Elgin Baylor

Elgin Baylor
Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16, 1934 in Washington, D.C.) is a retired Hall of Fame American basketball player and former NBA general manager who played 13 seasons as a forward for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers/Los Angeles Lakers.
Baylor was a gifted shooter, strong rebounder, and an accomplished passer. Renowned for his acrobatic maneuvers on the court, Baylor regularly dazzled Lakers fans with his trademark hanging jump shots. The No. 1 draft pick in 1958, NBA Rookie of the Year in 1959, and an 11-time NBA All-Star, he is regarded as one of the game's all-time greatest players.[1] In 1977, Baylor was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[2]
Baylor spent twenty-two years as GM of the Los Angeles Clippers, being named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2006, before being relieved of his duties slightly before the 2008-09 season began
An inadequate scholastic record kept him out of college until a friend arranged a scholarship at the College of Idaho, where he was expected to play basketball and football. After one season, the school dismissed the head basketball coach and restricted the scholarships. A Seattle car dealer interested Baylor in Seattle University, and Baylor sat out a year to play for Westside Ford, an AAU team in Seattle, while establishing eligibility at Seattle.
Baylor led the Seattle Chieftains (now known as the Redhawks) to the NCAA championship game in 1958, falling to the Kentucky Wildcats, Seattle's last trip to the Final Four. Following his junior season, Baylor joined the Minneapolis Lakers in 1958.
In his three collegiate seasons, one at Idaho and two at Seattle, Baylor averaged 31.3 points per game. Baylor is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

The Minneapolis Lakers used the No. 1 overall pick in the 1958 NBA Draft to select Baylor, then convinced him to skip his senior year at SU and instead join the pro ranks. The team, several years removed from its glory days of George Mikan, was in trouble on the court and at the gate. The year prior to Baylor's arrival the Lakers finished 19-53 with a squad that was slow, bulky and aging. Baylor, whom the Lakers signed to play for $20,000 per year (a great amount of money at the time), was the franchise's last shot at survival.
With his superb athletic talents and all-round game, Baylor was seen as the kind of player who could save a franchise, and he did. According to Minneapolis Lakers owner Bob Short in a 1971 interview with the Los Angeles Times: "If he had turned me down then, I would have been out of business. The club would have gone bankrupt."
As a rookie in 1958-59, Baylor finished fourth in the league in scoring (24.9 points per game), third in rebounding (15.0 rebounds per game), and eighth in assists (4.1 assists per game). He registered 55 points in a single game, then the third-highest mark in league history behind Joe Fulks's 63 and Mikan's 61. Baylor won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and led the Lakers from last place the previous year to the NBA finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in the first four game sweep in finals history. Thus began the greatest rivalry in the history of the NBA. During his career, Baylor helped lead the Lakers to the NBA Finals seven more times.

From the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. On November 15 of the 1960-61 season, Baylor set a new NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in a victory against the New York Knicks while grabbing 25 rebounds.[4] In doing so, Baylor had broken his own NBA record of 64 points that he had set in the previous season. Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during the 1961-62 season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. Despite playing only 48 games during the 1961–62 season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points. Later that season, in a game five NBA Finals victory against the Boston Celtics, Baylor grabbed 22 rebounds and set the still-standing NBA record for points in an NBA Finals game with 61.
Baylor began to be hampered with knee problems during the 1963-64 season. The problems culminated in a severe knee injury, suffered during the 1965 Western Division playoffs. Baylor, while still a very powerful force, was never quite the same, never again averaging above 30 points per game.
Baylor finally retired nine games into the 1971-72 season because of his nagging knee problems. The timing of his retirement could not have been worse as this caused him to coincidentally miss two great achievements. First, the Lakers' next game after his retirement was the first of an NBA record of 33 consecutive wins.[5] Second, the Lakers went on to win the NBA Championship that season, something that Baylor never achieved.
In 1974, Baylor was hired to be an assistant coach and later the head coach for the New Orleans Jazz, but had a lackluster 86-135 record and retired following the 1978-79 season. In 1986, Baylor was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers as the team's vice president of basketball operations. He stayed in that capacity for 22 years before resigning in October 2008 at the age of 74. During his tenure, the Clippers managed only two winning seasons and amassed a won loss record of 607 and 1153. They also won only one playoff series during this time.
Baylor was selected as the NBA Executive of the Year in 2006. That year the Clippers won their first playoff series since 1976, when the franchise was located in Buffalo, New York and named the Buffalo Braves.
In February 2009, Baylor filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Clippers, team owner Donald Sterling, team president Andy Roeser, and the NBA. He alleged that he was underpaid during his tenure with the team and then fired because of his age and race.[6] Baylor's claim was rejected by a Los Angeles state court jury on March 30, 2011 by a unanimous 12-0 vote.

Predrag Danilović

Predrag Danilović
Predrag "Saša" Danilović (Serbian Cyrillic: Предраг "Саша" Даниловић), usually referred to in English as Sasha Danilovic (born February 26, 1970 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia), is a retired professional basketball player, considered one of the best European shooting guards during the 1990s. He is president of his former team, KK Partizan.

Even though he was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 43rd pick overall in the 1992 NBA Draft (his rights were later dealt to another team), Danilović spent time playing in Europe before debuting in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for KK Bosna (youth), KK Partizan and Virtus Bologna, before he was a member of the NBA's Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks. During his two NBA seasons (1995–1997), Danilović averaged 12.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.
CAREER SEASON AVERAGES

Year Team G GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
1995-96 Miami 19 18 28.5 .451 .436 .764 0.6 1.8 2.4 2.5 0.8 0.2 1.95 2.60 13.4
1996-97 Miami 43 33 31.4 .442 .358 .777 0.5 1.9 2.4 1.8 0.9 0.2 2.19 2.90 11.3
1996-97 Dallas 13 9 33.7 .420 .367 .842 0.6 2.0 2.6 1.9 1.2 0.1 1.69 2.80 16.6
1996-97 - 56 42 31.9 .435 .360 .801 0.5 1.9 2.4 1.8 1.0 0.2 2.07 2.90 12.5
Career 75 60 31.1 .439 .379 .789 0.5 1.9 2.4 2.0 0.9 0.1 2.04 2.80 12.8
Danilović was voted Mister Europa Player of the Year in 1998, and was Italian Basketball League MVP the same year. During his years in Virtus Bologna, he became an idol among team's fans. Still a legendary hero in Bologna, Danilović remains one of the most charismatic and winning players in European basketball history.

With the Yugoslav national team, Danilović won four European Championships in 1989, 1991, 1995 and 1997. He was also a member of the silver medal winning Yugoslav team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Danilović was co-vice president of his old club KK Partizan, along with Vlade Divac. In 2007 he got involved once more with KK Partizan, this time as president. Danilović is also involved with Group Seven, a charity organization run by Serbian basketball players.

Predrag Danilović
Position Shooting guard
Height 2.01 metres (6 ft 7 in)
Weight 97 kg (210 lb)
Born February 26, 1970 (age 41)
Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Draft 2nd round, 43rd overall, 1992
Golden State Warriors
Pro career 1988–2000
Career history Partizan (1988–1992)
Virtus Bologna (1992–1995)
Miami Heat (1995–1997)
Dallas Mavericks (1997)
Virtus Bologna (1997–2000)
Awards Euroleague Final Four MVP (1992)
Italian League MVP (1998)
Mr. Europa (1998)
Olympic medal record
Competitor for Yugoslavia
European Championship
Gold 1989 Yugoslavia National team
Gold 1991 Italy National team
Competitor for Yugoslavia
European Championship
Gold 1995 Greece National team
Gold 1997 Spain National team
Bronze 1999 France National team
Summer Olympics
Silver 1996 Atlanta National team

William Walton "Bill" Sharman

William Walton "Bill" Sharman
William Walton "Bill" Sharman (born May 25, 1926 in Abilene, Texas) is a former professional basketball player and coach. Sharman completed high school in the rural city of Porterville, California and is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what some consider the greatest backcourt duo of all time. While Cousy was primarily the playmaker, Sharman was the shooter.
From 1950 to 1955 Sharman played professional baseball in the Brooklyn Dodgers minor league system. He was called up to the Dodgers late in the 1951 season but did not appear in a game; as a result of a September 27 game in which the entire Brooklyn bench was ejected from the game for arguing with the umpire, Sharman holds the distinction of being the only player to have ever been ejected from a major league game without ever appearing in one.

Sharman was one of the first guards to shoot better than .400 from the field. He led the NBA in free throw percentage seven times, and his mark of 93.2% in the 1958–59 season remained the NBA record until Ernie DiGregorio topped it in 1976–77. Sharman still holds the record for consecutive free throws in the playoffs with 56. Sharman was named to the All-NBA First Team from 1956 through 1959, and was an All-NBA Second Team member in 1953, 1955, and 1960. Sharman played in eight NBA All-Star games, and was named the 1955 NBA All-Star Game MVP. Sharman ended his career after 11 seasons in 1961.

In 1970–71 he coached the Utah Stars to an ABA title and was a co-recipient of the ABA Coach of the Year honors. After resigning as coach for the Utah Stars, Sharman signed a contract to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. Controversy later ensued when the owner of the Utah Stars brought suit against Sharman for breach of contract stemming from his resignation, and a tort case against the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers for inducing such breach of contract. Sharman was originally ordered to pay $250,000 in damages, but later appealed the trial court decision and reversed the judgement (see external link below). The following season he guided the Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West-led Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA record 33 game win streak, a then-record 69-13 win-loss mark, the first Lakers championship in more than a decade, and was named NBA Coach of the Year. He is one of two men to win NBA and ABA championships as a coach; coincidentally, the other, Alex Hannum, also coached a Chamberlain-led team (the 1967 Philadelphia 76ers) to an NBA championship.
Sharman was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 as a player and in 2004, he was also enshrined as a coach. He is one of only three people to be enshrined in both categories, after John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens. On October 29, 1996, Sharman was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players.

He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and served during World War II from 1944 to 1946 in the US Navy.
Sharman is the author of two books, Sharman on Basketball Shooting and The Wooden-Sharman Method: A Guide to Winning Basketball with John Wooden and Bob Selzer.
The gymnasium at Porterville High School is named after him. After his former basketball team the Los Angeles Jets dissolved in 1962, he sued to enforce his employment contract with the Jets, culminating in the case Sharman v. Longo (1967) 249 Cal.App.2d 948.

Qyntel Deon Woods

Qyntel Deon Woods
Qyntel Deon Woods (born February 16, 1981, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American professional basketball player who plays for Maccabi Haifa B.C. in Israel.[1] Mainly a small forward, he can play as a shooting guard on occasion.
After attending Carver High School in Memphis, Tennessee, and having one season each at Moberly Area Community College and Northeast Mississippi Community College, Woods was selected by the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers with the 21st pick of the 2002 NBA Draft. Coming out of college, Woods was known to pro scouts as a player with exceptional potential (sometimes compared to Tracy McGrady), but with a history of off-court problems.
He was an early entry candidate in the 2002 Draft, and committed to the University of Memphis before making himself available for selection.

In his first two seasons with the Trail Blazers, Woods played in 115 games (53 and 62 respectively), averaging 2.4 and 3.6 points per game and appearing sparingly in the 2003 postseason. The 2004-05 season was packed with off-court trouble for Woods, as he was charged with animal cruelty following an investigation. He pled guilty to first-degree animal abuse for staging dog fights in his house, some involving his pit bull named Hollywood. Both Hollywood and Woods' other pit bull, Sugar, were confiscated, and Woods was given 80 hours of community service and also agreed to donate $10,000 to the Oregon Humane Society.[2]
In response to these events, the Trail Blazers suspended and eventually released Woods, in a settlement that involved pay withheld from Woods in 2004-05, when he was supposed to be paid $1.1 million for the third year of a three-year contract. The Trail Blazers kept about $500,000, said spokesman Art Sasse.
Upon finally leaving Portland in January 2005, Woods subsequently joined the Miami Heat, playing in three regular season games (with averages of 3.3 points and 2 rebounds per game), but he was not used in the playoffs. He was part of a 13-player mega deal that sent him to the Boston Celtics on August 2, 2006, being waived after having played in only three exhibition games, and he was subsequently signed by the New York Knicks on December 6, 2005.
He played more under then Knicks head coach Larry Brown, starting sixteen games and averaging career highs in minutes per game, field goal percentage, points per game, rebounds and assists. However, he was not kept for the following season, and he would end up playing a month (from February to March) in the NBA Development League with the Bakersfield Jam.

Woods signed a two-year contract with Greek league team Olympiacos on July 16, 2007.[3] In 10 appearances in the regular season, he averaged 12.5 points per game in 26.3 minutes per game.[4] In 2007-08's playoffs, his numbers went down (8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, in 20.7 minutes per game).[5]
Woods was caught using marijuana during the Greek finals, and thus committed a breach of his contract, which led to Olympiacos terminating the final year of his deal. Subsequently, he signed with the Italian league's Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna after being released by Olympiacos.[6]
He played with Asseco Prokom Gdynia in Poland, where he contributed to their seventh straight national championship.[7]
In November 2010 he signed a one-year contract with the Russian club BC Krasnye Krylya Samara[8], but he was waived in December because of unsatisfactory performance.
On January 30, 2011 he returned to play for Asseco Prokom Gdynia [9] with whom he spent his best years in Europe .

Bill Russell part 3

Bill Russell part 3
In the 1959–60 season, the NBA witnessed the debut of legendary 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged an unprecedented 37.6 points per game in his rookie year.[31] On November 7, 1959, Russell's Celtics hosted Chamberlain's Warriors, and pundits called the matchup between the best offensive and best defensive center "The Big Collision" and "Battle of the Titans".[32] Both men awed onlookers with "nakedly awesome athleticism",[32] and while Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 22, the Celtics won 115–106, and the match was called a "new beginning of basketball".[32] The matchup between Russell and Chamberlain became one of basketball's greatest rivalries.[1] In that season, Russell's Celtics won a record 59 regular season games (including a then-record tying 17 game win streak) and met Chamberlain's Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals. Chamberlain outscored Russell by 81 points in the series, but the Celtics walked off with a 4–2 series win.[33] In the 1960 Finals, the Celtics outlasted the Hawks 4–3 and won their third championship in four years.[25] Russell grabbed an NBA Finals-record 40 rebounds in Game 2, and added 22 points and 35 rebounds in the deciding Game 7, a 122–103 victory for Boston.[1][18]
In the 1960–61 season, Russell averaged 16.9 points and 23.9 rebounds per game,[22] leading his team to a regular season mark of 57–22. The Celtics earned another post-season appearance, where they defeated the Syracuse Nationals 4–1 in the Eastern Division Finals. The Celtics made good use of the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had exhausted St. Louis in a long seven-game Western Conference Finals, and the Celtics convincingly won in five games.[34][35]
The following season, Russell scored a career-high 18.9 points per game, accompanied by 23.6 rebounds per game.[22] While his rival Chamberlain had a record-breaking season of 50.4 points per game and a 100-point game,[31] the Celtics became the first team to win 60 games in a season, and Russell was voted as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. In the post-season, the Celtics met the Philadelphia Warriors of Chamberlain, and Russell did his best to slow down the 50-points-per-game scoring Warriors center. In Game 7, the game was tied with two seconds left when Sam Jones sank a clutch shot that won the Celtics the series. In the 1962 NBA Finals, the Celtics met the Los Angeles Lakers of star forward Elgin Baylor and star guard Jerry West. The teams split the first six games, and Game 7 was tied one second before the end of regular time when Lakers guard Rod Hundley faked a shot and instead passed out to Frank Selvy, who missed an open eight-foot last-second shot that would have won L.A. the title.[36] Though the game was tied, Russell had the daunting task of defending against Baylor with little frontline help, as the three best Celtics forwards, Loscutoff, Heinsohn and Tom Sanders, had fouled out. In overtime, Baylor fouled out the fourth forward, Frank Ramsey, so Russell was completely robbed of his usual four-men wing rotation. But Russell and little-used fifth forward Gene Guarilia successfully pressured Baylor into missed shots.[36][37] Russell finished with a clutch performance, scoring 30 points and tying his own NBA Finals record with 40 rebounds in a 110–107 overtime win.[18]
The Celtics lost playmaker Bob Cousy to retirement after the 1962–63 season, but they drafted John Havlicek. Once again, the Celtics were powered by Russell, who averaged 16.8 points and 23.6 rebounds per game, won his fourth regular-season MVP title, and earned MVP honors at the 1963 NBA All-Star Game following his 19 point, 24 rebound performance for the East.[22] The Celtics reached the 1963 NBA Finals, where they again defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, this time in six games.[38]
In the following 1963–64 season, the Celtics posted a league-best 58–22 record in the regular season. Russell scored 15.0 ppg and grabbed a career-high 24.7 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in rebounds for the first time since Chamberlain entered the league.[22] Boston defeated the Cincinnati Royals 4–1 to earn another NBA Finals appearance, and then won against Chamberlain's newly-relocated San Francisco Warriors 4–1.[39] It was their sixth consecutive and seventh title in Russell's eighth year, a streak unreached in any U.S. professional sports league. Russell later called the Celtics' defense the best of all time.

Russell again excelled during the 1964–65 season. The Celtics won a league-record 62 games, and Russell averaged 14.1 points and 24.1 rebounds per game, winning his second consecutive rebounding title and his fifth MVP award.[22] In the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics played the Eastern Division Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, who had recently traded for Wilt Chamberlain. Russell held Chamberlain to a pair of field goals in the first three quarters of Game 3. In Game 5, Russell contributed 28 rebounds, 10 blocks, seven assists and six steals.[18] However, that playoff series ended in a dramatic Game 7. Five seconds before the end, the Sixers were trailing 110–109, but Russell turned over the ball. However, when the Sixers’ Hall-of-Fame guard Hal Greer inbounded, John Havlicek stole the ball, causing Celtics commentator Johnny Most to scream: “Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!”[1] After the Division Finals, the Celtics had an easier time in the NBA Finals, winning 4–1 against the Los Angeles Lakers of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.[40]


Russell defending Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers
In the following 1965–66 season, the Celtics won their eighth consecutive title. Russell’s team again beat Chamberlain’s Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the Division Finals, proceeding to win the NBA Finals in a tight seven-game showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers.[41] During the season, Russell contributed 12.9 points and 22.8 rebounds per game. This was the first time in seven years that he failed to average at least 23 rebounds a game.
Before the 1966–67 season, Celtics coach Red Auerbach retired. Initially, he had wanted his old player Frank Ramsey as coach, but Ramsey was too occupied running his three lucrative nursing homes.[42] His second choice Bob Cousy declined, stating he did not want to coach his former teammates,[42] and the third choice Tom Heinsohn also said no, because he did not think he could handle the often surly Russell.[42] However, Heinsohn proposed Russell himself as a player-coach, and when Auerbach asked his center, he said yes.[42] Russell thus became the first African American head coach in NBA history,[1] and commented to journalists: "I wasn't offered the job because I am a Negro, I was offered it because Red figured I could do it."[42] The Celtics’ championship streak ended that season at eight, however, as Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers won a record-breaking 68 regular season games and overcame the Celtics 4–1 in the Eastern Finals.[43] The Sixers simply outpaced the Celtics, shredding the famous Boston defense by scoring 140 points in the clinching Game 5 win.[44] Russell acknowledged his first real loss in his career (he had been injured in 1958 when the Celtics lost the NBA Finals) by visiting Chamberlain in the locker room, shaking his hand and saying, "Great".[44] However, the game still ended on a high note for Russell. After the loss, he led his grandfather through the Celtics locker rooms, and the two saw white Celtics player John Havlicek taking a shower next to his black teammate Sam Jones and discussing the game. Suddenly, Russell Sr. broke down crying. Asked by his grandson what was wrong, his grandfather replied how proud he was of him, being coach of an organization in which blacks and whites coexisted in harmony.[44]
In Russell's penultimate season, the 1967–68 season, his numbers slowly declined, but at age 34, he still tallied 12.5 points per game and 18.6 rebounds per game[22] (the latter good for the third highest average in the league).[45] In the Eastern Division Finals, the 76ers had the better record than the Celtics and were slightly favored. But then, national tragedy struck as Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. With eight of the ten starting players on Sixers and Celtics being African American, both teams were in deep shock, and there were calls to cancel the series.[46] In a game called as "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 127–118 on April 5. In Game 2, Philadelphia evened the series with a 115–106 win, and in Games 3 and 4, the Sixers won, with Chamberlain suspiciously often defended by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry, causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down.[46] Prior to Game 5, the Celtics seemed dead: no NBA team had ever come back from a 3–1 deficit.[46] However, the Celtics rallied back, winning Game 5 122–104 and Game 6 114–106, powered by a spirited Havlicek and helped by a terrible Sixers shooting slump.[46] In Game 7, 15,202 stunned Philadelphia fans witnessed a historic 100–96 defeat, making it the first time in NBA history a team lost a series after leading 3–1. Russell limited Chamberlain to only two shot attempts in the second half.[18] Despite this, the Celtics were leading only 97–95 with 34 seconds left when Russell closed out the game with several consecutive clutch plays. He made a free throw, blocked a shot by Sixers player Chet Walker, grabbed a rebound off a miss by Sixers player Hal Greer, and finally passed the ball to teammate Sam Jones, who scored to clinch the win. Boston then beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 in the NBA Finals, giving Russell his tenth title in 12 years.[1] For his efforts Russell was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. After losing for the fifth straight time against Russell and his Celtics, Hall-of-Fame Lakers guard Jerry West stated, “If I had a choice of any basketball player in the league, my No.1 choice has to be Bill Russell. Bill Russell never ceases to amaze me.

However, in the 1968–69 season, Russell seemed to reach a breaking point. Shocked by the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, disillusioned by the Vietnam War, and weary from his increasingly stale (and later divorced) marriage to his wife Rose, he was convinced that the U.S. was a corrupt nation and that he was wasting his time playing something as superficial as basketball.[47] He was 15 pounds overweight, skipped mandatory NBA coach meetings and was generally lacking energy: after a New York Knicks game, he complained of intense pain and was diagnosed with acute exhaustion.[47] Russell pulled himself together and put up 9.9 points and 19.3 rebounds per game,[22] but the aging Celtics stumbled through the regular season. Their 48–34 record was the team's worst since 1955–56, and they entered the playoffs as only the fourth-seeded team in the East.[48] In the playoffs, however, Russell and his Celtics achieved upsets over the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks to earn a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. L.A. now featured new recruit Wilt Chamberlain next to perennial stars Baylor and West, and were heavily favored. In the first two games, Russell ordered not to double-team West, who used the freedom to score 53 and 41 points in the Game 1 and 2 Laker wins.[49] Russell then ordered to double-team West, and Boston won Game 3. In Game 4, the Celtics were trailing by one point with seven seconds left and the Lakers having the ball, but then Baylor stepped out of bounds, and in the last play, Sam Jones used a triple screen by Bailey Howell, Larry Siegfried and Havlicek and hit a buzzer beater which equalized the series.[49] The teams split the next two games, so it all came down to Game 7 in L.A., where Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke angered and motivated the Celtics by putting "proceedings of Lakers victory ceremony" on the game leaflets. Russell used a copy as extra motivation and told his team to play a running game, because in that case, not the better, but the more determined team was going to win.[49]
The Celtics were ahead by nine points with five minutes remaining; in addition, West was heavily limping after a Game 5 thigh injury and Chamberlain had left the game with an injured leg.[49] West then hit one basket after the other and cut the lead to one, and Chamberlain asked to return to the game. However, Lakers coach Bill van Breda Kolff kept Chamberlain on the bench until the end of the game, saying later that he wanted to stay with the lineup responsible for the comeback.[31][50] The Celtics held on for a 108–106 victory, and Russell claimed his eleventh championship in 13 years. At age 35, Russell contributed 21 rebounds in his last NBA game.[18] After the game, Russell went over to the distraught West (who had scored 42 points and was named the only NBA Finals MVP in history from the losing team), clasped his hand and tried to soothe him.[49] Days later, 30,000 enthusiastic Celtics fans cheered their returning heroes, but Russell was not there: the man who said he owed the public nothing ended his career and cut all ties to the Celtics.[49] It came as so surprising that even Red Auerbach was blindsided, and as a consequence, he made the "mistake" of drafting guard Jo Jo White instead of a center.[51] Although White became a standout Celtics player, the Celtics lacked an All-Star center, went just 34–48 in the next season and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1950.[25] In Boston, both fans and journalists felt betrayed, because Russell left the Celtics without a coach and a center and sold his retirement story for $10,000 to Sports Illustrated. Russell was accused of selling out the future of the franchise for a month of his salary.
Russell's No. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics in 1972,[52] and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. Russell, who had a difficult relationship with the media, was not present at either event.[53] After retiring as a player, Russell had stints as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics (1973 to 1977) and Sacramento Kings (1987 to 1988)

Bill Russell part 2

Bill Russell part 2
In the 1956 NBA Draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach had set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed.[1] In perspective, Auerbach’s thoughts were unorthodox. In that period, centers and forwards were defined by their offensive output, and their ability to play defense was secondary.[18] However, Boston's chances of getting Russell seemed slim. Because the Celtics had finished second in the previous season and the worst teams had the highest draft picks, the Celtics had slipped too low in the draft order to pick Russell. In addition, Auerbach had already used his territorial pick to acquire talented forward Tom Heinsohn. But Auerbach knew that the Rochester Royals, who owned the first draft pick, already had a skilled rebounder in Maurice Stokes, were looking for an outside shooting guard and were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he requested.[19] The St. Louis Hawks, who owned the second pick, originally drafted Russell, but were vying for Celtics center Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star who had roots in St. Louis. Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley, who had previously asked to be traded to St. Louis in order to be with his sick son, if the Hawks gave up Russell. However the owner of St Louis called Auerbach later and demanded more in the trade. Not only did he want Macauley, who was the Celtics premier player at the time, he wanted Cliff Hagan, who had been serving in the military for three years and had not yet played for the Celtics. After much debate, Auerbach agreed to give up Hagan, and the Hawks made the trade.[20] During that same draft, Boston also claimed guard K.C. Jones, Russell's former USF teammate. Thus, in one night, the Celtics managed to draft three future Hall of Famers: Russell, K.C. Jones and Heinsohn.[1] The Russell draft-day trade was later called one of the most important trades in the history of North American sports.
Before his NBA rookie year, Russell was the captain of the U.S. national basketball team that competed at the 1956 Olympic tournament. Avery Brundage, head of the International Olympic Committee, argued that Russell had already signed a professional contract and thus was no longer an amateur, but Russell prevailed.[19] He had the option to skip the tournament and play a full season for the Celtics, but he was determined to play in the Olympics. He later commented that he would have participated in the high jump if he had been snubbed by the basketball team.[5] Under coach Gerald Tucker, Russell helped the national team win the gold medal in Melbourne, defeating the Soviet Union 89–55 in the final game. The United States dominated the tournament, winning by an average of 53.5 points per game. Russell led the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game for the competition. His Celtics teammate K.C. Jones joined him on the Olympic squad and contributed 10.9 points per game.

Russell could not join the Celtics for the 1956–57 season until December, due to his Olympic commitment. After rejoining the Celtics, Russell played 48 games, averaging 14.7 points per game and a league-high 19.6 rebounds per game.[22] During this season, the Celtics featured six future Hall-of-Famers: center Russell, forwards Heinsohn and Jim Loscutoff, guards Bill Sharman and Bob Cousy, and forward Frank Ramsey, who came off the bench. (K.C. Jones did not play for the Celtics until 1958 because of military service.)[23]
Russell's first Celtics game came on December 22, 1956 against the St. Louis Hawks, led by star forward Bob Pettit, who held several all-time scoring records.[24] Auerbach assigned Russell to shut down St. Louis's main scorer, and the rookie impressed the Boston crowd with his man-to-man defense and shot-blocking.[24] In previous years, the Celtics had been a high-scoring team, but lacked the defensive presence needed to close out tight games. However, with the added defensive presence of Russell, the Celtics had laid the foundation for a dynasty. The team utilized a strong defensive approach to the game, forcing opposing teams to commit many turnovers, which led to many easy fast break points.[24] Russell was an elite help defender who allowed the Celtics to play the so-called "Hey, Bill" defense: whenever a Celtic requested additional defensive help, he would shout "Hey, Bill!" Russell was so quick that he could run over for a quick double team and make it back in time if the opponents tried to find the open man.[24] He also became famous for his shot-blocking skills: pundits called his blocks "Wilsonburgers", referring to the Wilson NBA basketballs he "shoved back into the faces of opposing shooters".[24] This skill also allowed the other Celtics to play their men aggressively: if they were beaten, they knew that Russell was guarding the basket.[24] This approach allowed the Celtics to finish with a 44–28 regular season record, the team's second-best record since beginning play in the 1946–47 season, and guaranteed a post-season appearance.[25]
However, Russell also received negative attention. Constantly provoked by New York Knicks center Ray Felix during a game, he complained to coach Auerbach. The latter told him to take matters into his own hands, so after the next provocation, Russell punched Felix unconscious, paid a 25-dollar fine and was no longer a target of cheap fouls.[24] With his teammates, Russell had a cordial relationship, with the notable exception of fellow rookie and old rival Heinsohn. Heinsohn felt that Russell resented him because the former was named the 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year: many people thought that Russell was more important, but Russell also had only played half the season. Russell also ignored Heinsohn's plea to give his cousin an autograph, and openly said to Heinsohn that he deserved half of his 300-dollar Rookie of the Year check. The relationship between the two rookies remained reserved.[26] On the other hand, despite their different ethnic backgrounds and lack of common off-court interests, his relationship with Celtics point guard and fan favorite Bob Cousy was amicable.

In Game 1 of the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics met the Syracuse Nationals, who were led by Dolph Schayes. In Russell's first NBA playoff game, he finished with 16 points and 31 rebounds, along with a reported 7 blocks. (At the time, blocks were not yet an officially registered statistic.) After the Celtics' 108–89 victory, Schayes quipped, “How much does that guy make a year? It would be to our advantage if we paid him off for five years to get away from us in the rest of this series.”[18] The Celtics swept the Nationals in three games to earn the franchise's first appearance in the NBA Finals.[28]
In the NBA Finals, the Celtics met the St. Louis Hawks, who were again led by Bob Pettit, as well as former Celtic Ed Macauley. The teams split the first six games, and the tension was so high that, in Game 3, Celtics coach Auerbach punched his colleague Ben Kerner and received a $300 fine.[26] In the highly competitive Game 7, Russell tried his best to slow down Pettit, but it was Heinsohn who scored 37 points and kept the Celtics alive.[26] However, Russell contributed by completing the famous “Coleman Play”. Here, Russell ran down Hawks guard Jack Coleman, who had received an outlet pass at midcourt, and blocked his shot despite the fact that Russell had been standing at his own baseline when the ball was thrown to Coleman. The block preserved Boston's slim 103–102 lead with 40-odd seconds left to play in regulation, saving the game for the Celtics.[18] In the second overtime, both teams were in serious foul trouble: Heinsohn had fouled out, and the Hawks were so depleted that they had only 7 players left.[26] With the Celtics leading 125–123 with one second left, the Hawks had the ball at their own baseline. Reserve guard Alex Hannum threw a long alley oop pass to Pettit, and Pettit's tip-in rolled indecisively on the rim for several seconds before rolling out again. The Celtics won, earning their first NBA Championship.[26]
In the 1957–58 season, Russell averaged 16.6 points per game and a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds per game.[22] An interesting phenomenon began that year: Russell was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player, but only named to the All-NBA Second Team. This would occur repeatedly throughout his career. The NBA reasoned that other centers were better all-round players than Russell, but no player was more valuable to his team. The Celtics won 49 games and easily made the first berth in the 1958 NBA Playoffs, and made the 1958 NBA Finals against their familiar rivals, the St. Louis Hawks.[29] The teams split the first two games, but then Russell went down with a foot injury in Game 3 and could no longer participate in the playoffs. The Celtics surprisingly won Game 4, but the Hawks prevailed in Games 5 and 6, with Pettit scoring 50 points in the deciding Game 6.[29]
In the following 1958–59 season, Russell continued his strong play, averaging 16.7 points per game and 23.0 rebounds per game in the regular season.[22] The Celtics broke a league record by winning 52 games, and Russell's strong performance once again helped lead the Celtics through the post-season, as they returned to the NBA Finals. In the 1959 NBA Finals, the Celtics recaptured the NBA title, sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers 4–0.[30] Lakers head coach John Kundla praised Russell, stating, “We don’t fear the Celtics without Bill Russell. Take him out and we can beat them... He’s the guy who whipped us psychologically.

Bill Russell part 1

Bill Russell part I
William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.[1]
Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history. Listed as between 6'9" (2.06 m) and 6'10" (2.08 m), Russell's shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times and tallied 21,620 total rebounds in his career. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed more than fifty rebounds in a game. Though never the focal point of the Celtics' offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points and provided effective passing.
Playing in the wake of pioneers like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Sweetwater Clifton, Russell was the first African American player to achieve superstar status in the NBA. He also served a three-season (1966–69) stint as player-coach for the Celtics, becoming the first African American NBA coach.[1] Frequent battles with racism left Russell with a long-standing contempt for fans and journalists. When he retired, Russell left Boston with a bitter attitude, although in recent years his relationship with the city has improved. For his accomplishments in the Civil Rights Movement on and off the court, Russell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2011.
Russell is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was selected into NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971, into NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980 and named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, one of only four players that selected into all three teams. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2009, the NBA announced that the NBA Finals MVP trophy would be named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in honor of Russell.

Bill Russell was born to Charles and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. West Monroe was strictly segregated, and the Russells often struggled with racism.[3] Once, Russell's father was refused service at a gasoline station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers. When his father attempted to leave and find a different station, the attendant stuck a shotgun in his face, threatening to kill him unless he stayed and waited his turn.[3] At another time, Russell's mother was walking outside in a fancy dress when a policeman accosted her. He told her to go home and remove the dress, which he described as "white woman’s clothing".[3] Because large numbers of blacks were moving to Oakland, California during WWII to look for work there, Russell's father moved the family out of Louisiana when Russell was eight years old and settled them in Oakland.[3] While there the family fell into poverty, and Russell spent his childhood living in a series of project homes.[3]
Charlie Russell is described as a "stern, hard man" who was initially a janitor in a paper factory (a typical low paid, intellectually unchallenging "Negro Job", as sports journalist John Taylor commented),[4] but later became a trucker when World War II broke out.[4] Being closer to his mother Katie than to his father,[4] Russell received a major emotional blow when she suddenly died when he was 12. His father gave up his trucking job and became a steel worker to be closer to his semi-orphaned children.[4] Russell has stated that his father became his childhood hero, later followed up by Minneapolis Lakers superstar George “Mr. Basketball” Mikan, whom he met when he was in high school.[5]
In his early years, Russell struggled to develop his skills as a basketball player. Although Russell was a good runner and jumper and had extremely large hands,[4] he simply did not understand the game and was cut from the team in junior high school. As a sophomore at McClymonds High School, Russell was almost cut again.[6] However, coach George Powles saw Russell's raw athletic potential and encouraged him to work on his fundamentals.[4] Russell, who was used to racist abuse, was delighted by the warm words of his white coach. He worked hard and used the benefits of a growth spurt to become a decent basketball player, but it was not until his junior and senior years that he began to excel.[6] Russell soon became noted for his unusual style of defense. He later recalled, "To play good defense... it was told back then that you had to stay flatfooted at all times to react quickly. When I started to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots, I was initially corrected, but I stuck with it, and it paid off."[7]
One of Russell's high school teammates was future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson.

Russell was ignored by college recruiters and did not receive a single letter of interest until Hal DeJulio from the University of San Francisco (USF) watched him in a high school game. DeJulio was not impressed by Russell's meager scoring and "atrocious fundamentals",[8] but sensed that the young center had an extraordinary instinct for the game, especially in clutch situations.[8] When DeJulio offered Russell a scholarship, the latter eagerly accepted.[6] Sports journalist John Taylor described it as a watershed in Russell's life, because Russell realized that basketball was his one chance to escape poverty and racism; as a consequence, Russell swore to make the best of it.[4]
At USF, Russell became the new starting center for coach Phil Woolpert. Woolpert emphasized defense and deliberate half-court play, concepts that favored defensive standout Russell.[9] Woolpert was unaffected by issues of skin color. In 1954, he became the first coach of a major college basketball squad to start three African American players: Russell, K.C. Jones and Hal Perry.[10] In his USF years, Russell used his relative lack of bulk to develop a unique style of defense: instead of purely guarding the opposing center, he used his quickness and speed to play help defense against opposing forwards and aggressively challenge their shots.[9] Combining the stature and shot-blocking skills of a center with the foot speed of a guard, Russell became the centerpiece of a USF team that soon became a force in college basketball. After USF kept Holy Cross star Tom Heinsohn scoreless in an entire half, Sports Illustrated wrote, "If [Russell] ever learns to hit the basket, they're going to have to rewrite the rules."[9]
However, the games were often difficult for the USF squad. Russell and his African American teammates became targets of racist jeers, particularly on the road.[11] In one notable incident, hotels in Oklahoma City refused to admit Russell and his black teammates while they were in town for the 1954 All-College Tournament. In protest, the whole team decided to camp out in a closed college dorm, which was later called an important bonding experience for the group.[10] Decades later, Russell explained that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds. "I never permitted myself to be a victim," he said.[12][13]
Racism also shaped his lifelong paradigm as a team player. "At that time," he has said, "it was never acceptable that a black player was the best. That did not happen...My junior year in college, I had what I thought was the one of the best college seasons ever. We won 28 out of 29 games. We won the National Championship. I was the MVP at the Final Four. I was first team All American. I averaged over 20 points and over 20 rebounds, and I was the only guy in college blocking shots. So after the season was over, they had a Northern California banquet, and they picked another center as Player of the Year in Northern California. Well, that let me know that if I were to accept these as the final judges of my career I would die a bitter old man." So he made a conscious decision, he said, to put the team first and foremost, and not worry about individual achievements.[14]
On the hardwood, his experiences were far more pleasant. Russell led USF to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, including a string of 55 consecutive victories. He became known for his strong defense and shot-blocking skills, once denying 13 shots in a game. UCLA coach John Wooden called Russell "the greatest defensive man I've ever seen".[10] During his college career, Russell averaged 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game.[1] Besides basketball, Russell represented USF in track and field events. He competed in the 440 yard (402 m) race, which he could complete in 49.6 seconds.[15] He also participated in the high jump; Track & Field News ranked him as the seventh-best high jumper in the world in 1956. That year, Russell won high jump titles at the Central California AAU meet, the Pacific AAU meet, and the West Coast Relays. One of his highest jumps occurred at the West Coast Relays, where he achieved a mark of 6 feet 9¼ inches (2.06 m).[16]
After his years at USF, the Harlem Globetrotters invited Russell to join their exhibition basketball squad. Russell, who was sensitive to any racial prejudice, was enraged by the fact that owner Abe Saperstein would only discuss the matter with Woolpert. While Saperstein spoke to Woolpert in a meeting, Globetrotters assistant coach Harry Hanna tried to entertain Russell with jokes. The USF center was livid after this snub and declined the offer: he reasoned that if Saperstein was too smart to speak with him, then he was too smart to play for Saperstein. Instead, Russell made himself eligible for the 1956 NBA Draft.

Giorgi Shermadini

Giorgi Shermadini
Giorgi Shermadini (Georgian: გიორგი შერმადინი) or Georgi Shermantini is a Georgian professional basketball player. He was born in the village of Natakhtari, in the then Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic on April 2, 1989. He is 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) in height and he plays at the center position. He is currently playing for Bennet Cantù.

Shermadini is a legitimate seven-footer who understands well how to use his body to maintain good post positioning. He possesses a nice jump hook shot and he has excellent fundamentals and offensive skills. He is a defensive presence with his long wingspan and his shot-blocking ability.
In the 2004-05 season, Giorgi was the top scorer of the Georgian Youth League. His highest point total in one game was 89 points scored against the Sokhumi State University team and he also had a 76 point, 16 rebound, and 6 assist game as well.[1] He also had a 52 point game, a 54 point game, and another game where he scored 60 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists. He also participated in the Adidas Superstar Camp. His performance at the Adidas Superstar Camp earned him a selection to the World All-Star Team. In January 2005, he had his first practice with Maccabi Tbilisi’s Junior Team. Shermadini started playing basketball professionally when he was 16 years old on the Georgian basketball team Maccabi Tbilisi.
In his first season in the Georgian League, during the 2005-06 season, he averaged 28.5 points per game, 14.7 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 3.0 blocks per game, and 1.2 steals per game at the age of 17. Following the 2005-06 season, Giorgi was invited to the “Basketball Without Borders” (BWB) Europe camp conducted at Vilnius, Lithuania from June 30 to July 3. During the 2006-07 season, at 18 years old, he averaged the highest points per game ever in the Georgian League. He averaged 35.1 points per game, 16.4 rebounds per game, 4.7 assists per game, 3.4 blocks per game, and 2.6 steals per game. This included a game where he scored 60 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists. During the 2007-08 season, at the age of 19, he averaged 33.5 points per game, 18.4 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per game, 3.2 blocks per game, and 2.3 steals per game in the Georgian League.[2]
In April 2007, Giorgi Shermadini was invited to the “Nike Hoop Summit” World Select Team. Unfortunately, Giorgi did not participate with the World Select Team due to an injury to his meniscus, which required surgery. He declared as an early-entry candidate for the NBA Draft in 2008, and he went undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft as some concerns still remain among NBA scouts over his injury.
Shermadini signed with the Euroleague giants, the Greek League club Panathinaikos in 2008.[3] He debuted on the 29th of November 2008, at the game against Egaleo, playing for 6 minutes and scoring 4 points. His Euroleague debut came on the 17th of December 2008, playing for 10 minutes and scoring 1 point against SLUC Nancy. His next game came in the Greek League on the 15th of February 2009, against Trikala 2000. He scored 9 points (a personal high for him to that date while at Panathinaikos) with two dunks and 5/5 free throws. He surpassed his personal best again, although playing only for 12 minutes, by scoring 13 points at a home game against Union Kavala-Panorama on 15 of April 2009.
In October 2010 he was sent by Panathinaikos on a one-year loan to KK Union Olimpija in Slovenia.[4]
In October 2011, he was again loaned by Panathinaikos, this time to Italian Bennet Cantù.

In June 2005, despite his brief playing experience, Giorgi was picked for the Under-16 National Team of Georgia and he played in the Youth Olympic Games in Moscow. Later in 2005, he played in the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in Bulgaria.
Later in August 2006, he was the youngest player ever picked to the senior men's Georgian National Basketball Team when he made the men's senior national team at the age of just 17. He played alongside teammates, Zaza Pachulia (Atlanta Hawks), Nikoloz Tskitishvili (Teramo Basket), Shammond Williams (Pamesa Valencia), Viktor Sanikidze (Tartu Ülikool/Rock), Manuchar Markoishvili (Olimpija Ljubljana) and Vladimir Boisa (Menorca Bàsquet).
Following his surgery and rehabilitation for his meniscus injury that he suffered in 2007; he was invited to the Under-20 National Team of Georgia. At 18 years old, he played in the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. Despite playing at much less than full strength due to his recent surgery and rehabilitation, he was the top scorer on the Georgian Under-20 National Team, averaging 12.5 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, and 1.5 assists per game in 23.8 minutes played per game. He was also the second-leading shot blocker in the Under-20 European Championship, averaging 2.1 blocked shots per game.[6] At the 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Shermadini shot 74% from the field, averaged 21.5 points per game, 10.5 rebounds per game, 1.2 assists per game, and 3.7 blocks per game.[7]
Currently, Giorgi is a member of the senior men's Georgian national basketball team.

Chris Andersen

Chris Andersen
Chris Andersen (born July 7, 1978) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed "Birdman",[1] the 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m), 228 lb (103 kg; 16.3 st) center/power forward received a two year ban from the NBA in 2006 for violating the league's drug policy,[2] but was reinstated on March 4, 2008, and re-signed by the Hornets the next day.
Andersen was born in Long Beach, California, grew up in Iola, Texas, and played one year at Blinn College. He went undrafted in the 1999 NBA Draft and began his professional career in the Chinese Basketball League, and has played in the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the New Orleans Hornets.
Andersen was the first overall pick in the 2001 NBDL Draft and played one season with the Fayetteville Patriots.
Andersen appeared in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2004 and 2005, finishing 2nd and 4th (out of 4), respectively.

On January 25, 2006, Andersen was disqualified from the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug policy by testing positive for a banned substance.[4] Andersen's suspension fell under the league's category of "drugs of abuse," violation of which is possible grounds for expulsion from the NBA under the league's collective bargaining agreement.[5] Andersen attempted to appeal the ruling through arbitration, but the arbitrator ruled to uphold his dismissal in March 2006.[5] He was eligible for reinstatement effective January 25, 2008.[6]
On March 4, 2008, the NBA and NBA Players Association granted Andersen's request to be reinstated as an NBA player.[7] The reinstatement was effective immediately, and the rights to his services belonged to his former team, the New Orleans Hornets, who signed him to a contract on March 5, 2008. On March 25, 2008, in a game against the Indiana Pacers, he played for the first time in an NBA game since being banned.

Following the 2007–08 NBA season, Andersen was released by the Hornets. Andersen signed a one-year contract with the Nuggets on July 24, 2008.[8] Andersen finished the season 2nd in the league in blocks per game at 2.42 per contest, despite a mere 20.5 minutes of playtime per game. His 5.68 blocks per 48 minutes played was the best in the NBA.
On July 8, 2009, Andersen and the Nuggets agreed on a five-year contract that could be worth up to $26 million. In order to help the Nuggets financially, the deal is backloaded and will pay Andersen $3.7 million in 2010–11.
His trademark has been his "Birdman" celebration, wherein he would cross his arms and flap his hands like the wings of a bird after scoring on an emphatic dunk or blocking a shot. He is known for brightly colored tattoos on his arms, chest, neck, back, hands and legs.
No. 11 Denver Nuggets
Power forward / Center
Personal information
Date of birth July 7, 1978 (age 33)
Place of birth Long Beach, California
Nationality American
High school Iola (Iola, Texas)
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
College Blinn College
NBA Draft 1999 / Undrafted
Pro career 1999–present
Career history
1999–2000 Jiangsu Nangang (China)
2000–2001 Fargo-Moorhead Beez (IBA)
2001 Fayetteville Patriots (D-League)
2001–2004 Denver Nuggets
2004–2006, 2008 New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets
2008–present Denver Nuggets

Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace
Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played from 1995 to 2010 in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he played college basketball at the University of North Carolina before joining the NBA.
Originally selected by the Washington Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) as the fourth pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Wallace was named to the All-Rookie second team following his first season. He was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers after the season. With Portland he was a key member of the Blazers team that made it to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, and was an NBA All-Star in 2000 and 2001. Wallace averaged a career best 19.4 points per game in 2002 for the Blazers.
During the 2003–04 season Portland traded him to the Atlanta Hawks where he played one game before he was traded to the Detroit Pistons. With the Pistons he won the NBA championship in 2004 and lost the NBA Finals the following season, and individually he was an All-Star in 2006 and 2008. After the 2008–09 season he left Detroit as a free agent and signed with the Boston Celtics.
Wallace is currently the NBA's all-time leader in technical fouls (as a player) with 304.[1] Wallace also holds the single-season record for technical fouls. In the 2000-01 season, Wallace received 41 technical fouls over a span of 80 games (about 1 technical every 2 games).
University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith recruited Wallace to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for his college years. Smith was a revered mentor both to Wallace and Wallace's eventual Detroit coach Larry Brown; Wallace has indicated that this North Carolina bond with Brown helped him adjust quickly to the Piston system. During his brief time at North Carolina, Wallace had success in the national spotlight. Named a second-team All-American by the AP his second year at UNC, Wallace ranks as the leading career field goal shooter in Atlantic Coast Conference history with a 0.635 percentage.
Wallace and fellow future NBA player Jerry Stackhouse helped lead the Tar Heels to the NCAA Final Four in 1995. He left North Carolina to enter the 1995 NBA Draft after his sophomore season, being selected with the 4th pick overall by the Washington Bullets.

As a rookie with the Washington Bullets, Wallace played in 65 games, of which he started 51 for the injured Chris Webber. Wallace was selected to the rookie team for the All-Star Weekend. Later that year, he fractured his left thumb during a game against Orlando and could not return until the following year. Wallace scored 655 points during his rookie season at Washington. He played 1,788 minutes.
After the season, Wallace was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Rod Strickland, a move that proved beneficial for both sides: Strickland averaged 17.2 ppg and 8.9 apg after the trade, helping the Bullets make the playoffs in 1997 for the first time in 8 seasons, and upped those stats to 17.8 ppg and a league-leading 10.5 apg the following year.
Meanwhile, Wallace ranked third in the league in field goal percentage.[3] However, just as his season was gaining momentum, Wallace again broke his left thumb and was forced to miss the next month of the season,[4] but he returned in time for a strong performance in the first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, which the Blazers lost.
Next season, he signed a long-term contract to stay with the Portland Trail Blazers. He began extending himself into the community more than ever, most notably with his Rasheed Wallace Foundation, but his career suffered from numerous missteps on and off the court. In the NBA season, he set an NBA record with 38 technical fouls for the season.[5] However, he would be fifth in the league in field goal percentage.[6] The following year, he would break his own record with 40 technicals.[5] Wallace was also suspended by the NBA for seven games for threatening then referee Tim Donaghy on an arena loading dock after a home game in 2003. That was the league's longest suspension for an offense that did not involve violence or substance abuse.[7]
Wallace was named an NBA All-Star in 2000 and 2001 and led the Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 1999 and 2000, losing to the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers, respectively. Both teams would go on to win the NBA Finals. The 2000 series against the Lakers was most noted for the underdog Blazers squandering a 15-point lead going into the fourth quarter of Game 7.

On February 9, 2004 Wallace was traded to the Atlanta Hawks along with Wesley Person for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff, and Dan Dickau.[8] Wallace played only one game for the Hawks, scoring 20 points. He also had 6 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 assists and a steal in a close loss against the New Jersey Nets.[9] Wallace was again traded, in a deal that saw him go from the Atlanta Hawks along with guard Mike James from the Boston Celtics to the Detroit Pistons. In turn, Detroit sent guards Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, and a first-round draft pick to Boston and guard Bobby Sura, center Zeljko Rebraca, and a first-round draft pick to Atlanta. The Boston Celtics also sent forward Chris Mills to Atlanta to complete the deal.
After falling behind against the Indiana Pacers in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals, he stated boldly in an interview that "We will win Game 2",[11] a promise he helped fulfill.[12]
Wallace helped the Pistons win an unexpected NBA title, beating the heavily favored Lakers 4 games to 1.[13] After the championship season, he paid for replica WWE World Heavyweight Championship belts to be made for each of his teammates and presented them as gifts when the 2004–05 regular season started.[14]
In the off-season following the Pistons' championship win, Wallace signed a 5-year, $57 million contract to remain with Detroit.[15] He also changed the number of his jersey from #30 to #36.
Throughout the 2004–05 season, Wallace often carried the belt into his locker before games to inspire the Pistons' title defense. He had several notable moments in the playoffs. After the second-round elimination of the Pacers, Wallace played his best series of the postseason in the Eastern Conference finals against the top-seeded Miami Heat. After falling behind again, he again "guaranteed success". He shot a 50% field goal percentage and averaged 14.5 points per game in the series' seven games, and saved his hottest-shooting night for the decisive Game 7. Against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, Wallace was criticized for leaving Robert Horry, one of the greatest clutch shooters of all time, open for the game-winning three-pointer in Game 5. Wallace's tenacious defense and clutch shooting helped the Pistons to split the series 3–3,[16] but in the final game, the Pistons lost 81–74.
In the 2005–06 season, he helped lead them to a 64–18 record, and the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. The Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 4–1 in the first round and then beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–3 in the second round of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons played the Heat in a rematch of the previous year's Conference Finals. The Pistons lost in six games to the Miami Heat, who went on to capture their first NBA title.
On March 26, 2007, in a game against the Denver Nuggets, Wallace threw up a 60-foot shot off a stolen inbound pass with 1.5 seconds, called "GLASS!", and banked it in from just behind halfcourt to force overtime letting out a huge roar from what was left of the diminishing Palace crowd, who had assumed the game to be a loss. The Pistons went on to win the game, 113–109.[17]
On June 2, 2007, Wallace fouled out of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals after committing a foul on LeBron James and then received two technical fouls, resulting in an automatic ejection, for arguing with a referee.[18]
Prior to the 2007–08 NBA season, the Pistons would not re-sign Chris Webber, and putting Antonio McDyess as a starting power forward, put Wallace at center. On February 10, 2008, it was announced that Wallace would be replacing Boston Celtics' injured forward Kevin Garnett in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.[19] The decision was made by NBA commissioner David Stern. This was Wallace's fourth All-Star appearance.
In the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons played Garnett and the Celtics. This marked the sixth consecutive time that the Pistons had made it to this point, and five times they had gotten there with Wallace in the lineup. Still, Detroit lost a third consecutive year in the Conference Finals, losing to Boston 4–2. After the game, Wallace reportedly told reporters, without taking any questions, "It's over, man," perhaps indicating that Pistons' General Manager Joe Dumars would break up the core of the team following the defeat. He changed his number from 36 back to his original 30, perhaps to change his and the team's fortunes, but sure enough, Dumars did indeed break up the core: at the beginning of the 2008–2009 campaign, Dumars traded longtime starting point guard Chauncey Billups to Denver. It was to be Wallace's last year with the team; after the season came to a close, Wallace and the Pistons decided to part ways.

Wallace signed a three-year contract with the Boston Celtics on July 8, 2009.[20] During the regular season, Rasheed struggled, averaging career lows in points per game and rebounds per game. Also, he only shot 28% on three pointers and 40% from the field. The Celtics made the NBA Finals in 2010 but lost the series to the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3. In Game 6 of the Finals, the Celtics' starting center Kendrick Perkins injured his right knee, so Wallace started Game 7. In Game 7, Wallace scored 11 points and was 5 of 11 from the field.[21] Wallace's agent Bill Strickland announced on June 25, 2010 that Wallace would likely retire from the NBA,[22] which was made official on August 10, following the buyout of his contract by the Celtics.