Heat–Knicks Rivalry
The Heat–Knicks rivalry is a National Basketball Association (NBA) National Basketball Association rivalries, rivalry between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the two teams met in the NBA playoffs four years in a row from 1997 to 2000, with the Knicks winning three of those series and the Heat winning one. The teams most recently met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2023 NBA playoffs, which the Heat won in six games. The Heat–Knicks rivalry was one of the fiercest in the NBA, and ''Sports Illustrated'' considered it the third-best NBA rivalry. Prior to the 1997 NBA playoffs, no two NBA teams had ever met in the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, with each series going to the maximum possible number of games. The aggressive nature of those four series, defensive struggles marked by numerous foul calls, and intensely physical play, can be traced to the highly defensive style of Pat Riley, former coach of both teams an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1994 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers and Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks were making the club's second Finals appearance, their first coming during their Cinderella run of , and the Rangers were making their tenth appearance, their first since . The Rangers, despite losing a 3-1 series lead, ended their then record 54-year championship drought with a victory in Game 7 to claim the long-awaited Stanley Cup. It was their fourth championship in franchise history. The CBC broadcast of the deciding game seven attracted an average Canadian audience of 4.957 million viewers, making it the most watched CBC Sports program in history to that time. This was the last Stanley Cup Finals with games played in Canada until , and the last to go the full seven game ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1998–99 NBA Season
The 1998–99 NBA season was the 53rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Due to the lockout, the regular season was reduced to 50 games for each team, and began on February 5, 1999. The 1999 NBA All-Star Game, which was to be held at First Union Center in Philadelphia, was also cancelled as a result of the lockout. The playoffs then began on May 8, and ended on June 25 with the San Antonio Spurs defeating the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals. Lockout The third lockout in the history of the NBA lasted from July 1, 1998, to January 20, 1999. NBA owners were seeking changes to the league's salary cap system and a ceiling on individual player salaries. The National Basketball Players Association opposed the owners' plans and wanted raises for players who earned the league's minimum salary. As the labor dispute continued into September, the preseason was shortened to just two games instead of the normal eight, and training camps were postponed indefinitel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Oakley
Charles Oakley (born December 18, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley is best known for playing 10 of his 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. As a power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders and defensive players in the NBA. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3. Early life Charles Oakley was born December 18, 1963, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was raised. Oakley attended John Hay High School, where he excelled in basketball. College career Oakley attended Virginia Union University, a Division II historically black university in Richmond, Virginia. As a senior in 1984–85, Oakley led Virginia Union to the 1985 NCAA championship. The Panthers had a 31–1 overall record that year, with Oakley averaging 24 points and 17.3 rebounds a game. Oakley was named the NCA ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeff Van Gundy
Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American basketball coach and former commentator who is currently the lead assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. Van Gundy previously served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his tenure with the Knicks, he led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals which they ultimately fell to the San Antonio Spurs. Van Gundy won an NBA championship in 2024 with the Boston Celtics where he served as a senior consultant in the front office. Early life Van Gundy was born in Hemet, California, and lived in Martinez, California until 1977. His family moved to Brockport, New York while Van Gundy was still in high school, and he attended and played basketball at Brockport High School. He is the son of basketball coach Bill Van Gundy, the former head coach at SUNY Brockport and at Genesee Community College, and the younger brother of former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alonzo Mourning
Alonzo Harding Mourning Jr. (born February 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who has served as vice president of player programs and development for the Miami Heat since June 2009. Mourning played most of his 15-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career for the Heat. Nicknamed "Zo", Mourning played the center position. Following his college basketball career at Georgetown University, his tenacity on defense twice earned him the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and twice placed him on the NBA All-Defensive Team. Mourning made a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant and later won the 2006 NBA championship with the Heat. Mourning also played for the Charlotte Hornets and New Jersey Nets. On March 30, 2009, Mourning became the first Miami Heat player to have his number retired. In 2010, Mourning was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In August 2014, Mourning was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Starks (basketball)
John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who was a shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four colleges in his native Oklahoma, including Oklahoma State University. Starks was named an NBA All-Star while playing for the New York Knicks in the 1990s. Early life Starks was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma where he attended Tulsa Central High School. At Tulsa Central, Starks played only one year on the basketball team. After high school, he enrolled at Rogers State College in 1984. While at Rogers State, Starks was on the "taxi squad" of the basketball team for backups to replace injured or suspended players; taxi squad players did not suit up and instead watched games from the stands. However, Starks was expelled from Rogers State for stealing another student's stereo equipment in retaliation for the student breaking into Starks' dorm room and the college hol ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Larry Johnson (basketball, Born 1969)
Larry Demetric Johnson (born March 14, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who spent his career as a power forward with the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NCAA champion and two-time NBA All-Star, Johnson is a member of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Johnson won a version of national player of the year at the high school, junior college, and NCAA Division I levels. High school career Johnson played at Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas. As a senior, Johnson was a consensus All-American and was named Mr. Basketball USA. Johnson was a member of the 1987 McDonald's High School All-American Team. College career Odessa (1987–1989) Johnson originally made a verbal commitment to play for Dave Bliss at Southern Methodist University, but he instead enrolled at Odessa College in Texas following a dispute with the SMU administration about the legiti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Allan Houston
Allan Wade Houston Jr. (born April 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2005. A shooting guard, Houston played nine seasons for the New York Knicks; he was a member of the Knicks' 1999 NBA Finals team. Houston made the NBA All-Star Team twice and also won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. As of July 2019, Houston serves as special assistant to the general manager for the New York Knicks and general manager of the Knicks' G League team, the Westchester Knicks. High school and college career Houston was born in Louisville, Kentucky and played at Ballard High School in Louisville as they won the 1988 Kentucky state championship. He went on to play at the University of Tennessee (where he played under his coach and father Wade) and graduated in 1993 as the school's all-time leading scorer, and is currently second to Chris Lofton at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patrick Ewing
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most of his career as the starting center (basketball), center before ending his playing career with brief stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. Ewing is regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time, playing a dominant role in the New York Knicks' 1990s success. Highly recruited out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ewing played center for the Georgetown_Hoyas_men's_basketball, Georgetown Hoyas for four years—in three of which the team reached the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA championship game. ESPN in 2008 designated him the 16th-greatest college basketball player of all time. He had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the New York Knicks, where he was an eleven-time all-star and name ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charlie Ward
Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and current head coach for the Florida A&M Rattlers. Ward was an exceptional college football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship as a quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles. Ward played in the NBA with the New York Knicks for nine years and started in the 1999 NBA Finals. He later had short spells with the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets, before retiring in 2005. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006. College football Ward won the 1993 Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and the Davey O'Brien Award as a quarterback for the Florida State University. He subsequently led the Seminoles to their first-ever national championship when FSU defeated Nebraska 18–16 in the 1994 Orange Bowl. The Seminoles had suffered their only defeat of the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference. The franchise was established in 1989 as an Expansion team, expansion franchise. Notable NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and Dwight Howard, have played for the club throughout its history. , the franchise has played in the NBA playoffs 17 times in 35 seasons, and twice went to the NBA Finals, in 1995 NBA Finals, 1995 and 2009 NBA Finals, 2009, losing to the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. History 1985–1986: Team creation In September 1985, Orlando, Florida, Orlando businessman Jim L. Hewitt approached Philadelphia 76ers general manager Pat Williams (basketball), Pat Williams as they met in Texas on his idea of bringing an NBA team t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |