Stephen John Nash is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, where he was an eight-time All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA selection. Nash was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the Phoenix Suns.
Darrell Eugene Armstrong is an American former professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who won the championship in the 2010–11 season.
Maurice Edward Cheeks is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Detroit Pistons. Cheeks was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. He was the first player with 2,000 steals solely in the NBA. His most famous moment may be when, as coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, he came to the aid of 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert who had forgotten the words while singing the Star Spangled Banner.
Darius Songaila is a Lithuanian professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as an assistant coach for Manisa Basket of Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He has represented the Lithuania national team. He played at the power forward and center positions.
Craig Anthony Hodges is an American former professional basketball player and former head coach of the Westchester Knicks of the NBA Development League. He played in the NBA for 10 seasons and led the league in 3-point shooting percentage three times. He won two NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls and, along with Larry Bird, is one of only two players to win three consecutive Three Point Contests at the National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend, winning the competition in 1990, 1991, and 1992. Hodges also holds the Three Point Contest records for the most consecutive shots made with 19, set in 1991, and the most points scored in a single round at 25, set in 1986. He was later a head coach at Chicago State University, an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and head coach of the Halifax Rainmen of the National Basketball League of Canada.
The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Boston Celtics, who obtained the Detroit Pistons' first-round pick in a trade, won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Utah Jazz were awarded the second pick. The Celtics then traded the first pick to the Golden State Warriors before the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the eleventh pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early and would be eligible for selection. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 214 players. This draft has the distinction of being the first NBA Draft to be televised.
Alexander Maurice Acker is an American-Italian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Pepperdine University. Acker was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the final pick of the 2005 NBA draft and spent two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Pistons and Los Angeles Clippers.
Alaa Abdelnaby, is an Egyptian-American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils followed by a five-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, and then stints in various other leagues. Abdelnaby is one of two Egyptian-born players in the history of the NBA, along with Abdel Nader.
Orlando Vernada Woolridge was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 1994. He was known for his scoring ability, especially on slam dunks. He played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
John Edward Drew was an American professional basketball player. A small forward from Gardner–Webb University, he played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drew was a two-time NBA All-Star, and was the first player banned under the substance abuse policy instituted by league commissioner David Stern.
Keith Russell "Mister" Jennings is an American basketball coach, who formerly played professional in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and overseas in European leagues.
Mitchell Lee Wiggins was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Herman "J. R." Reid Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. 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 1968 NBA expansion draft was the fourth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1968, so that the newly founded Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns could acquire players for the upcoming 1968–69 season. Milwaukee and Phoenix had been awarded the expansion teams on January 22, 1968. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twelve other NBA teams had protected seven players from their roster. After each round, where each the Suns and the Bucks had selected one player, the existing teams added another player to their protected list. The draft continued until both teams had selected eighteen unprotected players each, while the existing teams had lost three players each.
Jay Dennis Murphy is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Bullets.
John Harding Lucas II is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played basketball and tennis at the University of Maryland, College Park and was an All-American in both.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Kings' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 12th season in Sacramento. During the off-season, the Kings acquired Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf from the Denver Nuggets, and signed free agent Jeff Grayer in January. Coming off their first playoff appearance in ten years, expectations in Sacramento were high. However, the Kings struggled with an 8–17 start to the season, as Brian Grant only played just 24 games due to a shoulder injury, and Billy Owens missed 16 games early into the season with a groin injury. The Kings would rebound to get back into playoff contention, holding a 21–28 record at the All-Star break.
Torrey Craig is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Upstate Spartans, where he was named an honorable mention All-American and Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year in 2012.
Bradley Daniel Wanamaker is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at the University of Pittsburgh. Wanamaker earned an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2017.
Isaac Evolue Etue Bofenda Bonga is a German professional basketball player for Partizan Mozzart Bet of the Partizan Mozzart Bet of the ABA League, Basketball League of Serbia (KLS) and the EuroLeague. Standing 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), he began his professional career with Skyliners Frankfurt of the Basketball Bundesliga. Bonga represents the Germany national team in international competitions. He was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers and immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA draft.
