2014–15 Toronto Raptors Season
The 2014–15 Toronto Raptors season was the 20th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In honor of the Raptors 20th season, they revealed the throwback purple "dino" jerseys to wear on several nights. The Raptors repeated as Atlantic Division champions for the first time in franchise history, and finished in fourth place in Eastern conference, winning 49 games during the regular season, breaking their franchise record of 48 wins in the previous season. Despite this achievement, the fourth-seeded Raptors were unexpectedly swept in the opening round of the playoffs by the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards as they extended their post-season series victory drought. Their all-time playoff series record dipped to one and seven, now having lost their last six consecutive series, and their lone series win coming in 2001 against the Knicks. This year's defeat was primarily blamed on the team's poor defense which was notably exploited by the Wizards. Draft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dwane Casey
Dwane Lyndon Casey (born April 17, 1957) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a former NCAA basketball player and coach, having played and coached there for over a decade before moving on to the NBA. He was previously the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2018. Early years Dwane Lyndon Casey was born on April 17, 1957, in Indianapolis. However, his family moved to Morganfield, Kentucky when he was three years old. Casey graduated from Union County High School in 1975. Casey was a top recruit coming out of high school. He made the decision to commit to the University of Kentucky. During the 1977–78 Wildcats season, Casey helped guide the team to an NCAA Tournament Championship. He served as team captain during his senior year. During the summers, Casey worked several odd jobs to support himself, includ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Connecticut Huskies Men's Basketball
The UConn Huskies men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut. They currently play in the Big East Conference (Big East) and are coached by Dan Hurley. The Huskies have won 4 NCAA tournament championships ( 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014), which puts the program in a tie with Kansas for sixth-most all-time. The Huskies are second in Big East tournament championships with seven, trailing only Georgetown (8). The Huskies also have the most Big East regular season titles with ten and one American Athletic Conference tournament championship. Numerous players have gone on to achieve professional success after their time at UConn, including Clifford Robinson, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Rudy Gay, Charlie Villanueva, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, and Andre Drummond. The Huskies have participated in 5 NCAA Final Fours (tied for 13th all time) and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2015 NBA All-Star Game
The 2015 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2015, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season. It was the 64th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference, 163–158. Russell Westbrook was named the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. The game was televised nationally by TNT and TBS in the United States, and TSN in Canada. The All-Star Weekend festivities were jointly hosted by the league's two New York City teams, the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA awarded the game to New York City in 2013, and the logo for the 2015 All-Star Game was unveiled on July 10, 2014. The All-Star Game itself was played at the Knicks' home arena, Madison Square Garden; the current Garden last hosted the game in 1998, and the Knicks' previous home, the third Madison Square Garden, hosted three earlier All-Star ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kyle Lowry
Kyle Terrell Lowry (born March 25, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been a six-time NBA All-Star and was named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2016. Lowry won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, their first title in franchise history. He was a member of the U.S. national team that won a gold medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Lowry played two seasons of college basketball with the Villanova Wildcats before he was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2006 NBA draft with the 24th overall pick. He began his NBA career with Memphis and the Houston Rockets before being traded to Toronto. In his second season with the Raptors, he helped them reach the playoffs for the first time in seven years and win an Atlantic Division title during the 2013–14 season. In 2015–16, he led the Raptors to 56 wins in what was then the highest win total in franchise hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at State Farm Arena. The team's origins can be traced to the establishment of the Buffalo Bisons in 1946 in Buffalo, New York, a member of the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) owned by Ben Kerner and Leo Ferris. After 38 days in Buffalo, the team moved to Moline, Illinois, where they were renamed the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. In 1949, they joined the NBA as part of the merger between the NBL and the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and briefly had Red Auerbach as coach. In 1951, Kerner moved the team to Milwaukee, where they changed their name to the Milwaukee Hawks. Kerner and the team moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, where they won their only ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Central Division (NBA), Central Division. The team began play as an expansion team in 1970–71 NBA season, 1970, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Buffalo Braves. Home games were first held at Cleveland Arena from 1970 to 1974, followed by the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1994. Since 1994, the Cavs have played home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland, which is shared with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Dan Gilbert (businessman), Dan Gilbert has owned the team since March 2005. The Cavaliers opened their inaugural season by losing their first 15 games and struggled in their early years, placing no better than sixth in the Eastern Conference during their first five sea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and scorers of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Bryant also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. He was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he was born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy. Recognized as the top American high-school basketball player while at Philadelphia suburb Lower Merion ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA, and have won 17 NBA championships, tied with the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history. The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers.Reavis, Tracey in Sacchare (ed) (2000). p. 95 Initially a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Bask ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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DeMar DeRozan
DeMar Darnell DeRozan (born August 7, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2009 NBA draft. He is a five-time NBA All-Star and a three-time All-NBA Team member. He spent nine seasons with the Raptors, including five playoff runs, before being traded to the Spurs in the summer of 2018 and the Bulls in 2021. DeRozan has played for the United States national team in the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. High school career DeRozan attended Compton High School and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008. He was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 6 by Scout.com. He played on the varsity basketball team for all four years of high school. As a freshman, he averaged 26.1 points and 8.4 rebounds. During his sophomore year, he averaged ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division. The team plays its home games at the American Airlines Center, which it shares with the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. Throughout the 1980s, the Mavericks were a perennial playoff team, led by List of NBA All-Stars, All-Stars Rolando Blackman and Mark Aguirre. The team struggled during the 1990s, entering into a period of rebuilding. In 1998, the franchise's fortunes would change drastically with the acquisition of Dirk Nowitzki, who would become the cornerstone of the most successful period in franchise history, leading the team to its first and, as of 2022, only NBA championship in 2011 NBA Finals, 2011. The Mavericks later entered a rebuilding phase in the tail end of Nowitzki's s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eastern Conference (NBA)
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Western Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference. The NBA first started awarding an Eastern Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season, renaming it after Hall of Famer Bob Cousy in the 2021–22 season. Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Larry Bird Trophy to the Eastern Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, named after Hall of Famer Larry Bird. Current standings Teams Former teams ;Notes * denotes an expansion team. * denotes a team that merged from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 16, 1966, and played its first game during the 1966–67 NBA season. The Bulls play their home games at the United Center, an arena on Chicago's West Side. The Bulls saw their greatest success during the 1990s when they played a major part in popularizing the NBA worldwide. They are known for having one of the NBA's greatest dynasties, winning six NBA championships between 1991 and 1998 with two three-peats. All six of their championship teams were led by Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and coach Phil Jackson. The Bulls are the only NBA franchise to win multiple championships while never losing an NBA Finals series in their history. The Bulls won 72 games during the 1995–96 season, setting an NBA record that stood un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |