2017–18 Portland Trail Blazers Season
The 2017–18 Portland Trail Blazers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This season is most notable for having a 13-game winning streak in their franchise history (tied), starting with a win over the Utah Jazz on February 23, but was ended with a 111–115 loss to the Houston Rockets on March 20. Despite that, the team still managed to clinch their 5th straight playoff berth on April 1, with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies. They finished the regular season with 49–33, which secured the 3rd seed and clinched the Northwest Division. In the playoffs, the Trail Blazers faced the 6th seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the First Round, and were swept in 4 games. Draft picks Roster Standings Division Conference Game log Preseason , - style="background:#fcc;" , 1 , October 3 , Phoenix , , Damian Lillard (18) , Zach Collins (8) , Damian Lillard (4) , Moda Center15,507 , 0–1 , - style="background:#cfc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terry Stotts
Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a playing as a forward in Europe and the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), where he was coached by George Karl, Stotts became a part of Karl's coaching staff on multiple teams in the CBA and NBA. He later got opportunities as a head coach for the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, before helping the Dallas Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship as an assistant coach. Early life and college career Born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Stotts grew up in Illinois, Wisconsin, Guam, and Indiana and graduated from Bloomington High School North in Bloomington, Indiana in 1976. Stotts was a member of the 1976 Indiana All-Star Team. Stotts was a starter in all his four seasons with the University of Oklahoma Sooners basketball team and was an Academic All-American ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John McCullough (basketball)
John P. McCullough (born October 5, 1956) is a retired National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player. McCullough was a Big Eight Player of the Year and NCAA All-American for the University of Oklahoma. McCullough was drafted in the fourth round of the 1979 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings. His only season in the NBA was for the Phoenix Suns in 1981–82. McCullough was an assistant coach at Southern Methodist University and the University of New Mexico before becoming the head coach at New Mexico Highlands University from 1996 to 2000. McCullough was later the head coach of the women's program at Oklahoma Baptist University. On June 1, 2016, McCullough was promoted to assistant coach by the Portland Trail Blazers after spending the previous four seasons as the team's advance scout. He is a former college teammate to Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts Terry Linn Stotts (born November 25, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jusuf Nurkić
Jusuf Nurkić (; born 23 August 1994), nicknamed "the Bosnian Beast", is a Bosnian professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at tall and weighing 290 lb (132 kg), the center was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He also represents the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team internationally. Early career Born in Živinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nurkić began playing basketball at 14 years of age, after Bosnian sports agent Enes Trnovčević took him to Slovenia and gave him an opportunity to play. He played in the youth categories for Slovenian team Zlatorog Laško. In February 2012, he was briefly loaned to Union Olimpija in order to play the Nike International Junior Tournament which was held in Belgrade. Nurkić attracted attention internationally by averaging 18.8 points and 11 rebounds over 5 games. Shortly after the tournament, he parted ways ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2017–18 Sacramento Kings Season
The 2017–18 Sacramento Kings season was the 73rd season of the franchise, its 69th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 33rd in Sacramento. With the Minnesota Timberwolves clinching their first winning record and playoff berth since 2003–04, the Kings now hold the current league record of most seasons without a winning record as well as the longest postseason drought, both at 12, with their last winning season and playoff appearance being a 44–38 record and a First Round defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the 2005–06 season. The Kings have now equalled the Golden State Warriors between 1994–95 and 2005–06 as the third-longest NBA postseason drought on record, behind only the Timberwolves above and the fifteen-season drought by the Buffalo Braves, San Diego Clippers and Los Angeles Clippers between 1976–77 and 1990–91 inclusive. The Kings now need three more losing seasons to break the NBA record for most consecutive los ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was famously known as Staples Center until December 2021 when Crypto.com acquired the naming rights. It is owned and operated by the Arturo L.A. Arena Company and Anschutz Entertainment Group. The arena is home venue to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League were also tenants; the Avengers folded in 2009, and the D-Fenders moved to the Lakers' practice facility at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California for the 2011–12 season. Cry ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Evan Turner
Evan Marcel Turner (born October 27, 1988) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was most recently an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2010 NBA draft. Turner attended St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois. By his senior season, he was one of the top high school basketball players at his position in the nation. In 2010, Turner was a first-team All-American and the National Player of the Year while playing at Ohio State University; he also became a two-time scoring champion and the Player of the Year for the Big Ten Conference. He was twice the only unanimous selection for the All-Big Ten first team by both the coaches and the media (i.e., 2008–09 and 2009–10). By finishing first in scoring and second in both rebounds and assists in the conference in the 2009–10 season, he was the first men's basketball player to finis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Meyers Leonard
Meyers Patrick Leonard (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini before being selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. After spending his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers, he was traded to the Miami Heat in the 2019 off-season. He reached the NBA Finals with the Heat in 2020. Early life Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia, grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town in southeastern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband's death, due to an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain. When he was in second grade, the young L ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2017–18 Los Angeles Clippers Season
The 2017–18 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 48th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), their 40th season in Southern California, and their 34th season in Los Angeles. Two-time Executive Of The Year winner Jerry West would join the Clippers as a special consultant. For the first time since 2011, Chris Paul was not on the roster as he was traded to the Houston Rockets in the off-season in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a first round pick next year, and cash. Head coach Doc Rivers would also relinquish his role as a President of Basketball Operations for the team on August 4, with the role being replaced by Lawrence Frank. On January 28, 2018, the Clippers traded their franchise cornerstone and 2009 1st overall pick Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons alongside Brice Johnson and Willie Reed for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanović, and two draf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Al-Farouq Aminu
Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (born September 21, 1990) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays internationally with the Nigeria national basketball team. Aminu was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2010 NBA draft with the eighth overall pick, and has also played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Orlando Magic, and Chicago Bulls. High school career Aminu went to Norcross High School and was ranked as one of the top college recruits in the nation from the class of 2008. He was ranked #7 in the nation by Rivals.com and #13 by Scout.com. Aminu transferred to Norcross between his freshman and sophomore years from Wesleyan School, but was ruled ineligible and had to play on Norcross' JV team his sophomore year. In his junior year, Aminu and teammate Gani Lawal led Norcross to a 30–3 record and a #12 national seed. Aminu averaged 13.7 p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2017–18 Toronto Raptors Season
The 2017–18 Toronto Raptors season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On June 28, 2017, the Raptors promoted assistant general manager Bobby Webster to general manager, while Masai Ujiri remained team president. Webster's promotion came over a month after their previous general manager, Jeff Weltman, left the Raptors to become the President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic, with the Raptors acquiring a second-round pick in 2018 in order for them to release Weltman early. However they would later trade that selection, their first round pick, and DeMarre Carroll to the Brooklyn Nets for the rights to Justin Hamilton. On April 6, 2018, the Raptors set new franchise records for total wins in a season with 57, home wins in a season with 33, and clinched the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time in franchise history. They would end the season with a record 59 wins and 34 home wins. They would end up winni ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Damian Lillard
Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats and earned third-team All-American honors in 2012. After being selected by Portland with the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, Lillard was unanimously voted the NBA Rookie of the Year. Nicknamed Dame Time for his history of making big shots in the clutch, he has received six NBA All-Star and All-NBA Team selections, the only player in Trail Blazers franchise history to do so. In October 2021, Lillard was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also won a gold medal on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team in Tokyo. Using the stage name Dame D.O.L.L.A., Lillard has enjoyed moderate success as a rapper. His first studio album, ''The Letter O'' (2016), charted in the Billboard Top ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2017–18 Phoenix Suns Season
The 2017–18 Phoenix Suns season was the 50th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 25th season at the Talking Stick Resort Arena. It was also their third season in five in which the Suns earned a top-five draft pick in the NBA Draft, which became the second straight year of gaining the #4 pick in Josh Jackson. Three games into the season, head coach Earl Watson was fired. Guard Eric Bledsoe implied he wanted out of Phoenix and was barred from playing with the team by general manager Ryan McDonough and fined $10,000. Under interim head coach Jay Triano, the Suns started 4–1 after suspending Bledsoe. The Suns later traded Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 7, 2017 in exchange for center Greg Monroe and two protected draft picks. After dealing with point guard problems and injuries, the Suns traded for Elfrid Payton on February 8, 2018, in exchange for a second round pick they had previously acquired. Key dates *April 17 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |