NBA on NBC is a weekly presentation of National Basketball Association games on the National Broadcasting Company television network from 1955 to 1962, and again from 1990 to 2002. The NBA on NBC succeeded the NBA on CBS. During NBC's partnership with the NBA in the 1990s, the league rose to unprecedented popularity for the sport, with ratings surpassing the days of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in the mid-eighties.

Overview[link]

Background[link]

The program started on November 9, 1989^[2] when the NBA and NBC reached an agreement on a four-year, $600 million contract. On April 28, 1993, NBC extended their exclusive broadcast rights to the NBA with a four-year, $750 million contract.

Music[link]

NBC's theme music, "Roundball Rock" was composed by New Ager John Tesh.^[3] The song, which NBC used for every telecast in the network's twelve-year history with the NBA, is today often used by NBA TV for their live game coverage. After briefly considering using the theme for its NBA coverage, ABC decided against it, and has used several theme songs in its first four years of covering the NBA. In the early days of the WNBA, NBC used a variant of the theme music for the new league's games.

Until 1997, NBC would play the rock song "Winning It All", by The Outfield^[4] during its end of the season montage. From 1997 to 2001, several contemporary music pieces were used for the end of season montage (including, in 1997, the R. Kelly's song "I Believe I Can Fly", which coincidentally came from a basketball film - Space Jam, which starred Michael Jordan and in 2000-2001 with Pat Benatar's song "All Fired Up"). After the 1999 Finals, NBC used Roundball Rock for their montage. In 2002, after NBC's final broadcast, the network aired a montage of memorable moments from every year of coverage, using music from "Titans Spirit" (from the film Remember the Titans) to "Winning It All" and most notably, "To The Flemish Cap" from the 2000 film The Perfect Storm. The song composed by James Horner is played at the beginning of the montage as well as the end featuring footage from the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty era. This theme song has made a brief comeback as part of NBC's Olympic basketball coverage in 2008.

Coverage[link]

NBC's coverage of the NBA^[5] began on Christmas Day each season, with the exception of their inaugural season (which featured a November game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs), the 1998-99 season (no Christmas games played due to the lockout) and their final season (which included two early season games featuring the return of Michael Jordan with the Washington Wizards). NBC aired the NBA All-Star Game every year (with the exception of 1999, when the game was canceled due to a lockout), usually at 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time. In 2002, NBC aired the game an hour earlier (at 5:00 p.m., Eastern) due to the Winter Olympics later that evening. Starting in 2000, during the NBA Playoffs, NBC would air tripleheaders on Saturdays and Sundays for the first two weeks of the playoffs. Prior to 2000, NBC would air a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by a tripleheader on Sunday.

On Saturday, December 30, 2000, NBC aired a rare second December game. It was the only time that NBC aired a game between Christmas Day and the start of the regular run of games. In 2001, NBC was scheduled to air an October preseason game involving an NBA team playing an international team; that game was canceled due to 9/11. During the 2001-02 NBA season, NBC added a significant number of Washington Wizards games to its schedule (due to the aforementioned return of Michael Jordan). When Jordan became injured during the middle of the season, the network replaced the added Wizards games with the games that had been originally on the schedule (for example, a March 2002 game between the Wizards and Orlando Magic was replaced at the last minute with an Indiana Pacers-Sacramento Kings game).

Criticisms[link]

Several NBA observers accused NBC and the NBA of being biased with certain teams and individual players. NBC benefited from having all of the Finals it televised involve the popular Chicago Bulls or the large-market Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks or Houston Rockets; however, smaller market teams such as those in San Antonio, Sacramento, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Utah, Indiana, Orlando and Miami all made regular appearances on NBC games during its run.

Segments[link]

NBC's pregame show was known as NBA Showtime from 1990 to 2000. Starting in 2000, NBC scrapped the title of the pregame show. From 1990 to 1996, Showtime was hosted by Bob Costas. After 1996, Hannah Storm hosted, and replaced by Ahmad Rashad in 2001 when Storm went on Maternity Leave. The video game NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, by Midway, was named after this pregame show. An animated version of then-Los Angeles Lakers Center Shaquille O'Neal was on the cover.

During the NBA Finals, additional coverage would be immediately available on CNBC, where the panelists would discuss the game more in-depth for half an hour extra, after going off the air on the main NBC network.

The halftime show was sponsored by Prudential Financial (Prudential Halftime Show), NetZero (NetZero at the Half) and Verizon Wireless (Verizon Wireless at the Half). The NBA on NBC also had a segment during the live games called Miller Genuine Moments, which briefly looked back on a particular historically significant and/or dramatic moment in NBA history. This segment was discontinued towards the end of NBC's coverage. For a brief period in 2001–02, NBC aired a studio segment called 24, where each analyst (at that time, Pat Croce, Jayson Williams or Mike Fratello) would have twenty-four seconds to talk about issues concerning the NBA. After Williams was arrested for murder in February 2002, NBC (in conjunction with completely revamping the pregame show) discontinued the segment.

Ratings[link]

During its twelve-year run, the NBA on NBC experienced ratings highs and lows for the NBA. In the 1990s, the NBA Finals ratings were stellar, with the exception of 1999 finals. In 1998, the NBA set a record for Finals ratings, with an 18.7 for the second Chicago Bulls-Utah Jazz series, the last championship run by Michael Jordan's Bulls. The very next year (after a lockout which erased part of the season), the ratings for the Finals plummeted, and the NBA's ratings have been lower ever since.^[6] In 2002, NBC set a record for highest rated Western Conference Final, including a 14.2 for Game 7 of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

NBC's highest rated regular season game was Michael Jordan's first game back from playing minor league baseball; the March 1995 game between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers scored a 10.9 rating (higher than all but three NBA telecasts on ABC). As a comparison, the first game in Jordan's second comeback (a game against the New York Knicks that aired on TBS opposite the 2001 World Series) scored a rating between a 3.0 and 4.0. NBC's first game of Jordan's second comeback scored ratings similar to that number.

[edit] The end of the NBA on NBC

At the conclusion of Game 4 of the 2002 NBA Finals, the credits rolled to a final. Shown were highlights the twelve years of NBC broadcasts; the Chicago Bulls' dynasty led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the retirement of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers' new Shaq/Kobe reign. The final image was an empty gym, showing a basketball bouncing into the background and the message "Thanks for The Memories."

When NBC Sports' contract with the NBA expired in 2002, the broadcast rights were passed to ABC, which began airing games the next season. NBC had made a four-year, $1.3 billion bid in the spring of 2002 to renew its NBA coverage, but the league instead made six-year deals worth $4 billion with ESPN, ABC and TNT.^[7]

Whereas NBC normally televised 33 regular games a year, ABC would generally air fewer than twenty regular season games a year. According to Commissioner David Stern, the reduced number of network telecasts was at the NBA's own request since the NBA believed that they would get a higher audience for a single game (in contrast to NBC's tripleheaders). From 2002 to 2006, the NBA's ratings on broadcast television (ABC) have dropped almost a full ratings point (from nearly a 3.0 average rating to just above a 2.0 rating). NBC averaged a 5.5 average rating during the 2002 NBA Playoffs. ABC averaged a 3.3 average rating for the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

In response to the impending loss of NBA coverage, NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker said:

Not long after Zucker said this, NBC dropped to fourth place in the primetime television rankings for the first time in its history.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol^[8] had this to say:

NBC Sports replaced the Sunday afternoon single games and doubleheaders of the NBA on NBC with games of the AFL on NBC in February 2003, which lasted until the conclusion of their contract in 2006. NBC would acquire broadcasting rights for NFL games on Sunday nights that same year.

Future[link]

After NBC signed a contract with the PGA Tour, which involved the network significantly increasing the amount of golf it televised, as well as their contract with the NHL closing off most Sunday afternoon times in the winter, it became increasingly unlikely that the NBA would return to NBC for the foreseeable future. In May 2007, the NBA renewed its television contract with ESPN, making ABC the broadcast home of the NBA through 2016.

Announcers[link]

1954-1962[link]

NBC Sports first broadcast the NBA from the 1954-55 through 1961-62 seasons. The announcers during this period^[10] included:

• Jerry Doggett (1960–1961)
• Marty Glickman (1954–1961)
• Jim Gordon (1954–55)
• Curt Gowdy (1955–1960)
• Chick Hearn (1957–1958)
• Joe Lapchick (1955–56)
• Lindsey Nelson (1954–1961) - According to Nelson, the commissioner (Maurice Podoloff) would travel to the televised games. When NBC needed to get to a commercial break, Podoloff would go up to one of the coaches and say, "Call a timeout!" The coaches naturally, had to obliged since the commissioner ordered it.
• Bill O'Donnell (1957–1960)
• Bud Palmer (1958–1962)
• Bob Wolff (1961–1962)

The 1959 NBA All-Star Game marked the first time that the game was nationally televised. However, NBC only broadcast the second half at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in lieu of their Friday Night Fights telecast.

1990–1997[link]

NBC's first broadcast team of the 1990s-2000s (decade) era was made up of Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, with Ahmad Rashad as its sideline reporter. Other broadcasters at the time included Dick Enberg and Steve "Snapper" Jones. Aside from Rashad, Jim Gray and Hannah Storm also handled sideline reporting duties, and before becoming the television voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, Joel Meyers started as a sideline reporter for NBC. Bob Costas had hosting duties for the pregame show, NBA Showtime. In 1992, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson became a top game analyst (alongside the likes of Enberg, Albert and Fratello) for the NBA on NBC. Johnson's performance was heavily criticized.^[11] Among the complaints were his apparently poor diction skills, knack for "stating the obvious", habit of referring back to his playing days, and overall lackluster chemistry with his broadcasting partners. Johnson would ultimately be slowly phased out of the NBA on NBC after helping commentate the 1993 NBA Finals. In 1994, Mike Fratello left the booth (in order to become the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers) and was replaced with Matt Guokas. Albert and Guokas broadcast the 1994 NBA Finals and were joined for the 1995 NBA Finals by Bill Walton. Albert, Guokas and Walton, while not working regular season games together (Walton usually worked games with Steve "Snapper" Jones and play-by-play men Dick Enberg, Tom Hammond or Greg Gumbel), broadcast the next two Finals (1996 and 1997) together in a three-man booth.

1998–2000[link]

1997 was the last time Marv Albert would call the NBA Finals for NBC during the decade. An embarrassing sex scandal forced NBC to fire Albert before the start of the 1997–1998 season. To replace Albert, NBC tapped studio host Bob Costas for play-by-play. Matt Guokas did not return to his post as main color commentator, and was replaced by NBA legend Isiah Thomas. Costas was replaced on the pregame show by Hannah Storm. Midway through the season, Costas and Thomas were joined by recently fired Detroit Pistons coach Doug Collins. Collins served to take some weight off Thomas, who was considered by some to be uncomfortable in the role of lead analyst. The team of Costas, Thomas and Collins worked the big games that season including the 1998 NBA Finals (which set an all-time ratings record for the NBA). For the 1998–99 season, Thomas was moved to the studio, while Costas and Collins made up the lead team. The 1998–1999 season, which was marred by a lengthy lockout (which resulted in the regular season being shortened to 50 games) included the low-rated 1999 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. In the 1999–2000 season, Marv Albert was brought back, making a return which included calling that year's lead Christmas Day game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers from Staples Center.

2000–2001[link]

The 2000–2001 season brought to an end Bob Costas' direct role with the NBA on NBC (although Costas would work playoff games for the next two seasons and would return to host NBC's coverage for the 2002 NBA Finals). Costas deferred to Marv Albert, allowing Albert to once again be the lead broadcaster for the NBA, and stayed on only to deliver interviews and special features. On the studio front, Hannah Storm left her position as studio host due to maternity leave and Ahmad Rashad took over for Storm. While Isiah Thomas left NBC to become coach of the Indiana Pacers. Joining Ahmad Rashad were former Phoenix Suns player Kevin Johnson and former NBA coach P. J. Carlesimo. Marv Albert joined Doug Collins as the number one broadcast team, and the two broadcast the 2001 NBA Finals, which had the highest ratings since 1998. After the season, Collins was hired away from NBC by the Washington Wizards, which forced the network to move the long-time secondary color duo of Steve "Snapper" Jones and Bill Walton to the lead broadcast team with Albert.

During the 2001 NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers, NBC decided to cross-promote with their then-hot quiz show The Weakest Link. During halftime of Games 2 and 3, two 10 minute editions of The Weakest Link aired. The contestants were Bob Costas, Bill Walton, and Steve "Snapper" Jones along with Charlotte Hornets guard Baron Davis and Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie.

2001–2002[link]

The 2001–2002 season featured several anomalies, as NBC started their coverage on the first Saturday of the season, for the first time since 1991. The reason for this was NBA legend Michael Jordan's return to playing, this time for the Washington Wizards. NBC covered an early December game featuring Jordan's Wizards as well, which marked the first time an over-the-air network aired more than one pre-Christmas NBA game since CBS in the 1980s.

That year also marked the return of Hannah Storm from maternity leave. This meant that Storm and Ahmad Rashad would alternate as studio hosts throughout the 2002 season. That year, NBC's studio team consisted of Rashad and Storm with former Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce, the returning Mike Fratello, and former player Jayson Williams. The tandem stayed together through the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. During the week between the All-Star Game and NBC's next scheduled telecast, Williams was arrested after shooting and killing his limousine driver. He was promptly dropped from NBC, which also did not return Croce or Fratello to studio coverage. Instead, the network brought in Tom Tolbert, who had only recently been added to the network as a third-string analyst paired with Mike Breen. Tolbert stayed on as the lone studio analyst through the end of the season, and won acclaim by several in the media, including USA Today's Rudy Martzke. Hannah Storm wasn't able to anchor the 2002 NBA All-Star Game as she was on assignment at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City serving as daytime studio host. Rashad anchored it solo.

Ahmad Rashad had told The Los Angeles Times before the 2002 NBA Finals began that he would be ending his 20-year run on NBC Sports with Game 3 of the NBA Finals on the pre-game show.^[12] Hannah Storm meanwhile, covered the 2002 NBA Finals by hosting the CNBC post-game show.

Two days before NBC was to begin its playoff coverage, both Marv Albert and Mike Fratello, returning from working a Philadelphia 76ers–Indiana Pacers game on TNT, were seriously injured in a limo accident. That week, NBC juggled its announcing teams, which resulted in Bob Costas and Paul Sunderland working some early-round playoff games. Fratello would return to TNT after several days, and Albert returned to NBC for Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings.

The season would also turn out to be NBC's last with the NBA. The league, in January 2002, announced a six-year agreement with The Walt Disney Company and AOL-Time Warner, which gave over-the-air broadcast rights to ABC. That year, NBC's playoff ratings were much higher than previous years, including record-high ratings for the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Those high ratings did not translate to the Finals, which scored their lowest ratings in over two decades.

List of broadcasters[link]

Voice over artists[link]

Jim Fagan's voice was heard in nearly every single NBA on NBC telecast. Fagan, the voice behind "This is the NBA on NBC", also did several commercial voice-over promotions for the NBA on NBC. Mitch Phillips also did voice over work for the NBA on NBC, primarily in commercials.

Memorable moments[link]

During the NBA on NBC, the NBA experienced some of its most memorable moments. Multiple Michael Jordan and Reggie Miller game winners were televised by NBC, as well as some of the great comebacks and upsets in NBA history (the Rockets eliminating four 50-win teams including a finals sweep as the 6th seed, the Los Angeles Lakers comebacks in 2000 and 2002, and the Boston Celtics comeback in 2002). While NBC only televised one Game 7 of the NBA Finals, in 1994, seven of the Finals it televised went at least six games (the 1991, 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2002 Finals did not).

Statistics[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• ESPN.com - NBA - PLAYOFFS2002 - The day Tesh's music might die
• nba-low.mov QuickTime MOV video: voice-over Mitch Phillips on commercial spots for the NBA on NBC.
• NBCSports.com
• NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
  • NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC - Game Revolution Review Page
• NBA finalizes TV deals: Goodbye NBC
• Inquiry into Sports Programming Migration
• NBA on NBC - Short cut.
  • TV Theme - NBC, NBA 02.wav
• InsideHoops - NBA TV Contracts
• Jump The Shark - NBA on NBC

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2009)

John Frank Tesh (born July 9, 1952) is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK. Tesh has won six music Emmys, has four gold albums, two Grammy nominations, and an Associated Press award for investigative journalism. Tesh has sold over eight million records. His live concerts have raised more than $20 million for PBS. His NBC Basketball Theme has been hailed as one of the top three sports themes of all time. He is also known as the longtime co-host of the television program Entertainment Tonight. He has previously worked as a sportscaster for the Olympic Games, a news anchor and a reporter.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Tesh was born in Garden City, New York, on Long Island, and graduated from Garden City High School in 1970. Playing piano and trumpet from the age of 6, he studied with teachers from The Juilliard School and was named to the New York State Symphonic Orchestra in high school, while also playing the organ in a rock band.^[1] Tesh studied communications and music at North Carolina State University. While in the area, Tesh worked as a news anchor at WTVD in Durham, North Carolina. Tesh went to Orlando, Florida, to take a television position at WFTV.

Tesh has been married to actress Connie Sellecca since 1992. They have one daughter together named Prima.

[edit] Entertainment Tonight and television career

His television career included a stint as a news anchor and reporter at WSM-TV in Nashville, Tennessee in the 1970s, where he often covered the same stories as Oprah Winfrey, who worked at a competing Nashville station. He shuffled from Nashville to Raleigh, to Orlando, and finally to New York's WCBS-TV, where, at age 23, he was their youngest reporter.^[1] He later hosted the television show Entertainment Tonight from 1986 to 1996.

Tesh also served as a sportscaster for events such as the Tour de France bicycle race from 1983 through 1986 (Tesh has the distinction of being the anchor for the first American broadcast of this event), and gymnastics at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics. He also provided coverage of numerous dog shows from 1995-1999.

Tesh hosted the "One on One with John Tesh" talk show in 1991-92 on NBC daytime, and co-hosted the show John & Leeza with fellow Entertainment Tonight personality Leeza Gibbons in the 1990s.

Tesh appeared in "The Icarus Factor," an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing a Klingon warrior.

Musical career[link]

In 1987, Yanni was putting together his first touring band to promote his album Out of Silence, as well as selections from Keys to Imagination. Being good friends, Tesh asked Yanni if he could join the band as keyboardist along with Joyce Imbesi and drummer Charlie Adams, as he'd never been onstage for a live performance, and he needed the experience. Despite already having a full time job with Entertainment Tonight, and the long hours of rehearsal for the band, he did very well, although he did only one tour with Yanni, playing in about 12 shows, including the "1988 Concert Series," before being replaced by Bradley Joseph. Later, Yanni helped Tesh get his first recording contract with Private Music.^[2]

In the 1990s, John Tesh was credited with the theme music to Bobby's World, hosted by Howie Mandel, and the NBA on NBC theme, known as "Roundball Rock." Tesh composed the NBA on NBC theme after an idea hit him while traveling. In order to recall his idea at a later juncture, Tesh recorded the initial beat on his answering machine, leaving a message for himself. The theme was used for the NBA on NBC before the network stopped carrying NBA games following the 2001-02 season, though NBC would revive the theme for its basketball coverage during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

In August 1994, John performed at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado for his first Live at Red Rocks concert. Tesh performed with conductor John Bisharat and the 70-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra. The concert featured Tesh playing grand piano, Charlie Bisharat playing electric violin, and Everette Harp playing alto saxophone. Also featured were Olympic gold medal-gymnasts Nadia Comaneci (1976) and Bart Conner (1984) performing gymnastic routines specially-choreographed to Tesh's music.

After Tesh left his 10-year job as co-host for Entertainment Tonight in 1996, he turned to his career as a contemporary keyboardist. This led to him starting The John Tesh Radio Show in 2003.

In 2008, he put out a piano gospel dance DVD called "Alive: Music & Dance." It combines Tesh's music, big gospel choirs, and hip-hop dance.^[3]

[edit] John Tesh Radio Show

Tesh currently has a nationally-syndicated radio show called the John Tesh Radio Show, which typically airs on Adult Contemporary and Classic Hits radio stations, which plays Teen-oriented Soft rock (music, or music selected by an affiliate station themselves), interspersed with various factoids and other information Tesh considers useful to listeners, often with topics such as health and well-being. These factoids are called "Intelligence for Your Life." It is played on radio stations across the United States and Canada. "This show was created for my wife, (actress Connie Sellecca)," he says. "She's one of those people where, you look at her side of the bed (and see) seven issues of Prevention magazine and five months of Oprah magazine . . . (she) never has time to read any of that stuff . . . I feel there's enough entertainment there - nobody needs to know the latest in the trial of Anna Nicole Smith from us, or who the celebrity birthdays are. So I said, ‘Let's just do something that moves people forward in their life, and we'll do the work for them.'" According to Tesh, the show now airs on about 250 stations nationwide, primarily on adult contemporary music stations, but is carried on some classic hits stations as well; select pieces of "Intelligence for Your Life" are broken up and distributed in short form to other radio stations (including talk radio formats) as well, for use on morning shows.

The show was originally syndicated by Westwood One under the name On the Air with John Tesh, albeit with a slightly-different format. It is currently self-syndicated.

Awards[link]

In 2007, Tesh won the Syndicated Personality/Show of the Year award by Radio & Records magazine for his radio show. Other finalists included Delilah, Blair Garner, Steve Harvey, Kidd Kraddick, and The Lia Show.^[4] Tesh was nominated in 2003 for the Grammy for "Best Pop Instrumental Album" for Power of Love. John has also earned three gold albums, six Emmys for his sports themes, and a Keyboard Magazine Award.^[5]

Alien Allegations[link]

For years a group has claimed Tesh is an alien who is using his music to communicate with his home planet, whose inhabitants are preparing for a full-scale invasion of Earth. Evidence includes the fact he hosted "E.T." and reportedly has magical properties. Groups purporting this have shown up consistently to his shows, demanding he acknowledge this. The allegations have been denied by the singer.^[6]

Discography[link]

• (1987) Music from the Tour de France, Vol. I - Tesh Music BMI
• (1988) A Thousand Summers
• (1988) Tour de France - Private Music
• (1989) Garden City- Cypress
• (1989) You Break It - Atlantic Records
• (1990) Tour de France - The Early Years - Private Music
• (1992) A Romantic Christmas - Decca Records
• (1992) Ironman Triathlon - GTSP
• (1992) The Games - GTSP
• (1993) Monterey Nights - Decca Records
• (1994) A Family Christmas - Decca Records
• (1994) Sax by the Fire - Decca Records
• (1994) Winter Song - Decca Records
• (1995) Music in the Key of Love - GTSP
• (1995) Backstage with John Tesh - Digital Entertainment
• (1995) Live at Red Rocks - Decca Records
• (1995) Sax on the Beach - Decca Records
• (1995) Anthology
• (1996) Discovery - Decca Records
• (1996) Choirs of Christmas, featuring Rock Theatre, Paulist Boy Choristers of California, Encore Children's Chorus - GTSP
• (1997) Avalon - Decca Records
• (1997) Sax All Night - Decca Records
• (1998) Grand Passion - Decca Records
• (1998) Guitar by the Fire - Decca Records
• (1998) Songs from the Road - BMG Special Products
• (1998) Pure Movies - GTSP
• (1999) One World - Decca Records
• (1999) John Tesh & Friends - Columbia River
• (1999) One Day - Unison
• (2000) Pure Movies, Vol. 2 - Garden City Music
• (2000) Pure Hymns - Faith M.D.
• (2001) Classical Music for an Intimate Mood - Garden City Music
• (2001) Pure Orchestra - Garden City Music
• (2001) Classical Music for a Stress-Free World - Garden City
• (2001) Pure Gospel - Faith M.D.
• (2001) Classical Music for Babies (And Their Moms), Vol. 1 - Garden City
• (2001) Classical Music for Babies (And Their Moms), Vol. 2 - Garden City
• (2001) Classical Music for a Prayerful Mood - Faith M.D.
• (2002) The Power of Love - Garden City Music
• (2002) Christmas Worship - Word Entertainment
• (2002) A Deeper Faith - Garden City
• (2003) Worship Collection: Awesome God - Garden City Music
• (2003) A Deeper Faith, Vol. 2 - Garden City Music
• (2004) Worship at Red Rocks (live) - Garden City Music
• God of Wonders - Word Entertainment
• Drive Time Intelligence CD
• Grand Piano Christmas
• Heart of the Sunrise
• John Tesh - Romantic Christmas Collection
• John Tesh - Ultimate Christmas Collection
• The Power of Prayer and Worship
• Ultimate Love Song Collection
• Victory

Videography[link]

• John Tesh - Monterey Nights
• John Tesh - Live at Red Rocks
• John Tesh - The Avalon Concert
• John Tesh - One World
• John Tesh - Christmas in Positano
• John Tesh - Alive: Music & Dance

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• John Tesh's FACEBOOK PAGE
• John Tesh at Allmusic
• John Tesh at Allmovie
• John Tesh at the Internet Movie Database
• John Tesh at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in 1997
No. 23, 45, 9, 12
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1963-02-17) February 17, 1963 (age 49) Brooklyn, New York
High school	Emsley A. Laney
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1981–1984)
NBA Draft	1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Pro career	1984–2003
Career history
1984–1993, 1995–1998	Chicago Bulls
2001–2003	Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
6× NBA Champion (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991–1992, 1996, 1998) 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003) 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998) 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998) 3× NBA steals champion (1988, 1990, 1993) NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988) 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998) All-NBA Second Team (1985) 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998) NBA Rookie of the Year (1985) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985) 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998) 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987–1988) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #23 Retired by Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat NCAA Champion (1982) 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1983–1984) ACC Player of the Year (1984) Oscar Robertson Trophy (1984) Naismith College Player of the Year (1984) John R. Wooden Award (1984) Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984)
Career statistics
Points	32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Rebounds	6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Assists	5,633 (5.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."^[1] Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.^[2]

After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.^[3] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today.^[4] Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, having won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.

Jordan is sometimes referred to simply by his initials MJ.^[5]

Early years[link]

Michael Jordan's jersey in the rafters of The Dean Smith Center

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an equipment supervisor. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler.^[6] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.^[7]

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games.^[7] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm)^[1] and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.^[8][9] As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team^[10] after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists.^[11]

In 1981, Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography. As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 points per game (ppg) on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).^[12] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.^[1] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.^[13] During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg).^[8] He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.^[14]

Professional career[link]

During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting.^[12] He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas,^[15][16][17] and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the heading "A Star is Born" just over a month into his professional career.^[18][19] Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season.^[1] Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving.^[1] This led to a so called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game.^[1] The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year.^[20] The Bulls finished the season 38–44,^[21] and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.^[20]

Jordan's second season was cut short by a broken foot which caused him to miss 64 games.^[1] Despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record,^[21] the Bulls made the playoffs. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history,^[22] Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2.^[23] The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series.^[20]

Jordan had recovered completely by the 1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history. He became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league high 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting.^[12] In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season. Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the league's Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins,^[21] and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. However, they were again swept by the Celtics.^[20]