The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise was established in 1989 as an expansion franchise, and such notable NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Nikola Vučević have played for the club throughout its history. As of 2021, the franchise has played in the NBA playoffs 16 times in 32 seasons, and twice went to the NBA Finals, in 1995 and 2009, losing to the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. Orlando has been the second most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage and playoff success, after the Miami Heat.
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Capital One Arena, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. an arena they share with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Georgetown University men's basketball team.
The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 in which the teams in the league can draft players who declare for the draft and that are eligible to join their organization. The current NBA consists of 30 teams, and all thirty teams have at least one draft pick throughout the two draft rounds. Historically, the vast majority of players drafted into the NBA are college basketball players.
Antoine Devon Walker is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker played for the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, the BSN's Mets de Guaynabo and the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede before retiring from basketball in 2012. Walker, a three-time NBA All-Star, won an NCAA championship with Kentucky in 1996 and an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006.
The 1986 NBA draft was held on June 17, 1986.
The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in NBA history, with four Hall of Famers being drafted in the first sixteen picks and five overall. It included first pick Akeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network.
The 1996 NBA draft was the 50th draft in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held on June 26, 1996 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors, they were not allowed to select first in this draft. The team with the second-highest probability, the Philadelphia 76ers, won the lottery and obtained the first selection. The Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies were second and third, respectively.
James Franklin Edwards is a former American basketball center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, and Chicago Bulls during a career that spanned 19 seasons. Though he never appeared in an All-Star Game, he was a reliable low-post scorer, averaging 12.7 points per game over his career. He played college basketball at the University of Washington.
Eric Scott Montross was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors. Born in Indianapolis, he played for Lawrence North High School before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to play for the Tar Heels.
Ernest Grunfeld is a Romanian-American former professional basketball player and former general manager in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In college at the University of Tennessee, he set a new record as the school's all-time leading scorer. He won gold medals with Team USA at the 1975 Pan American Games and the 1976 Summer Olympics. He began his professional career as a player with the Milwaukee Bucks. He served as General Manager of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association from 1989 to 1999, and as the Bucks General Manager from 1999 to 2003, and then became the president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards from 2003 to 2019.
The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Portland Trail Blazers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Philadelphia 76ers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the draft, the Capital Bullets were renamed the Washington Bullets. An expansion franchise, the New Orleans Jazz, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the tenth pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, 20 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 178 players.
The 2008 NBA Draft was held on June 26, 2008, at the Washington Mutual Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, including international players from non-North American professional leagues. According to the NBA, 44 players, 39 collegiate players and five international players, filed as early-entry candidates for the 2008 NBA Draft. These numbers do not include players who are automatically eligible for the draft. The Chicago Bulls, who had a 1.7 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 22. The Bulls' winning of the lottery was the second-largest upset in NBA Draft Lottery history behind the Orlando Magic, who won it in 1993 with just a 1.5% chance. The Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves obtained the second and third picks respectively.
The Orlando Magic first participated in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft on June 27, 1989, about five months before their inaugural NBA season. The NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players' Association to limit drafts to two rounds from 1989 onward. Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season. Teams can also trade their picks, so some years a team could have more than or less than two picks.
Tyrone Lamar Washington is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1999 NBA draft. However, he played professionally overseas and in the NBA Development League.
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team represents the University of Washington in NCAA Division I college basketball competing in the Pac-12 Conference. Their home games are played at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, located in Seattle, and they are currently led by head coach Mike Hopkins.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 26th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. After spending their first 25 years at the Memorial Coliseum, the Blazers began playing at the new Rose Garden Arena this season. The team acquired the eighth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft from the Detroit Pistons, and selected Shawn Respert out of Michigan State University, but soon traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for top draft pick Gary Trent out of Ohio University. Rookie center Arvydas Sabonis from Lithuania, who was drafted 24th overall by the Blazers in the 1986 NBA draft, would finally make his debut in the NBA. The Blazers held a 24–24 record at the All-Star break, and struggled playing below .500 afterwards, posting a 26–34 record as of March 5. However, they would win 18 of their final 22 games to finish the season with a 44–38 record, which was the same record as the previous season. The team finished fourth in the Pacific Division and sixth in the Western Conference, making their 14th straight trip to the postseason, and 19th in 20 years.
The 1988–89 NBA season was the Bullets' 28th season in the NBA. In the 1988 NBA draft, the Bullets selected Harvey Grant from the University of Oklahoma with the twelfth overall pick, and Ledell Eackles from the University of New Orleans with the 36th overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired Dave Feitl from the Golden State Warriors. Under Wes Unseld's first full season as head coach, and with the addition of Grant and Eackles, the Bullets struggled losing seven straight games in December, which led to a 4–14 start, and held a 17–28 record at the All-Star break. However, the team played above .500 for the remainder of the season, and finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 40–42 record, which was two more wins then the previous season, but the team failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing just two games behind the 8th-seeded Boston Celtics.
The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The draft lottery took place on May 19, 2015.
The 2017–18 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 69th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was 25–25 after the first 50 games, but finished the remainder of the season with a 27–5 record. It was the team's first 50-win season since 2000–01, when they last made the NBA Finals. The Sixers closed the regular season on a 16-game winning streak, a franchise record as well as becoming the only team in NBA history to end the regular season with 16 consecutive wins in the process.
The 2017–18 Brooklyn Nets season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), 51st season overall, and its sixth season playing in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
