Serge Ibaka
Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila (; born 18 September 1989) is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Ibaka was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Ibaka is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka plays for the Spain national team. In 2019, he won his first NBA championship as a key member of the Toronto Raptors. Early life Ibaka was born in Brazzaville, People's Republic of the Congo (modern-day Republic of the Congo), and is the third youngest of 18 children. His father played basketball in the Republic of the Congo and with the Congolese national team, and his mother played for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He started playing basketball at a very young age with his first club, Avenir du Rail, using the sport as an escape from his mother' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays its home games at Paycom Center. The Thunder's NBA G League affiliate is the Oklahoma City Blue, which it owns. The Thunder are the only team in the major professional North American sports leagues based in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma City previously hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons following devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The team was originally established as the Seattle SuperSonics, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the . The SuperSonics relocated from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City in 2008 after a settlement was reached between the ownership group led by Clay Bennett and lawmakers in Seattle following a lawsuit. In Seattle, the SuperSonics qualified for the NBA playoffs 22 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clippers play their home games at Crypto.com Arena, which they share with NBA team Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Clippers plan to move into their own arena, the Intuit Dome, in nearby Inglewood by 2024. The franchise was founded as the Buffalo Braves in 1970 as an expansion team. Led by Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, the Braves reached the NBA playoffs three times during their eight seasons in Buffalo. Conflicts with the Canisius Golden Griffins over the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and the sale of the franchise led to their relocation from Buffalo to San Diego, California in 1978 and subsequent rebranding as the Sa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 NBA Finals
The 2019 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 NBA season, 2018–19 season and conclusion of the 2019 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference champion 2018–19 Toronto Raptors season, Toronto Raptors defeated the two-time defending and six-time NBA champion 2018–19 Golden State Warriors season, Golden State Warriors, , earning the franchise its first NBA championship as well as the first win by an NBA team based outside the United States. Acquired by the Raptors via a trade during the off-season, Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his career. This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Raptors, and the league's first finals with games played outside of the United States. Home-court advantage was awarded to Toronto, who finished the re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Democratic Republic Of The Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered to the northwest by the Republic of the Congo, to the north by the Central African Republic, to the northeast by South Sudan, to the east by Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, and by Tanzania (across Lake Tanganyika), to the south and southeast by Zambia, to the southwest by Angola, and to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean and the Cabinda exclave of Angola. By area, it is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 108 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. Centered on the Cong ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NBA Championship
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the original Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1977, though under the same name. The series was initially known as the BAA Finals prior to the 1949–50 season when the Basketball Association of America (BAA) merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) to form the NBA. The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1985, as well as a brief stint as the Showdown, before settling on NBA Finals in 1986. Since 2018, it has been officially known as the ''NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV'' for sponsorship reasons. The NBA Finals was initially structured in a 2–2–1–1–1 format. In 1985, to ease the amount of cross-country travel, it wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Republic Of The Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo river. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to its northwest by Cameroon and its northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to its south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda Province, Cabinda and to its southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The region was dominated by Bantu peoples, Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. Congo was formerly part of the French colonial empire, French colony of French Equatorial Africa, Equatorial Africa. The Republic of the Congo was established on 28 November 1958 and gained independence from France in 1960. It was a Marxist–Leninist state from 1969 to 1992, under the name ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Block (basketball)
In basketball, a block or blocked shot occurs when a defensive player legally deflects a field goal attempt from an offensive player to prevent a score. The defender is not allowed to make contact with the offensive player's hand (unless the defender is also in contact with the ball) or a '' foul'' is called. In order to be legal, the block must occur while the shot is traveling upward or at its apex. A deflected field goal that is made does not count as a blocked shot and simply counts as a successful field goal attempt for shooter plus the points awarded to the shooting team. For the shooter, a blocked shot is counted as a missed field goal attempt. Also, on a shooting foul, a blocked shot cannot be awarded or counted, even if the player who deflected the field goal attempt is different from the player who committed the foul. If the ball is heading downward when the defender hits it, it is ruled as goaltending and counts as a made basket. Goaltending is also called if the block ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spain National Basketball Team
The Spain men's national basketball team ( es, Selección Española de Baloncesto) represents Spain in international basketball competitions. They are managed by the Spanish Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Spain. Spain is the current World and European champion. Spain has appeared 32 times at the EuroBasket, winning four gold medals, six silver medals, and four bronze medals. They have also competed at the Summer Olympics 13 times, with three silver medals and one bronze medal as their accomplishments. They have qualified for the FIBA World Cup 12 times, winning it twice, in 2006 and 2019. Spain is currently ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings, surpassing the United States in 2022. History Olympic Games When Spain qualified for the 1936 Summer Olympics, where basketball was part of the games for the first time, expectations were high for the runners-up of the 1935 EuroBasket. Unfortunately, as one of the favorites to win medals, Spain could ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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EuroBasket 2011
EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's EuroBasket, European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the EuroBasket 1939, 1939 championship. FIBA Europe asserted that Lithuania managed to organize the best European championship in its history. The top two teams are guaranteed spots at the Basketball at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics. EuroBasket 2011 was the largest sporting event in the history of the Baltic states, both in terms of the number of national teams (24), games (90), and that of spectators (158,000 tickets sold, with most tickets valid for three separate games.) Spain men's national basketball team, Spain won the title for the second consecutive tournament, after defeating France men's national basketball team, France, by a score of 98–85 in the final. Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro (basketball), Juan Carlos Nav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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EuroBasket
EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the European zone within the International Basketball Federation. The competition was first held in 1935. The former Soviet Union holds the record for most gold medals with a total of 14. The tournament is generally held in August or September, in the offseason of major club competitions. The current defending champion is Spain, who won the 2022 title. History Beginning The first championships was held three years after the establishment of FIBA, in 1935. Switzerland was chosen as the host country, and ten countries joined. Only one qualifying match was played between Portugal and Spain. With a complicated formula, the final would see Latvia as champions. According to the rule at the time, the winner had to hold the following games. The fol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Basketball At The 2012 Summer Olympics – Men
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's hoop (a basket in diameter mounted high to a backboard at each end of the court, while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own hoop. A field goal is worth two points, unless made from behind the three-point line, when it is worth three. After a foul, timed play stops and the player fouled or designated to shoot a technical foul is given one, two or three one-point free throws. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but if regulation play expires with the score tied, an additional period of play (overtime) is mandated. Players advance the ball by bouncing it while walking or running (dribbling) or by passing it to a teammate, both of which require considerable skill. On offense, players may use a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |