Jason Frederick Kidd is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards and passers of all time, Kidd was a 10-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He won an NBA championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks and was a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics with the U.S. national team in 2000 and 2008. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, Kidd was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Thomas Arthur Van Arsdale is an American former professional basketball player. A graduate of Emmerich Manual High School in Indianapolis, the 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard played collegiately at Indiana University under longtime head coach Branch McCracken.
Tyrone Kennedy Corbin is an American former basketball player and assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on February 10, 2011, following the resignation of longtime coach Jerry Sloan. He was also the brief interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings in the 2014–15 season before being replaced by George Karl. Prior to that, Corbin played 16 seasons in the NBA.
The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season.
Scott Layden is an American former general manager for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former coach and general manager of the Jazz, Frank Layden, and a graduate of Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, where he studied Business and Sports Management. Layden was the general manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2016 to 2020.
The 1976–77 NBA season was the Braves seventh season in the NBA. The Braves were purchased by John Y. Brown, Jr., the former owner of the Kentucky Colonels in the now defunct American Basketball Association for $6.2 million. As part of an agreement with the Braves' former owner, Paul Snyder, Brown would give Snyder money received in player deals to reduce the purchase price. The sell-off began shortly after the season, as the Braves sold newly acquired Moses Malone. Malone was acquired in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers after the ABA dispersal draft. Malone was now off to the Houston Rockets. The selling of players continued into the season as Bob McAdoo was sold to the New York Knicks. While the deals helped Brown pay virtually nothing for the franchise, it turned a promising franchise into a rebuilding one. Attendance fell off as the Braves finished in 4th place with a 30–52 record. The only spotlight was rookie Adrian Dantley, who captured Rookie of the Year honors with 20.3 points per game. However Dantley himself was traded following the season to the Indiana Pacers for Billy Knight.
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.
Timothy Mark Thomas is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was a highly ranked prospect while playing at Paterson Catholic High School in his hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. Thomas played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats and declared for the 1997 NBA draft after his freshman season. He spent thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks. Thomas serves as the head coach of the boys basketball team at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey.
Thomas M. Kron was an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft, 5 in guard, Kron, played his rookie season (1966–1967) with the St. Louis Hawks. He was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1967 Expansion draft and spent two seasons there, and finished his career with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association, becoming a fan favorite during the 1969 and 1970 seasons.
The 1975–76 Phoenix Suns season was the eighth season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The season included an improbable run to the NBA Finals by a team that had never won a playoff series and made the playoffs only one other season in the franchise's existence.
The 1973–74 Phoenix Suns season was the sixth for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. It was the first of 14 seasons head coach John MacLeod spent with Phoenix. The season would also be the last for former All-Star forward/center Connie Hawkins, traded to the Los Angeles Lakers after appearing in nine games for the Suns. Charlie Scott would repeat as an All-Star, but who missed 30 games due to injury despite his NBA career-high 25.4 points a game. The team went on to finish the season 30–52, a career-worst for MacLeod and the franchise's poorest record since their inaugural season.
The 1970–71 Phoenix Suns season was the third season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons lead the Suns, in the NBA's first season which separated the teams into both conferences and divisions as the league continued to gain more teams. It was the first season the Suns would be without the services of All-Star guard Gail Goodrich. With a 48–34 record, the Suns set the NBA record for the team with the best winning percentage not to make the playoffs. The team would break their own record the next year with a 49–33 finish. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 1969–70 Phoenix Suns season was the second season of the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the first season, however, for eventual Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins, who was a star in the ABA before switching to the NBA to join the Suns. Head coach Johnny "Red" Kerr was replaced by general manager Jerry Colangelo after the Suns started 15–23. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 1968–69 Phoenix Suns season was the inaugural season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. Head coach Red Kerr led the franchise to its first win in their debut game, over the Seattle SuperSonics. The Suns lost more games in their initial season than in any year since, and did not have a winning record against any other team. They played all their home games in the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 1986–87 Phoenix Suns season was the 18th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association and their final season under the original ownership group led by Karl Eller, Donald Pitt, Don Diamond, Bhavik Darji, Marvin Meyer, and Richard L. Bloch. The Suns started their fourteenth season under head coach John MacLeod. At 22–34 (.393) in late February, management decided to replace the longstanding MacLeod with Dick Van Arsdale, a former Suns player from the 1975–76 Finals team, who was working as the team's color commentator for TV and radio at the time, despite having no prior coaching experience.
The 1987–88 Phoenix Suns season was the 19th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association and their first season under new ownership led by long-time associate and general manager Jerry Colangelo. The team was led by new head coach John Wetzel. Having missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, Suns management made a midseason trade with Cleveland in attempt to return the Suns to postseason play. The trade would in part send All-Star Larry Nance in exchange for rookie Kevin Johnson. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The 1988–89 Phoenix Suns season was the 20th season for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association. The Suns had the seventh overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, which they used to select Tim Perry out of Temple University, and also selected future All-Star Dan Majerle from the University of Central Michigan with the fourteenth overall pick. During the off-season, the Suns fired head coach John Wetzel and replaced him with director of player personnel Cotton Fitzsimmons, who coached the team for the '70–'71 and '71–'72 seasons, and signed free agent and one-time All-Star forward Tom Chambers. The Suns showed a lot of improvement over the previous season, holding a 29–17 record at the All-Star break, posting a nine-game winning streak between March and April, and finishing second in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record. All home games were played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Marcus Thomas Morris Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball at Kansas before being drafted 14th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA draft. He has also played for the Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Markieff Morris is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks before being drafted 13th overall in the 2011 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
