The Grand Rapids Hoops were a basketball team that played in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Their first season was in 1989 and their final season was in 2003. Professional basketball later returned to Grand Rapids with the Grand Rapids Flight in 2004.
Jeffrey John Hornacek is an American professional basketball coach and a former player who is a coaching consultant for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously was the head coach for both the Phoenix Suns (2013–2016) and the New York Knicks (2016–2018). He was also an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets. He played shooting guard in the NBA from 1986 through 2000 and played collegiately at Iowa State University.
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL), playing their home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League, and are the 2013 and 2017 Calder Cup champions.
The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park. The Kings were formed from a merger between the West Sydney Westars and the Sydney Supersonics in October 1987. The Kings have won five NBL championships in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2022 and 2023. They were the first team to win three consecutive championships in the NBL and currently sit third behind Melbourne United (six) and the Perth Wildcats (ten) for championships won.
Sun Mingming is a Chinese former professional basketball player. He was the tallest professional basketball player in the world and was measured by the Guinness World Records as 2.36 m tall and weighing 168 kg (370 lb).
The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL foundation teams and have won three NBL championships, being successful in the 1985 and 1987 seasons, and again in 2007. They have also competed in the 1984, 1986 and 1990 grand finals and have reached the playoffs 22 times.
The DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center was a 5,500-seat multipurpose arena in Walker, Michigan, United States. It was the home of the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League and the Grand Rapids Wanderers of the Major Arena Soccer League 3. Built in 1952 as The Stadium Arena, the facility was purchased and renovated in the 1990s and was renamed The DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center in 1998. The venue hosted many sporting events, political events, national touring concerts, and expos. The arena was a 23,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) space with a 52-foot (16 m) ceiling, and could accommodate up to 8,000 people for concerts. The DeltaPlex was purchased by Visser Brothers Inc. and officially closed on July 31, 2022 to be converted into warehouse space.
The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adelaide. The club was originally called the Adelaide City Eagles when they joined the NBL in 1982, but changed their name to the 36ers the following year. The 36ers nickname comes from the fact that the Colony of South Australia was officially proclaimed on 28 December 1836. Since 2019, the 36ers play their home games at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The West Michigan ThunderHawks were an indoor football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team was most recently a member of the Indoor Football League. From their inception in 2007 until 2009, the ThunderHawks were known as the Muskegon Thunder and played at L.C. Walker Arena. In 2010, the team moved to Grand Rapids, MI. This is where the downfall of the team took place. The season started off hopeful with a 5–2 record. After week 7 the players were promised money at a later date as long as they played. Starting in 2010 the ThunderHawks played their home games at the DeltaPlex Arena, in nearby Walker, Michigan. The Thunderhawks did not field a team in 2011.
Bally Sports Detroit (BSD) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group that operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. It provides coverage of local sports teams in the state of Michigan, primarily focusing on those in Metro Detroit. The network airs exclusive broadcasts of games involving the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, and Detroit Red Wings; repeats of Detroit Lions preseason games; and some high school sports.
David Anderson Kool is a former collegiate basketball player for the Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team. Kool is WMU's all-time leading scorer and was named Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Year in his senior season. Kool was the boys' basketball coach at Jenison High School in Jenison, Michigan and at Holland Christian High School, in Holland, Michigan. Kool previously served as assistant coach for the WMU men's basketball team from 2011–13. Kool was named athletic director at South Christian High School on April 15, 2020.
Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, having voluntarily self-relegated from the USL Second Division at the end of 2010. The team suspended operations after the 2012 season.
The Fab Five was the 1991 University of Michigan men's basketball team recruiting class that many consider one of the greatest recruiting classes of all time. The class consisted of Detroit natives Chris Webber (#4) and Jalen Rose (#5), Chicago native Juwan Howard (#25), and two recruits from Texas: Plano's Jimmy King (#24) and Austin's Ray Jackson (#21). The Fab Five were the first team in NCAA history to compete in the championship game with all-freshman starters.
Elmer Dayton Mitchell was an American football and basketball coach in Michigan who is considered the father of intramural sports. He was the first varsity basketball coach at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the founder of that school's intramural sports program. Through 2010, he has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball history.
Alfred J. Julian Jr. was an American football player and coach. He was a starting defensive back for the New York Titans during their inaugural 1960 season and led the team with six interceptions in 14 games. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1957 to 1959 and was the leading rusher on the 1959 Michigan team.
The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim Arsenal in 2006, before relocating to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2009, becoming the Springfield Armor. After five seasons in Springfield, the franchise moved to Grand Rapids in 2014 and were subsequently renamed the Grand Rapids Drive, before changing their name again to the Gold in 2021.
Grand Rapids FC was an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose senior men's team played in USL League Two. The team was founded in 2014 and ceased operations in 2021. Its first season was in 2015. It was initially funded by a group of supporters who purchased memberships to cover the operating expenses, as well as by local sponsors.
The Motor City Cruise are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Detroit, and are affiliated with the Detroit Pistons. The Cruise play their home games at Wayne State Fieldhouse. The franchise began play as the Long Beach Jam in 2003 under the revived American Basketball Association and moved to Bakersfield in the D-League in 2006 as the Bakersfield Jam. After ten years in Bakersfield, California, the franchise was moved to Prescott Valley, Arizona, in 2016 by the Phoenix Suns and were subsequently renamed the Northern Arizona Suns. In 2021, the team relocated to Detroit after being purchased by the Pistons.
The 2010 West Michigan ThunderHawks season was the team's fourth season as a football franchise and first in the Indoor Football League (IFL). One of twenty-five teams competing in the IFL for the 2010 season, the ThunderHawks were members of the Atlantic East Division of the United Conference. The team played their home games at DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Zena Ray "Zeke" Upshaw was an American professional basketball player. He began his college basketball career with the Illinois State Redbirds. After playing sparingly for three seasons, he transferred to join the Hofstra Pride, where he led the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in scoring and was named second-team all-conference. Upshaw played professionally in Slovenia and Luxembourg before returning to the United States and joining the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA Development League. In the Drive's regular season finale in 2017–18, he collapsed on the court in the game's final minute and died two days later.
