Andray Blatche
Andray Maurice Blatche (born August 22, 1986) is an American-Filipino former professional basketball player. He played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2005 and 2014 before finishing his career with five seasons in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played high school basketball at Henninger High School and South Kent School before he was drafted in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. Born in New York and an American by birth, Blatche became a naturalized citizen of the Philippines in June 2014, enabling him to join the country's national basketball team. High school career Blatche spent four years at Henninger High School in Syracuse, New York and then an extra year at the South Kent School in South Kent, Connecticut. He averaged 27.5 points, 16.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks per game during his fifth-year campaign in 2004–05 as he guided South Kent to a 32–9 record. Considered a five-star recruit by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the New York Knicks. The club was established in 1967 as a charter franchise of the NBA's rival league, the American Basketball Association (ABA). They played in New Jersey as the New Jersey Americans during their first season, before relocating to Long Island, New York, in 1968 and changing their name to the New York Nets. During this time, the Nets won two ABA championships (in 1974 and 1976). In 1976, the ABA merged with the NBA, and the Nets were absorbed into the NBA along with three other ABA teams (the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, and Denver Nuggets), all of whom remain in the league to this day. In 1977, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Philippines Men's National Basketball Team
The Philippines men's national basketball team ( fil, Pambansang koponan ng basketbol ng Pilipinas), commonly known as Gilas Pilipinas, is the basketball team representing the Philippines. The team is managed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (Basketball Federation of the Philippines or simply SBP). The team won a bronze medal in the 1954 FIBA World Championship, the best finish by any team outside the Americas and Europe. Also, the team took a fifth-place finish in 1936 Summer Olympics, the best finish by a men's team outside the Americas, Europe and Oceania. The Philippines has the most wins in the Olympics among teams outside the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Aside from the bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup and the fifth-place Olympic finish, the Philippines has won five FIBA Asia Cups (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship), four Asian Games men's basketball gold medals, eight SEABA Championships, all but two Southeast Asian Games men's basketball gold meda ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Ruffin
Michael David Ruffin (born January 21, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player currently working as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At 6'8" and 248 lbs, he played as a forward/center. Basketball career After playing college basketball at the University of Tulsa, where he studied chemical engineering, Ruffin was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He has played for the Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Utah Jazz, the Washington Wizards, the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 1.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game through his NBA career and is considered to be a defensive presence on the court. Ruffin's best statistical season came with the 2000-01 Bulls, where tallied career best averages in rebounding (5.8) and scoring (2.6). On March 30, 2007, Ruffin was part of a dubious blooper that indirectly cost the Wizards a game. Up 109-106 on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Etan Thomas
Dedrick Etan Thomas (born April 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also a published poet, freelance writer, activist, and motivational speaker, as well as a co-host of ''Centers of Attention'', a sports talk show on ESPN Radio Syracuse in Syracuse, New York, alongside former professional basketball player Danny Schayes. Early life His name is derived from the 18th dynasty "heretic pharaoh" Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian king. Career College Thomas played his college basketball at Syracuse University from 1996 to 2000, where he averaged 11 points per game and almost seven rebounds per game and graduated with a degree in business management. In his sophomore season, he was named the Big East Most Improved Player; in his junior and senior years he was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. At the end of his Syracuse ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005–06 NBA Season
The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dress code was put into effect at the beginning of the year by commissioner David Stern. * The Miami Heat win their first NBA championship in franchise history. They become the third franchise (joining the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, later joined by the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2021 Milwaukee Bucks) to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games. They are also the first of the four 1988/89 expansion franchises to win a championship. * The All-Star Game was played on February 19, 2006 at the Toyota Center in Houston with the East beating the West 122–120. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers won the game's MVP honors the youngest ever in All-Star Game history at 21 years, and 51 days old. * This se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NBA Development League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Development League (NBA D-League) from 2005 until 2017. The league started with eight teams until NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the NBA D-League to 15 teams and develop it into a true minor league farm team, farm system, with each NBA D-League team affiliated with one or more NBA teams in March 2005. At the conclusion of the 2013–14 NBA season, 33% of NBA players had spent time in the NBA D-League, up from 23% in 2011. As of the 2020–21 NBA G League season, 2020–21 season, the league consists of 30 teams, 28 of which are either single-affiliated or owned by an NBA team, along with the NBA G League Ignite exhibition team. In the 2017–18 season, Gatorade became th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as Oklahoma City Thunder. Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It was then owned by Barry Ackerley until 2001, when it came under ownership of Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president and CEO Howard Schultz. On July 18, 2006, Basketball Club of Seattle sold SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) sister franchise Seattle Storm to Professional Basketball Club LLC, headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale on October 24, 2006, and finaliz ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which the item taken over is a motor vehicle.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually in the presence and knowledge of the victim. A common crime in many places in the world, carjacking has been the subject of legislative responses, criminology studies, and prevention efforts. Commercial vehicles such as trucks and armored cars containing valuable cargo are common targets of carjacking attempts. Carjacking usually involves physical violence to the victim, or using the victim as a hostage. In rare cases, carjacking may also involve sexual assault. Etymology The word is a portmanteau of ''automobile, car'' and ''hijacking''. The term was coined by reporter Scott Bowles and editor EJ Mitchell with ''The Detroit News'' in 1991. ''The News'' first used the term in a report on the murder of Ruth Wahl, a 22-year-old Detroi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prep-to-pro
The NBA high school draftees are players who have been drafted to the National Basketball Association (NBA) straight out of high school. The process of jumping directly from high school to the professional level is also known as going prep-to-pro. Since 2006, the practice of drafting high school players has been prohibited by the new collective bargaining agreement, which requires that players who enter the draft be 19 years of age or older and at least one year removed from high school. The NBA has long had a preference for players who played college basketball; the vast majority of players to play in the NBA attended college beforehand. History Early years In the early years of the NBA draft, a player had to finish his four-year college eligibility to be eligible for selection. Reggie Harding, who had graduated from high school but did not enroll in a college, became the first player drafted out of high school when the Detroit Pistons selected him in the fourth round of the 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant or side a rival to the other. Someone's main rival may be called an archrival. A rivalry can be defined as "a perceptual categorizing process in which actors identify which states are sufficiently threatening competitors". In order for the rivalry to persist, rather than resulting in perpetual dominance by one side, it must be "a competitive relationship among equals". Political scientist John A. Vasquez has asserted that equality of power is a necessary component for a true rivalry to exist, but others have disputed that element. Rivalries traverse many different fields within society and "abound at all levels of human interaction", often existing between friends, firms, sports teams, schools, and universities. Moreover, "families, politi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2005 NBA Draft
The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players from high schools and non-North American leagues. The NBA announced that 49 college and high school players and 11 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the draft. This was the last NBA draft for which high school players were eligible. The new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union established a new age limit for draft eligibility. Starting with the 2006 NBA draft, players of any nationality who complete athletic eligibility at a U.S. high school cannot declare themselves eligible for the draft unless they turn 19 no later than December 31 of the year of the draft and are at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school classes. International players, defined in t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. It is the premier men's professional basketball league in the world. The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). It changed its name to the National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after merging with the competing National Basketball League (NBL). In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged, adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June. , NBA players are the world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |