The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The club plays its home games at Kaseya Center, and has won three NBA championships.
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.
Steven Delano Smith is an American former professional basketball player who is a basketball analyst for Turner Sports. After a collegiate career with Michigan State, he played with several teams in his 14-season National Basketball Association career, including the Miami Heat, the Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs, but is perhaps best known for his five-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks which included an All-Star Game appearance in 1998. He won a championship with the Spurs in 2003. Smith was widely regarded as an excellent three-point shooter, and is one of three players to make seven 3-pointers in a quarter.
Edward Charles Jones is an American former professional basketball player who played for five teams in his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career. Jones played college basketball at Temple University and was the 1993–94 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He led the Owls to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament. The three-time NBA All-Star was selected 10th overall in the 1994 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Shane Courtney Battier is an American former professional basketball player. He also worked for ESPN and recently joined the board of Yext.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the Orlando Magic 4-0 in the NBA Finals to be crowned champions.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first championship.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Raptors' tenth season in the National Basketball Association. A new management team of head coach Sam Mitchell, and General Manager Rob Babcock was hired before the 2004–05 season by the Raptors. On December 17, 2004, disgruntled All-Star Vince Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and Alonzo Mourning. Mourning would never report to Toronto and he was waived not long after the trade. He later signed with the Miami Heat for his second stint. Guard Alvin Williams missed the entire season due to right knee inflammation. The Raptors finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 33–49 record, which was the same record as the previous season. Sophomore star Chris Bosh showed improvement averaging 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Pacers' 18th season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season as a franchise. The Pacers would undergo several changes as the club hired Larry Brown as head coach, acquired Derrick McKey from the Seattle SuperSonics, and signed free agent Haywoode Workman in the off-season. In December, the team signed free agent Byron Scott, who won championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. The Pacers got off to a rough start losing six of their first seven games, then later lost five straight in December leading to a 10–16 start. However, the team posted a 7-game winning streak between January and February, holding a 23–23 record at the All-Star break, and would play .500 ball until April. By winning their final eight games of the season, the Pacers were able to grab the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference and close out the season with a 47–35 record, fourth in the Central Division.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the Hawks' 45th season in the National Basketball Association, and 26th season in Atlanta. In the off-season, Chicago Bulls All-Star guard Michael Jordan shocked the NBA by announcing his retirement. This meant that various teams in the league had an opportunity to contend for a championship. The Hawks hired Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens as their new head coach. Wilkens was a star guard for the franchise when it was based in St. Louis in the 1960s. He was quickly moving up the all-time coaching wins list after successful runs with the Seattle SuperSonics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Wilkens employed a defensive system which benefited several members of the team. The team also signed free agents Craig Ehlo, and Andrew Lang during the off-season.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the Hawks' 46th season in the National Basketball Association, and 27th season in Atlanta. This was the team's first season since 1981–82 without All-Star forward Dominique Wilkins, as he signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics in the off-season. During the off-season, the Hawks acquired Ken Norman from the Milwaukee Bucks, and Tyrone Corbin from the Utah Jazz. Early into the season, they traded Kevin Willis to the Miami Heat in exchange for Steve Smith and Grant Long after the first two games. The Hawks struggled losing their first four games, held a 12–19 record as of January 4, and later held a 22–26 record at the All-Star break. However, head coach Lenny Wilkens made history by becoming the NBA's all-time winningest coach, surpassing Red Auerbach on January 6, 1995, with 939 wins in a 112–90 home win over the Washington Bullets. The Hawks won seven of their final ten games, finishing fifth in the Central Division with a mediocre 42–40 record.
The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in the southern city of Miami, Florida. The team was launched in 1988 and played in the 1988–89 season of the National Basketball Association. The next season they moved from the Western Conference to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
James Patrick Johnson is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the starting power forward for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons from 2007 to 2009. He was drafted 16th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls.
The 1993–94 NBA season was the sixth season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the off-season, the Heat signed free agent 7' 7" center Manute Bol, but released him to free agency after only just eight games. Led by the scoring and shooting of Glen Rice and Steve Smith, and the rebounding of Rony Seikaly, the Heat got off to a 16–13 start before losing seven straight games afterward in January and held a 23–24 record at the All-Star break. However, they would post a 7-game winning streak between February and March, but would then lose 13 of their final 18 games, finishing the regular season fourth in the Atlantic Division with their first winning record at 42–40. The Heat went on to make their second playoff appearance earning the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.
Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012–2013 season he was named the Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, the Co-NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American by the USBWA and Sporting News. That year, he was also named the winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy, given annually to the top player in men's NCAA Division I basketball.
The 2013–14 Indiana Pacers season was 47th season of the franchise and 38th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Pacers marked their best start in franchise history, 16–1.
