Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster. Known primarily as the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, Hearn was remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, associated with colorful phrases such as slam dunk, air ball, and no harm, no foul that have become common basketball vernacular, and for broadcasting 3,338 consecutive Lakers games starting on November 21, 1965. Of note is that most of Hearn's games in the television era were simulcast on both radio and television, even after most teams chose to use different announcers for the different media.
A slam dunk, also simply dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by putting the ball directly through the basket with one or both hands above the rim. It is considered a type of field goal; if successful, it is worth two points. Such a shot was known as a "dunk shot" until the term "slam dunk" was coined by former Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn.
Like Mike is a 2002 American sports comedy film directed by John Schultz and written by Michael Elliot and Jordan Moffet. Starring Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Robert Forster, Crispin Glover and Eugene Levy, the film follows an orphan who gets basketball talents after finding a pair of Michael Jordan's shoes.
Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as player development assistant for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in 2003 with the Phoenix Suns, who selected him with the ninth overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft. He made six appearances in the NBA All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA Team five times, including one first-team selection in 2007.
Clyde Austin Drexler is an American former professional basketball player who is the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending a majority of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before finishing with the Houston Rockets. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star and named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and earned a gold medal on the 1992 United States Olympic team known as "The Dream Team". He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2004 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". He currently serves as a color commentator for Houston Rockets home games.
James William Cartwright is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player and a former head coach with the Chicago Bulls. A 7'1" center, he played 16 seasons for the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics, helping the Bulls capture consecutive championships in the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons. He attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, California, and played college basketball at the University of San Francisco.
Michael Anthony Jerome “Spud” Webb is an American retired professional basketball player. Webb, who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), is known for winning a Slam Dunk Contest despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history. NBA.com lists him at 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall. Other references list him as 5 feet 6 inches. He is currently the president of basketball operations for the Texas Legends, the G League team for the Dallas Mavericks in Frisco, Texas.
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free throw line, a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws are generally awarded after a foul on the shooter by the opposing team, analogous to penalty shots in other team sports. Free throws are also awarded in other situations, including technical fouls, and when the fouling team has entered the bonus/penalty situation. Also depending on the situation, a player may be awarded between one and three free throws. Each successful free throw is worth one point.
Hakim Hanif Warrick is an American professional basketball player. The 6'9", 220 lb. (100 kg) power forward-center was a major part of the Syracuse Orange's run to the 2003 NCAA Division I college basketball National Championship, often being most remembered for blocking a potential game-tying three-pointer in the title game. Warrick also has a reputation as a prolific dunker, while also possessing a wide arsenal of low-post moves.
Ralph Anthony Lawler is an American former television and radio personality. Lawler is best known for his 41-year tenure as the voice of the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Clippers. Going back to the franchise's six-year stint in San Diego (1978–84), Lawler has broadcast virtually every Clippers game since the franchise moved from Buffalo, New York in 1978, whether it be radio and/or television. There were only two seasons when Lawler did not serve as the team's primary play-by-play broadcaster: 1981–82 and 1984–85 ; Lawler returned as the full-time voice in 1985–86. In 2019, Lawler was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
This glossary of basketball terms is a list of definitions of terms used in the game of basketball. Like any other major sport, basketball features its own extensive vocabulary of unique words and phrases used by players, coaches, sports journalists, commentators, and fans.
The 1983 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known as University Arena, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A total of 51 games were played.
The 2006–07 Phoenix Suns season started with the team trying to return to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated in six games by the Dallas Mavericks in the previous season, 2005–06. After an excellent regular season in which they posted a 61-21 record, in a rematch of last season's First Round where they came back from a 3-1 deficit, they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round of the playoffs in five games, but were narrowly defeated in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games by the more experienced and heavily favored and eventual NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.
Michael Baiamonte is an American professional basketball announcer. He is the current public address voice of the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat, a position he has held since 1990.
Jonny William Flynn is an American former professional basketball player. A three-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, he last played for the Orlandina Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A and played collegiate basketball for the Syracuse Orange.
The Spurs–Suns rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns. It began in the 1990s, when the Spurs were led by "The Admiral", David Robinson, and the Phoenix Suns were propelled by a number of players, including Dan Majerle, Kevin Johnson, and Tom Chambers. The rivalry continued into the next decade with Tim Duncan leading the Spurs, and with Steve Nash leading the Suns. The rivalry has also allegedly prevented Spurs coach Gregg Popovich from coaching the USA Basketball team in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Wilson Chandler is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously played for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association during the 2011 NBA lockout and the NBA's New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets. He played college basketball for the DePaul Blue Demons for two years before declaring for the 2007 NBA draft, where he was a first-round selection of the Knicks. Chandler is listed at 6 ft 8 in. and 225 lbs. He can play both forward positions.
The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers. This game was the 60th edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 2010–11 NBA season. The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers served as the hosts. The Clippers and Lakers were both awarded the All-Star Game in an announcement by commissioner David Stern on June 9, 2009. This was the second time that the Staples Center had hosted the All-Star Game; the arena had previously hosted the event in 2004. This will be the fifth time that Los Angeles had hosted the All-Star Game; before Staples Center opened in 1999, the city had previously hosted the event in 1963, 1972, and 1983. Rihanna, Kanye West and Drake were the halftime performers, while Keri Hilson, Lenny Kravitz and Bruno Mars were the entertainment for pre-show festivities.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 37th for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Suns re-acquired All-Star guard Steve Nash from the Dallas Mavericks, and signed free agent Quentin Richardson. The Suns got off to a fast start winning 31 of their first 35 games, but then lost six straight afterwards. They finished with the best record in the NBA at 62–20 under head coach Mike D'Antoni, tying their franchise best 1992–93 season record. Three members of the team, Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion were all selected for the 2005 NBA All-Star Game. The Suns also gained solid play from Richardson and Joe Johnson. Nash finished the season averaging 11.5 assists per game, while making 50.2% of his field goals and 43.1% of his three-pointers in the regular season. He ended up winning the MVP award. D'Antoni was awarded Coach of the Year, and Bryan Colangelo Executive of the Year.
The 2002–03 NBA season was the 35th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. Frank Johnson returned as head coach, posting eight additional wins from the previous season to finish at 44–38. The Suns returned to the playoffs after snapping a streak of 13 seasons in a row the year before, a franchise record, and were supplanted by the play of rookie high school draft pick Amar'e Stoudemire. America West Arena hosted Suns home games.
