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Celtics–Pistons Rivalry
The Celtics–Pistons rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) rivalry between the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. The two teams played each other in the NBA playoffs five times from 1985 to 1991, with Boston winning in 1985 and 1987, and Detroit winning en route to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances from 1988 to 1990. The rivalry peaked in the late 1980s, featuring players such as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, and Bill Laimbeer. History Pre-1980s Between 1948 and 1978, the Celtics and Pistons were on opposite divisions/conferences in all but three seasons. The Pistons found success in the early 1950s behind George Yardley, making two NBA Finals appearances, while the Celtics soon built a dynasty behind Bill Russell, winning 11 championships between 1957 and 1969. The Pistons and Celtics first opposed each other in postseason play in , with the Celtics emerging victorious in six games of the Eastern Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1968 NBA Playoffs
The 1968 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the 1967–68 NBA season, 1967–68 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 2 in the 1968 NBA Finals, NBA Finals. The Celtics won their 10th NBA title, their first under player-coach Bill Russell after Red Auerbach's retirement. In the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3–1 series deficit to win, as they knocked off the defending champion Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. In the West, the Lakers swept the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Warriors in four games. It was the first time since 1954 NBA playoffs, 1954 that the top team in a division failed to make the Division Finals; from 1955 NBA playoffs, 1955 to 1966 NBA playoffs, 1966, the league gave the regular-season division champion a first-round bye. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Rodman
Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". Nicknamed "the Worm", he played for the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward. He earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships. On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's No. 10 jersey, and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year. In October 2021, Rodman was honored as one of the league’s greatest p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 NBA Draft
The 1981 NBA draft was the 35th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 9, 1981, before the 1981–82 season. The draft was broadcast in the United States on the USA Network. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Dallas Mavericks won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Detroit Pistons were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early and wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Cowens
David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Cowens has also held coaching positions in the NBA, CBA, and WNBA. College career After starring in high school at Newport Catholic High in his hometown of Newport, Kentucky, Cowens played his collegiate basketball at Florida State University from 1967 to 1970 for coach Hugh Durham. He scored 1,479 points in 78 games at Florida State, at 19.0 points per game, and ranks among Florida State's top 10 all-time scoring leaders. Cowens is the all-time Florida State leading rebounder with 1,340 rebounds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Havlicek
John Joseph Havlicek ( ; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics, winning List of NBA players with most championships, eight NBA championships, four of them coming in his first four seasons with the team. In the National Basketball Association he is one of four players to have won eight championships in their playing careers; only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones (basketball, born 1933), Sam Jones won more, with 11 and 10 championships respectively. Havlicek is also one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record in NBA Finals series outcomes. Havlicek is widely considered to have been one of the greatest players in the history of the game and was inducted as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. Early life Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where his parents ran a general store. He was of Czechs, Czech and Croats, Croatian descent, from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bob Lanier
Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. In 14 NBA seasons, Lanier played in eight NBA All-Star Games and was named Most Valuable Player of the 1974 game. His accomplishments came despite a long history with knee injuries. He had his No. 16 jersey retired by both the Pistons and the Bucks and his No. 31 jersey retired by St. Bonaventure University, for whom he played college basketball. After retiring from playing he was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors, and briefly served as their interim head coach. He went on to work as an NBA Cares Global Ambassador. Early life Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. was born on September 10, 1948, in Buffalo, New York. He was the son of Robert Sr. and Nannette Lanier. Growing up, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Bing
David Bing (born November 24, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player, businessman, and politician who served as the 74th mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. After starring at Syracuse University, Bing played 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a point guard for the Detroit Pistons (1966–1975), Washington Bullets (1975–1977), and Boston Celtics (1977–78). During his career, he averaged over 20 points and six assists per game and made seven NBA All-Star Game appearances, winning the game's Most Valuable Player award in 1976. The Pistons celebrated his career accomplishments with the retirement of his #21 jersey. In addition, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NBA 75th Anniversary All-Time Team. Bing founded Bing Steel, a processing company that earned him the National Minority Small Business P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave DeBusschere
David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 and in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons from 1962 through 1968 and for the New York Knicks from 1968 to 1974. He was also the head coach for the Pistons from 1964 through 1967. DeBusschere was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1996, DeBusschere was named as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. In October 2021, DeBusschere was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Early life DeBusschere was born in Detroit to parents Peter Marcell and Dorothy DeBusschere. He attended Austin Catholic Preparatory School and inspired the "White Shirted Legion" (the tradition of wearing white shirts to the school's games to make fans more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Bill Russell
William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey League are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Russell is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He led the San Francisco Dons to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. Despite his limitations on offense, as Russell averaged 15.1 points per game, his rebounding, defense, and leadership made him one of the dominant players of his era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Yardley
George Harry Yardley III (November 3, 1928 – August 12, 2004) was an American basketball player. He was the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in one season, breaking the 1,932-point record held by George Mikan. Yardley was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. Early life A two-time All-American at Stanford University, Yardley was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and earned the nickname "Yardbird" due to the chores he was required to complete by his fraternity brothers. The nickname was later shortened to "Bird". After his three-year career at Stanford, Yardley played one year of AAU basketball and served in the United States Navy for two years. During his navy stint, Yardley's amateur team won the national A.A.U. championship in 1951, with Yardley being selected the national amateur player-of-the-year. He was drafted by the NBA Fort Wayne Pistons in 1950. NBA career At 6'5", Yardley was a good-sized forward in 1950s basketb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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