Marv Albert is an American retired sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks". Albert worked for Turner Sports as the lead announcer for NBA games on TNT until his retirement at the end of the 2020–21 season.
A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands. It is a type of field goal that is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.
NBA Jam is a basketball video game developed and published by Midway for arcades in 1993. It is the first entry in the NBA Jam series. The project leader for this game was Mark Turmell.
Julius Winfield Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–76 season.
Darryl R. Dawkins was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also played briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz late in his career. His nickname, "Chocolate Thunder", was bestowed upon him by Stevie Wonder. He was known for his powerful dunks, which led to the NBA adopting breakaway rims due to him shattering a backboard on two occasions in 1979.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "the Human Highlight Film". In 2006, Wilkins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American and national player of the year as a senior in 1986 while at Duke from 1982 to 1986. Dawkins subsequently played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the San Antonio Spurs (1986–1989), Philadelphia 76ers (1989–1994), and Detroit Pistons (1994–1995). From 1998 to 2008, he served as an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, Duke.
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk is an annual National Basketball Association competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. Sports Illustrated wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime invention since the bathroom."
William Clintard Robinzine was an American professional basketball player.
Kenneth Walker is an American former professional basketball player. He played primarily for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Sky" Walker, he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1989. He is currently a radio host for WVLK in Lexington, Kentucky.
Francis Layden is an American former basketball coach and executive of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz as well as former head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Utah Starzz.
The 2008 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 17, 2008, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season. It was the 57th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, home of the New Orleans Hornets. The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 134–128. LeBron James was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, his second time winning the award. This was the first NBA All-Star Game that was hosted by New Orleans, and was the city's first major professional sporting event since the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The city was awarded in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on May 22, 2006. The other reported contenders for the 2008 contest was Air Canada Centre at Toronto, who withdrew the bid early in 2005.
NBA Entertainment is the production arm of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and produces many NBA-related films including team championship videos and blooper and entertainment reels. Founded in 1982, it used to be associated with CBS/Fox Video, which was signing an agreement in 1987, before changing its distribution partner to Warner Bros. whose Turner Sports division runs its website and is one of its major broadcast partners.
Hardwood Classics is a television series that airs on NBA TV and features many of the greatest classic games recorded on videotape or film in National Basketball Association history. The show is produced by NBA Entertainment. During its earlier years on NBA TV, the series would air frequently in various timeslots, including at a set time on Thursday afternoons for a number of years. However, as the network has increased its output of originally-produced programming and live game coverage, Hardwood Classics airs more sporadically, with its most frequent airings taking place during the NBA offseason.
A breakaway rim is a basketball rim that contains a hinge and a spring at the point where it attaches to the backboard so that it can bend downward when a player dunks a basketball, and then quickly snaps back into a horizontal position when the player releases it. It allows players to dunk the ball without shattering the backboard, and it reduces the possibility of wrist injuries. Breakaway rims were invented in the mid-1970s and are now an essential element of high-level basketball.
The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 20, 2011, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2010–11 season. It was the 60th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 148–143. Kobe Bryant was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
A backboard shattering is an accident or stunt in basketball. It occurs when a player slam dunks the ball with sufficient force to shatter the tempered safety glass of the backboard. The stunt has caused games to be canceled or delayed, incurring a foul for the offending player, serious injuries to occur and expensive costs of cleanup and replacement. Shattering a backboard is extremely dangerous, sending various small pieces of the backboard glass flying over the players, sideline press personnel, referees, and fans. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), shattering a backboard during a game is penalized with a "non-unsportsmanlike" technical foul and a possible fine towards the player. The player may not be ejected, nor shall the foul count towards a player's total towards either ejection or suspension.
NBA Nation is a touring property operated by the National Basketball Association through its subsidiary, NBA Entertainment. The tour appears alongside local events across the United States during the spring and summer and features a variety of NBA-themed events and programs, such as skills contests and fitness clinics. The tour also addresses social issues in the host cities as part of the league's outreach program.
"Second Generation" is a 2006 television advertisement introducing Nike's Air Jordan XXI brand of basketball shoes. The ad depicts signature moves from Michael Jordan's NBA career, recreated in the present day by twelve young basketball players around the world. Included are moments from the 1989, 1991, 1992, and 1998 NBA playoffs and the iconic 1988 slam dunk.
Shaqtin' a Fool is a weekly segment from the television show Inside the NBA, the postgame show of NBA on TNT that normally follows the conclusion of National Basketball Association (NBA) games airing on cable TV channel TNT, but it aired during halftime of Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference Finals due to a leak in the roof of American Airlines Center. The title is a play on "actin' a fool." It first aired during the 2011–12 NBA season, when retired NBA All-Star Shaquille O'Neal voiced it upon joining the show and was created by Turner Sports producer Mike Goldfarb. Shaqtin' highlights humorous and uncommon basketball plays that have occurred during NBA games in the past week. O'Neal is the host and presenter, while the other analysts in studio react and provide commentary. Most often, those have been fellow Inside regulars Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley, but other Inside hosts have also participated, including Chris Webber, Grant Hill, Steve Smith, Kevin Garnett and Matt Winer. Since 2018, the Shaqtin franchise has been led by Turner Sports producer Michael Kaplan.
