The National Basketball League (NBL) was a professional men's basketball league in the United States established in 1937. After the 1948–49 season, its twelfth, it merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to create the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Rasheed Abdul Wallace is an American retired professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before moving on to the NBA in 1995.
Ben Camey Wallace is an American retired professional basketball player. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University and signed with the Washington Bullets as an undrafted free agent in 1996. In his NBA career, Wallace played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jon Alan Barry is an American former basketball player and current television analyst for ABC and ESPN.
Chauncey Ray Billups is an American retired professional basketball player who played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A star at the University of Colorado, he was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. A five-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA selection, Billups played for the Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers during his NBA career. He won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 after helping the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, and was given the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" for making late-game shots with Detroit. The Pistons retired his #1 jersey in 2016.
Richard Clay "Rip" Hamilton is an American retired professional basketball player who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Hamilton is best known for his nine-year stint with the Detroit Pistons, where he was a three-time All-Star. He helped lead the Pistons to six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances, back to back NBA Finals appearances, their best record in franchise history and the 2004 NBA championship.
Harold "Happy" Hairston was an American professional basketball player. He was best remembered for playing with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), along with stints with the Cincinnati Royals and the Detroit Pistons. He was a member of the 1971–72 NBA championship Lakers, a team that won 33 games in a row, a record not duplicated in any other American professional sport. Hairston was a 6'7" (200 cm) 225 lb (102 kg) forward. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Elden Jerome Campbell is an American retired professional basketball player who played as a power forward and center in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Bailey E. Howell is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball at Mississippi State, Howell played twelve seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howell was a 6-time NBA All-Star, 2-time NBA Champion and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Fred Zollner was called "Mr. Pro Basketball" as the founder and owner along with his sister Janet of the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons and a key figure in the merger of National Basketball League and Basketball Association of America into the National Basketball Association in 1949. He was inducted as a contributor into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 1972 NBA draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 10 and 15, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 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 Buffalo Braves 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. As a result of last year's supplemental hardship draft, the Cincinnati Royals, the Atlanta Hawks, the Golden State Warriors and the Baltimore Bullets forfeited their first round picks, while the Los Angeles Lakers forfeited their fourth round pick. Prior to the start of the season, the Cincinnati Royals relocated and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. The draft consisted of 18 rounds comprising the selection of 198 players.
The 2004 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.
David "Corky" Calhoun is an American former professional basketball player. Calhoun played in the NBA from 1972-1980 after a collegiate career at the University of Pennsylvania. Calhoun was the 1st round selection of the Phoenix Suns in the 1972 NBA draft. He won an NBA Championship as a member of the 1976-1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
Aron John Baynes is a New Zealand-born Australian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professional career in Europe. In 2013, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, and a year later, won an NBA championship with the Spurs. In 2015, he joined the Detroit Pistons. After two seasons with the Pistons, he joined the Celtics. Baynes also plays for the Australian national team.
The Lakers–Pistons rivalry is an American professional basketball rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons. This rivalry, which was showcased three times in the NBA Finals, pitted the high-flying, All-Star filled Lakers teams against the blue collar, team-first oriented Pistons squads. Despite playing the role of underdog in all three of their final round meetings with Los Angeles, Detroit enjoyed significant success against the Lakers, claiming the NBA title against them twice.
The Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of two conferences that makes up the league, the other being the Eastern Conference. Like the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference is made up of 15 teams, organized in three divisions.
The 1955–56 Fort Wayne Pistons season was the eighth season for the Pistons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 15th season as a franchise. In the Western Division Finals the Pistons defeated the St. Louis Hawks in a best-of-five series 3-2 to reach the NBA Finals. They would go on to lose the Finals in five games to the Philadelphia Warriors.
Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2011, and played college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs for two years before declaring for the 2013 NBA draft. He was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons.
