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1996–97 Phoenix Suns Season
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, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cotton Fitzsimmons
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Missouri and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. He coached the Phoenix Suns three times, was named the NBA Coach of the Year twice, and is often credited as the architect of the Suns' success of the late 1980s and early to middle 1990s. Fitzsimmons won 1,089 games in his coaching career: 223 games at the junior college level, 34 at the Division I college level and 832 in the NBA. On May 16, 2021, it was announced that Fitzsimmons was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2021 enshrinement ceremony occurred on September 11, 2021. Early life Born to Clancy and Zelda Fitzsimmons, Lowell Fitzsimmons was raised in Bowling Green, Missouri, where he attended Bowling Green High School. The family of six mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chucky Brown
Clarence "Chucky" Brown Jr. (born February 29, 1968) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward from North Carolina State, Brown was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 1989 NBA draft. Brown shares (with Joe Smith, Tony Massenburg, Jim Jackson, and Ish Smith) the NBA record for the most teams played for during his NBA career — twelve: the Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets (where he became champion in 1994–95), Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings. He retired with 4,125 career points. In addition to the NBA teams, Brown had stints in the Continental Basketball Association and Italy's Panna Firenze. He played three games for Panna Firenze in 1992. The CBA saw Brown play for the Grand Rapids Hoops in 1993 and Yakima Sun Kings in 1994 and 1995. He be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996–97 Milwaukee Bucks Season
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Bucks' 29th season in the National Basketball Association. In the 1996 NBA draft, the Bucks selected point guard Stephon Marbury out of Georgia Tech with the fourth overall pick, but soon traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for top draft pick shooting guard Ray Allen from the University of Connecticut. In the off-season, the team signed free agent Armen Gilliam, acquired Andrew Lang from the Timberwolves, and acquired Elliot Perry from the Phoenix Suns. Under new head coach Chris Ford, along with the new trio of Allen, Vin Baker and Glenn Robinson, the Bucks appeared to be on their way breaking out of the gate with a 15–11 start. However, they could not maintain that momentum as they slipped under .500, holding a 21–26 record at the All-Star break, then losing eight straight games between February and March, missing the playoffs again by finishing seventh in the Central Division with a 33–49 record. Baker averaged 21.0 poi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rumeal Robinson
Rumeal James Robinson (born November 13, 1966) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Robinson graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and went on to play point guard for the University of Michigan. After a strong showing in Michigan's 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 1989 NCAA championship, Robinson was drafted #10 in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft. Early life Robinson was born in Mandeville, Jamaica, in the west-central portion of the island. His mother moved to the Boston area while he was a toddler, leaving him in his grandparents' care. Shortly after he turned 10 years old, his grandparents sent him to the United States in hopes of reuniting him with his mother. However, his mother made it clear that she didn't want him, and he was reduced to sleeping in apartment halls and Harvard College dorm stairways. Early in the 1977-78 school year, he was taken in by Helen and Lou Ford, a r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedric Ceballos
Cedric Z. Ceballos (born August 2, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. As a small forward, he played mostly for the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers, later finishing his National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat. Playing career Ceballos attended college at Ventura College and later Cal State Fullerton. His career highlights include winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest with a blindfolded dunk in 1992. He also led the NBA in field goal percentage (57.6) in 1992–93 with the Suns. Ceballos played a major role for the Suns during the playoffs, leading the team to a Western Conference Finals Game 1 win over the Seattle SuperSonics with a team high 21 points. After beating Seattle in a seven game series, the Suns reached the Finals, before losing to the Chicago Bulls. He also led the Lakers in scoring in 1994–95 with a 21.7 average and made the All-Star team, but couldn't participate due to an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996–97 Los Angeles Lakers Season
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Los Angeles Lakers' 49th season in the National Basketball Association, and 37th in the city of Los Angeles. This season was mostly remembered for the Lakers signing free agent All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal to a seven-year, $120 million deal, and acquiring high school basketball star Kobe Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets, who selected him with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA draft during the off-season. The team also signed former Lakers guard Byron Scott from the "Showtime" era, signed free agents Jerome Kersey and Sean Rooks, and acquired rookie center Travis Knight from the Chicago Bulls. In January, they traded Cedric Ceballos back to his former team, the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Robert Horry, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets. The Lakers had the eighth best team defensive rating in the NBA. The Lakers played strong basketball as they had the best record in the Western Conference at the All-Star break with a 35–13 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Kleine
Joseph William Kleine (born January 4, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and for the US national team. He won a gold medal as a member of the United States men's basketball team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In 1998, he won the NBA championship as a member of the Chicago Bulls. Kleine is now a restaurant proprietor, owning a number of successful Corky's Ribs & BBQ restaurants. College career Kleine, a seven-foot center, graduated from Slater High School in Slater, Missouri and originally enrolled to play basketball at the University of Notre Dame. After his freshman season, Kleine transferred to the University of Arkansas where he played alongside Darrell Walker and Alvin Robertson, who, like Kleine, would go on to have productive professional careers. Kleine's first season at Arkansas, he helped the Razorbacks to a 26-4 record, finish second in the Southwest Confere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Dumas
Tony Dumas (born August 25, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dumas played collegiately at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), whose athletic program is now known as the Kansas City Roos. He was the all-time leading scorer in UMKC history upon the completion of his career, with 2,459 career points. His senior season, he finished seventh in the NCAA in scoring at 27.0 points per game. He is also the only player in Kansas City history to be drafted into the NBA and the first Dallas Maverick to participate in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Dunk-Championship where he finished 6th place. In May 2021 with a 3.9 G.P.A. Tony returned to The University of Missouri-Kansas City (2021) and completed his Bachelor's Degree in Science with a Minor in Communication Studies. Tony also received the UMKC Chancellor's Historically Under-Represented Minority Award and Scholarship at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Bloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loren Meyer
Loren Henry Meyer (born December 30, 1972) is a retired American professional basketball player who played three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round (24th pick overall) of the 1995 NBA draft. Biography Meyer was born in Emmetsburg, Iowa. He attended Ruthven-Ayrshire High School in Ruthven, Iowa. A 6'10", 257-pound center who played college basketball at Iowa State University, Meyer played in three NBA seasons for the Mavericks, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. In his NBA career, Meyer played in a total of 140 games and scored a total of 645 points, averaging 4.6 points per game. Meyer was inducted into the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame in March 2009. Meyer currently resides in his hometown of Ruthven, Iowa where he owns farmland. Professional career Dallas Mavericks (1995-1996) Meyer was selected with 24th overall pick in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft. He was drafted by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Kidd
Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards and passers of all time, Kidd was a 10-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team member, and a nine-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. He won an NBA championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks and was a two-time gold medal winner in the Olympics with the U.S. national team in 2000 and 2008. He was inducted as a player into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In October 2021, Kidd was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Kidd played college basketball for the California Golden Bears and was drafted second overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the 1994 NBA draft. He was named co-NBA Rookie of the Year in his first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1996–97 Dallas Mavericks Season
The 1996–97 NBA season was the Mavericks' 17th season in the National Basketball Association. The Mavericks had the ninth pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and selected Samaki Walker out of Louisville. In the off-season, the team signed free agents Chris Gatling, Oliver Miller, and former Mavs guard Derek Harper, and acquired Eric Montross Eric Scott “Big Grits” Montross (born September 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets ... from the 1995–96 Boston Celtics season, Boston Celtics, and signed undrafted rookie guard Erick Strickland. Under new head coach Jim Cleamons, the Mavericks struggles continued with a 4–10 start in November. With the team not showing any improvement, they traded All-Star guard Jason Kidd to the 1996–97 Phoenix Suns season, Phoenix Suns in exchange for second-year star Michael Finley, Sam Casse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Finley
Michael Howard Finley (born March 6, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player who is the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 15 seasons in the NBA, predominantly with the Mavericks, but also for the Phoenix Suns (who drafted him in 1995), the San Antonio Spurs, and the Boston Celtics. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2007. High school career Finley attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, graduating in 1991. In Finley's senior season, Proviso East won the 1991 IHSA class AA boys basketball tournament, and Finley was named to the all-tournament team. Finley's teammates, known collectively as the "Three Amigos", included future NBA draftees Sherrell Ford and Donnie Boyce. In 2007, Finley was voted one of the "100 Legends of the IHSA Boys Basketball Tournament". College career The 6' 7" shooting guard/small forward was ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
