1997–98 Toronto Raptors Season
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1997–98 Toronto Raptors Season
The 1997–98 NBA season was the Raptors' third season in the National Basketball Association. In the 1997 NBA draft, the Raptors selected high school basketball star Tracy McGrady with the ninth overall pick, and acquired second-year forward John Wallace from the New York Knicks during the off-season. In November, Isiah Thomas resigned as the team's General Manager, and later took up a job as color analyst for the ''NBA on NBC''. After a 1–2 start, the Raptors struggled posting a 17-game losing streak leading to a dreadful 1–19 start. The team later on improved in January with a 6–8 record, including a four-game winning streak. At midseason, scoring leader Damon Stoudamire was traded along with Walt Williams, and Carlos Rogers to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent and rookie guard Alvin Williams, as head coach Darrell Walker resigned with a 11–38 record at the All-Star break. However, Anderson refused to play for the Canadian team an ...
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Darrell Walker
Darrell Walker (born March 9, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and retired professional player. He is currently head men's coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. At 6'4" (1.93 m) and 180 lb (82 kg), he played as a guard. He attended Chicago's Corliss High School. Playing career After playing college basketball at Westark Community College (now the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith) and the University of Arkansas, Walker was selected by the New York Knicks with the 12th pick in the first round of the 1983 NBA draft. Over a ten-year career, he played for five teams—the Knicks, the Denver Nuggets, the Washington Bullets, the Detroit Pistons, and the Chicago Bulls. Walker is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Walker was selected to the 1984 NBA All-Rookie team, and was among the league leaders during his career in assists and steals. His best season was in 1989–90 with the Washington Bullets when he averaged 9.5 points, 8.8 re ...
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NBA On NBC
The ''NBA on NBC'' is the branding used for presentations of National Basketball Association (NBA) games produced by the NBC television network in the United States. NBC held broadcast rights from 1955 to 1962 and again from 1990 (when it obtained the rights from CBS) to 2002. During NBC's partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-1980s. Although the main NBC network no longer airs NBA broadcasts, NBA games currently air on the NBC Sports Regional Networks in the form of game telecasts that air on a regional basis, featuring local NBA teams that each of the regional networks have respective broadcast rights to air in their designated market. Overview 1954–62 incarnation NBC's first tenure with the National Basketball Association began on October 30, 1954, and lasted until April 7, 1962. NBC's very first NBA telecast was a game between the Boston Celtics a ...
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Shawn Respert
Shawn Christopher Respert (born February 6, 1972) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He attended Bishop Borgess High School, and he came to prominence while playing college basketball at Michigan State. He played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for four seasons from 1995 to 1999. College career Respert was a standout at Michigan State. He and point guard Eric Snow combined to form one of the nation's most prolific backcourt tandems for head coach Jud Heathcote's Spartans. Respert was the team's leading scorer all four seasons at Michigan State and finished his career second all-time in scoring among Big Ten players with 2,531 points (trailing only Calbert Cheaney) and first in Big Ten games with 1,545 points scored. He capped a brilliant career by being named a unanimous first team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year and Sporting News and NABC National Player of the Year with a 25.6 scoring average during his 199 ...
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Dee Brown (basketball, Born 1968)
DeCovan Kadell "Dee" Brown (born November 29, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player who spent thirty years in the NBA including twelve seasons as a player (1990–2002) in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, and Orlando Magic, and as an executive with the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, and as Vice President of Holistic Player Performance with the Los Angeles Clippers. His daughter Lexie Brown plays for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Playing career A 6'1" (1.85 m) guard from Jacksonville University, Brown was selected by the Celtics with the 19th pick of the 1990 NBA draft. He was a member of the NBA All-Rookie Team in his first year, when he played in all 82 games and averaged 8.7 points per game. One of the highlights of his career occurred in 1991, when he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest with a no look slam dunk. He was a starter for ...
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Chauncey Billups
Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 17 seasons in the NBA. After playing college basketball with the Colorado Buffaloes, he was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. A five-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA selection and two-time NBA All-Defensive 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 2004 NBA Finals, Finals, and was given the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" for making late-game shots with Detroit. The Pistons retired number, retired his No. 1 jersey in 2016. Billups worked as a studio analyst after his retiring from playing in 2014. He st ...
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1997–98 Boston Celtics Season
The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. In the 1997 NBA draft, the Celtics selected Chauncey Billups from the University of Colorado with the third overall pick, and selected Ron Mercer from the University of Kentucky with the sixth pick. Despite finishing with the NBA's second worst record in 1996–97, the Celtics were back in the headlines after hiring University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino as their new coach. In the off-season, the team signed free agent Chris Mills, but then sent him to the New York Knicks in exchange for second-year forward Walter McCarty in October, and also signed second-year center Travis Knight, Andrew DeClercq, Bruce Bowen and Tyus Edney. Pitino's Celtics career had an auspicious beginning on opening night when the Celtics upset Michael Jordan, and the 5-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls, 92–85 at the FleetCenter on October 31, 1997. After a 1–5 start to the season ...
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Žan Tabak
Žan Tabak (born 15 June 1970) is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player who last served as the head coach for San Pablo Burgos of the Liga ACB. His basketball career, spanning twenty years, was marked by several notable achievements, despite injuries. He was the first international player to play in the NBA Finals for two teams. Žan Tabak averaged 5.0 points in his 6-year NBA career. Early career Born in Split, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, Tabak's father-in-law Ratomir Tvrdić was a top European basketball player, his wife played first-division basketball for Croatia, and his younger brother played professionally in Croatia. Tabak began his basketball career in 1985, at the age of fifteen, making his debut with the Jugoplastika Split organization. Only a few years later, he and Split teammates Dino Rađa and Toni Kukoč led the club to three consecutive European Championships (1989–91), a feat only equaled in EuroLeague's storied history by its first cha ...
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Popeye Jones
Ronald Jerome "Popeye" Jones (born June 17, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career Born in Dresden, Tennessee, Jones played college basketball for Murray State University. He finished his college career as a three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, a two-time honorable mention All-America and was named OVC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991. Jones was honored as the OVC's Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992. He is one of only ten MSU men's basketball players to have his jersey retired, his #54 hangs in the rafters of the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. Jones ranks fourth on Murray State's all-time scoring list with 2,057 points. He is also Murray State's all-time leader in rebounds with 1,374, and led the nation in that category in the 1990–91 season. He is the only player in Murray State history to record more than 2,000 po ...
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Alvin Williams
Alvin Leon Williams Jr. (born August 6, 1974) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for Villanova University and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2007. College career Williams graduated from Germantown Academy in 1993 where he was in the same graduating class as Bradley Cooper. He then went to Villanova as one of the most highly touted recruits sounding a charge led by head coach Steve Lappas to restart bringing homegrown talent from Philadelphia to the Wildcats, which had been dormant for years under head coach Rollie Massimino. During his senior season, Williams led Villanova in scoring and assists with 17 points and 4.5 assists per game. Along with Tim Thomas, Williams would take Villanova to a regular season Big East title and a berth in the 1997 NCAA tournament where they lost in the Second round to California featuring future NFL All-Pro Tony Gonzalez. Professional career Toronto Raptors After being drafted by the Po ...
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Gary Trent
Gary Dajaun Trent Sr. (born September 22, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Trent played his high school basketball at Hamilton Township High School. In his senior season, he shot 81.4 percent from the field, a national high school record.NBA.com player biography
. Accessed July 15, 2008.
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Kenny Anderson (basketball)
Kenneth Anderson (born October 9, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. After a college career at Georgia Tech, he played point guard professionally from 1991 to 2006, mostly in the National Basketball Association. Early life Anderson was born in Queens, New York City. As a 16-year-old high school sophomore, the LeFrak City, Queens native who attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, Queens, was considered one of the best basketball prospects in America. Collegiate recruiters began scouting Anderson in sixth grade and he was on the front page of the New York City sports section when he was 14. By the end of his high school career, he was a four-time ''Parade'' All-American, a feat not accomplished since Lew Alcindor, and the first player to be named All-City four times. He was a McDonald's All-American, was named New York State Mr. Basketball by the New York State Coaches Organization, and named High School Ba ...
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1997–98 Portland Trail Blazers Season
The 1997–98 NBA season was the 28th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Blazers signed free agents Brian Grant, and Vincent Askew, and hired former Milwaukee Bucks General Manager and head coach Mike Dunleavy as their new coach. After losing their season opener, the Blazers went on a five-game winning streak, which ended with a 140–139 quadruple overtime home loss to the Phoenix Suns on November 14, 1997. The Blazers continued to play above .500 for the remainder of the season, holding a 26–20 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded Kenny Anderson along with Gary Trent, and rookie guard Alvin Williams to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Damon Stoudamire, Carlos Rogers and Walt Williams; Anderson never played for the Raptors, as he was soon traded to the Boston Celtics. The Blazers later on signed free agent Gary Grant in March, while Askew was released to free agency after 30 ...
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