The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams and is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is the premier men's professional basketball league in the world.
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Larry Joe Bird is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Hick from French Lick" and “Larry Legend”, Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Little Caesars Arena, located in Midtown. The team was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons in 1941, a member of the National Basketball League (NBL), where it won two NBL championships: in 1944 and 1945. The Pistons later joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1948. The NBL and BAA merged to become the NBA in 1949, and the Pistons became part of the merged league. In 1957, the franchise moved to Detroit. The Pistons have won three NBA championships: in 1989, 1990 and 2004.
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first established in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and became a member of the NBA in 1976 as a result of the ABA–NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team is named after the state of Indiana's history with the Indianapolis 500's pace cars and with the harness racing industry.
Reginald Wayne Miller is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-point shooting, especially in pressure situations and most notably against the New York Knicks, for which he earned the nickname "Knick Killer." When he retired, he held the record for most career 3-point field goals made. He is currently third on the list behind Stephen Curry and Ray Allen. A five-time All-Star selection, Miller led the league in free throw percentage five times and won a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Rasheed Abdul Wallace is an American former 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 former professional basketball player and minority owner and president of basketball operations of the Grand Rapids Drive of the NBA G League. Playing most of his career in the National Basketball Association, he is regarded by many to be the best undrafted player in NBA history. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University. In his NBA career, Wallace played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Palace of Auburn Hills, commonly referred to as The Palace, was a multi-purpose arena located in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It was the home of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Detroit Shock of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League, the Detroit Rockers of the National Professional Soccer League, the Detroit Neon/Detroit Safari of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, and the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League.
Violence in sports usually refers to violent and often unnecessarily harmful intentional physical acts committed during, or motivated by, a sports game, often in relation to contact sports such as American football, ice hockey, rugby football, lacrosse, association football, boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, and water polo and, when referring to the players themselves, often involving excessively violent or potentially illegal physical contact beyond the normal levels of contact expected while playing the sport. These acts of violence can include intentional attempts to injure a player or coach by another player or coach, but can also include threats of physical harm or actual physical harm sustained by players or coaches by fans or those engaging in the spectating of sports, or threats and acts of violence performed by fans or spectators upon opposing fans or other spectators.
Tayshaun Durell Prince is an American professional basketball executive and former player. The 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) small forward graduated from Dominguez High School before playing college basketball for the University of Kentucky. He was drafted 23rd overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2002 NBA draft and went on to win a championship with the team in 2004.
Metta Sandiford-Artest is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and later to Metta Sandiford-Artest in May 2020.
The Pacers–Pistons brawl was an altercation that occurred in a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Indiana Pacers and the defending champion Detroit Pistons on Friday, November 19, 2004, at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Associated Press (AP) called it "the most infamous brawl in NBA history."
Michael Breen is an American play-by-play sports commentator for NBA on ABC and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play announcer for the New York Giants' preseason games. Breen also called regular NFL season games for both NFL on Fox and NFL on NBC. Breen additionally calls the NBA Finals on ABC.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending-champion Detroit Pistons, 4–3, in the NBA Finals.
On October 17, 2005, National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern announced the implementation of a mandatory dress code for all NBA and NBA Development League players. This was especially noteworthy because the NBA became the first major professional sports league to implement such a rule, although National Hockey League rules state that a player is supposed to wear a jacket and tie to games and on charters if not told otherwise by the head coach or general manager. The dress code went into effect at the start of the 2005–06 NBA season.
The Knicks–Nuggets brawl was an on-court altercation at a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday, December 16, 2006. This altercation became the most penalized on-court fight in the NBA since the Pacers–Pistons brawl from two years before.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 64th season for the Pistons, the 57th in the National Basketball Association, and the 48th in the Detroit area. During the offseason, the Pistons signed free agent Antonio McDyess. Coming off their upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the Pistons began the season playing around .500. However, things would get worse on November 19 in a game against the Indiana Pacers, when a brawl erupted between Pacers players and Pistons fans after Ben Wallace and Ron Artest got into a shoving match. As the season progressed, the Pistons would post an 11-game winning streak near the end of the season, and would eventually finish first overall in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference with a 54–28 record. Ben Wallace was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, and was selected for the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Pacers' 29th season in the National Basketball Association, and 38th season as a franchise. The Pacers finished third in the Central Division with a 44–38 record. This season also marked the final season for All-Star guard Reggie Miller.
