Look up Play or play in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Play may refer to:

• Play (activity), enjoyed by animals and humans
• Play (theatre), structured literary form of theatre

Music[link]

Bands[link]

• Play (UK band), on the Survival Records label (1980s)
• Play (Mexican band) (or Grupo Play), Mexican band
• Play (group), Swedish band

Albums[link]

• Play (Brad Paisley album)
• Play (Bond album)
• Play (David Ball album)
• Play (Great Big Sea album)
• Play (Moby album)
• Play (Namie Amuro album)
• Play (Play album), album by the Swedish band
• Play (S.H.E album)
• Play (Squeeze album)

• Plays, an album by Andy Dixon (Secret Mommy)

Songs[link]

• "Play", a song by SS501
• "Play" (David Banner song)
• "Play" (Jennifer Lopez song)
• Play (EP), extended play recording by Ride
• "Play" (Robyn song)

Others[link]

• Play! A Video Game Symphony, a symphony tour featuring video game music
• Play 99.6 (radio), a radio station in Jordan
• Christopher "Play" Martin, one half of hip-hop duo Kid 'n Play

Other arts and entertainment[link]

• Play (New York Times), a sports magazine from The New York Times
• Play (play), written by Samuel Beckett
• Play (TV series), a Canadian news magazine series
• Play (UK magazine), a UK PlayStation magazine
• Play (US magazine), a United States video game magazine
• Play (2005 film), a Chilean film directed by Alicia Scherson
• Play (2009 short film), directed by David Kaplan (filmmaker)
• Play (2011 film), a Swedish film directed by Ruben Östlund
• Play, The Videogames World, first European exhibition on videogames
• Television play, television genre
• Wii Play, a video game released for the Wii video game console

In sports[link]

• Play from scrimmage, an organized action as part of the game, in American and Canadian football
• The Play, a controversial and historic last second kickoff return for a touchdown in the 1982 Cal–Stanford 'Big Game'

Other Uses[link]

• Backlash (engineering), the amount of lost motion due to clearance or slackness between mating components when movement is reversed
• Google Play, a digital content service offered by Google
• Play.com, an online retail company
• Petroleum play, group of oil fields or prospects in the same region that are controlled by the same set of geological circumstances
• Play Framework, in computer science, an open source web application framework in Java.
• Play Mobile, a Polish internet provider and mobile operator
• Word play, literary and narrative technique
• Xperia Play, released in 2011, a Android phone capable of running PlayStation games

See also[link]

• Player (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Nate Robinson

Nate Robinson with the Knicks in 2007
No. 2 – Golden State Warriors
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1984-05-31) May 31, 1984 (age 28) Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
High school	Rainier Beach James Logan
Listed height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College	Washington (2002–2005)
NBA Draft	2005 / Round: 1 / Pick: 21st overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Pro career	2005–present
Career history
2005–2010	New York Knicks
2010–2011	Boston Celtics
2011	Oklahoma City Thunder
2012–present	Golden State Warriors
Career highlights and awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (2005) 3× NBA Slam Dunk champion (2006, 2009, 2010)

Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who is currently with the Golden State Warriors. Robinson is listed at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m).^[1]

Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball at the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. In his professional career, Robinson has been a point guard for the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder and now the Golden State Warriors.^[2] Robinson is the NBA's first three-time slam dunk champion.^[3]

High school[link]

Robinson spent his first 2 years of high school at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. He moved to Union City, California, where he played for James Logan High School for one year, and then returned to Rainier Beach. At Beach, he excelled in basketball, football, and track. He led his basketball team to a 28–1 record and won the AAA state championship as a senior with University of Louisville star Terrence Williams, USC alumnus Lodrick Stewart, and former University of Kansas player Rodrick Stewart. He averaged 17.9 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals per game as a senior in 2002, and was named the AAA State player of the year in Washington. He led his team to a no. 7 national ranking in USA Today, and was one of the 100 finalists for the McDonald's High School All-America team.^{[citation needed]} Rainier Beach retired Robinson's No. 2 jersey on September 10, 2010.^[4]

Also in 2002 he was named the AAA player of the year for football where he totaled over 1,200 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving while scoring 21 touchdowns. And he was a SuperPrep All-American in 2001 and was ranked as the nation's 17th-best player at the athlete position. He set a Washington state record of 13.85 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and was placed second in the 110-meter hurdles and second in the long jump at the 2002 state track meet.^{[citation needed]}

College[link]

Robinson had a successful collegiate career in which he led the Washington Huskies to two straight NCAA basketball tournament appearances, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance during his junior year^{[citation needed]}. At the end of that season he was named a third-team Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-American^{[citation needed]}.

Robinson also played football at the University of Washington. Robinson's college football career is most remembered for his interception in the final minutes of regulation of the 2002 Apple Cup against the Washington State Cougars, who were at the time ranked #3 in the AP poll. With minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Cougars leading by 3 points, Robinson intercepted a pass thrown by Matt Kegel intended for 6'6" Mike Bush. The Huskies scored a field goal on the ensuing possession and won the game in triple overtime.^[5]

NBA career[link]

New York Knicks[link]

2005–06[link]

Robinson was the 21st selection of the 2005 NBA Draft, chosen by the Phoenix Suns before being traded to the New York Knicks with Quentin Richardson for Kurt Thomas and the draft rights to second-round pick (54th overall) Dijon Thompson^{[citation needed]}.

Robinson played in 72 games his rookie year, starting 26 of them, while averaging 9.3 points and 2.0 assists per game. He had a major breakout performance against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden where he scored 17 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Of his 17 points, three came on a game-winning three-pointer at the overtime buzzer over his boyhood idol, Allen Iverson. During the All-Star weekend, Robinson won the 2006 Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest, edging Andre Iguodala 141–140 in an unprecedented overtime, although he took 14 attempts to make his final dunk. In his most memorable dunk of the night, he jumped over 1986 champion Spud Webb, and received a perfect 50-point score for the dunk.^[6] During the 2005–06 season, Robinson was reportedly involved in physical altercations between teammates Jerome James and Malik Rose in separate incidents. He was at one point considered by Knicks' coach Larry Brown to be demoted to the NBA Development League. He was instead placed on the Inactive List for 10 games between February 24 and March 11.^[7]

2006–07[link]

On December 16, 2006, Robinson was one of the primary participants in the brawl between the Denver Nuggets and the Knicks. His fight with Nuggets guard J. R. Smith landed in the seats, and he was suspended for 10 games as a result.^[8]

Robinson competed in the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest to defend his 2006 title, and came in second place after Gerald Green. In the second round, Green's Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce brought out a cardboard cut-out of Robinson to dunk over, but Robinson came out and stood in its place instead, and Green jumped over him to complete the dunk.^[9]

2008–09[link]

On February 14, 2009, Robinson won the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Competition. During the first round he completed two dunks, the second of which included jumping off Knicks teammate Wilson Chandler, who was on the floor. He finished second in the first round with a score of 87. After the first round, he went into the locker room and changed into a green Knicks jersey with green shorts and green shoes representing Kryptonite (which he called "KryptoNATE"), countering competitor Dwight Howard's Superman theme. In the final round, Robinson, who is only 5 feet 9, jumped over Dwight Howard (6 feet 11 inches) for the slam. Robinson went on to win his second Slam Dunk title with 52% of the fan vote.^[10]

Robinson enjoyed his best season in 2008–2009, averaging 17.2 points per game, 4.1 assists per game, and almost 30 minutes per game. On February 23, 2009, Robinson scored 41 points and also had 8 rebounds.

On August 12, 2009, Robinson reported on his Twitter page that he would change his number from number 4 to number 2 for the 2009–10 season. On September 25, 2009, Robinson re-signed with the New York Knicks to a one-year deal.

2009–10[link]

After a series of disagreements, Mike D'Antoni removed Robinson from the Knicks' rotation for 14 games beginning on December 1, 2009. Robinson's agent, Aaron Goodwin, urged the Knicks to deal his client, or perhaps work out a buy-out with the team. After remaining on the bench for nearly a month, Robinson made his return on January 1, 2010, against the Atlanta Hawks and scored 41 points, off the bench, in the Knicks' victory.

On February 13, 2010, Robinson won the 2010 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, becoming the first three-time Slam Dunk champion.^[11]

Boston Celtics[link]

Nate Robinson played parts of two seasons (February 2010 to February 2011) with the Boston Celtics.

2010[link]

On February 18, 2010, Robinson was traded to the Boston Celtics along with Marcus Landry in exchange for Eddie House, Bill Walker, and J. R. Giddens.^[12] Robinson played in 26 games with the Celtics averaging 6.5 points per game in 14.7 minutes per game.

Despite his limited playing time during the playoffs with the Boston Celtics, Robinson made key contributions in the series clinching Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals where he scored all of his 13 points in the second quarter.

Oklahoma City Thunder[link]

2011[link]

On February 24, 2011, Robinson was traded along with Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstić.^[13]

On December 24, 2011, the Thunder waived Robinson.^[14]

Golden State Warriors[link]

On January 4, 2012, Robinson signed with the Golden State Warriors.^[15] On January 10, 2012, with the absence of Stephen Curry, Robinson led the Warriors with 24 points in a 111-106 overtime victory over the Miami Heat.^[16] In the 2011-2012 season he averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2 rebounds in 51 games played.

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

Career highs[link]

Personal[link]

Robinson's father, Jacque Robinson, played American football for the Huskies and earned MVP honors in both the 1982 Rose Bowl and 1985 Orange Bowl. His mother, Renee Busch, operates a beauty salon in Seattle.^[17] He is also the cousin of former Washington Huskies basketball player Tony Wroten.^[18] Robinson's great-great-grandfather on his maternal side was Filipino.^[19][20]

See also[link]

• List of shortest players in National Basketball Association history

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Nate Robinson at NBA.com
• Nate Robinson at Basketball-Reference.com
• Nate Robinson's Blog of his rookie NBA season
• Nate Robinson Bio

James Harden

Harden in 2011
No. 13 – Oklahoma City Thunder
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1989-08-26) August 26, 1989 (age 22) Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
High school	Artesia HS (Lakewood, California)
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College	Arizona State (2007–2009)
NBA Draft	2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder
Pro career	2009–present
Career history
2009–present	Oklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2012) NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2010) Consensus All-American First Team (2009) Pac-10 Player of the Year (2009) 2× All-Pac-10 First Team (2008, 2009)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

James Edward Harden, Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona State Sun Devils, where he was named a consensus All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2009. Harden was selected third overall by the Thunder in the 2009 NBA Draft, and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the team in 2012.^[1] The shooting guard is well-known for his conspicuous beard.

Early years[link]

High school[link]

Harden attended Artesia High School in Lakewood, California. In his sophomore year, he averaged 13.2 points as Artesia went 28–5. He improved his stats to 18.8 points, 7.7 boards and 3.5 assists in his junior season and led Artesia to the California state title and a 33–1 record. Artesia won the state title in Harden's final year too by going 33–2. Harden had similar stats as during the previous season: 18.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He was named a Parade and McDonald's All-American.

He also helped his AAU team, Pump-N-Run Elite, to the 2006 Las Vegas Adidas Super 64 championship.^[2] Harden had 34 points in the victory over a DC Assault team which included Michael Beasley, Nolan Smith and Austin Freeman. In the game against Houston Hoops, played on the same day, Harden had 33 points. In the final, Pump-N-Run Elite beat Kevin Love's Southern California All-Stars.

College career[link]

Arizona State

Left: Harden makes contact with Alfred Aboya inside; Right: Harden on defense

Arizona State was picked to finish 9th in the Pac-10 Conference.^[3] Due to the help of Harden's average of 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists, the Sun Devils went 21–13 (9–9) and finished tied for 5th in the Pac-10. They were considered a bubble team for the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Left out of the NCAA tournament, they were selected to the 2008 NIT field and defeated Alabama State and Southern Illinois before falling to defending national champion Florida.

After his freshman year, Harden was named first team all-Pac-10 and was named to the conference all-freshman team.^[4] Harden was also named first team All-District by the NABC and the USBWA.

Entering his sophomore year, Harden appeared on many pre-season All-American lists and appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated college basketball preview issue. He was named to the Wooden Award preseason watch list.^[5] On November 30, 2008, Harden scored a career-high 40 points in an 88–58 victory over UTEP.^[6] On the Tempe campus, a popular t-shirt emerged for his fans. It read, "Die Harden Fan".^[7]

Harden was named to the 2009 All-Pac 10 Tournament Team following Arizona State's defeat by USC at the Staples Center.^[8]

Following the conference season, Harden was named the Pacific-10 Conference's Player of the Year.^[9] He was also named a consensus All-American. After the conclusion of the season (a second-round NCAA tournament loss to Syracuse), Harden declared his eligibility for the NBA Draft.^[10] He employed Rob Pelinka as his agent.^[11]

College statistics[link]

NBA career[link]

Oklahoma City Thunder (2009–present)[link]

Harden with the Oklahoma City Thunder

Harden was drafted 3rd overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. This made him the first player to be drafted by the franchise as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The franchise last entered the 2008 NBA Draft as the Seattle SuperSonics.

In his first NBA season, Harden saw more than 22 minutes on the court per game, averaging 9.9 points per game. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In his second year, he played all 82 games of the regular season, averaging 12.2 points per game. In the playoffs, he averaged 13 points per game, shooting over 47% from the field.

On April 18, 2012, Harden scored a career-high 40 points in a 109–97 victory over the Phoenix Suns. He had the best season in his NBA career in 2012, averaging 16.8 points in 31.4 minutes per game, even though he played only 2 of 62 games as a starter. On April 22 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden suffered a concussion after being elbowed by the Lakers' Metta World Peace, who was celebrating a dunk. World Peace was ejected, and was later suspended for seven games.^[12][13] Harden returned for the first game of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.^[14] Harden was named the 2012 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, becoming the second youngest player ever to do so. He led all NBA reserves with 16.8 points per game.^[15]

NBA statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Arizona State athletic site bio
• ESPN college player profile
• ESPN NBA player profile
• Sports Illustrated cover