Samuel James Cassell Sr. is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall in the 1993 NBA draft out of Florida State, Cassell played for eight different teams during his 15-year career. He was selected to the NBA All-Star Game and All-NBA Team once, both in the 2003–04 season.
Walter Ray Allen Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. Allen is widely considered to be one of the greatest three-point shooters of all-time, and he held the record for most three-pointers made in a career from 2011 until 2021, when he was surpassed by Stephen Curry.
Kevin Edward McHale is an American former professional basketball player, coach and analyst who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. Sometimes nicknamed "The Torture Chamber", he is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.
Donald Arvid Nelson is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors. After an All-American career at the University of Iowa, Nelson won five NBA championships playing with the Boston Celtics, with his number 19 retired by the franchise in 1978.
Keith Ramon Bogans is an American former basketball player who last served as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Kentucky.
Al Ricardo Jefferson is an American former professional basketball player. He was a high school All-American for Prentiss High School in Mississippi before skipping college to enter the 2004 NBA draft, where he was drafted 15th overall by the Boston Celtics. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers, earning third-team All-NBA honors in 2014 with the Hornets.
Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career.
Vinny Lamont Baker is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He appeared in four consecutive All-Star Games. As of 2018, Baker serves as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Robert Terrell Cummings is an American former professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Cummings was voted Rookie of the Year and was a two-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection and was a lead player on several postseason teams while in Milwaukee and San Antonio.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league used this season to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which included the unveiling of the league's list of its 50 greatest players. This particular season featured what has since been acknowledged as one of the most talented rookie-classes, featuring the debuts of Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal, Ben Wallace and Stephon Marbury. The season ended with the Chicago Bulls defeating the Utah Jazz 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's 5th championship.
Maurice Williams is the head men's basketball coach at Jackson State University and a former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful high school career at Murrah High School in Jackson, Mississippi, Williams attended college at the University of Alabama, where he led his team as a freshman to a 27–8 record, and also shared an SEC regular-season championship. After two seasons at Alabama, Williams entered the 2003 NBA draft where he was selected with the 47th overall pick by the Utah Jazz. Throughout his career, he has also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2009, Williams was selected as an NBA All-Star. In the 2016, he won his only NBA championship with the Cavaliers. He retired as a player in 2017.
Edward Lewis Pinckney is an American former professional basketball player.
Danilo Gallinari is an Italian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After spending his first four years as a professional in his native Italy, Gallinari was drafted sixth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He played with the Knicks for two and a half seasons before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2011. He has also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Atlanta Hawks.
Herman "J. R." Reid Jr. is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the Monmouth Hawks men's basketball team. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Reid played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and was a consensus first-team All-American as a sophomore in 1988. He won a bronze medal as a member of the United States national team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 9th season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. For the first time since the 1990–91 season, Larry Johnson was not on the team's opening day roster. The Hornets had the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected high school basketball star Kobe Bryant, but soon traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac, acquired Anthony Mason from the New York Knicks, and signed free agent Tony Smith during the off-season. The team also hired former Boston Celtics star Dave Cowens as their new head coach.
Jerryd Andrew Bayless is an American former professional basketball player. He played a year of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats after playing high school basketball at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix. He was selected 11th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which began with the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the 30 NBA teams and the NBA's players. The previous CBA, which was ratified in 2005, expired at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011, resulting in a lockout. With the new deal in place, the regular season was shortened from the normal 82 games per team to 66, because of nearly two months of inactivity. This was the league's first season since 1991–92 without Shaquille O'Neal, who announced his retirement on June 1, 2011, via social media. A 4-time champion, O'Neal played 19 years for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. The season began on Christmas Day 2011, and ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs started on April 28 and ended on June 21 when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their series, 121–106, winning the Finals, 4–1 and to capture the franchise's second NBA title. LeBron James was named both the season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP. The NBA regular season would not begin again in December until the 2020–21 NBA season.
The 1989–90 NBA season was the Bucks' 22nd season in the National Basketball Association. For the first time since the 1978–79 season, Sidney Moncrief was not on the team's opening day roster. During the off-season, the Bucks acquired All-Star guard Alvin Robertson and Greg Anderson from the San Antonio Spurs. Early into the season, the Bucks defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in a quintuple-overtime game on November 9, 155–154 at the Bradley Center. The team held a 27–22 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded Randy Breuer to the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Brad Lohaus. The Bucks finished third in the Central Division with a 44–38 record.
The 1998–99 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 10th season in the National Basketball Association. On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games. Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled. However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout. The deal was approved by both the players and owners, and was signed on January 20, ending the lockout after 204 days. The regular season began on February 5, and was cut short to just 50 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule.
