Charles Oakley is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played most of 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. As a power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders and defensive players in the NBA. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3.
Douglas Dale Christie is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Herbert L. Williams is an American former basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eighteen seasons from 1981 to 1999. Williams served as the interim head coach and the assistant coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. He was last an assistant coach for the New York Liberty of the WNBA.
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.
Adrian Darnell Griffin is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA as a shooting guard and small forward from 1999 to 2008. Griffin grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates.
Clarence Eugene "Butch" Carter Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played college basketball at Indiana University.
Eric Daniel Brunson is an American basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a former professional player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and has also worked as an assistant coach for several teams. Brunson played college basketball for the Temple Owls.
Ronald Charles Brewer is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6'4" guard from the University of Arkansas, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1978 NBA draft.
Hubert Ira Davis Jr. is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 1988–1992 and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets from 1992 to 2004. He holds the franchise single-season and career three-point field goal shooting percentage records for both the Knicks and the Mavericks. He is the nephew of Walter Davis, another former Tar Heel and NBA player.
Brendan Thomas Malone was an American professional basketball coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Michael Francis Thibault is an American former basketball head coach. He coached the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, and the Washington Mystics. In 2013, Thibault became the WNBA's all time most successful coach with 212 victories.
Richard Adam Adubato is an American former basketball coach in the National Basketball Association. He has served as head coach for three NBA teams, the Detroit Pistons, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Orlando Magic.
Brian Joseph Winters is an American former basketball player and coach.
Mark Steven Alarie is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was selected by the Denver Nuggets as the 18th overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft. Alarie spent his rookie season with the Nuggets and was then traded to the Washington Bullets in 1987. He played four seasons for the Bullets until his retirement in 1992 after missing the entire 1991–92 season due to knee surgery.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Toronto Raptors' first season in the National Basketball Association. The Raptors, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, played their first games in 1995, and were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies. Retired All-Star point guard and former Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas became the team's General Manager. The Raptors revealed a new primary logo of a dinosaur playing basketball, and got new pinstripe uniforms with the logo on the front of their jerseys, adding purple and red to their color scheme.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Raptors' second season in the National Basketball Association. The Raptors had the second overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and drafted Marcus Camby from the University of Massachusetts, and started their season with new head coach Darrell Walker. Veteran leadership was added as the team signed free agent Walt Williams, acquired Popeye Jones from the Dallas Mavericks, acquired three-point specialist Hubert Davis from the New York Knicks, and signed John Long, who came out of his retirement. The team also signed Benoit Benjamin, but released him to free agency after only just four games. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the NBA, the Raptors started their season by wearing throwback uniforms of the Toronto Huskies in their season opener against the New York Knicks at the SkyDome on November 1, 1996, but lost to the Knicks, 107–99.
Nancy Darsch was an American women's basketball coach who worked at both the professional and NCAA Division I college levels. A native of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Darsch was a 1973 graduate of Springfield College. She also earned a master's degree in physical education from the University of Tennessee. Darsch was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame on September 25, 2014.
Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr., nicknamed "Thibs", is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He served as an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team from 2013 to 2016, and helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association in New York City, New York. After Pat Riley left to coach the Miami Heat, the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach. The team also signed free agent Gary Grant in November. The Knicks won ten of their first twelve games, leading to a 16–5 start and held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break. However, the team never seemed to get under Nelson down the stretch, as he was fired and replaced with long-time assistant Jeff Van Gundy after 59 games. At midseason, the Knicks traded Charles D. Smith and second-year forward Monty Williams to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus, and dealt Doug Christie and Herb Williams to the expansion Toronto Raptors in exchange for Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander. However, after playing just one game for the Raptors, Williams was released and re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the season. Under Van Gundy, the Knicks finished the season playing around .500 to post a 47–35 record, second in the Atlantic Division.
