Larry Joe Bird is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He is the only person in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Finals MVP, All-Star MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.
Robert Joseph Cousy is an American former professional basketball player. He played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963, and briefly with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. A 13-time NBA All-Star and 1957 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), Cousy was a core piece during the early half of the Celtics dynasty winning six NBA championships during his 13-year tenure with the Celtics. Nicknamed "The Houdini of the Hardwood", Cousy was the NBA assists leader for eight consecutive seasons, introducing a new blend of ball-handling and passing skills to the NBA. He is regarded as the first great point guard of the NBA, and was the first to reach the 4,000, 5,000, and 6,000 career assists milestones.
Walter Robert "Wally" Szczerbiak Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and current color analyst for the New York Knicks on MSG Network. He played 10 seasons for four teams in the National Basketball Association. Szczerbiak played college basketball for Miami University and is one of five of the university's basketball players whose jerseys have been retired.
James Ager Worthy is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Game James", he played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Worthy was a seven-time NBA All-Star, a two-time All-NBA Team member who won three NBA championships and was voted the NBA Finals MVP in 1988. He was named to both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
Kyle Elliot Korver is an American former professional basketball player who currently serves as the assistant general manager for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays.
Artis Gilmore Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.
Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1975. He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s. In 2000, McAdoo was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
David William Cowens is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Cowens has also held coaching positions in the NBA, CBA, and WNBA.
Paul Theron Silas was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including twice on the first team. He won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics. Silas is the leader in most rebounds per game with 12.1 in Suns franchise history.
Wesley Lavon Person is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After his playing career, Person became a women's basketball assistant coach and then the head men's basketball coach at Enterprise-Ozark Community College. He was fired from the latter position in 2010.
Hersey R. Hawkins Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. After starring at George Westinghouse College Prep, the 6'3" shooting guard attended Bradley University. Hawkins played for 4 teams throughout his 12-year National Basketball Association career. Hersey was given his nickname, “The Big Kiss”, by David Gborie.
Bailey E. Howell is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball at Mississippi State, Howell played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howell was a six-time NBA All-Star, two-time NBA champion and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
John Michael "Jumpin' Johnny" Green was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans, earning consensus second-team All-American honors. He was a four-time NBA All-Star.
Henry J. Finkel is an American basketball player whose professional career lasted from 1966 to 1975. Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in second round of the 1966 NBA draft he remained with the team through 1966–67, then played with the San Diego Rockets from 1967 to 1969 and spent the remaining years with the Boston Celtics, when, during his next to last season, the Celtics won the 1974 NBA Championship.
The 1989–90 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. It was Bernie Bickerstaff's last season as head coach of the Sonics, and the first season for rookie and future All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who was selected with the 17th pick in the 1989 NBA draft. After winning two of their first three games, the Sonics lost in a quintuple-overtime game on November 9 to the Milwaukee Bucks, 155–154 at the Bradley Center. The Sonics played around .500 for the entire season, holding a 22–23 record at the All-Star break, and peaking late in the season at 34–32 before going 7–9 to end their season, as they finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 41–41 record, losing the #8 seed in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who had the same record but were ahead after tie-breaks, and thus did not reach the playoffs.
The 1999–00 NBA season was the 54th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Celtics acquired Danny Fortson, and former Celtics forward Eric Williams from the Denver Nuggets, and signed free agents Calbert Cheaney, and undrafted rookie guard Adrian Griffin. In their third season under head coach Rick Pitino, the Celtics won their first three games, but played below .500 for the first few months, holding a 21–28 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded Fortson to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Alvin Williams, but the trade was voided due to Williams failing his physical exam; Fortson only played 55 games this season due to a stress fracture in his right foot. The Celtics struggled and suffered a ten-game losing streak between March and April, but managed to win five of their final six games, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 35–47 record, and missing the playoffs again for the fifth straight season.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. Celebrating its 50th anniversary as one of the NBA's original franchises, the Celtics selected Antoine Walker from the University of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Frank Brickowski and Marty Conlon. However, after a 4–8 start to the season, the Celtics lost 13 of their next 14 games as players like Dino Radja, Dana Barros, Dee Brown, Greg Minor and Pervis Ellison were all out for long stretches of the season with injuries. The team suffered through their worst season, holding an 11–35 record at the All-Star break, then posting a 13-game losing streak between February and March, and losing ten straight games near the end of the season. The Celtics lost 34 of their final 38 games, finishing last place in the Atlantic Division with a dreadful 15–67 record, which is the team's worst record in franchise history.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. A new era began for the Celtics as they moved into their current home, a state of the art new arena then known as the Fleet Center. In addition, this also ended their practice of playing occasional home games at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The Celtics had the fourteenth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Eric Williams out of Providence College. There was much speculation during the previous off-season over who would coach the team after the firing of Chris Ford, with candidates that included former Celtics coaches Dave Cowens and K. C. Jones, and even former Celtic player Paul Silas. Ultimately, General Manager M. L. Carr decided to hire himself as the team's new head coach. The Celtics also signed free agent and former Boston College star Dana Barros, who won the Most Improved Player award the previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 76ers 46th season in the National Basketball Association, and 32nd season in Philadelphia. The 76ers had the sixth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected Sharone Wright out of Clemson University. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Scott Williams, Jeff Grayer, then signed Willie Burton during the first month of the regular season. Under new head coach John Lucas, the Sixers struggled losing six of their first seven games. After a 10–16 start to the season, they went on a nine-game losing streak between December and January, as Jeff Malone only played just 19 games due to a sprained ankle, averaging 18.4 points per game. After holding a 14–34 record at the All-Star break, the Sixers posted an eight-game losing streak in March, and finished sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 24–58 record.
Grayson James Allen is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played four years of college basketball at Duke University, where he helped Duke win a national championship in 2015. He has often been called one of Duke's best players of the 2010s. Allen was drafted with the 21st overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, where he played for one season before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in July 2019. In August 2021, Allen was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played for two seasons before being traded to the Suns in September 2023.
