1.
Turkish people
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Turkish people, or the Turks, also known as Anatolian Turks, are a Turkic ethnic group and nation living mainly in Turkey and speaking Turkish, the most widely spoken Turkic language. They are the largest ethnic group in Turkey, as well as by far the largest ethnic group among the speakers of Turkic languages, ethnic Turkish minorities exist in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Turkish diaspora has been established with modern migration, the ethnonym Turk may be first discerned in Herodotus reference to Targitas, first king of the Scythians, furthermore, during the first century AD. Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. The first definite references to the Turks come mainly from Chinese sources in the sixth century, in these sources, Turk appears as Tujue, which referred to the Göktürks. Although Turk refers to Turkish people, it may sometimes refer to the wider language group of Turkic peoples. In the 19th century, the word Türk only referred to Anatolian villagers, the Ottoman ruling class identified themselves as Ottomans, not usually as Turks. In the late 19th century, as the Ottoman upper classes adopted European ideas of nationalism the term Türk took on a more positive connotation. The Turkish-speakers of Anatolia were the most loyal supporters of Ottoman rule, Turkish Jews, Christians, or even Alevis may be considered non-Turks. On the other hand, Kurdish Arab followers of the Sunni branch of Islam who live in eastern Anatolia are sometimes considered Turks, article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a Turk as anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship. Anatolia was first inhabited by hunter-gatherers during the Paleolithic era, most of the Turkic peoples were followers of Tengriism, sharing the cult of the sky god Tengri, although there were also adherents of Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism. However, during the Muslim conquests, the Turks entered the Muslim world proper as servants, during the booty of Arab raids, the Turks began converting to Islam after Muslim conquest of Transoxiana through the efforts of missionaries, Sufis, and merchants. Although initiated by the Arabs, the conversion of the Turks to Islam was filtered through Persian, under the Umayyads, most were domestic servants, whilst under the Abbasids, increasing numbers were trained as soldiers. By the ninth century, Turkish commanders were leading the caliphs’ Turkish troops into battle, as the Abbasid caliphate declined, Turkish officers assumed more military and political power taking over or establishing provincial dynasties with their own corps of Turkish troops. During the 11th century the Seljuk Turks who were admirers of the Persian civilization grew in number and were able to occupy the province of the Abbasid Empire. By 1055, the Seljuk Empire captured Baghdad and began to make their first incursions into the edges of Anatolia, when the Seljuk Turks won the Battle of Manzikert against the Byzantine Empire in 1071, it opened the gates of Anatolia to them. Although ethnically Turkish, the Seljuk Turks appreciated and became the purveyors of the Persian culture rather than the Turkish culture, in dire straits, the Byzantine Empire turned to the West for help setting in motion the pleas that led to the First Crusade. Once the Crusaders took Iznik, the Seljuk Turks established the Sultanate of Rum from their new capital, Konya, by the 12th century the Europeans had begun to call the Anatolian region Turchia or Turkey, meaning the land of the Turks
2.
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
3.
Turkey national basketball team
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The Turkey national basketball team represents Turkey in international basketball competitions organized by FIBA. The team is nicknamed 12 Dev Adam, meaning 12 Giant Men, Turkey has won two silver medals at major international tournaments, namely the FIBA World Cup and FIBA EuroBasket. Turkey has also won two gold, one silver, and three medals at the Mediterranean Games. Currently, Turkey stands 8th in the FIBA World Rankings, ahmet Robenson was known as being the first organizer of basketball in Turkey. In 1936, Turkey played their first ever match against Greece. Efes Pilsen was the first Turkish club to win a European Cup in any sport, since then, basketball in Turkey has grown constantly, as the national basketball team began to play a major role in international tournaments. The Turkish national team won the medal in EuroBasket 2001. Turkeys European championship debut came at EuroBasket 1949, the Turks split their six games in the seven-team round robin tournament, finishing with three wins and three losses for 4th place. Turkey competed again at EuroBasket 1951 in Paris and their only loss in the preliminary round was to the Soviet Union as Turkey earned the second-rank spot with a 3–1 record. Their single loss to Bulgaria in the round, however, was enough to bump them from championship contention as they came out on the bottom of a three-way tie with a 2–1 record. They won their classification 5–8 game, but lost the 5/6 game to Italy, Turkey returned after missing 1953s edition to EuroBasket 1955 in Budapest. They went 1–2 in their preliminary group, taking third in the pool. There they lost only to France on their way to a 3–1 record in classification round 1 and they lost their 9–12 semi-final by 1 point to Finland, but defeated England 77–54 in the next game to take 11th place of the 18 team tournament. Turkey appeared again at EuroBasket 1957 in Sofia, losing to the Soviet Union and Poland in the preliminary round, Turkey took third in the group to be sent to the classification pool. They defeated each of the seven teams in the classification round in order to take 9th place of the 16 teams. The 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were in general a barren period for the Turkish national basketball team and they were, however, successful at the Mediterranean Games, winning two bronze medals in 1967 and 1983, one silver medal in 1971, and one gold medal in 1987. Turkey also won the medal at the Balkan Championship in 1981. Efe Aydan and Erman Kunter were among the players of this period in Turkish basketball
4.
Dirk Nowitzki
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Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. Listed at 7 ft 0 in, Nowitzki is considered to be among the greatest power forwards of all time, Nowitzki led the Mavericks to 15 NBA Playoffs, including the franchises first Finals appearance in 2006 and only championship in 2011. He is a 13-time All-Star, a 12-time All-NBA Team member, Nowitzki is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA-history and the sixth player to achieve over 30,000 regular-season points. He is also one of seven players who achieved a 50–40–90 season and he is the first Maverick voted onto an All-NBA Team and holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Nowitzki are the players to achieve four consecutive 30-point. Nowitzki led the German national basketball team to a medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and silver in EuroBasket 2005. He was named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport for five years running from 2002 to 2006 and again in 2011. He was also named the Mister Europa European Player of the Year by the Italian sports magazine Superbasket in 2005, on December 18,2011, Nowitzki was named the 2011 German Sports Personality of the Year, the first basketball player to receive the award. On December 10,2012, he became the first non-American player to receive the Naismith Legacy Award and his older sister Silke Nowitzki, a local champion in track and field, also became a basketball player and now works for the NBA in International TV. Nowitzki was a tall child, most of the time he stood above his peers by a foot or more. He initially played handball and tennis, but soon tired of being called a freak for his height. Furthermore, Geschwindner encouraged Nowitzki to play an instrument and read literature to make him a more complete personality. After a year, the coach was so impressed with Nowitzkis progress that he advised him, if you choose the latter, we will stop training immediately, because nobody can prevent that anymore. But if you want to play against the best, we have to train on a daily basis, after pondering this lifetime decision for two days, Nowitzki agreed to enter the full-time training schedule, choosing the path to his eventual international career. When Nowitzki joined the team, DJK played in the Second Bundesliga and his first trainer was Pit Stahl, who played the tall teenager as an outside-scoring forward rather than an inside-scoring center to utilise his shooting skills. DJK finished second in the South Division, but could not earn promotion after losing, 86–62, in the match versus BG Ludwigsburg, in that game. In the 1996–97 Second Bundesliga season, the top scorer Kuisma left the team. Filling the void, Nowitzki averaged 19.4 points per game and led DJK again to place after the regular season
5.
Andrei Kirilenko
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Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko is a Russian-American retired professional basketball player, currently the commissioner of the Russian Basketball Federation. One of the most versatile players of his generation, he is considered one of the greatest international players of all time, at age fifteen, Kirilenko began playing professional basketball in the Russian Basketball Super League. He spent three years with CSKA Moscow from 1998 to 2001, winning the Russian league MVP award in 2000, in 2001, Kirilenko joined the Utah Jazz, who drafted him twenty-fourth overall in 1999. He became the first Russian player selected in the first round of a draft and he made the NBA All-Rookie First Team after his first season, was an NBA All-Defensive Team pick three times and played in the 2004 All-Star Game. During the 2011 NBA lockout, Kirilenko spent another year with CSKA Moscow, the same year, he was named the competitions Most Valuable Player, earned an All-EuroLeague first team selection and won the EuroLeague Best Defender award. Since the 2000 Summer Olympics, Kirilenko has been a member of the Russian national team. With Russia, he won the EuroBasket title in 2007, earning MVP honors in the process, in 2011, he won his second EuroBasket medal, this time the bronze. He was selected to the All-Tournament Team on both occasions, Kirilenko was named FIBA Europe Mens Player of the Year twice, and won a Euroscar Player of the Year award in 2012. Kirilenko is nicknamed AK-47, in reference to both his initials, jersey number, and the AK-47 rifle, coincidentally, Kirilenko was born in the city of Izhevsk, in the former Soviet Union, where the weapon was first manufactured. In January 2011, he became an American citizen, Kirilenko was born in the Soviet city of Izhevsk, Russia. When he was ten, he began playing organized basketball, in 1997, Kirilenko became the youngest player ever to compete in the Russian Super League. After spending two seasons with Spartak Saint Petersburg, he joined CSKA Moscow in 1998, in his first season, he helped his new team win the Russian Super League championship. He was also selected to participate in the Russian All-Star game, helping the West beat the East 138–107, Kirilenko was also the first Russian picked in the first round of an NBA Draft. However, he remained with CSKA Moscow for the two seasons. In the 1999–2000 season, he helped his team win the championship of the North European Basketball League, on April 23,2000, he participated in his second Russian All-Star game, helping the West beat the East 122–111. Despite being the favorite to win the slam dunk contest. Andrei Kirilenko participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Russian national basketball team and he showed off his all-around skills in the SuproLeague, finishing in top ten in 7 out of 8 statistical categories. Kirilenko joined the Utah Jazz in 2001 and he was named to the first team on the NBA All-Rookie team
6.
Pau Gasol
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Pau Gasol Sáez is a Spanish professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. He is a six-time NBA All-Star, and a four-time All-NBA selection, twice on the second team and he has won two NBA championships, both with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies and he is the older brother of fellow NBA player Marc Gasol. Gasol was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft. He currently holds the Grizzlies franchise record for free throws made, after seven seasons with the team, Gasol was traded to the Lakers in 2008. In 2014, he signed with the Chicago Bulls, Gasol has won two Olympic silver medals, an Olympic bronze medal, a FIBA World Cup title and three EuroBasket titles with the Spanish national basketball team. Pau Gasol was born in Barcelona and he began playing basketball as a center with his school team, Alvirne, and he eventually signed with Cornellà. When he was sixteen, he began playing for Barcelonas junior team and he also won both the 1998 Albert Schweitzer Tournament and the 1998 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. After moving to the team of Barcelona, Gasol played just 25 total minutes in the Spanish ACB Leagues 1998–99 season. However, in his season in the ACB, Gasol averaged 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game. Barcelona was victorious in the Spanish National Cup finals championship game in 2001, in his first season with the Grizzlies, Gasol became the first foreign player to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He averaged 17.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, Gasol led the team in scoring in his second year with the Grizzlies, and for the second year in a row, played in all 82 games. Gasol missed the first game of his career, during his year, with a foot injury on April 5,2004. He grabbed the 1, 500th rebound of his career on November 12,2003, against the Orlando Magic and scored his 3, 000th career point on October 31,2003 and this was both the Grizzlies and Gasols first trip to the NBA Playoffs. He also helped his team make it to the playoffs for the time in his career. In his fifth year with the Grizzlies, he became the franchises all-time leading rebounder on March 24 against the New York Knicks when he grabbed his 3, Gasol and the Grizzlies returned to the playoffs for the third time in his and his teams history. Once again, they were eliminated in the first round and did not win a game against the Dallas Mavericks. On February 9,2006, making his first appearance, Gasol was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas as a reserve center for the Western Conference
7.
Tony Parker
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William Anthony Tony Parker Jr. is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association. The son of a basketball player, Parker played for two years in the French basketball league before entering the 2001 NBA draft. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the draft, Parker has won four NBA championships, all of which were with the Spurs. With his pace and high field goal percentage, Parker has been named to six NBA All-Star games and he was also the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. Playing for the France national basketball team, Parker was named as the EuroBasket 2013 MVP following his teams victory over Lithuania in the medal game. The point guard finished as the top scorer with 19 points per game. In 2015 he became the leading scorer in the EuroBasket competition. Parker is also a music artist with his own music album and he married actress Eva Longoria on 7 July 2007. In November 2010, both filed for divorce. Parker was born in Bruges, Belgium, and raised in France and his father, Tony Parker Sr. an African American, played basketball at Loyola University Chicago as well as professionally overseas. His mother, Pamela Firestone, is a Dutch model, Parkers great-uncle Jan Wienese is an Olympic gold medalist in rowing. Parker enjoyed close relationships with his brothers, and they would attend their fathers basketball games together. Parkers two younger brothers were heavily involved in basketball, T. J. and Pierre would go on to play basketball at college. As Parker built his skill, he played the point guard position, recognizing that his speed and he was eventually asked to attend the INSEP in Paris. After playing in the French amateur leagues for two seasons, Parker turned professional and signed with Paris Basket Racing in 1999, in the summer of 2000, Parker was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit in Indianapolis. In a contest between the American and European All-Stars, Parker recorded 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds, the Frenchmans performance prompted a recruiting war among several colleges, including UCLA and Georgia Tech. Parker decided to forgo the NCAA and to remain in France, before the 2001 NBA draft, Parker was invited to the San Antonio Spurs summer camp. Coach Gregg Popovich had him play against Spurs scout and ex-NBA player Lance Blanks, Parker was overwhelmed by Blanks tough and physical defense, and Popovich was ready to send him away after just 10 minutes
8.
Nikos Galis
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Nikolaos Georgalis, commonly known as either Nikos Galis, or Nick Galis, is a retired Greek-American professional basketball player. He was named one of FIBAs 50 Greatest Players in 1991, is a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame and was chosen as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors in 2008. Galis is widely regarded as one of Europes greatest scorers ever to play the game and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. Galis played the point guard position during his college years at Seton Hall University. He spent most of his career in Aris, before having a stint with Panathinaikos. He is the EuroLeagues all-time leader in points per game, leading the competition in scoring eight times, in the premier European club scene, he reached the EuroLeague Final Four on four occasions, three consecutive ones with Aris, and another one with Panathinaikos. An eight-time Greek league champion, Galis is the leagues leading scorer. Among his myriad accomplishments, he holds the EuroBasket record for highest career scoring average, and was the scorer of four EuroBasket tournaments in 1983,1987,1989. In addition to that, he holds the FIBA World Cup record for highest career scoring average, as well as for most points scored in a single tournament. Following the stunning success of the EuroBasket title in 1987, he won the Mr. Europa Player of the Year and the Euroscar awards the same year. Nicknamed Iron Man, Nick The Greek, and The Gangster, Galis is highly revered in Greece and his years at Aris lifted Greek basketball from relative obscurity, to global power status, with Galis being the figure that eventually inspired thousands of Greeks to take up the game. Galis was born in Union City, New Jersey, the child of a poor immigrant family from the Greek islands of Rhodes and Nisyros, Nick took up boxing in his early years, after his father, George Georgalis, who had also been a boxer in his youth. He was persuaded to give up boxing by his mother, Stella Georgalis, as a result, he started playing basketball and attended Union Hill High School in Union City. After high school, Galis enrolled at Seton Hall University, where he played basketball as a member of the Seton Hall Pirates. The same year, he took part in the Pizza Hut All-American game alongside Bird. Galis coach at Seton Hall, Billy Raftery, would state that Galis was the best player he ever coached. Finishing his collegiate career in 1979, Galis signed with agent Bill Manon, Manon did not have Galis work out with any NBA team. Galis was eventually selected by the Boston Celtics in the 4th round of the 1979 NBA Draft and it was then that Galis decided to pursue a professional career in Greeces Basket League
9.
Juan Carlos Navarro (basketball)
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Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo nicknamed as La Bomba, is a Spanish professional basketball player who plays for FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB. At 1.92 m and 91 kg, he is a combo guard, on March 14,2014, he was named a EuroLeague Basketball Legend. He earned two All-Eurobasket Team selections, and was the competitions MVP in 2011, Juan Carlos Navarro Feijoo was born in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Navarro started playing for FC Barcelona at the age of 17 and that year he was selected to attend the Nike Hoop Summit, but he stayed in Europe, playing for the Barcelona pro team. He was not on the Spanish junior national team won the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim in 1998. With the acquisitions of Dejan Bodiroga and Gregor Fučka in 2003 and it was the first time the club won the EuroLeague. By winning the Spanish ACB League, the Spanish Kings Cup, Navarro has helped Barcelona reach the EuroLeague Final Four seven times,2000,2003,2006,2009,2010,2012, and 2014. Navarro has been selected to the All-EuroLeague Team seven times,2006,2007,2009,2010,2011,2012 and 2013, in 2006, Juan Carlos Navarro earned the regular season Most Valuable Player award of the ACB. He was named the ACB Finals Most Valuable Player in 2009 and 2011 and he was named the EuroLeague MVP in 2009, and the EuroLeague Final Four MVP in 2010. The contract also included a fifth year, which brought the total contract to €12 million euros net income. Over the 2014–15 season, Navarro experienced several problems with his right leg, in late December 2014, it was announced that he would miss up to six weeks of action, due to a torn muscle in his right thigh. On June 29,2015, it was announced by Barcelona that Navarro would miss three months of action, due to plantar fasciitis on his right foot. Those injuries negatively impacted his performances over the season, in which he had averages of 10.5 points and 3.1 assists per game, on 37% shooting from the field overall, all NBA mock drafts started to set him as a first round pick. In the 2001–02 season Navarro was plagued by injuries and the Washington Wizards drafted Navarro in the round of the 2002 NBA draft. Navarro declined the offer, preferring to stay with FC Barcelona, on August 3,2007, the Washington Wizards traded the Navarros draft rights to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a future first-round draft pick. Navarro would be reunited with former FC Barcelona and Spanish national teammate Pau Gasol on the Grizzlies, in his rookie NBA season, Navarro was one of the Grizzlies team leaders in three-point shooting. He was named to the 2007–08 NBA All-Rookie Second Team, after averaging 10.9 points per game, on June 18,2008, Navarro signed a four-year deal worth €9.5 million euros net income with Barcelona, his former team. A qualifying contract offer that was tendered to Navarro by the Memphis Grizzlies was eventually rescinded on September 10,2009 and this allowed the Grizzlies to sign former NBA MVP Allen Iverson
