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2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers Season
The 2004–05 Los Angeles Lakers season was the 57th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and 45th in the city of Los Angeles. The previous season had ended with a crushing defeat in five games to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, despite the Lakers being heavily favored. The 2004–05 season is best remembered as a tough one for the Lakers, winning only 34 games and missing the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. It was also the Lakers first season since 1995-96 without either center Shaquille O'Neal, who was traded to the Miami Heat for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and future draft picks, or point guard Derek Fisher (who had signed a six year free agent contract with the Golden State Warriors), two instrumental players to the Lakers' previous three championship victories. The Lakers had the worst team defensive rating in the NBA. Phil Jackson was also fired in the offseason and replaced by former Houston Rockets hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudolph Tomjanovich Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is a consultant for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional playing career, which lasted between 1970 and 1981, was entirely spent with the San Diego / Houston Rockets. Tomjanovich was a 5-time NBA All-Star forward; four consecutive times between 1974 and 1977, and again in 1979. He also made the playoffs five times: in 1975, 1977, and consecutively between 1979 and 1981. On December 9, 1977, during a game between the Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Tomjanovich was the victim of a life-threatening punch to his face brought upon him by Lakers power forward Kermit Washington. This ended his season after 23 games; after fully recovering, Tomjanovich played in the NBA for three more seasons. After about eight years of being an assistant coach, Tomjanovich was promoted to head coach of the Rockets from 1992 to 2003 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1995–96 Los Angeles Lakers Season
The 1995–96 NBA season was the Lakers' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 36th in the city of Los Angeles. It was also the highlight of retired All-Star guard and Lakers legend Magic Johnson making a comeback. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Corie Blount and Derek Strong. The Lakers got off to a slow start losing three of their first four games, but soon recovered holding a 24–18 record before Johnson's arrival on January 30, 1996, in a 128–118 home victory over the Golden State Warriors; Magic had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals in 27 minutes off the bench. The Lakers won ten of their twelve games in February, which included an 8-game winning streak, and held a 28–19 record at the All-Star break. However, in March, after a game against the Seattle SuperSonics, scoring leader Cedric Ceballos missed the team's charter flight to Seattle without explanation, as the Lakers were scheduled to play the Sonics again; Ceballos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1998–99 Chicago Bulls Season
The 1998–99 Chicago Bulls season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Basketball Association. On March 23, 1998, the owners of all 29 NBA teams voted 27–2 to reopen the league's collective bargaining agreement, seeking changes to the league's salary cap system, and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) opposed to the owners' plan, and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. After both sides failed to reach an agreement, the owners called for a lockout, which began on July 1, 1998, putting a hold on all team trades, free agent signings and training camp workouts, and cancelling many NBA regular season and preseason games. Due to the lockout, the NBA All-Star Game, which was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia on February 14, 1999, was also cancelled. However, on January 6, 1999, NBA commissioner David Stern, and NBPA director Billy Hunter finally reached an agreement to end the lockout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2014 NBA Playoffs
The 2014 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2013–14 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs defeating the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP. For the first time since 1984, the NBA Finals were played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 5, and 7, the lower seed hosts Games 3, 4, and 6). They were also the first playoffs overseen by Commissioner Adam Silver. The Spurs continued the longest active playoff streak in the NBA at 17 straight appearances. The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards made their first playoff appearances since 2008, while the Charlotte Bobcats, in their final playoff appearance before renaming themselves the Hornets, returned after a four-year absence. All three teams from Texas made the playoffs for the first time since 2009. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vlade Divac
Vlade Divac ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Дивац, ; born February 3, 1968) is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the vice president of basketball operations and general manager of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Divac spent most of his playing career in the NBA. At , he played center and was known for his passing skills. He was among the first group of European basketball players to transfer to the NBA in the late 1980s and was named one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors. He is one of seven players in NBA history to record 13,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists, and 1,500 blocked shots, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Pau Gasol.The NBA did not record blocked shots before the 1973–74 season, so earlier players such as Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain probably had similar career achievements. Divac was also the first p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005–06 Washington Wizards Season
The 2005–06 Washington Wizards season was the team's 45th in the NBA. They began the season hoping to improve upon their 45-37 output from the previous season. They came up three games short of matching it, finishing 42-40, but qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season. In January 2006, the MCI Center's name was changed to Verizon Center, which lasted until 2017. Draft picks wizards first time drafting two russian basketball players ever in history Roster Regular season Standings Record vs. opponents Game log Playoffs , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 22 , @ Cleveland L 86–97, Gilbert Arenas (26) , Antawn Jamison (7) , Antonio Daniels (6) , Quicken Loans Arena20,562 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 25 , @ Cleveland W 89–84, Gilbert Arenas (30) , Caron Butler (9) , Gilbert Arenas (6) , Quicken Loans Arena20,562 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004–05 Houston Rockets Season
The 2004–05 NBA season was the Rockets' 38th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 34th season in the city of Houston. During the offseason, the Rockets acquired All-Star forward Tracy McGrady and Juwan Howard from the Orlando Magic, acquired All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo from the Chicago Bulls, who acquired him from the New York Knicks, and signed free agent Bob Sura. The Rockets struggled with a 6–11 start to the season, then played around .500 as they traded Jim Jackson to the New Orleans Hornets for David Wesley in late December. The Rockets would later on win eight straight games in February, as McGrady and Yao Ming were both selected to play in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game at Denver. At midseason, the team traded Maurice Taylor to the New York Knicks, and acquired Mike James from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Rockets won their final seven games finishing third in the Southwest Division with a 51–31 record, which was their first 50-win season since 1997. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973. Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998, leading them to six NBA championships. He then coached the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011; the team won five league titles under his leadership. Jackson's 11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winter's triangle offense as well as a holistic approach to coaching that was influenced by Eastern philosophy, garnering him the nickname "Zen Master". Jackson cited Robert Pirsig's book ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'' as one of the major guiding forces in his life. He also applied Native American spiritual practices as documented in his book ''S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-peat
In North American sports, a three-peat is winning three consecutive championships. The term, a portmanteau of the words ''three'' and ''repeat'', originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association, during their unsuccessful campaign for a third consecutive championship during the 1988–89 season, having won the previous 2 NBA Finals. The Lakers, however, were swept by the Detroit Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals. The term is a registered trademark owned by Pat Riley, the Lakers' head coach from 1981–1990, although it was coined by L.A. player Byron Scott immediately after their successful championship defense against the Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals. The Lakers finally achieved a three-peat over a decade later, winning the NBA title in 2000, 2001, and 2002. It was their second in franchise history, and only the first since moving from Minneapolis. As of 2022, the Lakers are the last team of the 4 major American professional sports (NHL, MLB, NFL, & N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Fisher
Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Fisher played professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 18 seasons, spending the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won five NBA championships. He also played for the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Dallas Mavericks. He has also served as president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). Fisher played college basketball for the Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans, earning the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 1996. Selected by the Lakers with the 24th pick in the 1996 NBA draft, he spent his first eight seasons with the franchise, winning three consecutive league championships (2000–2002) with teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal and coach Phil Jackson. After the 2003–04 NBA season, he signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors, later being traded to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Grant
Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious rebounding and blue-collar defense. During his career, he played with the Sacramento Kings (where he made First Team All-Rookie in the 1994–95 season), Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. Early life Grant grew up in the small, rural community of Georgetown, Ohio, near the Ohio River about 40 miles southeast of Cincinnati. During summers, he spent most of his time working at area farms, cutting, housing, and stripping tobacco, digging potatoes and baling hay. He played basketball at Georgetown High School, mostly in anonymity until Xavier University's basketball office began receiving anonymous calls stating that they should take a look at Grant. Xavier assistant coach Dino Gaudio finally scouted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caron Butler
James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During a 14-year career he played for the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Butler is a two-time NBA All-Star and was the 2002 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while playing for the Connecticut Huskies. Early life Butler was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, where he suffered through a rough childhood; he was a drug dealer at age 12 and arrested 15 times before the age of 15. Butler discovered his love for basketball while at a youth detention center. Butler played in Amateur Athletic Union basketball in 1998 and 1999. After a brief career at Racine Park High School, he enrolled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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