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 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 25 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
Daniel Ray Ainge is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 18-year career as general manager for the Boston Celtics, Ainge was known for making bold moves to help the team rebuild, and clearing cap space. He served as the Celtics' president of basketball operations from 2003 until his retirement in 2021.
Gregory Carlton Anthony is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony also contributes to Yahoo! Sports as a college basketball analyst and serves as a co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio. His son, Cole Anthony, plays for the Orlando Magic.
Douglas Dale Christie is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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. The Raptors won the first overall pick in 1996, but they had to give that up due to the expansion agreement with the league.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 29th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. This season is notable for the Suns drafting Steve Nash out of Santa Clara University with the fifteenth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. During the off-season, the team acquired Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown from the Houston Rockets, and signed free agent Rex Chapman. However, the Suns struggled losing their first 13 games of the season, as Kevin Johnson missed the first eleven games with a hernia injury. After an 0–8 start, head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons resigned and was replaced by former Suns guard Danny Ainge, who led the team to a 40–34 finish. Along the way, there were many in-season moves such as trading Cassell, second-year star Michael Finley and A.C. Green, to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for All-Star guard Jason Kidd, second-year center Loren Meyer and Tony Dumas, sending Horry along with Joe Kleine to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for former Suns forward Cedric Ceballos and Rumeal Robinson, who was released to free agency after a short stint with the team, and trading Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Darrin Hancock, who never played for the Suns and was released to free agency.
The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real estate investors Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and former Dream player Renee Montgomery. Although the Dream share the Atlanta market with the National Basketball Association's Hawks, the Dream is not affiliated with its NBA counterpart. The Dream play at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the eighth season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association. The Heat had the tenth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Kurt Thomas out of Texas Christian University. Under new head coach, and team president Pat Riley, the Heat would be restructured. On the first day of the regular season, which began on November 3, 1995, the team acquired All-Star center Alonzo Mourning from the Charlotte Hornets. With the addition of Mourning, along with the off-season acquisition of Rex Chapman from the Washington Bullets, the Heat won 11 of their first 14 games, but then lost 23 of their next 34 games, holding a 22–26 at the All-Star break.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association in New York City, New York. After Pat Riley left to coach the Miami Heat, the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach. The team also signed free agent Gary Grant in November. The Knicks won ten of their first twelve games, leading to a 16–5 start and held a 30–16 record at the All-Star break. However, the team never seemed to get under Nelson down the stretch, as he was fired and replaced with long-time assistant Jeff Van Gundy after 59 games. At midseason, the Knicks traded Charles D. Smith and second-year forward Monty Williams to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus, and dealt Doug Christie and Herb Williams to the expansion Toronto Raptors in exchange for Willie Anderson and Victor Alexander. However, after playing just one game for the Raptors, Williams was released and re-signed by the Knicks for the remainder of the season. Under Van Gundy, the Knicks finished the season playing around .500 to post a 47–35 record, second in the Atlantic Division.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the 25th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. During the first month of the regular season, the Sonics acquired Vincent Askew from the Sacramento Kings. With George Karl in his second season as the SuperSonics coach, the team won their first four games of the season, which included two victories against the Houston Rockets in their first two games overseas in Yokohama, Japan. At midseason, the team traded Benoit Benjamin and top draft pick Doug Christie to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Sam Perkins. With a 33–17 record at the All-Star break, the Sonics won ten straight games between February and March, as they improved their 47–35 record from the previous season to 55–27, and reached the 1993 Playoffs as the #3 seed in the Western Conference.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Hawks' 47th season in the National Basketball Association, and 28th season in Atlanta. The Hawks received the 16th overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Alan Henderson out of Indiana University. During the off-season, the team re-acquired former Hawks guard and one-time Slam Dunk champion Spud Webb from the Sacramento Kings; Webb played for the Hawks from 1985 to 1991. The team also replaced Stacey Augmon as the team's starting small forward with Ken Norman, as Augmon played a sixth man role off the bench for the first half of the season. The Hawks played above .500 with a 9–5 start in November, but then struggled losing 10 of their 14 games in December. After 28 games, Norman was benched as Augmon returned to the lineup for the remainder of the season, as the Hawks posted a ten-game winning streak in January, and held a 26–21 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, Webb was traded along with Andrew Lang to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Christian Laettner and Sean Rooks. The Hawks finished fourth in the Central Division with a 46–36 record.
Briann January is a former American professional basketball player for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and current assistant coach for the Connecticut Sun. After a successful college career at Arizona State University, January was drafted by the Indiana Fever with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA draft. She has also played for the Phoenix Mercury, the Connecticut Sun, and the Seattle Storm.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the seventh season for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Heat had the twelfth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected Khalid Reeves from the University of Arizona. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Kevin Gamble, Ledell Eackles and Brad Lohaus. Before the season started, Heat management decided to start pulling the plug on their core that dated back to the franchise's first season in 1988–89. It started by trading Rony Seikaly to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Billy Owens. Miami then proceeded to trade Steve Smith and Grant Long to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Kevin Willis after the first two games. Despite the addition of Owens and Willis, the Heat stumbled out of the gate losing seven of their first eight games. After holding a 17–29 record at the All-Star break, head coach Kevin Loughery was fired, and replaced with assistant Alvin Gentry, as the Heat finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 32–50 record.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 28th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns acquired Hot Rod Williams from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agent Tony Smith. The Suns struggled with a 13–13 start to the season, then lost eight of their next nine games. Head coach Paul Westphal, who had led the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals, went 14–19 before being replaced by Cotton Fitzsimmons, who would come on to coach in his third stint with the Suns, while Smith was traded to the Miami Heat in exchange for rookie guard Terrence Rencher at midseason. The team played above .500 for the remainder of the season, as they held a 22–24 record at the All-Star break, and finished fourth in the Pacific Division, and seventh in the Western Conference with a 41–41 record. All home games were played at America West Arena. They were also one of the nine teams to defeat the 72–10 Chicago Bulls.
Jasmine Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. She lastly played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 8th season for the Charlotte Hornets in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Hornets re-acquired former guard Kendall Gill from the Seattle SuperSonics. On the first day of the regular season, which began on November 3, 1995, the Hornets acquired Glen Rice, Matt Geiger and second-year guard Khalid Reeves from the Miami Heat. The Hornets got off to a slow start losing eight of their first eleven games, but played around .500 as the season progressed. In January, they traded Gill and Reeves to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Kenny Anderson, who became the team's starting point guard, while Muggsy Bogues sat out with a knee injury that only limited him to just six games. Scott Burrell was also out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury after only playing just 20 games.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Bucks' 28th season in the National Basketball Association. The Bucks had the eleventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Gary Trent out of Ohio University, but soon traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for top draft pick Shawn Respert out of Michigan State University. During the off-season, the team re-signed free agent and former Bucks forward Terry Cummings, and acquired former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth from the Washington Bullets. Early into the season, they traded Todd Day and Alton Lister to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Sherman Douglas, and dealt Eric Murdock and second-year forward Eric Mobley to the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies in exchange for Benoit Benjamin.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Kings' 47th season in the National Basketball Association, and 11th season in Sacramento. In the 1995 NBA draft, the Kings selected Corliss Williamson from the University of Arkansas with the thirteenth overall pick, and selected Tyus Edney out of UCLA with the 47th overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired Šarūnas Marčiulionis from the Seattle SuperSonics, and acquired Tyrone Corbin from the Atlanta Hawks. The Kings would play their best basketball winning their first five games of the season. However, things turned ugly as a brawl occurred in a 119–95 road win over the Indiana Pacers on November 10, 1995, with a total of 16 players, eight from each team suspended. The team played above .500 for the first half of the season, holding a 24–20 record at the All-Star break. However, after a 24–17 start, the Kings struggled losing eleven straight games in February, as they traded Corbin and Walt Williams to the Miami Heat in exchange for Billy Owens and Kevin Gamble. Despite their struggles, the Kings would finally end their nine-year playoff drought by winning 9 of their final 15 games. They would capture the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 39–43 record, which was the same record as the previous season, and fifth in the Pacific Division.
The Dallas Wings is an American professional basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg Bibb is president and CEO. Brad Hilsabeck joined the Dallas Wings ownership group in March 2019 with the acquisition of Mark Yancey’s interest in the Wings.
N'Keal Harry is a Vincentian-Canadian professional football tight end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he twice received first-team All-Pac-12 honors, and was selected by the New England Patriots as the final first round pick of the 2019 NFL draft. Harry spent his first three seasons with the Patriots before being traded to the Chicago Bears in 2022. He joined the Vikings the following season.
