The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) was a men's professional basketball minor league in the United States from 1946 to 2009.
The International Basketball League (IBL) was a short-lived professional men's basketball league in the United States. The IBL was headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The league started in 1999 and ended in 2001.
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.
Cazzie Lee Russell is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with the Knicks in 1970.
The Grand Rapids Flight were a team in the International Basketball League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Geno Marcellus Carlisle is an American former professional basketball player. The 6' 3", 200-lb. point guard born in Grand Rapids, Michigan played in several leagues throughout the world.
James Edgar Collins is an American former professional basketball player whose last team was Indesit Fabriano of the Italian second division in 2006–07 season.
Ray Jackson is an American former professional basketball player. He is most well known for his time as a member of the Fab Five with the Michigan Wolverines.
Matthew Todd Steigenga is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'7", 220-40 lbs. power forward who most notably played a part of one season with the Chicago Bulls and a season in the Liga ACB.
Mike Helms is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Oakland University where he was named the Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in 2002–03 and was a three-time first-team Mid-Continent honoree.
Leslie Galen Young was an American professional basketball player. He played two years of Division I college basketball for the Charlotte 49ers, where he earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 1999. He played professionally in the United States and abroad for 13 years, winning a Continental Basketball Association championship in 2007 with the Yakima Sun Kings and an Australian National Basketball League championship in 2010 with the Perth Wildcats.
Cory Hightower is a professional basketball player who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round in the 2000 NBA draft.
Anthony Alvin Steward II is an American professional basketball player who has played primarily in countries besides the United States. Steward is currently playing with Club julio de 9 in Argentina (TNA) league.
Immanuel Jarod McElroy is an American former professional basketball player. He played as a point guard-shooting guard and small forward.
Leonard White is an American former professional basketball player. He is listed at 6'7" and weighed 224 lbs. Born in Century, Florida, White started playing collegiate ball with the Faulkner State Community College (1989–1991) and is still the all-time leading scorer of the Sun Chiefs with a 22.7 ppg average. He later transferred to Southern University (1991–1993) and led the Jaguars in scoring his last two years there. White entered the 1993 NBA draft and was picked 53rd in the second round by the Los Angeles Clippers; however, he was not signed and never got to play in the NBA. He played a few games in the French professional league in Pau Orthez but it is in the CBA where White will be making his mark in his professional basketball career as one of the league leaders in statistics for games played, minutes played, scoring, rebounds and steals. White has played for the San Diego Wildcards, Grand Rapids Hoops, Rockford Lightning, Sioux Falls Skyforce and Yakama Sun Kings, where he helped them win back-to-back CBA championships. He has also taken his game to the USBL with the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs, the IBL with the Tacoma Jazz and overseas notably in Venezuela. In the off-season, White coaches high school basketball in Florida.
Marcus James Kennedy is an American former professional basketball player. He was a second round NBA draft pick and played professionally in several countries.
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.
Charles Wayne Gaines is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Anhui Dragons of the Chinese National Basketball League. He played high school basketball in his native city of Houston, and he spent two years at Southwest Missouri State in the MVC before transferring to Southern Miss, where he played his two remaining years of college basketball eligibility. After going undrafted in the 2004 NBA draft, he started his professional career in the Continental Basketball Association with the Michigan Mayhem, leading the league in rebounding. After several years in Europe, one year in the NBA D-League and one in Israel, Gaines moved to the Chinese Basketball Association. While in China he earned an All-Star selection, was the 2011 scoring champion, and he twice led the league in rebounding.
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) was an American semi-professional basketball league that operated from 1969 to 1974.
