Julius Winfield Erving II, commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player in that league when it merged into the National Basketball Association (NBA) after the 1975–1976 season.
Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Big Dog" and "the Chosen One", he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs. Robinson attended Purdue University and was the first overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. He is the father of Glenn Robinson III, who played college basketball at the University of Michigan and has also played in the NBA.
Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R., is an American former professional basketball player who played nine seasons in the NBA.
Delonte Maurice West is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks. He also played professionally for the Fujian Xunxing and Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association and the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. Prior to playing professionally, West played college basketball at Saint Joseph's University.
Luke Witte is a retired American college and professional basketball player who is now a church minister. He played at the collegiate level for Ohio State University and professionally for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was during his time at Ohio State that he was severely injured in one of the more brutal on-court brawls in basketball history.
Joseph Leynard Smith is an American former professional basketball player. A power forward, he played for 12 teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his 16-year career.
Louis Clyde Hudson was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player, who was an All-American at the University of Minnesota and a six-time NBA All-Star, scoring 17,940 total points in 13 NBA seasons.
William Clifford Musselman was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death because you have to live with defeat."
The 1976 NBA draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 8, 1976, before the 1976–77 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 Atlanta Hawks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Chicago Bulls were awarded the second pick. The Hawks then traded the first pick to the Houston Rockets before the draft. 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. The New York Knicks forfeited their first-round draft pick due to their illegal signing of George McGinnis whose rights were held by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers, the Golden State Warriors and the Buffalo Braves also forfeited their second, third and fourth-round picks respectively due to their participation in 1975 supplementary draft American Basketball Association (ABA) players who had never been drafted in the NBA. 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, 26 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. 13 of them withdrew before the draft, leaving only 13 early entry candidates eligible for selection. 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 173 players. On August 8, 1976, the league also hosted a Dispersal draft for ABA players from the Kentucky Colonels and Spirits of St. Louis, who were not included in the ABA–NBA merger.
Tyrone Kennedy Corbin is an American former basketball player who last worked as an 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.
David Lee Rivers is an American former professional basketball player and coach. A 5’11”(1.80 m ) tall point guard, he reached star status in the EuroLeague, mainly while playing with Olympiacos, under head coach Dušan Ivković. Rivers played 3 seasons in the NBA, one with the Los Angeles Lakers (1988–89) and two more with the Los Angeles Clippers. He played college basketball at the University of Notre Dame.
Herman L. Gilliam Jr. was an American professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1969 to 1977, winning a championship with the Portland Trail Blazers in his final season.
James Turner Brewer is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player.
Michael Alex Conley Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted as the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Conley spent 12 seasons with the Grizzlies and became the team's all-time leading scorer before being traded to the Utah Jazz in 2019, then traded again to the Timberwolves in 2023.
Lindsey Marcie Harding is an American professional basketball coach and former player. She is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Throughout her playing career, Harding played for the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has played overseas in Turkey and Russia. She was previously a scout and a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up in Houston, Texas, and also holds a Belarusian passport.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represents the University of Minnesota in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. The Golden Gophers competes in the Big Ten Conference and play their home games at the Williams Arena.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Timberwolves' 7th season in the National Basketball Association. This season is most memorable when the Timberwolves selected high school basketball star Kevin Garnett with the fifth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft. The team also signed free agent All-Star guard Terry Porter, and re-signed former T-Wolves forward Sam Mitchell during the off-season. The Timberwolves got off to a bad start losing nine of their first ten games, as head coach Bill Blair was fired after a 6–14 start and was replaced with Flip Saunders, while Michael Williams was out for the remainder of the season with a left heel injury after only just nine games.
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 Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise was founded in the 1970–71 NBA season. The team made their first draft pick in the 1970 NBA draft and have selected 283 players total. The franchise won its only NBA championship in 1977, when the team was led by their 1974 first overall pick, Bill Walton, as well as multiple other former draft picks who went on to have their numbers retired by Portland. Many of the players selected have gone on to have accomplished careers while playing for the team. Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard hold multiple Blazer records and are first in many stats. Along with Walton and Drexler, two other draft picks, Dražen Petrović and Arvydas Sabonis, went on to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after their playing careers ended, with Petrović being inducted posthumously.
The 1999–2000 NBA season was the Hawks' 51st season in the National Basketball Association, and 32nd season in Atlanta. The Hawks played their first season at the Philips Arena, which was built over the site of The Omni. The team also had four first-round draft picks in the 1999 NBA draft, selecting Jason Terry from the University of Arizona with the tenth overall pick, then selecting Cal Bowdler out of Old Dominion University with the 17th overall pick, Dion Glover out of Georgia Tech with the 20th overall pick, and Jumaine Jones from the University of Georgia with the 27th overall pick, but soon traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a future draft pick. In the off-season, the Hawks acquired Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson from the Portland Trail Blazers, acquired Bimbo Coles from the Golden State Warriors, and acquired Lorenzen Wright from the Los Angeles Clippers.
