| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Marcin Gortat |
| Caption | Gortat with the Suns in 2011 |
| Position | Power forward/Center |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 11 |
| Weight lb | 240 |
| Team | Phoenix Suns |
| Number | 4 |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Birth date | February 17, 1984 |
| Birth place | Łódź, Poland |
| Draft round | 2 |
| Draft pick | 57 |
| Draft year | 2005 |
| Draft team | Phoenix Suns |
| Career start | 2003 |
| Teams |
On July 8, 2009, Gortat, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet for five years and $34 million with the Dallas Mavericks. The Magic retained Gortat by matching the offer sheet on July 13, 2009. Gortat was "very disappointed" to have to stay with the Magic, since serving as backup to Howard would mean limited playing time, whereas playing for Dallas would likely mean being the starting center.
On December 18, 2010, Gortat was traded to the Phoenix Suns along with Vince Carter, Mickael Pietrus, a 2011 first-round draft pick, and $3 million, for former Magic player Hedo Türkoğlu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark .
Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Anaheim Arsenal players Category:Expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Polish basketball players Category:Polish expatriates in Germany Category:Polish expatriates in the United States Category:Phoenix Suns draft picks Category:Orlando Magic players Category:Phoenix Suns players Category:Centers (basketball) Category:People from Łódź
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Samuel Dalembert |
| Height ft | 6 | height_in = 11 | weight_lb = 250 |
| Team | Sacramento Kings|number = 10 |
| Position | Center |
| Birth date | May 10, 1981 |
| Birth place | Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| High school | Lucien-Page/Saint Patrick's (New Jersey, United States) |
| College | Seton Hall |
| Nationality | HaitianCanadian |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 26 |
| Draft team | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Draft year | 2001 |
| Teams | |
| Career start | 2001 |
| Highlights |
He won the 2009-10 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his contributions to Haitian people after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.
Since the disaster, Dalembert has continued to be involved in the Haitian recovery.
Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Basketball people from Quebec Category:Basketball players from New Jersey Category:Black Canadian basketball players Category:Canadian basketball players Category:Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Francophone Quebec people Category:Haitian basketball players Category:Canadian people of Haitian descent Category:Haitian expatriates in the United States Category:Haitian immigrants to Canada Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Port-au-Prince Category:Philadelphia 76ers draft picks Category:Philadelphia 76ers players Category:Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players Category:Sportspeople from Montreal
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Lamar Odom |
| Caption | Odom during a game against the Cavaliers. |
| Team | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 10 |
| Weight lb | 230 |
| Number | 7 |
| Position | Forward |
| Birth date | November 06, 1979 |
| Birth place | South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York |
| High school | Christ The King RegionalRedemption Christian AcademySt. Thomas Aquinas Prep |
| College | Rhode Island |
| Nationality | American |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 4 |
| Draft team | Los Angeles Clippers |draft_year = 1999 |
| Career start | 1999 |
| Years1 | – |team1 = Los Angeles Clippers |
| Years2 | |team2 = Miami Heat |
| Years3 | –present |team3 = Los Angeles Lakers |
| Highlights |
In his first three years of high school, Odom played for Christ The King Regional High School in Middle Village, New York. He transferred first to Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, New York for the basketball season and then to St. Thomas Aquinas High School in New Britain, Connecticut. Odom was named the Parade Magazine Player of the Year in 1997. He was named to the USA Today All-USA 1st Team as a senior. During his youth, Odom was teamed with Elton Brand of the Philadelphia 76ers and Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers on the same AAU team.
Odom played one season at Rhode Island in the Atlantic 10 Conference, where he scored 17.6 points per game and led the Rams to the conference championship in 1999. His three-pointer against Temple at the buzzer In his first season with the Clippers, Odom averaged 16.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, including 30 points and 12 rebounds in his NBA debut. He was named to the 2000 NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Odom was involved in controversy in November 2001 when he was suspended for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy for the second time in eight months. It is generally accepted that Odom's suspension was for use of marijuana, which is not subject to the NBA's harsher "Drugs of Abuse" rules. At the time, he admitted to smoking marijuana. Odom finished the season with 14.2 ppg 10.6 rpg and 3.5 apg. Odom's numbers were down in the Finals, however, where he averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, with the Lakers losing in the 2008 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.
At the beginning of the 2008–09 NBA season, Odom was moved to the bench and served as a sixth man, backing up the Lakers' frontcourt of Gasol and Bynum. When Bynum was injured in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies in January, Odom returned to the starting lineup. In the month of February, Odom, playing 36 minutes per game, averaged 16.5 points, 13.4 rebounds (4.9 offensive and 9.5 defensive), 2.4 assists, 1.4 blocks, and .9 steals. The February run included a good performance at Quicken Loans Arena at Cleveland. With 15 points in the 3rd quarter, Odom helped the Lakers out of a 12 point deficit to turn it into a 10 point victory, breaking Cleveland's 23 game home win-streak. He finished the game with 28 points, 17 rebounds and 2 assists.
Odom adjusted back to his sixth man role when Bynum returned on an April 9 home matchup versus the Denver Nuggets. Odom finished his season with 11.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.7 blocks with 29.7 minutes per game. He won his first NBA championship when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals. The investment would pay off as Odom would play a crucial role for the Lakers on the way to another NBA Championship, with the Lakers winning over the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals.
Odom continued his strong play for the Lakers with another solid season in the 2010–11 season where he posted career highs in 3 point shooting percentage (.382) and overall field goal percentage (.530). He started 35 games in Bynum's absence during the season and averaged 16.3 points and 10.2 rebounds in those starts. In 47 games off the bench, Odom averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds in 28.4 minutes. Meeting the requirement to come in as a reserve more games than he started, Odom was awarded the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first player in Lakers history to do so.
Odom would, however, be invited back for the National Team's run at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey where the US would successfully win Gold for the first time since 1994. Odom, being one of the elder statesmen on a young US squad, served as a mentor for many of the younger players and even played out of position at Center for the tournament. He led the US in rebounds and finished the FIBA championships with double-doubles in the semi-final and championship games while becoming the first player in history to win both an NBA championship and FIBA Gold in the same year.
Odom is noted for his significant fondness for candy. Wrigley made a replica of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy out of candy in celebration of the Lakers' victory in the 2009 Finals, and Odom's name is featured on the base.
Odom has three children, Destiny (1998), Lamar Jr. (2002), and Jayden (born December 15, 2005), with his ex-girlfriend Liza Morales.
In September 2009, it was reported that Odom was engaged to reality television personality Khloé Kardashian. Odom and Kardashian were married on Sunday, September 27, 2009. Their wedding was featured on the E! reality-based series Keeping Up with the Kardashians, on which Khloé is a regular, with Odom appearing in a handful of episodes. On December 29, 2010, E! announced that it was planning another spinoff from the series featuring Lamar, Khloé and his two children from his previous relationship. The new series debuted on April 10, 2011.
Category:1979 births Category:American television personalities Category:American basketball players Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from New York Category:Living people Category:Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Category:Los Angeles Clippers players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Miami Heat players Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Queens Category:Sportspeople from Queens Category:Kardashian family Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Rhode Island Rams men's basketball players Category:Small forwards Category:United States men's national basketball team members
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Alvin Gentry (born November 5, 1954) is an American professional basketball coach, and college basketball player, who has led four different NBA teams. He served as an interim coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1995 season, and later coached the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Clippers. He is currently the head coach for the Phoenix Suns.
Gentry played college basketball at Appalachian State University under Press Maravich and Bobby Cremins. In 1978 he spent one year as a graduate assistant at the University of Colorado. He also was an assistant coach at Baylor University under Gene Iba in 1980. After one year Gentry joined the University of Colorado staff. Gentry served as an assistant at the University of Kansas under Larry Brown, where they won the 1988 NCAA National Championship. While in Colorado Gentry married his first wife, Pat Sue DeLuca. They have one daughter, Alexis. Gentry and DeLuca divorced in 1986 after five years of marriage.
In 1989 he began his NBA coaching career as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs under Larry Brown. It was in San Antonio that Gentry met his future/current wife, Suzanne Harris. They have two children, Ryan and Jack.
Gentry joined Gregg Popovich, R. C. Buford, and Ed Manning as part of Larry Brown's assistant coaching staff for the Spurs when Brown left Kansas before the 1988–1989 NBA season.
After two seasons in San Antonio, Gentry left to become an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers beginning in the 1990–91 season. For the 1991 season Gentry joined Kevin Loughery's staff as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, where he coached for three seasons. He then moved to Detroit following the 1994-95 season where he served as an assistant for two and a half seasons before being named head coach late in the 1997–98 season.
in March 2009.]] Gentry briefly returned to San Antonio as head assistant coach following the 1999–2000 season, where he was reunited with former co-assistants Gregg Popovich (the Spurs head coach and vice president of basketball operations) and R.C. Buford (the Spurs General Manager). But that assignment was brief, as Gentry accepted the head coaching position for the Los Angeles Clippers weeks after taking the San Antonio job. He did a solid job with the Clippers his first two years, leading them to 31 wins and 39 wins respectively in those two seasons. Those seasons were marked by the solid play of youngsters, such as Darius Miles, Elton Brand and Lamar Odom. In Gentry's third season, however, the team regressed (despite the addition of Andre Miller), and Gentry was fired in February 2003.
Gentry later became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns for six years, serving under head coaches Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter. When Porter was fired in his first season as head coach, Alvin Gentry took over on an interim basis. He was named Suns' head coach for the 2009-2010 season. Gentry's record in his first year as head coach during the 2009-2010 season was 54-28. The Suns made it to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Lakers in six games.
(interim) | after=Pat Riley }} – | after=George Irvine }} – | after=Dennis Johnson (interim) }} –present | after=Incumbent }}
Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball coaches Category:African American basketball players Category:National Basketball Association head coaches Category:Appalachian State Mountaineers men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from North Carolina Category:Detroit Pistons head coaches Category:Los Angeles Clippers head coaches Category:Miami Heat assistant coaches Category:Miami Heat head coaches Category:New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches Category:Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Category:Phoenix Suns head coaches Category:Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball coaches Category:People from Shelby, North Carolina
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Ron Artest |
| Width | 220px |
| Caption | Artest in October 2009 |
| Position | Small forward |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 7 |
| Weight lb | 260 |
| Team | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Number | 15 |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | November 13, 1979 |
| Birth place | Queensbridge, New York City, New York |
| College | St. John's |
| High school | La Salle Academy |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 16 |
| Draft year | 1999 |
| Draft team | Chicago Bulls |
| Career start | 1999 |
| Years1 | – |team1 = Chicago Bulls |
| Years2 | – |team2 = Indiana Pacers |
| Years3 | – |team3 = Sacramento Kings |
| Years4 | |team4 = Houston Rockets |
| Years5 | –present |team5 = Los Angeles Lakers |
| Highlights |
As a teenager, he was teamed with Elton Brand of the Philadelphia 76ers and current teammate Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers on the same AAU team. The player Artest was speaking of was 19-year-old Lloyd Newton, who was stabbed in the back with a broken-off table leg during an altercation at a 1991 YMCA-sanctioned basketball tournament.
Artest played a total of 175 games for the Bulls over 2-1/2 years, the bulk as a starter, during which time he averaged about 12.5 points and just over 4 rebounds per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in the 1999–2000 season.
Midway through the 2001–02 season, Artest was traded by Chicago to the Indiana Pacers along with Ron Mercer, Brad Miller, and Kevin Ollie, in exchange for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a 2nd round draft pick.
On November 19, 2004, Artest was at the center of an altercation among players and fans during a game in Auburn Hills, Michigan between Artest's Pacers and the home team Detroit Pistons.
The brawl began when Artest fouled Pistons center Ben Wallace as Wallace was putting up a shot. Wallace, upset at being fouled hard when the game was effectively over (the Pacers led 97–82 with less than 50 seconds to go), responded by shoving Artest, leading to an altercation near the scorer's table. Artest walked to the sideline and lay down on the scorer's table. Reacting to Wallace throwing something at Artest, Pistons fan John Green threw a cup of Diet Coke at Artest, hitting him. Artest jumped into the front-row seats and confronted a man he incorrectly believed to be responsible, which in turn erupted into a brawl between Pistons fans and several of the Pacers. Artest returned to the basketball court, and punched Pistons fan A.J. Shackleford, who was apparently taunting Artest verbally. This fight resulted in the game being stopped with less than a minute remaining. Artest's teammates Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson were suspended indefinitely the day after the game, along with Wallace.
On November 21, the NBA suspended Artest for the rest of the regular season, plus any playoff games. All told, Artest missed 86 games (73 regular season games plus 13 playoff games), the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history. Eight other players (four Pacers and four Pistons) received suspensions, without pay, which ranged from one to thirty games in length. Each of the Pacers players involved were levied fines and ordered to do community service. Several fans were also charged and were banned from attending Pistons games for life. Artest lost approximately $7 million in salary due to the suspension.
On January 24, 2006, reports from NBA sources confirmed that the Sacramento Kings had agreed to trade Peja Stojaković to the Pacers for Artest. However, before the trade could be completed, many press outlets reported that Artest had informed team management that he did not want to go to Sacramento. According to Artest's agent, his original trade request was only made because he was upset when he heard rumors that the Pacers were going to trade him to Sacramento for Stojaković early in the season. While not denying his agent's story, Artest did deny that he had rejected the trade to Sacramento, saying that he would play anywhere; hence, contradicting earlier press accounts stating Artest was holding up the trade. Given conflicting accounts, it is unclear why the trade was delayed, but it was nevertheless completed on January 25 and Artest was officially sent to the Kings for Stojaković.
Since then, Artest and Yao have exchanged extensive phone calls. Artest has also said, "Whatever Adelman needs me to do, whether that's come off the bench, sixth, seventh man, start, I don't even care. Whatever he needs me to do, I'm 100 percent sure it's going to work out."
On October 30, 2008, Artest received his first technical as a Houston Rocket, as he raced towards a group of Dallas Mavericks players and then quickly went to Yao Ming who bumped Josh Howard after play stopped. Artest was trying to pull Ming away from the play and to the foul line, but contact was made with Maverick players. The TNT broadcast crew felt this technical was not warranted, and was based upon Artest's prior reputation as a feisty player in the league. In the playoffs, Artest helped the Rockets advance past the first round for the first time in 11 seasons. In Game 2 of the second round against the Los Angeles Lakers, Artest, who was battling for rebounding position with Kobe Bryant, was elbowed in the neck by Bryant, which was later ruled to be a Type 1 flagrant foul. After being called for an offensive foul, Artest was indignant and proceeded to antagonize Bryant after the play, which eventually led to an ejection by Joe Crawford. In Game 3, Artest was again ejected in the fourth quarter after a hard foul on Pau Gasol, who was attempting to dunk on a fast-break. It was determined the next day that the foul was not serious enough to warrant an ejection, and the flagrant foul was downgraded.
In Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals, Artest hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer after grabbing a last second offensive rebound. He scored 25 points against the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 and went to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career. In the finals, the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, four games to three. Artest scored 20 points in the clincher and sank the team's last field goal – a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter – to virtually seal the victory. Afterwards, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson called Artest the most valuable player of Game 7 against the Celtics. He won his first championship ring with the Lakers.
For the 2010–2011 season, Artest switched back to number 15, his college number at St. John’s and the first number he wore in his NBA career.
On April 26, 2011, Artest won the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
On December 18, 2010, an art show honoring Ron Artest was held in Toronto, Canada. Entitled Lovable Badass, the show featured work by 30 Canadian and American artists, illustrators, painters and sculptors inspired by the athlete. Artest made a surprise appearance at the exhibition's opening night, commenting that “(the show) was definitely special. It was unexpected. Overwhelming.”
Artest has become involved in advocacy relating to mental health issues. In December 2010, he announced that he would donate some or all of his salary for the 2011–2012 NBA season toward mental health awareness charities. Artest also auctioned off his 2009-10 championship ring and donated the proceeds to various mental health charities nationwide.
Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from New York Category:Chicago Bulls draft picks Category:Chicago Bulls players Category:Houston Rockets players Category:Indiana Pacers players Category:Los Angeles Lakers players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winners Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Sportspeople from Queens Category:Rappers from New York City Category:Sacramento Kings players Category:St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Category:Shooting guards Category:Small forwards
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Quincy Pondexter |
| Team | New Orleans Hornets |
| Position | Small Forward |
| Number | 20 |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 26 |
| Draft year | 2010 |
| Draft team | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Career start | 2010 |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 6 |
| Weight lb | 225 |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | March 10, 1988 |
| Birth place | Fresno, California |
| Highschool | San Joaquin Memorial High School |
| College | Washington |
| Highlights |
He played high school basketball in Fresno, California at San Joaquin Memorial High School where his father Roscoe and uncle Clifton Pondexter were All-American basketball players themselves and continued their basketball skills at the professional levels. At the end of his senior season, Quincy Pondexter was named an All-American Honorable mention by the Associated Press.
Pondexter is the nephew of former Chicago Bulls player Cliff Pondexter.
Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:Washington Huskies men's basketball players Category:Oklahoma City Thunder draft picks Category:New Orleans Hornets players
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Width | 235px |
| Caption | James with the Heat |
| Position | Small forward / Guard |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 8 |
| Weight lb | 250 |
| Team | Miami Heat |
| Number | 6 |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | December 30, 1984 |
| Birth place | Akron, Ohio, United States |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 1 |
| Draft year | 2003 |
| Draft team | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Career start | 2003 |
| High school | St. Vincent – St. Mary High School |
| Profile | lebron_james |
| Team1 | Cleveland Cavaliers |years1=– |
| Team2 | Miami Heat |years2=–present |
| Highlights | |
| Medaltemplates |
The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James led the team to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.
In James' junior year his stats improved again. He averaged 29.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.3 steals and was again named Mr. Basketball of Ohio. The petition was unsuccessful, but it ensured him an unprecedented level of nation-wide attention as he entered his senior year. By then, James had already appeared on the covers of Sports Illustrated and ESPN The Magazine. His popularity forced his team to move their practices from the school gym to the nearby James A. Rhodes Arena at the University of Akron. NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal attended the games, and a few of James' high school games were even televised nationally on ESPN2 and regionally on pay-per-view.
In 2003, James' mother, Gloria James, got approval for a loan to buy a Hummer H2 for her son's 18th birthday. Under the OHSAA guidelines, no amateur may accept any gift valued over $100 as a reward for athletic performance. James appealed and a judge blocked the ruling, reducing the penalty to a two-game suspension and allowing him to play the remainder of the season. James' team was forced to forfeit one of their wins as a result. That forfeit was the team's only official loss that season.
Despite the distractions, the Irish won a third state title, with James averaging 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals on the season. James finished his high school career with 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists.
Following the regular season, James was named as one of the candidates for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Although he finished second to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in MVP voting, he was awarded co-MVP honors with Nash by The Sporting News; an award given by the publication that is based on the voting of thirty NBA general managers.
James made his playoff debut against the Washington Wizards in 2006. He recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards 97–86. He joined Johnny McCarthy and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to register a triple-double in their playoff debut. In the process, James set a new record for turnovers in a 6-game series, with 34. In the second round of the playoffs, James and the Cavaliers lost in seven games to the defending Eastern Conference champion and divisional rival Detroit Pistons. James averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the playoffs. Although it is for fewer years and less money than the maximum he could sign, it allows him the option of seeking a new contract worth more money as an unrestricted free agent following the 2010 season.
In the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to their first sweep in franchise history over the Washington Wizards in four games. It was the first time the franchise had won consecutive road playoff games.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, James led the Cavaliers from an 0–2 deficit against the Detroit Pistons to win the series in six games. His performance in Game 5 was especially memorable. James recorded a franchise-record 48 points on 54.5% field goal shooting, to go with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, James scored 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the team's final 25 points in a double-overtime victory. He concluded the night with a game-winning lay-up with 2 seconds left. NBA analyst Marv Albert referred to James' performance as "one of the greatest moments in postseason history," while color commentator Steve Kerr called it "Jordan-esque."
In the 2007 NBA Finals, James averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists, as the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, losing 4 consecutive games. and once again positioning himself as one of the front runners for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He won the 2008 All-Star Game MVP with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated their Western counterparts, 134–128.
On February 19, 2008, James recorded his fifth triple-double of the 2007–08 season by putting up 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Houston Rockets. It was the fifteenth triple-double of his career. He is the third youngest player to post 15 triple-doubles, behind Robertson and Johnson. He scored his sixth triple-double of the season and sixteenth of his career against the Indiana Pacers the very next game. It was the second time during the season that he had a triple-double in back-to-back games. The last player to accomplish that feat was Johnson in 1988. James finished the season with seven triple-doubles, breaking his personal and team records for triple-doubles in a season and 17 career triple-doubles broke his team record as well.
On February 27, 2008, against the Boston Celtics, James became the youngest person to score 10,000 points in his career at 23 years and 59 days, achieving the feat in style with a slam-dunk over 11-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, eclipsing the old mark by more than a year. James did so in 368 games, the ninth fastest in league history. On March 5, 2008, James scored 50 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists on the New York Knicks, becoming only the third player since the ABA-NBA merger to record a 50-point 10-assist game. On March 21, 2008, James scored 29 points against the Toronto Raptors, taking him past Brad Daugherty's all-time Cavaliers scoring record of 10,389 points. Daugherty achieved this record over the course of 548 games, while James took only 380 games to score 10,414 points.
All told, James propelled Cleveland to a 45–37 record, good for second place in the Central Division and the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Prior to Cleveland's first-round series versus the Washington Wizards, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson said James was "overrated," prompting James to say that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy." In response, Soulja Boy himself made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards, and his music was played over the PA system. James would later say that he meant no disrespect to Soulja Boy with his comment, and that his young son is a big fan of the rapper. Jay-Z responded by producing a freestyle version of the Too Short single "Blow the Whistle", named "Playoff", in which he "disses" Stevenson and Soulja Boy on James' behalf. The Cavaliers won the series against the Wizards in 6 games (4–2). The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the next round (4–3). During the decisive seventh game, which was played in Boston, James scored 45 points, but opponent Paul Pierce's 41 led the Celtics to a narrow victory.
He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career.
In the next series in the playoffs, James once again led his team to a sweep against the Atlanta Hawks.
On May 22, during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu shot a 12-foot jumper to give the Magic a 2-point lead with 1 second left. Following a Cleveland timeout, Williams inbounded the ball to James, but heavy defense by Türkoğlu denied James a chance at a tying layup. James then attempted and successfully made a three-point shot over Türkoğlu, giving the Cavs a 96–95 victory to tie the series 1–1. Following a Game 3 loss, James missed a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in Game 4 and the Cavaliers were down 3-1. After a Game 5 home win, he scored a playoff low 25 points in Game 6 and Cleveland lost the series to Orlando. James' postgame behavior incited some controversy when he left the game floor without shaking hands with his opponents. James later told reporters: }}
At the end of the regular season, Cleveland finished with the best regular season record for the second consecutive year. James won the Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career, becoming the tenth NBA player in history to do so. James received 116 of a possible 122 first-place votes to win. James was criticized for not playing well, especially in Game 5 of the series, in which he shot only 3 for 14 and scored 15 points. He walked off the court in that game, his final home game as a Cavalier, "to a smattering of boos and rows of empty seats" and Cleveland lost 88-120 in their worst home playoff loss in team history. Cleveland was eliminated in Game 6, James' last playing for Cleveland, as he recorded 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, but also 9 turnovers. He filed papers to formally change his jersey number 23 to 6 for the season. James was courted by several teams, including the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, Clippers, and his hometown Cavaliers.
On July 8, 2010, James announced on a live ESPN special, The Decision, that he would be playing for the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season and teaming with Miami's other All-Star free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Decision was broadcast from the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut.
|LeBron James}}
Wade had informed Heat President Pat Riley that James wanted to become less of a scorer and more of a distributor, and James looked forward to no longer carrying the offense night after night as he did playing with Cleveland. Riley sold to James that "LeBron would be Magic Johnson, Dwyane Wade would be Kobe Bryant, Chris would be Kevin Garnett." Relieved of the burden of scoring, James thought he could be the first player to average a triple-double in a season since Oscar Robertson.
The Cavaliers were informed of James' decision minutes before the show began. The television program drew high ratings as well as criticism for the prolonged wait until James' actual decision and the spectacle of the show itself.
In Cleveland, fans considered James' departure a betrayal that ranks second to Art Modell's efforts to relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert almost immediately published an open letter to fans, denouncing James' decision as a "selfish", "heartless", "callous", and "cowardly betrayal", while guaranteeing that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the "self-declared former King." Gilbert's sports-memorabilia company Fathead also lowered the price of wall graphics depicting James from $99.99 to $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold. William Rhoden of The New York Times defended James by stating that Gilbert's "venomous, face-saving personal attack", along with the ensuing "wrath of jersey-burning fans", only validated James’ decision to leave Cleveland. Reverend Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, said Gilbert's feelings "personify a slave master mentality", and he was treating James as "a runaway slave". J. A. Adande of ESPN said, however, that James chose to promote the drama of his decision in an hour-long television special instead of showing "common courtesy" to notify Cleveland and other teams of his plans. On July 12, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter's contents, while also criticizing the way James handled free agency. On July 14, James told J.R. Moehringer for a GQ article that there was "nothing at all" he would change about his handling of free agency.
Former NBA players criticized his decision to not stay with Cleveland and continuing to try to win a championship as "the guy". Michael Jordan stated that he would not have contacted his rivals from other teams like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to play on one team together, as "I wanted to defeat those guys." Jordan added that "...things are different [now]. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today." Johnson echoed Jordan's sentiments on teaming with rivals.
On September 29, 2010, asked by Soledad O'Brien of CNN if race was a factor in the fallout from The Decision, James said, "I think so, at times. There's always -- you know, a race factor." James had previously stayed clear of racial issues. When the earlier controversy over his cover on Vogue became a national debate, James had no comment. Adande, however, said James "didn't claim to be a victim of racial persecution" and "caused us to examine the bias that's always lurking".
In New Jersey on October 31, he was booed by Nets' fans as expected. Boos came when James’ name was called during the pregame introductions, and continued whenever he touched the ball. When James was running the point, fans had more time to notice and the booing was more intense.
On November 2, James had a game-high 12 assists in a 129-97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. James was the primary ball handler for nearly the entire 33 minutes he played against the Wolves. He has been playing throughout the season the point guard role that Riley sold to him during free agency. "I don't want to be called a point guard, but I can't stop it," said James. Heat public relations announced that James's 12 assists was the highest in franchise history by a forward. It was his 29th career triple-double, the seventh that came in a loss. On December 2, the Heat played in Cleveland in James' first game back since departing as a free agent. The crowd directed derisive chants and signs at James, who was booed every time he touched the ball. With tight security, the crowd was rowdy but not violent and there was only one arrest and four ejections. James scored a then-season-high 38 points and Miami won in a 118–90 blowout as the hostile crowd was quieted before halftime. In a well publicized arrival after spurning the franchise, LeBron James had his second triple double of the season with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a blowout victory. In the Heat's 104-100 victory over the Orlando Magic on February 3, 2011, James scored 23 points in the first quarter, breaking Alonzo Mourning's single-game franchise record of 21 first-quarter points (March 29, 1996). James finished the game with 51 points, a season high, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.
On March 29, in James' second game at Cleveland as a member of the Heat, he skipped his pregame player introduction, saying that he was using the bathroom, and entered the arena during the Cleveland Cavaliers player introductions. The Heat lost to the Cavaliers 102-90 despite James' 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.
James finished second in the league in scoring with 26.7 points per game and Dwyane Wade finished fourth (25.5 points per game). They combined to score 4,052 points this season, most by a duo in franchise history.
Along with Kobe Bryant, he was one of the first two players to publicly named to the 2006-2008 U.S. preliminary roster in 2006 by Jerry Colangelo. James competed in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The team finished with an 8–1 record, and was again awarded the bronze medal.
After failing to win the 2006 World Championships, the team competed at the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the gold medal game against Argentina, James recorded 31 points, the most by an American in an Olympic qualifier, as the United States captured gold medal honors. He averaged 18.1 points (on tournament-high field-goal percentage (76%) and three-point percentage (62.2%), 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.
James, along with the rest of Team USA reclaimed the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeating Spain 118 to 107. He finished the gold medal game with 14 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the U.S. went unbeaten, winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics. It was later reported that James' "immaturity and downright disrespectfulness" were a risk to his being included on the Beijing Olympic team as Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo believed that Bryant joining the national team would allow the team to win the gold medal with or without James. with 28 in the regular season and six in the postseason. James' skills have led to many comparisons to NBA legends Robertson, Johnson, and Jordan. James was not named to the NBA All-Defensive Team until the 2008–09 season, when he finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.
In March 2011, the New York Times wrote that James "has not mastered a reliable midrange jumper ... has not developed a go-to move in the post" and his options in a half-court set at the end of games "often are a long jump shot or a mad dash to the rim."
James started a petition saying that no one should be allowed to wear the #23 in the NBA to honor Jordan. On March 1, 2010, James filed an application to the NBA to wear the #6 starting the 2010–11 season.
James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004, They currently reside in Coconut Grove, a Miami suburb, where James bought a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay for $9 million on November 12, 2010.
.]] James and Ice Cube have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. James will act as executive producer if the show is greenlighted. James appeared on the cover of the February 2009 edition of GQ magazine. He stars in the Lions Gate film, More Than a Game (2009).
Following an agreement with Fenway Sports Group to become the sole marketer of his rights globally, in return as part of the deal James and his manager Maverick Carter became minority stakeholders in English Premier League giants Liverpool F.C.
On April 10, 2011 James became the new global brand ambassador for luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet. He will in addition collaborate to produce his own limited-edition watch, for which he will donate the proceeds from any future auctions of these timepieces to his charity, the LeBron James Family Foundation.
James received criticism from Cleveland fans and critics for attending Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat. James said, "As individuals I want every Indian to succeed. I love all these fans for coming out and supporting us. But team-wise I want the Yankees to win." Despite residing in Ohio for all of his childhood, James added that he grew up as a Yankees fan, a Dallas Cowboys fan and a Chicago Bulls fan. In January 2008, Nike released the Air Zoom V LeBron shoe, which featured a Yankees-type motif and was made available only in New York City.
In March 2008, James became the first black man to appear on the cover of Vogue, posing with Gisele Bündchen. He was the third man to appear on the cover of Vogue, after Richard Gere and George Clooney. Some sports bloggers and columnist considered the cover offensive, describing the demeanor of James and his holding Bündchen as a reference to classic imagery of the movie monster King Kong, a dark savage capturing his light-skinned love interest.
In June 2008, James donated $20,000 to a committee to elect Barack Obama. On October 29, 2008, James gathered almost 20,000 people at the Quicken Loans Arena for a viewing of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 30-minute American Stories, American Solutions television advertisement. It was shown on a large screen above the stage, where Jay-Z later held a free concert.
On July 6, 2009, James courted controversy when he ordered organizers to confiscate CBS video tape of him being dunked on by Xavier University guard Jordan Crawford at the Nike LeBron James Skills Academy.
On July 23 in an interview for his upcoming book "Shooting Stars", James admitted to smoking marijuana at one point during his high school career to help cope with all the stress resulting from constant media attention he was receiving at the time.
James, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, co-hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. James himself was nominated for three ESPYs: Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player (winner), and Best Record Breaking Performance. The performance for which he was nominated was when he scored 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, including 29 of the last 30 points and all of the team's 25 points in overtime.
In September 2010, The Q Score Company ranked James as the sixth most disliked sports personality behind Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant.
Category:1984 births Category:American basketball players Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players from Ohio Category:Cleveland Cavaliers draft picks Category:Cleveland Cavaliers players Category:Miami Heat players Category:Gatorade National Basketball Player of the Year Category:Living people Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:National Basketball Association high school draftees Category:Olympic basketball players of the United States Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Akron, Ohio Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Small forwards Category:United States men's national basketball team members Category:Liverpool F.C. chairmen and investors
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Jared Dudley |
| Caption | Jared Dudley, 2011 |
| Position | Forward |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 7 |
| Weight lb | 235 |
| Team | Phoenix Suns |
| Number | 3 |
| Nationality | American |
| Birth date | July 10, 1985 |
| Birth place | San Diego, California |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 22 |
| High school | Horizon High School |
| College | Boston College |
| Draft year | 2007 |
| Draft team | Charlotte Bobcats |
| Career start | 2007 |
| Teams | Charlotte Bobcats (2007–2008)Phoenix Suns (2008–present) |
| Highlights | 2007 ACC Player of the Year |
Jared Dudley scored 30 points on November 29, 2006 against Michigan State on national television. His career-high in points is 36, which he scored against Villanova in a January 19, 2005 victory during his sophomore season. He averaged 19 points and 3 assists per game during his senior year.
After his senior season, Dudley was voted the ACC Player of the Year for 2007 and was a second team All-American.
Contrary to projections soon after the 2007 draft, Dudley quickly entered the Bobcats' regular playing rotation and made his first start on November 24, 2007 vs. Boston, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He went on to establish himself as a key player in the Bobcats' rotation, starting often while with the team. He finished the 2007–08 season averaging 5.8 points a game.
Dudley played in 20 games for the Bobcats before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In those 20 games, he averaged 5.4 points.
In the 2009–10 season Dudley was a key player in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. He played in all of the Suns 16 playoff games that season, shooting 42.4% on three pointers. But, the Suns eventually lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals by a margin of four games to two.
Category:1985 deaths Category:American basketball players Category:Basketball players from California Category:Boston College Eagles men's basketball players Category:Charlotte Bobcats draft picks Category:Charlotte Bobcats players Category:Phoenix Suns players Category:Small forwards Category:People from San Diego, California Category:1985 births
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Coordinates | 39°11′00″N85°55′59″N |
|---|---|
| Name | Blake Griffin |
| Caption | Griffin with the Clippers |
| Height ft | 6 |
| Height in | 10 |
| Weight lb | 251 |
| Team | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Number | 32 |
| Position | Power Forward |
| Birth date | March 16, 1989 |
| Birth place | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| High school | Oklahoma Christian School (Edmond, Oklahoma) |
| College | Oklahoma |
| Draft round | 1 |
| Draft pick | 1 |
| Draft team | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Draft year | 2009 |
| Career start | 2009 |
| Years1 | –present | team1 = Los Angeles Clippers |
| Highlights |
As a junior, he averaged 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, and led the Saints to the Class 2A championship game, beating Washington High School for a third straight state championship and was named the state tournament MVP. His play attracted the attention of the new basketball head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, Jeff Capel, who first heard of Griffin through his brother Taylor.
Griffin committed to Oklahoma before the start of his senior season On March 10, 2007, he played his final high school game in the state title game against Pawnee High School.
Griffin was named the Player of the Year by both the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman and named a Oklahoma Boys All-State First Team, EA Sports All-American Second Team and a Parade Third Team All-American. He was ranked as the nation's #13 high school senior by HoopScoop, #20 by scout.com and #23 by rivals.com, and as the country's third-best power forward by HoopScoop, sixth by rivals.com and the seventh by scout.com. At the McDonald's All-American game in Louisville, Kentucky he won the Powerade Jam Fest slam dunk contest.
On February 21, he received a concussion in a loss to the Texas Longhorns, when he caught an inadvertent shot to the face from the open hand of Texas center Dexter Pittman. He sat out the second half during the Sooners loss with a bloody nose. After sitting out the next game, a loss to Kansas Jayhawks, he was cleared by the medical staff and returned a week later to get 20 points and 19 rebounds in a victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Oklahoma finished second in the conference with a 13–3 record but fell short in the first game of the Big 12 Tournament to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. In the "Big Dance", Oklahoma was seeded No. 2 in the South Region with a 27-5 record. In the second-round win over the Michigan Wolverines, he scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, just the second player in the 2000s decade with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. However, the Sooners lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the South Regional final.
Griffin averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during the regular season and earned All-American First Team honors. He led the Big 12 in scoring and rebounds, and recorded at least 20 points and 15 rebounds 15 times, which is a Big 12 record. With 30 double-doubles during the season, he was one short of the NCAA record of 31 set by David Robinson in 1986–1987. His total of 504 rebounds were the most in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird had 505 in 1978–79 and his rebounding average of 14.4 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996–97.
For his sophomore year performance, Griffin swept all six of the national player of the year awards. He was a unanimous choice by voters in all nine geographical districts for the Oscar Robertson Trophy and was named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year, receiving 66 of the 71 national media panel members' votes. Griffin was announced as the winner of the prestigious Naismith College Player of the Year on April 5 in Detroit. Three days after announcing that he would turn pro, he won the John Wooden Award as college basketball's top player. A press conference announcing his decision was aired nationally on ESPNews. He was selected as the first overall pick by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Griffin played for the Clippers' Summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. In their final preseason game, he injured his kneecap as he landed after a dunk. The day before the 2009–10 season started it was confirmed that Griffin had a stress fracture in his left knee, delaying his NBA debut for seven weeks. In January 2010, Griffin had surgery on his broken left kneecap, missing the entire 2009–10 season.
During the All-Star break, he participated in the 2011 Rookie Challenge and won the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. He received his first NBA All-Star selection as a reserve on the Western Conference squad for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game, becoming the first rookie to play in the All-Star game since Yao Ming in 2003 and the first rookie voted to the game by coaches since Tim Duncan in 1998. On March 23, 2011, in a double overtime win over the Washington Wizards, Griffin recorded his first career triple-double, 33 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists, and recorded his second triple-double with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, in the final game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies.
During the season, he captured all six of the Western Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month, the first time a rookie has swept an entire season of Rookie of the Month awards since Chris Paul during the 2005–06 season. He played in all 82 regular season games and became the first rookie to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds since Elton Brand did it in the 1999–00 season. He led all rookies in points, rebounds and double-doubles, earning him the Rookie of the Year award, and was the first unanimous winner for the award since David Robinson in 1990. He was also the only unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team.
Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American basketball players Category:African American basketball players Category:Basketball players from Oklahoma Category:NBA Slam Dunk Contest champions Category:Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:People from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category:Power forwards (basketball) Category:Los Angeles Clippers draft picks Category:Los Angeles Clippers players Category:American baseball players
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
