Duke Kansas Michigan Michigan Duke Arkansas Syracuse Kentucky Utah
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score
8069 6862 8176 8766 7664 9285 8668 6759 9488 7564 5954 6350 6362 5452 8475 6664 7269 7473 8379 8079 10373 7265 7151 7771 7672 8978 7667 8479 7869
North Carolina State UCLA Indiana Marquette Kentucky Michigan State Louisville Indiana North Carolina North Carolina State Georgetown Villanova Louisville Indiana Kansas Michigan UNLV Duke Duke North Carolina Arkansas UCLA Kentucky Arizona Kentucky
year
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
winner
Connecticut Michigan State Duke Maryland Syracuse Connecticut North Carolina Florida Florida Kansas North Carolina Duke Connecticut
runner-up
Duke Florida Arizona Indiana Kansas Georgia Tech Illinois UCLA Ohio State Memphis Michigan State Butler Butler
score
7774 8976 8272 6452 8178 8273 7570 7357 8475 7568 8972 6159 5341
NCAA WOMENS CHAMPIONSHIP

DiviSiON i NATiONAl COlleGiATe ATHleTiC ASSOCiATiON (NCAA) CHAmPiONSHiPWOmeN year winner runner-up score
1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Louisiana Tech Southern California Southern California Old Dominion Texas Tennessee Louisiana Tech Tennessee Stanford Tennessee Stanford Cheney (Pa.) Louisiana Tech Tennessee Georgia Southern California Louisiana Tech Auburn Auburn Auburn Virginia Western Kentucky
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7662 6967 7261 7065 9781 6744 5654 7660 8881 7067 7862
year
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
winner
Texas Tech North Carolina Connecticut Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Purdue Connecticut Notre Dame Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut Baylor Maryland Tennessee Tennessee Connecticut Connecticut Texas A&M
runner-up
Ohio State Louisiana Tech Tennessee Georgia Old Dominion Louisiana Tech Duke Tennessee Purdue Oklahoma Tennessee Tennessee Michigan State Duke Rutgers Stanford Louisville Stanford Notre Dame
score
8482 6059 7064 8365 6859 9375 6245 7152 6866 8270 7368 7061 8462 7875 5946 6448 7654 5347 7670
FIBA MENS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

WOrlD BASkeTBAll CHAmPiONSHiPmeN winner runner-up
United States United States Argentina United States United States
209
year
1936* 1948* 1950 1952* 1954
Canada France United States U.S.S.R. Brazil
year
1956* 1959 1960* 1963 1964* 1967 1968* 1970 1972* 1974 1976* 1978 1980* 1982 1984* 1986 1988* 1990 1992* 1994 1996* 1998 2000* 2002 2004* 2006 2008* Brazil**
winner
United States United States Brazil United States U.S.S.R. United States Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. United States Yugoslavia Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. United States United States U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia United States United States United States Yugoslavia United States Yugoslavia Argentina Spain United States
runner-up
U.S.S.R. United States U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia Yugoslavia Brazil United States Yugoslavia Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. Italy United States Spain U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. Croatia Russia Yugoslavia Russia France Argentina Italy Greece Spain
2010 United States Turkey *Olympic championships, recognized as world championships. **By default.
210
FIBA WOMENS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

WOrlD BASkeTBAll CHAmPiONSHiPWOmeN winner runner-up
United States United States U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. United States U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. United States United States United States United States Unified Team** Brazil United States United States United States United States United States Australia United States Chile U.S.S.R. Bulgaria Czechoslovakia South Korea Czechoslovakia Japan United States South Korea Bulgaria United States South Korea U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia Yugoslavia China China Brazil Russia Australia Russia Australia Russia Australia
year
1953 1957 1959 1964 1967 1971 1975 1976* 1979 1980* 1983 1984* 1986 1988* 1990 1992* 1994 1996* 1998 2000* 2002 2004* 2006 2008*
2010 United States Czech Republic *Olympic championships, recognized as world championships. **Athletes from the Commonwealth of Independent States plus Georgia.
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Glossary
assist A pass that directly leads to a teammate scoring a field goal. backboard A solid barrier placed behind a basketball goal designed to aid scoring and better keep the ball from going out of bounds; originally used to keep the ball away from spectators. barnstorm To travel from place to place staging games. berth Placement in an athletic tournament or contest. centre The player on a basketball team whose play usually occurs near the basket; typically the tallest person on the team. draft A system whereby exclusive rights to selected new players are apportioned among professional teams. dribble One of two ways (passing is the other) by which basketball players advance the ball while they themselves are moving; bouncing the ball with one hand in a continuous effort. dunk A shot made by jumping high into the air and throwing the ball down through the basket. fast break A quick offensive drive toward the basket in an attempt to score before the opponents defense has a chance to get set. flagrant foul A physical transgression against an opposing player that is both obvious and unnecessary. forward A basketball player who plays at the front of his teams formation near the basket at which his team is attempting to score.
212
7 Glossary
free throw An unhindered shot, worth one point, that is made from behind a set line at the top of the lane near the basket; awarded because of a foul by an opponent. glass ceiling An intangible barrier that prevents women or minorities from obtaining upper-level positions. goaltending A violation that involves touching or deflecting a ball that is on its downward path toward the basket, or on or within the rim of the basket. hook shot A shot made while the player, who is turned sideways and perpendicular to the basket, swings the ball up in an arc with his or her far hand. jump shot A shot made by jumping into the air and releasing the ball with one or both hands at the peak of the jump. layup A shot made when a player jumps up while near the basket and lays the ball in to the goal; most layups involve playing the ball off of the backboard. parquet A patterned wood surface featuring interconnected panels of different colours. pick-and-roll A basketball play in which a player sets a screen between a ball-handling teammate and a defender from the opposing team, and then cuts toward the basket for a pass. play-off games Contests played after the end of a regular season that determine a leagues championship. point guard The player who is chiefly responsible for running a teams offense and usually brings the ball up the court. power forward A basketball forward whose size and strength are used primarily to control play near the basket.
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press An aggressive, pressuring basketball defense, employed over the entire court; also known as the full-court press. prolific Marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity. screen A manoeuvre whereby an offensive player uses his or her body to impede the progress of an opponent who is guarding one of the offensive players teammates. shooting guard A guard in basketball whose chief role is as an outside shooter. small forward A basketball forward whose play is characterized by quickness and versatility; usually smaller than a power forward. technical foul A foul called when a basketball player or coach is guilty of behaviour that is inappropriate, overly aggressive, or abusive, such as swearing or fighting.
214
BIBlIoGraphy
Histories of the game of basketball include Basketball: Its Origin and Development (1941, reissued 1996), by the games inventor, James Naismith. Bernice Larson Webb, The Basketball Man: James Naismith, rev. ed. (1994), is a comprehensive biography of Naismith. Joan S. Holt and Marianna Trekell (eds.), A Century of Womens Basketball: From Frailty to Final Four (1991), is a comprehensive treatment of the womens game. Other studies of the sport include Rick Telander, Heaven Is a Playground (1976), a chronicle of the New York City playground basketball scene; Stanley Cohen, The Game They Played (1977), a view of the gambling scandals that rocked college basketball in the 1950s; David Halberstam, The Breaks of the Game (1981), a behind-thescenes chronicle of a season spent with the Portland Trail Blazers; John Feinstein, A Season on the Brink: A year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers (1986), a compelling account of the 198586 Indiana Hoosiers mens basketball team; Joe Gergen, The Final Four (1987), a history of the NCAA; Robert W. Peterson, Cages to Jump Shots: Pro Basketballs Early years (1990), a history of the developing professional game with an emphasis on the contributions of African and Jewish Americans; Terry Pluto, Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association (1990), a history of the ABA told through interviews with notable figures from that league; Sam Smith, The Jordan Rules (1992), an account of Michael Jordans peak years; Todd Boyd, young, Black, Rich, and Famous: The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion, and the
215
Transformation of American Culture, an exploration of the effect of hip-hop culture on the sport; Seth Davis, When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball (2009), a description of the 1979 NCAA championship game and the larger rivalry of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird; and FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History (2010), an irreverent and insightful history of professional basketball with an emphasis on the sports impact on American culture. The NBAs Official Encyclopedia of Pro Basketball, 3rd ed. (2000), has general information and statistics. Further records and statistics are provided in The Official NBA Guide (annual), NBA Register (annual), and The Official WNBA Guide and Register (annual), all published by The Sporting News, which give the records for the preceding year and the career surveys of all players in that year; and The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Guide (annual), with U.S. college records, schedules, and statistics.
216
Index
A
Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, 13, 19, 72, 80, 105, 107, 123, 127, 147148, 157 Allen, Phog, 3233, 129 Allen, Ray, 5152, 73, 94, 186 All-Star Game, 41, 47, 56, 163, 166, 181, 183, 186, 199200 American Basketball Association (ABA), 27, 36, 46 Anthony, Carmelo, 57, 90, 178179, 188 Atlanta Hawks, 47, 56, 67, 7375, 76, 137, 160 Auerbach, Red, 4849, 51, 115116, 170 Auriemma, Geno, 165166 and height advantage, 1114 principles of play, 4245 rules, 3536, 3738 televised games, 14 tournaments, 1415, 17 Basketball Association of America (BAA), 26, 46, 48, 54, 57, 67, 113 basketball nets, 5 Baylor, Elgin, 105, 120121 Bird, Larry, 14, 47, 50, 71, 107, 154156, 161, 163 Blazejowski, Carol, 145147 blocking, 39 Bosh, Chris, 60, 77 Boston Celtics, 13, 47, 4852, 62, 65, 66, 7275, 79, 83, 102, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110, 115116, 119, 121, 132, 133, 137, 154, 156, 157, 182, 184 Bradley, Bill, 54, 128129, 168 Brown, Larry, 53, 76, 130 Brown, Walter A., 26, 48 Bryant, Kobe, 107, 170, 179182 Buffalo Germans, 23
B
backboard, 5, 35, 37, 39 Baltimore Bullets, 72, 80, 98, 140 Barkley, Charles, 59, 83, 108109, 166167 Barry, Rick, 101, 133135 basket, 15 basketball changes to the game, 79 coaching strategies, 1011 common terms, 3942 early years, 16
C
Canada, 6, 7, 47, 59, 85 Chamberlain, Wilt, 25, 50, 100, 121124 Charlotte Bobcats, 47, 7576, 174 Charlotte Hornets, 76, 181, 193
217
7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7 Chicago Bulls, 47, 48, 56, 58, 6065, 66, 67, 69, 71, 7677, 93, 94, 95, 9899, 157, 167, 169, 172, 174, 177, 196, 197 Cleveland Cavaliers, 47, 6567, 93, 102, 135, 157, 179, 183, 190, 191, 195 college basketball, 69, 14, 15, 19, 20, 29, 33, 37 Collins, Doug, 62, 169 commentators, 81, 117, 134, 141, 152, 167, 192 Continental Basketball Association, 6869, 169 Cooper, Cynthia, 31, 32 Cousy, Bob, 13, 49, 110, 115116 Embry, Wayne, 66, 72, 110, 125, 145, 156158 Erving, Julius (Dr. J), 52, 58, 59, 141142, 160, 166 Ewing, Patrick, 55, 57, 84, 170172
F
fans, 13, 15, 16, 26, 57, 95, 115, 116, 154, 163, 188, 197, 199 films, 75, 136, 148, 174, 196 fouls, 27, 34, 35, 37 Frazier, Walt, 54, 135136, 168 free agents, 77, 78, 82, 108, 179, 191, 193 free throws, 27, 34, 37, 134
D
Dallas Mavericks, 47, 77, 8182, 92, 102, 154, 193, 197 DeBusschere, Dave, 54, 69, 168 defense, 4445 Denver Nuggets, 47, 8890, 92, 94, 95, 178, 179, 188 Detroit Pistons, 47, 57, 62, 66, 6770, 77, 92, 96, 97, 164, 177, 181, 183, 188, 190, 196, 197 Donovan, Anne, 145, 148151 draft, 2627, 29, 34 Dream Team, 64, 163, 171, 176 Drexler, Clyde, 83, 84, 96 dribbling, 13, 26, 36, 39, 4243 Duncan, Tim, 88, 176, 182183 dunk shot, 13, 40, 75, 141, 147
G
gambling, 14, 17 Garnett, Kevin, 51, 91, 184187 general managers, 49, 56, 64, 66, 70, 72, 76, 82, 85, 105, 106, 115116, 120, 145, 146, 152, 154, 156, 157, 174 Golden State Warriors, 48, 58, 72, 100102, 123, 125, 133, 134 Great Depression, 26
H
Hall of Fame, 112, 145 Hardaway, Tim, 76, 78, 101 Harlem Globetrotters, 2425, 123, 154 Havlicek, John, 49, 50, 115, 124, 132133 Hayes, Elvin, 79, 80, 82
E
Eastern Conference (NBA), 4881 Edwards, Teresa, 183184
218
7 Houston Rockets, 47, 64, 78, 8285, 92, 99, 100, 134, 160, 167, 194, 199, 200
Index
I
Indiana Pacers, 47, 7071, 73, 78, 89, 152, 156 Iverson, Allen, 59, 187188
J
Jackson, Phil, 62, 6364, 107, 168170, 181, 195, 197 James, LeBron, 67, 77, 179, 189191 Johnson, Dennis, 50, 92 Johnson, Magic, 13, 47, 50, 92, 105, 107, 156, 161163 Johnson, Marques, 72 Johnson, Vinnie, 69 Jordan, Michael, 93, 94, 96, 99, 123, 130, 157, 169, 171, 172175 jump ball, 40, 42 jump shot, 9
Los Angeles Clippers, 48, 102103, 121, 144 Los Angeles Lakers, 48, 50, 52, 59, 62, 64, 71, 72, 78, 103105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 113114, 120121, 125, 135, 147, 161, 163, 170, 177 Love, Bob, 60, 98 Lucas, Jerry, 110, 124126, 132, 157, 168 Luisetti, Hank, 910
M
Malone, Karl, 41, 97, 99, 176177 Malone, Moses, 5859, 80, 82, 83, 160161, 167 Maravich, Pete, 13, 75, 97, 136137 March Madness, 1516, 19, 159 McGuire, Al, 140141 McHale, Kevin, 50, 91 Memphis Grizzlies, 47, 8586, 107, 188 Miami Heat, 47, 55, 7677, 82, 191, 192, 193 Mikan, George, 11, 27, 105, 112114 Miller, Cheryl, 32, 145, 151152 Miller, Reggie, 71 Milwaukee Bucks, 14, 47, 7173, 127, 147, 157 Minnesota Timberwolves, 47, 78, 9091, 186 Monroe, Earl, 79, 168 Mourning, Alonzo, 76, 86, 192193
K
Kidd, Jason, 53 King, Bernard, 55, 80 Knight, Bob, 124, 129, 132, 137140, 158159 Krzyzewski, Mike, 158159
L
Lapchick, Joe, 11, 114115 Lieberman, Nancy, 148, 153154 Lloyd, Earl, 145, 163164 Lobo, Rebecca, 31, 191192
N
Naismith, James A., 12, 3, 6, 10, 20, 32, 33, 35 219
7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7 Nance, Larry, 66 National Basketball Association (NBA), 25, 26, 46111 National Basketball Association (NBA) divisions Atlantic, 4860 Central, 6073 Northwest, 88100 Pacific, 100111 Southeast, 7381 Southwest, 8188 National Basketball League (NBL), 25, 26, 46, 57, 67, 73, 103, 109, 100, 113, 118 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 51, 84, 120, 124 Nelson, Don, 72, 82, 93, 101, 102 New Jersey Nets, 47, 5253, 66, 77, 183, 193 New Orleans Hornets, 47, 8687 New York Celtics, 25, 114 New York Knicks, 47, 5457, 71, 72, 76, 77, 90, 105, 110, 128, 135, 136, 168, 170, 171, 182 New York Liberty, 31, 146, 147, 192 New York Nationals, 25, 57, 58, 118, 164 New York Nets, 52, 58, 89, 134, 141 New York Renaissance, 24, 25 New York Wanderers, 15, 23 Olympic Games, 21, 22, 32, 33, 41, 51, 64, 93, 106, 124, 125, 126, 128, 130, 139, 146, 150, 151, 153, 159, 163, 167, 171, 172, 176, 177, 179, 182, 183, 184, 191, 193, 194, 199 ONeal, Shaquille, 71, 77, 78, 107, 109, 170, 181, 194196 Original Celtics, 11, 13, 25, 114 Orlando Magic, 13, 47, 50, 67, 76, 7779, 108, 142, 156, 161163, 171, 194 Oshkosh All Stars, 25
P
Parish, Robert, 50 Pettit, Bob, 73, 74 Philadelphia 76ers, 47, 52, 53, 5759, 72, 95, 116, 119, 123, 133, 141, 160, 166, 167, 187, 188 Phoenix Suns, 47, 50, 59, 72, 92, 94, 97, 103, 108109, 167, 195 Pippen, Scottie, 62, 6364, 169 play-off games, 27 Pollin, Abe, 79, 81 Portland Trail Blazers, 47, 58, 64, 68, 69, 89, 92, 93, 9597, 143, 144 Price, Mark, 66
R
racial integration, 25, 130 Reed, Willis, 54, 56, 125, 148, 168 Riley, Pat, 76, 77, 107 Robertson, Oscar, 13, 72, 110, 125, 126128, 157 Rodman, Dennis, 63, 64, 69, 196198
O
offense, 4344 Oklahoma City Thunder, 47, 9195 Olajuwon, Hakeem, 83, 8485
220
Index
Russell, Bill, 13, 48, 49, 50, 51, 92, 101, 115, 116, 123, 157
U
Utah Jazz, 41, 47, 64, 90, 97100, 176, 177
S
Sacramento Kings, 48, 51, 56, 109111, 124, 157 salary, for players, 29, 137, 174, 186 San Antonio Spurs, 47, 67, 70, 8788, 96, 100, 175, 176, 182, 183, 190 Schayes, Dolph, 57, 118119 scoring, 7, 10, 11, 20, 35, 43, 44 Sharman, Bill, 49, 115, 116, 119120 slam dunk, 40, 75, 141 Sloan, Jerry, 60, 9899 Smith, Dean, 129130, 139140 Sprewell, Latrell, 91 Stern, David, 47 St. Louis Hawks, 47, 49, 51, 56, 67, 7375, 93, 137, 160 Stockton, John, 41, 97, 99, 163, 177 Summitt, Pat, 2122, 130, 165 Swoopes, Sheryl, 31, 32, 198199
V
Van Lier, Norm, 60, 98 violations, 14, 35, 42, 129
W
Wade, Dwyane, 77, 195 Walker, Chet, 60, 98 Walker, Jimmy, 69 Walton, Bill, 19, 95, 119, 135, 143144 Washington Bullets, 65, 79, 80, 92, 101, 134, 160 Washington Wizards, 47, 77, 7981, 136, 174 West, Jerry, 85, 86, 105, 106107, 121 Wilkens, Lenny, 66, 91, 92, 93, 157 women in basketball, 2022, 130, 145, 147, 148154, 183184, 191192 Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA), 2931 womens teams, 31 World War II, 19, 23, 113, 115
T
television, 14, 15, 27, 29, 47, 93, 144, 148, 152, 167, 174, 191, 197 Thomas, Isiah, 13, 57, 6869 three-point shot, 9, 35, 62 Toronto Raptors, 47, 5960, 69, 85, 93, 157, 193 Twyman, Jack, 110, 125, 131132
Y
Yao Ming, 83, 199200
221

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Published in 2011 by Britannica Educational Publishing (a trademark of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.

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7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7

7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7

7 The Britannica Guide to Basketball 7

the hIstory of BasketBall