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. Regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley 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.
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.
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 2007–08 NBA season was the 62nd season of the National Basketball Association. The Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 131–92 to win the 2008 NBA Finals, four games to two. The 2007 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2007 and Greg Oden was selected first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. However, he missed the entire season due to knee surgery.
The 1992–93 NBA season was the 25th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. This season is most memorable for the Suns acquiring All-Star power forward Charles Barkley from the Philadelphia 76ers, and signing free agent Danny Ainge prior to the season. Under new head coach Paul Westphal, the Suns had a successful season posting a 14-game winning streak in December, which led them to a 21–4 start, held a 38–10 record at the All-Star break, then posted an 11-game winning streak between March and April to finish with an NBA-best 62–20 record. The team set the franchise record for most wins in a season. Barkley won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and led the team to its second trip to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the 2-time defending champion Chicago Bulls in six games.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 29th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Suns acquired Sam Cassell, Robert Horry, Mark Bryant and Chucky Brown from the Houston Rockets, and signed free agent Rex Chapman. However, the team 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 Atlanta, 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 pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Kurt Thomas out of Texas Christian University. Under new head coach Pat Riley, the Heat would be restructured. On the first day of the regular season, which began on November 3, they 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 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 1990–91 NBA season was the 23rd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was replaced by his former assistant K. C. Jones, and went on to occupy the desk of vice-president of Basketball Operations for Seattle, resigning months later to accept a job as General Manager of the Denver Nuggets. The Draft Lottery gave the SuperSonics the No. 2 pick, which was used to select future All-Star point guard Gary Payton out of Oregon State in the 1990 NBA draft.
The 1992–93 New York Knicks season was the 47th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the off-season, the Knicks acquired Charles D. Smith, Doc Rivers and Bo Kimble from the Los Angeles Clippers, acquired All-Star guard Rolando Blackman from the Dallas Mavericks, and Tony Campbell from the Minnesota Timberwolves, and later signed free agent Herb Williams in November. The team also selected shooting guard Hubert Davis from the University of North Carolina with the 20th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. For the season, the Knicks changed their primary logo, adding a silver triangle behind a redesigned text of the word "Knicks" and an orange basketball. The team slightly redesigned their uniforms, replacing the previous Knicks logo with the newer logo on the right leg of their shorts. The Knicks' new logo remained in use until 1995, when they added the city name "New York" above their logo, while the uniforms lasted until 1997.
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). During the off-season, the Heat 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 1992–93 NBA season was the Rockets' 26th season in the National Basketball Association, and 22nd season in Houston. After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Rockets selected Robert Horry from the University of Alabama with the eleventh overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft. During the off-season, the team acquired Scott Brooks from the Minnesota Timberwolves. For the season opener, the Rockets traveled to Yokohama, Japan to play their first two games against the Seattle SuperSonics. The Rockets got off to a 14–9 start to the season, but then struggled posting a 7-game losing streak between December and January. However, they won eight consecutive games afterwards, and held a 30–21 record at the All-Star break. The Rockets went 25–6 for the remainder of the season, posting a 15-game winning streak between February and March, and then posting an 11-game winning streak in April, as the team signed free agent Terry Teagle, who played in the final two games of the regular season. The Rockets finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 55–27 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 professional basketball player 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, 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 Kings' 47th season in the National Basketball Association, and 11th season in Sacramento. During the off-season, the Kings 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, fifth in the Pacific Division.
The Dallas Wings are an American 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.
