1.
Smoothie King Center
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The Smoothie King Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the citys Central Business District, adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the arena opened in 1999 as New Orleans Arena and has been home to the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association since 2002. The New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League played their games in the arena from 2004 until the team disbanded in 2008. The VooDoo resumed play at the arena in March 2011, until after the 2015 AFL season when the franchise folded, the arena was completed in 1999 at a cost of $114 million and officially opened on October 19,1999. The arena seats 17,805 for concerts,16,867 for Pelicans games and it has 2,800 club seats and 56 luxury suites. The arena as a venue can seat 7,500 for half-stage shows,17,221 for end-stage shows and 17,805 for a center-stage shows. For trade shows and conventions the arena features 17,000 square feet of space, the ceiling is 65 feet to beam and roof,70 feet to the top of the arena. In 1999, the arenas first tenant, the New Orleans Brass ice hockey team of the ECHL played their first home game in the arena, the team played in the arena their last three seasons. When the New Orleans Hornets arrived in 2002, they persuaded the government to demand that the Brass foot the cost of converting the arena between basketball and hockey configurations. That expense was more than the Brass were willing to pay, the Hornets played their first game at the Smoothie King Center versus the Utah Jazz on October 30,2002. The New Orleans VooDoo, of the Arena Football League, began playing their games in the arena starting in February 2004. Following Hurricane Katrina on August 29,2005, medical operations that had previously housed in the Superdome were moved to the Arena. Medical personnel had been working in an area of the Superdome with poor lighting, leaking ceilings, thus, unlike the Superdome, the Arena reopened to activities only one month after the storm. On March 8,2006 the Hornets played their first home game at the arena since Hurricane Katrina, a sellout crowd of 17,744, watched the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Hornets, 113–107. In 2006, the arena installed an LED centerhung video and scoring system from Daktronics out of Brookings, the centerhung installation is made up of two ring displays and eight video displays, as well as scoreboards. This installation is fully integrated with the more than 875 feet of display technology that was installed in the arena in 2002. In the summer of 2008, new Daktronics see through shot clocks were installed, the New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League resumed play at the arena in March 2011. In 2013, the arena underwent a significant upgrade, the 2013 renovations were primarily focused for the gameday experience inside the arena
2.
New Orleans
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New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The population of the city was 343,829 as of the 2010 U. S. Census, the New Orleans metropolitan area had a population of 1,167,764 in 2010 and was the 46th largest in the United States. The New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area, a trading area, had a 2010 population of 1,452,502. The city is named after the Duke of Orleans, who reigned as Regent for Louis XV from 1715 to 1723, as it was established by French colonists and it is well known for its distinct French and Spanish Creole architecture, as well as its cross-cultural and multilingual heritage. New Orleans is also famous for its cuisine, music, and its celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras. The city is referred to as the most unique in the United States. New Orleans is located in southeastern Louisiana, straddling the Mississippi River, the city and Orleans Parish are coterminous. The city and parish are bounded by the parishes of St. Tammany to the north, St. Bernard to the east, Plaquemines to the south, and Jefferson to the south and west. Lake Pontchartrain, part of which is included in the city limits, lies to the north, before Hurricane Katrina, Orleans Parish was the most populous parish in Louisiana. As of 2015, it ranks third in population, trailing neighboring Jefferson Parish, La Nouvelle-Orléans was founded May 7,1718, by the French Mississippi Company, under the direction of Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, on land inhabited by the Chitimacha. It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time and his title came from the French city of Orléans. The French colony was ceded to the Spanish Empire in the Treaty of Paris, during the American Revolutionary War, New Orleans was an important port for smuggling aid to the rebels, transporting military equipment and supplies up the Mississippi River. Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez successfully launched a campaign against the British from the city in 1779. New Orleans remained under Spanish control until 1803, when it reverted briefly to French oversight, nearly all of the surviving 18th-century architecture of the Vieux Carré dates from the Spanish period, the most notable exception being the Old Ursuline Convent. Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, thereafter, the city grew rapidly with influxes of Americans, French, Creoles, and Africans. Later immigrants were Irish, Germans, and Italians, Major commodity crops of sugar and cotton were cultivated with slave labor on large plantations outside the city. The Haitian Revolution ended in 1804 and established the republic in the Western Hemisphere. It had occurred several years in what was then the French colony of Saint-Domingue
3.
NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
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The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player is an annual National Basketball Association award given to the player voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each years game, the league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively, the voting is conducted by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. The player with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award, no All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the leagues lockout. As of 2017, the most recent recipient is New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. James first All-Star MVP in 2006 made him the youngest to have won the award at the age of 21 years,1 month. Kyrie Irving, winner of the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, is the second-youngest at 21 years,10 months, theyre notable as being the two youngest to win the award, both as Cleveland Cavaliers. Four of the games had joint winners—Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959, John Stockton and Malone in 1993, ONeal and Tim Duncan in 2000, ONeal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards. The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight, Duncan of the U. S. Virgin Islands and Irving of Australia are the only winners not born in the United States. Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens, but are considered international players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D. C. No player trained entirely outside the U. S. has won the award, bob Pettit and Russell Westbrook are the only players to win consecutive awards. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games without winning the All-Star Game MVP, NBA Most Valuable Player Award Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award List of NBA All-Stars General Specific
4.
Kyrie Irving
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Kyrie Andrew Irving is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Irving was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, but grew up in West Orange and he played college basketball for Duke University before being selected with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. Irving has achieved a number of accolades, including the 2011–12 NBA Rookie of the Year,2014 NBA All-Star Game MVP, and an NBA championship in 2016. He has also played for the United States national team, with whom he has won gold at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Irving was born on March 23,1992 in Melbourne, Australia to American parents. He is the son of Drederick and Elizabeth Irving, and the stepson of Shetellia Irving and he has an older sister, Asia, and a younger sister, London. His father, Drederick, played basketball at Boston University alongside Shawn Teague. After completing his career, Irvings father moved to Australia to play professionally for the Bulleen Boomers. Irving lived in the Melbourne suburb of Kew before relocating to the United States when he was two years old and he has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia. Irvings mother, Elizabeth, died from an illness when he was four, Irving grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, where he often went to his fathers adult-league games. His inspiration to play in the NBA came after playing at Continental Airlines Arena during a trip in fourth grade where he stated I will play in the NBA. As a teenager, Irving played for the Road Runners of the Amateur Athletic Union, Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He averaged 26.5 points,10.3 assists,4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals, in his sophomore year, he led MKA to its first New Jersey Prep B state title. After that year, he transferred to St. Patrick High School because he felt he needed a bigger challenge and he had to sit out the first 30 days of St. Patricks season due to the transfer. While at St. Patrick, Irving played with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, in his first season at St. Patrick, Irving averaged 17.0 ppg.5.0 rpg.6.0 apg. and 2.0 spg. He also led his team to their third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in four years, in August 2009, he played in the Nike Global Challenge in which he led the USA East to the tournament title. He was the MVP with 21.3 ppg. and 4.3 apg, the following year, St. Patrick was banned from the state tournament for holding practice prior to the permitted start of the winter sports season. Despite being banned from the tournament, St. Patrick went 24-3. Kyrie finished his year with 24.0 ppg,5.0 rpg. and 7.0 apg
5.
Dr. John
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He performed a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack has recorded more than 20 albums and in 1973 scored a hit with Right Place Wrong Time. The winner of six Grammy Awards, Rebennack was inducted into the Rock, in May 2013, Rebennack was the recipient of an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Tulane University. He was jokingly referred to by Tulanes president, Scott Cowen, born in New Orleans in 1940, Dr. John has said that his French lineage took root there some time in the early 1800s. Growing up in the Third Ward, he found musical inspiration in the minstrel tunes sung by his grandfather. He did not take lessons before his teens, and only endured a short stint in choir before getting kicked out. Throughout his adolescence his fathers connections enabled him access to the rooms of burgeoning rock artists such as Little Richard. From these exposures he advanced into clubs and onto the stage with varying local artists, most notably, and I thought, Wow, I never seen nobody dressed like this guy. Just everything about the man was totally hip, and he had gloves on him, too, beautiful silk gloves. At age 16 he was hired by Johnny Vincent as a producer at Ace Records, There, he worked with artists like James Booker and Earl King, his musical experience expanding notably. He struggled through intermittent years of high school, while a student at Jesuit High School, he was already playing in night clubs, something the Jesuit fathers disapproved of. They told him to stop playing in clubs or leave the school. According to lore, this was the seed of his classic, Right Place, eventually he focused entirely on music. Thereafter an entry into heavy narcotics use would fuel his desire to get out of New Orleans and move to California where his character and he had a regional hit with a Bo Diddley-influenced instrumental called Storm Warning on Rex Records in 1959. During these days he was an A&R man producing, with Charlie Miller, monophonic singles on 45s for Johnny Vincent and Joe Corona for such labels as Ace, Ron, Ric. For these sessions he oversaw A&R and the section while Miller wrote the horn arrangements. It was a team until Miller decided to move to New York. After the injury, Rebennack concentrated on guitar before making piano his main instrument
6.
Earth, Wind & Fire
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Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band that has spanned the musical genres of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin and African. They are one of the most successful bands of all time, rolling Stone Magazine described them as innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing and declared that the band changed the sound of black pop. The band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1970, other members have included Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay and Andrew Woolfolk. The band has received 20 Grammy nominations, they won six as a group, Earth, Wind & Fire have 12 American Music Awards nominations and four awards. Five members of Earth, Wind & Fire were also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn and Al McKay. The music industry and fans have bestowed Lifetime Achievement honors from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, NAACP, the kalimba is played on all of the bands albums. Two Earth, Wind & Fire classic songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, Thats the Way of the World, the band is also known as having been the first African-American act to sell out Madison Square Garden and to receive the MSG Gold Ticket Award. President Barack Obama invited Earth, Wind & Fire to perform at the White House for the first social event of the new administration. The three friends got a contract with Capitol, they called themselves The Salty Peppers and had a marginal hit in the Midwestern area called La La Time. The Salty Peppers second single, Uh Huh Yeah, did not fare as well, and Maurice moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. He then added to the band singer Sherry Scott and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel, on June 6,1970, Verdine left Chicago to join the band as their new bassist. Maurice began shopping demo tapes of the band, featuring Donny Hathaway, around to different record labels, Maurices astrological sign, Sagittarius, has a primary elemental quality of Fire and seasonal qualities of Earth and Air, according to classical triplicities. Based on this, he changed the name, to Earth. Maurice held further auditions in L. A. adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, trombonist Alex Thomas completed the then ten-man EWF lineup. The bands self-titled debut album, Earth, Wind, & Fire, was released in February 1971 to critical acclaim, as was November 1971s The Need of Love. Both albums were produced by Joe Wissert and a single, from The Need of Love called I Think About Lovin You, with Sherry Scott on lead vocals, in 1971, the group also recorded the soundtrack of the Melvin Van Peebles film Sweet Sweetbacks Baadasssss Song. The soundtrack was recorded at Paramount Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard, with only Verdine left, Maurice decided to re-form the group. Warner Brothers didnt know how to promote this new combo as the only other funk band on their label was Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, the band successfully auditioned for managers Bob Cavallo and Joe Ruffalo
7.
2013 NBA All-Star Game
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The 2013 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17,2013 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, the current home of the Houston Rockets. This game was the 62nd edition of the National Basketball Association All-Star Game and was played during the 2012–13 NBA season, the Houston Rockets were awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on February 8,2012. This was the time that Houston had hosted the All-Star Game. The West won the game 143–138, and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers was named the games most valuable player, starters for the game were selected by the fans, who could select three frontcourt players and two guards from each conference. Previously, fans selected two forwards and one center instead of generic frontcourt players, kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers received the most overall votes at 1,591,437. Starting this season, NBA All-Star Saturday Night events became contests between the Eastern and Western Conferences, the coaches for the All-Star game were the head coaches who led the teams with the best winning percentages in their conference through the games of February 3,2013. Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs clinched the West position after a win on January 30, erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat clinched the East position after a win over the Toronto Raptors on February 3,2013. The head coaches from the year, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, were not eligible for selection. The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways, the starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards and three players who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. NBA head coaches voted for the reserves for their respective conferences, each coach selected two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a player is unable to due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers topped the ballots with 1,591,437 votes, Bryant earned a record 15th consecutive All-Star selection. Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Dwight Howard completed the Western Conference starting position, the lone first-time All-Star in the Western Conference is the Houston Rockets James Harden. Also sending a pair of players to the All-Star Game were the Oklahoma City Thunder, represented by Durant and Russell Westbrook, the Golden State Warriors had an All-Star representative for the first time since Latrell Sprewell was selected in 1997, with David Lee. The Eastern Conferences leading vote-getter was LeBron James, who finished with 1,583,646 votes, rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Garnett completed the Eastern Conference starting positions. Anthony, James and Wade were starters for the previous years Eastern Conference team, the Eastern Conference reserves included six first-time selections, Tyson Chandler, Paul George, Jrue Holiday, Kyrie Irving, Brook Lopez, and Joakim Noah. The Boston Celtics sent two players to start in the All-Star Game for the first time since 1984, when Larry Bird, the New York Knicks sent two players to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2001
8.
2015 NBA All-Star Game
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The NBA awarded the game to New York City in 2013, and the logo for the 2015 All-Star Game was unveiled on July 10,2014. The All-Star Game itself was played at the Knicks home arena, the current Garden last hosted the game in 1998, and the Knicks previous home, the third Madison Square Garden, hosted three earlier All-Star Games. The Saturday activities conducted as part of NBA All-Star Weekend were held at the Nets home arena, the Nets previously hosted the 1982 All-Star Game at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game was televised nationally by TNT and TBS in the United States, Mike Budenholzer, coach of the Atlanta Hawks, and Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, were selected as the East and West head coach, respectively. The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways, the starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards and three players who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. NBA head coaches voted for the reserves for their respective conferences, each coach selected two guards, three frontcourt players and two wild cards, with each selected player ranked in order of preference within each category. If a player is unable to due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement. Anthony Miller #4 Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors topped the ballots with 1,513,324 votes, Kobe Bryant earned a record 17th consecutive All-Star selection, and Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, and Blake Griffin completed the Western Conference starting positions. The first-time All-Stars in the West were the Warriors’ Klay Thompson and the Sacramento Kings DeMarcus Cousins, the Oklahoma City Thunder were represented by two players, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, both of whom were reserves. Also sending a pair of players to the All-Star Game as reserves were the Portland Trail Blazers, represented by LaMarcus Aldridge, the remaining Western Conference reserves were Thompson, Cousins, Tim Duncan, James Harden, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook. Golden State had two All-Star representatives for the first time since 1993, when Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin were both All-Stars and it was also the first time the Warriors had a pair of starters since 1967, when Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond were both starters. The Eastern Conferences leading vote-getter was Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, who finished with 1,470,483 votes, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, Pau Gasol, and Carmelo Anthony completed the Eastern Conference starting positions. The Eastern Conference team featured four first-time selections, Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague, the Atlanta Hawks were represented by four players, Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Teague and Korver, all of whom were reserves. Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Kyrie Irving completed the remaining Eestern Conference reserves, the Gasol brothers Marc and Pau were selected to start in the West and the East respectively, marking the first time in NBA history two brothers were picked to start in an All-Star Game. The Gasols were also the first brothers to appear in the same All-Star Game since Tom, Russell Westbrook scored 41 points and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. He scored 27 points in 11 minutes in the first half and he finished one point shy of the All-Star game record set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1962. The 2015 Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was played on Friday and it was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, home of the New York Knicks
9.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
10.
LeBron James
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LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. James has won three NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also selected to 13 NBA All-Star teams,12 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams. James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St, mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. After graduating, he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft, James led Cleveland to the franchises first Finals appearance in 2007, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in a highly publicized ESPN special titled The Decision, James played four seasons with the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27-game winning streak, following his final season with the Heat, James opted out of his contract and returned to the Cavaliers. Off the court, James has accumulated wealth and fame from numerous endorsement contracts. His public life has been the subject of scrutiny, and he has been ranked as one of Americas most influential. He has been featured in books, documentaries, and television commercials and he also hosted the ESPY Awards, Saturday Night Live, and appeared in the 2015 film Trainwreck. James was born on December 30,1984 in Akron, Ohio to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria Marie James, who raised James on her own. Growing up, life was often a struggle for the family, as a youth, James played Amateur Athletic Union basketball for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars. The team enjoyed success on a local and national level, led by James and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, the players were inseparable and dubbed themselves the Fab Four, promising each other that they would attend high school together. In a move that stirred controversy, they chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, a predominately white private Catholic school, as a freshman, James averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game for the St. Vincent-St. The Fighting Irish finished the year 27–0, winning the Division III state title, as a sophomore, he averaged 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds with 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game. For some home games during the season, St. Vincent-St, mary played at the University of Akrons 5, 492-seat Rhodes Arena to satisfy ticket demand from alumni, fans, and college and NBA scouts who wanted to see James play. The Fighting Irish finished the season 26–1 and repeated as state champions, for his outstanding play, James was named Ohios Mr. Basketball and was selected to the USA Today All-USA First Team, becoming the first sophomore to do either
11.
Stephen Curry
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Wardell Stephen Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Many players and analysts have called him the greatest shooter in NBA history, in 2014–15, Curry won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975. The following season, he became the first player in NBA history to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote and that same year, the Warriors broke the record for the most wins in an NBA season. Curry is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry and he played college basketball for Davidson. There, he was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year, during his sophomore year, he also set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made. During the 2012–13 season, Curry set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a season with 272. He surpassed that record in 2015 with 286, and again in 2016 with 402, the son of Sonya and Dell Curry, Stephen Curry was born in Akron, Ohio, while his father was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his father spent most of his NBA career with the Charlotte Hornets, Dell often took Curry and his younger brother, Seth, to his games, where they would shoot around with the Hornets during warm-ups. The family briefly relocated to Toronto, Ontario, where Dell finished out his career as a member of the Toronto Raptors, during this time, Curry played for the Queensway Christian College boys basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season. He was also a member of Toronto 5–0, a team that plays across Ontario, pitting him against fellow future NBA players Cory Joseph. Curry led the team to a 33–4 record, en route to winning the provincial championship. Because of his fathers storied career at Virginia Tech, Curry wanted to play basketball for the Hokies. He ultimately chose to attend Davidson College, who had been aggressively recruiting him from the tenth grade, before Curry even played one college game, head coach Bob McKillop said at a Davidson alumni event, Wait til you see Steph Curry. In his first collegiate game, against Eastern Michigan, Curry finished with 15 points, in the next game, against Michigan, he scored 32 points, dished out 4 assists, and grabbed 9 rebounds. Curry finished the leading the Southern Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game. He was second in the nation among freshmen in scoring, behind only Kevin Durant of Texas, Currys scoring ability helped the Wildcats to a 29–5 overall record and a Southern Conference regular season title. Curry eclipsed the school scoring record with his 502nd point against Chattanooga on February 6,2007. On March 15,2007, Davidson marched into the NCAA tournament as a 13 seed set to play Maryland, despite Currys game-high 30 points and he was also honorable mention in Sports Illustrateds All-Mid-Major
12.
Kevin Love
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Kevin Wesley Love is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. He is a four-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016 and he was also a member of the gold medal-winning USA mens national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics. The son of former NBA player Stan Love, Love was a top ranked prospect out of Lake Oswego High School in Oregon and he played one season of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins and led the team to a Final Four appearance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Love was named a consensus First Team All-American and was voted the player of the year in the Pac-12 Conference and he elected to forego his remaining three years of college eligibility and entered the 2008 NBA draft. He was taken fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night for the third selection, O. J. Mayo. During the 2010–11 season, Love established the longest streak for consecutive games recording double figures in points and he was traded to the Cavaliers in 2014. Love was born on September 7,1988 in Santa Monica, California and he grew up in Oregon and played basketball from his earliest days, as a child, he would practice his bounce passes with a cardboard box and study tapes of Wes Unseld. Love played high school basketball for the Lake Oswego Lakers. In his sophomore season, he averaged 25.3 points,15.4 rebounds and he went on to play for the Southern California All-Stars, helping the team compile a 46–0 record while garnering three MVP awards. In his junior year, he averaged 28 points,16.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game as Lake Oswego returned to the championship game. In his senior season, he averaged 33.9 points,17.0 rebounds, at the conclusion of the season, Love was named the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year. He was also a first-team Parade All-American and he finished his high school career as the all-time leading scorer in Oregon boys basketball history with 2,628 points. In July 2006, Love verbally committed to college basketball at UCLA. He had also considered playing for North Carolina, prior to the 2007–08 season, he received permission from Walt Hazzard to wear number 42 for the Bruins even though the school had retired the number for Hazzard in 1996. After arriving at UCLA, Love regularly sought out retired Bruins legends Bill Walton and his decision to play for UCLA brought animosity from fans of Oregon, his fathers alma mater, where it was expected Love would play. This event, along with similar incidents directed at other players, in the 2008 Pacific-10 Conference Mens Basketball Tournament, the Bruins defeated the USC Trojans, featuring O. J. Mayo, in the semi-finals. Both Mayo and Love were nominated to the All-Pac-10 tournament team, later, Love guided UCLA to the regular season Pac-10 conference championship, the conference tournament championship, and a No.1 seed in the 2008 NCAA Mens Division I Basketball Tournament. Love helped the Bruins to the Final Four of the tournament, at the end of the 2007–08 regular season, Love was named consensus first-team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-Pac-10, and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
