1.
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
2.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired professional basketball player who played 20 seasons in the National Basketball Association for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a record six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a record 19-time NBA All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA selection, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. A member of six NBA championship teams as a player and two as an assistant coach, Abdul-Jabbar twice was voted NBA Finals MVP, in 1996, he was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. NBA coach Pat Riley and players Isiah Thomas and Julius Erving have called him the greatest basketball player of all time, drafted by the one-season-old Bucks franchise in the 1969 NBA draft with the first overall pick, Alcindor spent six seasons in Milwaukee. After winning his first NBA championship in 1971, he adopted the Muslim name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at age 24, using his trademark skyhook shot, he established himself as one of the leagues top scorers. In 1975, he was traded to the Lakers, with whom he played the last 14 seasons of his career, Abdul-Jabbars contributions were a key component in the Showtime era of Lakers basketball. Over his 20-year NBA career his team succeeded in making the playoffs 18 times and past the 1st round in 14 of them and he remains the all-time leading scorer in the NBA, and is ranked 3rd all-time in both rebounds and blocks. In 2007, ESPN voted him the greatest center of all time, in 2008, they named him the greatest player in basketball history. Abdul-Jabbar has also been an actor, a coach. In 2012, he was selected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a U. S. global cultural ambassador, in 2016, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr. was born in New York City, the child of Cora Lillian, a department store price checker. At birth, he weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces and was 22 1⁄2 inches long and he was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Power Memorial Academy, a Catholic high school in Manhattan. From an early age, Lew Alcindor began his record-breaking basketball accomplishments and this earned him a nickname—The tower from Power. His 2,067 total points were a New York City high school record, the team won the national high school boys basketball championship when Alcindor was in 11th grade, and was runner-up his senior year. Alcindor played on the UCLA freshman team only because the rule was in effect. In his first college game, Lew set a UCLA single game record with 56 points, in 1967 and 1968, he also won USBWA College Player of the Year which later became the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Alcindor became the player to win the Helms Foundation Player of the Year award three times. The 1965–66 UCLA Bruin team was the preseason #1, but on November 27,1965, the freshman team led by Alcindor defeated the varsity team 75–60 in the first game in the new Pauley Pavilion
3.
Milwaukee Bucks
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The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball franchise based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association as a club of the leagues Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as a team. The team is valued at $675 million according to Forbes. The Bucks have won one title, two conference titles, and 13 division titles. On January 22,1968, the NBA awarded a franchise to Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. a group headed by Wesley Pavalon, a fan contest was held to name the new team, with over 40,000 fans participating. One fan, R. D. Trebilcox, was awarded a new car for his part in reasoning why the Bucks was a nickname, saying that bucks were spirited, good jumpers, fast. In October, the Bucks played their first NBA regular-season game against the Chicago Bulls before a Milwaukee Arena crowd of 8,467, as is typical with expansion teams, the Bucks first season was a struggle. Their first victory came in their game as the Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons 134–118. The Bucks record that earned them a coin flip against their expansion cousins. It was a conclusion that the first pick in the draft would be Lew Alcindor of UCLA. The Bucks won the flip, but had to win a bidding war with the upstart American Basketball Association to secure him. Despite the Bucks stroke of fortune in landing Alcindor, no one expected what happened in 1969–70 and they finished with a 56–26 record – a nearly exact reversal of the previous year and good enough for the second-best record in the league, behind the New York Knicks. The 29-game improvement was the best in league history – a record which would stand for 10 years until the Boston Celtics jumped from 29 wins in 1978–79 to 61 in 1979–80. The Bucks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the Eastern semifinals, Alcindor was a runaway selection for NBA Rookie of the Year. The following season, the Bucks got a gift when they acquired Oscar Robertson, known as the Big O. Subsequently, in only their season, the Bucks finished 66–16 – the second-most wins in NBA history at the time. During the regular season, the Bucks recorded a then-NBA record 20-game win streak and they then steamrolled through the playoffs with a dominating 12–2 record, winning the NBA Championship on April 30,1971, by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in four games
4.
Los Angeles Lakers
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The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association, as a club of the leagues Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, as of 2015, the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes, having an estimated value of $2.7 billion. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the new team began playing in Minneapolis, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the states nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes. The team was propelled by center George Mikan, who is described by the NBAs official website as the leagues first superstar, after struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikans retirement, they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960–61 season. Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s, but lost each series to the Boston Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. After the retirement of West and Chamberlain, the team acquired another center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had won multiple MVP awards and this team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and a Hall of Fame coach, Pat Riley. After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnsons retirement, the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille ONeal, led by ONeal, Bryant, and another Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002, securing the franchise its second three-peat. After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals, the Lakers won two championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010. The Lakers hold the record for NBAs longest winning streak,33 straight games,21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles, while four have coached the team. Four Lakers—Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, ONeal, and Bryant—have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards, Minneapolis sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind the scenes role in helping put together the deal and later the team. Inspired by Minnesotas nickname, Land of 10,000 Lakes, Hartman helped them hire John Kundla from College of St. Thomas, to be their first head coach, by meeting with him and selling him on the team. The Lakers had a roster which featured forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan. In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record, in 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America, and Mikans 28.3 point per game scoring average set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals they won the championship, beating the Washington Capitols four games to two, the following season, the team improved to 51–17, repeating as champions. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring title at 28.4 ppg, one of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons, became infamous as the lowest scoring game in NBA history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round, during the 1951–52 season, the Lakers won 40 games, finishing second in their division. They faced the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals, which won in seven games
5.
Kobe Bryant
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Kobe Bean Bryant is an American retired professional basketball player and businessman. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association and he entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team and he led the NBA in scoring during two seasons, and ranks third on both the leagues all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists. He holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career and he declared for the NBA draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest, despite a feud between them, Bryant and Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Bryant was accused of assault in Colorado, but the charges were eventually dropped. After the Lakers lost the 2004 NBA Finals, ONeal was traded to the Miami Heat, Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers, and he led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, he scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, Bryant was awarded the regular seasons Most Valuable Player Award in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, he led the Lakers to two championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the Finals MVP Award on both occasions. He continued to be among the top players in the league through 2013, although he recovered, his play was limited the following two years by season-ending injuries to his knee and shoulder, respectively. Citing his physical decline, he announced that he would be retiring after the 2015–16 season, at 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He became the leading scorer in Lakers franchise history on February 1,2010. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won medals as a member of the U. S. national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s, Bryant was born in Philadelphia, as the youngest of three children and the only son of Joe Bryant and Pamela Cox Bryant. He is also the nephew of basketball player John Chubby Cox. His parents named him after the famous beef of Kobe, Japan and his middle name, Bean, is derived from his fathers nickname Jellybean. When Bryant was six, his left the NBA and moved his family to Rieti in Italy to continue playing professional basketball. Bryant became accustomed to his new lifestyle and learned to speak fluent Italian, during summers, he would come back to the United States to play in a basketball summer league
6.
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
