Patrick James Riley is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president and minority owner of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. Often referred to as "The Godfather", Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA figures of all time both as a coach and executive. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player (1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach, and executive. Since the start of his NBA career through 2023, Riley appeared in 34 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
A.C. Green Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iron Man", he holds a National Basketball Association (NBA) record for most consecutive regular-season games played with 1,192. Green played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. He found most success with the Lakers, with whom he won three championships in 1987, 1988 and 2000, and was named an NBA All-Star in 1990.
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson Jr. is an American former basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first draft pick in franchise history. He would also play for the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers during his 10-year NBA career from 1989 to 1999.
Marques Kevin Johnson is an American former professional basketball player and character actor who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1977 to 1989, where he was a five-time All-Star. He played the majority of his career with the Bucks.
George Ramsey Irvine was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'6" forward, Irvine played collegiately at the University of Washington, where he was a first-team All-Pac-8 selection in 1970. He was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 8th round of the 1970 NBA draft. However, he never played for his hometown SuperSonics, nor for any other NBA team. Instead, Irvine opted to play for the team that selected him in the American Basketball Association draft, the Virginia Squires. Irvine played for the Squires for five seasons and then played a final pro season with the Denver Nuggets during the 1975–76 season, the ABA's final season prior to the ABA-NBA merger.
Donald James MacLean is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, and became the all-time scoring leader of both the school and the Pac-12 Conference. In 1994, MacLean won the NBA Most Improved Player Award as a member of the Washington Bullets. He currently works as a basketball color analyst.
James Franklin Barnett is an American former professional basketball player. He was the Golden State Warriors television analyst from 1985 to 2019, and currently splits time with Tom Tolbert as the team's radio color analyst on 95.7 The Game.
Keith Raymond Erickson is an American former basketball and volleyball player.
David William Meyers was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The forward played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He was an All-American as a senior in 1975, when he won his second national championship with UCLA. He was drafted in the first round of the 1975 NBA draft with the second overall pick, and played four years professionally with the Bucks.
The 1994–95 New York Knicks season was the 49th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks entered the season as runner-ups of the 1994 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games. During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Doug Christie from the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 1994 NBA draft, the team selected small forward Monty Williams out of Notre Dame University with the 24th overall pick, and selected point guard Charlie Ward out of Florida State University with the 26th overall pick. However, Christie only played twelve games, because of an ankle injury, and Ward only played ten games due to a wrist injury. In December, the team released Doc Rivers to free agency; Rivers later signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs.
Robert Eric "Pete" Williams is an American retired professional basketball player. He played for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1985 to 1987. He played college basketball at the University of Arizona from 1983 to 1985. Following his stint in the NBA, Williams played professionally in Turkey and Japan.
The 1989–90 NBA season was the Lakers' 42nd season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th in the city of Los Angeles. The Lakers drafted Yugoslavian center Vlade Divac with the 26th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft. Despite the retirement of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and an NBA Finals defeat in which they were swept in four games by the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers got off to a fast start winning ten of their first eleven games, and holding a 35–11 record at the All-Star break, on their way finishing the regular season with a league-best 63–19 record.
Samuel Keith Williams is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played four seasons in the NBA from 1981 through 1985 with the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers. Williams played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he was an All-Pac-10 first team selection in 1981. He was drafted in the 1981 NBA draft in the second round with the 33rd overall pick by the Golden State Warriors. Williams also played in the Continental Basketball Association in 1991–92 for the Bakersfield Jammers.
Lawrence Curtis Demic is an American former professional basketball player for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played three seasons with the Knicks from 1979 through 1982. Demic played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was an All-Pac-10 first team selection in 1979. He was drafted in the 1979 NBA draft in the first round with the ninth overall pick by New York.
Claude Lewis Terry is an American former basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA). Terry played four seasons with the ABA (1972–1976) followed by two seasons in the NBA (1976–1978). He played college basketball for the Stanford Indians, where he was an All-Pac-8 first team selection in 1972.
Carlon Michael Brown is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Utah and Colorado before playing professionally in Israel and Germany. He was the 2013–14 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League. Standing at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m), he played at the point guard and shooting guard positions.
John T. Windsor is an American former basketball player for the San Francisco Warriors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season with the Warriors in the 1963–64 season. Windsor played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal, where he was an All-Athletic Association of Western Universities first team selection in 1962. He was drafted in the 1962 NBA draft in the fifth round with the 39th overall pick by the Syracuse Nationals. In August 1963 was traded to San Francisco Warriors.
Gary Dwayne Payton II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a junior and senior playing college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers, Payton was named first-team All-Pac-12 as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He won his first NBA championship with the Warriors in 2022.
The 2017–18 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins were led by fifth-year head coach Steve Alford and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as members in the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 11–7 in Pac-12 play to finish in a three-way tie for third place.
The 2019–20 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles, during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I season. The Bruins were led by first-year head coach Mick Cronin and played their home games at Pauley Pavilion as members in the Pac-12 Conference. UCLA finished the season with a 19–12 record. After starting slowly at 8–9, they went 11–3 and finished second in the Pac-12 at 12–6. Cronin was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, while junior Chris Smith earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors and was voted the Pac-12 Most Improved Player. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Pac-12 tournament was canceled before the Bruins' first scheduled game in the quarterfinals, and the NCAA tournament was called off as well.
