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84-546: Schools competing in the league include: In 2007, the athletic directors of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League created the Headmasters' Cup to recognize outstanding sportsmanship. The cup is awarded annually to the school that best exemplifies the qualities of good sportsmanship year-round from their student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans. Voting is conducted by each coach after each season and tabulated in

168-487: A violent incident between players and fans in a November 2004 game between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons . In response, players were suspended for a total of 146 games with $ 11 million total lost in salary, and the league tightened security and limited the sale of alcohol. On May 19, 2005, Commissioner Stern testified before the U.S. House of Representatives ' Committee on Government Reform about

252-635: A 73-57 win over UCLA for the school's first NCAA basketball title , and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Mercersburg's recent basketball alumni include Ugonna Onyekwe ( Penn ), Stéphane Pelle ( Colorado ), Adam Chubb ( Penn ), Wes Miller ( North Carolina , now head coach at UNC Greensboro ), Alex Tyler ( Cornell ), Donya Jackson ( Navy ), Chall Montgomery ( Navy ), Dre Wills ( Vermont ), and Phillip McGloin ( Vanderbilt ). Former Peddie star Ibrahim Jaaber

336-664: A deal on October 23, 2009. At the start of the 2010–11 season, free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed with the Miami Heat, joining Dwyane Wade to form the " Big Three ". The Heat dominated the league, reaching the Finals for four straight years. In 2011 , they faced a re-match with the Dallas Mavericks but lost to the Dirk Nowitzki -led team. They won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 against

420-449: A finals appearance marking their 18th championship, their first since 2008. Following pioneers like Vlade Divac (Serbia) and Dražen Petrović (Croatia) who joined the NBA in the late 1980s, an increasing number of international players have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA. Since 2006, the NBA has faced EuroLeague teams in exhibition matches in

504-730: A four-game sweep by the Spurs over the LeBron James -led Cleveland Cavaliers . The 2008 Finals saw a rematch of the league's highest profile rivalry , the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers , with the Celtics winning their 17th championship. The Lakers won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010 , against the Orlando Magic and the Celtics. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was held at Cowboys Stadium in front of

588-574: A lawsuit filed by the city of Seattle , which was intended to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle for the remaining two seasons of the team's lease at KeyArena . Following a court case, the city of Seattle settled with the ownership group of the SuperSonics on July 2, 2008, allowing the team to move to Oklahoma City immediately in exchange for terminating the final two seasons of the team's lease at KeyArena. The Oklahoma City Thunder began playing in

672-628: A loss to Italy in the preliminary round, but bounced back to defeat Hungary in their next match. Following this, Bulgaria lost their classification matches to Belgium , and to Italy again. The national team would finishing off their tournament debut in 8th place. Twelve years later, the Bulgarian national team reached the tournament once again, for their second appearance overall. At the EuroBasket 1947 , Bulgaria split their two preliminary round matches against Austria , and France advancing to

756-652: A major role in the growth of the league during his career. Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls , spurring more interest in the league. In 1988 and 1989, four cities got their wishes as the Charlotte Hornets , Miami Heat , Orlando Magic , and Minnesota Timberwolves made their NBA debuts, bringing the total to 27 teams. The Detroit Pistons won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990, led by coach Chuck Daly and guard Isiah Thomas . Jordan and Scottie Pippen led

840-473: A small change to the typeface on the NBA wordmark in 2017) and would remain a fixture of the NBA brand. The ABA succeeded in signing a number of major stars in the 1970s, including Julius Erving of the Virginia Squires , in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period. From 1966 to 1974, the NBA grew from nine franchises to 18. In 1970,

924-635: A state championship while placing 19 players on Division 1 rosters. Lawrenceville has made its share of contributions to MAPL basketball excellence over the years. Notable accomplishments include the 2003-04 Lawrenceville team that went 23-4 and beat national powerhouse Saint Benedict's Preparatory School of Newark, New Jersey . All five of Lawrenceville's starters on that team went on to play Division I basketball: David Whitehurst ( Penn ), Joakim Noah (leading scorer for Florida ), Craig Moore ( Northwestern ), Andrew Morrison ( Bucknell ) and Kashif Sweet ( Columbia ). In 2005-2006 Noah went on to lead Florida to

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1008-527: A third win by Romania's forfeit. In the semifinal round, the national team became enmeshed in a three-way tie for first place in the four-team group after losing to France but winning the other two matches, and ended up finishing in second place in the group. This pitted them against the Soviet Union in a semifinal matchup, which the Bulgarians lost. The national team then went on to lose again, in

1092-627: A trade. The 2019–20 season was suspended indefinitely on March 11, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors voted to resume the season in a 22-team format with 8 seeding games per team and a regular playoffs format, with all games played in a "bubble" in Walt Disney World without any fans present. This era also saw

1176-502: A victory to end the tournament on a high note. Bulgaria would go on to qualify to the European Basketball Championship 16 more times after 1961, but never came away with a top three finish at the event. The Bulgarian side have endured multiple droughts without qualifying as well, e.g. not reaching the tournament for 12 years after EuroBasket 1993 until EuroBasket 2005 . As well as not having qualified to

1260-854: Is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada ). It is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional basketball league in the world. The NBA was created on August 3, 1949, with the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL). The league later adopted

1344-485: Is reportedly the lowest viewership seen for the Finals since at least 1994, when total viewers began to be regularly recorded and is a 45 percent decline from game one between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors , which had 13.51 million viewers a year earlier. Some attribute this decline to the political stances the league and its players are taking, while others consider load management,

1428-617: Is the Bulgarian Basketball Federation . Bulgaria's first appearance at an international tournament came at the EuroBasket in 1935 . They have reached the premier European basketball competition 25 times, with their best results coming in 1957 as the runners-up on home soil, and their bronze medal finish in 1961 respectively. Bulgaria has also qualified for the FIBA World Cup , where they finished seventh in their lone appearance in 1959 . Competing at

1512-542: Is the second-wealthiest professional sports league in the world by revenue after the National Football League (NFL). The Boston Celtics have the most NBA championships with 18 and are the reigning league champions, having defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals . The NBA traces its roots to the Basketball Association of America which was founded in 1946 by owners of

1596-621: Is the only player in Ivy history who earned player, pitcher, and rookie of the year. For the second year in a row, the Blair boys team won the MAPL championship by a wide margin. They finished the past two seasons with an undefeated record. The Blair girls team finished the 2010 season undefeated (16-0) claiming the MAPL title and New Jersey State championship. The lineup of the 2024-25 Blair Girls team includes 6 singles, and 3 doubles. The Hill School won

1680-629: The 1999 championship with the Spurs , becoming the first former ABA team to win the NBA championship. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant started the 2000s with three consecutive championships for the Lakers. The Spurs reclaimed the title in 2003 against the Nets . In 2004, the Lakers returned to the Finals , only to lose in five games to the Detroit Pistons . The league's image was marred by

1764-501: The 2022 NBA Finals , their fourth championship in eight years. The 2022–23 season saw the Denver Nuggets , led by center Nikola Jokić , make the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and defeat the Miami Heat in five games to win their first NBA championship. The 2023–24 NBA season saw the star-studded Boston Celtics , winning a championship over the Dallas Mavericks, after five conference finals appearances , and

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1848-684: The American Basketball League (ABL) and the NBL, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters . For instance, the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, and

1932-655: The Los Angeles Clippers , received a lifetime ban from the NBA on April 29, 2014, after racist remarks he made became public. Sterling was also fined US$ 2.5 million, the maximum allowed under the NBA Constitution. Bulgaria national basketball team The Bulgaria men's national basketball team ( Bulgarian : Български национален отбор по баскетбол , romanized :  Balgarski natsionalen otbor po basketbol ) represents Bulgaria in international basketball . The governing body

2016-804: The NBA Europe Live Tour , and since 2009, in the EuroLeague American Tour . On November 9, 2007, when the Houston Rockets with Yao Ming faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks with Yi Jianlian , over 200 million people in China watched on 19 different networks, making it the most-viewed game in NBA history. The 2013–14 season opened with a record 92 international players on the opening night rosters, representing 39 countries and comprising over 20 percent of

2100-601: The NBA G League , was created. Two years after the Hornets' move to New Orleans , the NBA returned to North Carolina, as the Charlotte Bobcats were formed as an expansion team in 2004. The Hornets temporarily moved to Oklahoma City in 2005 for two seasons because of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina . The team returned to New Orleans in 2007. A new official game ball was introduced on June 28, 2006, for

2184-734: The NBA owners began a lockout that suspended all league business until a new labor agreement could be reached, which led to the season being shortened to 50 games. After the breakup of the Chicago Bulls championship roster in the summer of 1998, the Western Conference dominated much of the next two decades. The Los Angeles Lakers , coached by Phil Jackson , and the San Antonio Spurs , coached by Gregg Popovich , combined to make 13 Finals in 16 seasons, with 10 titles. " Twin Towers " Tim Duncan and David Robinson won

2268-507: The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Spurs, and lost in a re-match with the Spurs in the 2014 Finals . The 2011–12 season began with another lockout , the league's fourth. After the first few weeks of the season were canceled, the players and owners ratified a new collective bargaining agreement on December 8, 2011, setting up a shortened 66-game season. On February 1, 2014, commissioner David Stern retired after 30 years in

2352-598: The Olympic Games multiple times, the national team had their top performance in 1956 . Bulgaria has also competed at smaller events, such as the Balkan Championship , winning gold medals in 1959, 1960, and 1971. Bulgaria debuted on the international stage at the first EuroBasket (European Basketball Championship), which was held in Geneva , in 1935 . The Bulgarian side started the tournament off with

2436-818: The Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia to become the Philadelphia 76ers , and the St. Louis Hawks moving to Atlanta , as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises. The Chicago Packers (now Washington Wizards ) became the ninth NBA team in 1961. From 1966 to 1968, the league expanded from 9 to 14 teams, introducing the Chicago Bulls , Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder ), San Diego Rockets (who moved to Houston four years later), Milwaukee Bucks , and Phoenix Suns . In 1967,

2520-528: The Portland Trail Blazers , Cleveland Cavaliers , and Buffalo Braves (now the Los Angeles Clippers ) all made their debuts expanding the league to 17. The New Orleans Jazz (now in Utah ) came aboard in 1974 bringing the total to 18. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in

2604-649: The Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and later shifted to St. Louis in 1955. In 1957, the Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York , to Cincinnati and the Pistons moved from Fort Wayne, Indiana , to Detroit. Japanese-American Wataru Misaka is considered to have broken the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks in the BAA. He remained

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2688-756: The University of Kentucky while also gaining the upper hand in Indianapolis with the creation of the Indianapolis Olympians while the Kautskys folded. With several teams facing financial difficulties, the BAA and the NBL agreed on a merger on August 3, 1949, to create the National Basketball Association. Maurice Podoloff , the president of BAA, became the president of the NBA while Ike Duffey , president of

2772-415: The 10 seasons of the 1980s, Johnson led the Lakers to five titles while Bird led the Celtics to three titles. Also in the early 1980s, the NBA added one more expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks , bringing the total to 23 teams. Later on, Larry Bird won the first three three-point shooting contests. On February 1, 1984 David Stern became commissioner of the NBA. Stern has been recognized as playing

2856-534: The 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title. Prior to the 1948–49 season, the BAA lured away the Fort Wayne Pistons , Indianapolis Kautskys , Minneapolis Lakers , and Rochester Royals from the NBL with the prospect of playing in major venues such as Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden . The NBL hit back by outbidding the BAA for the services of several players, including Al Cervi , rookie Dolph Schayes and five stars from

2940-515: The 2006–07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second ball in 60 seasons. Manufactured by Spalding , the new ball featured a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claimed offered a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players were vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it was too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet. Commissioner Stern announced on December 11, 2006, that beginning January 1, 2007,

3024-785: The 2008–09 season. The first outdoor game in the modern era of the league was played at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on October 11, 2008, between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets . The first official NBA league games on European ground took place in 2011. In two matchups, the New Jersey Nets faced the Toronto Raptors at the O2 Arena in London in front of over 20,000 fans. After

3108-609: The 2012 conference championship. In recent years, MAPL baseball has seen a rise in competitiveness, with several former players now playing in college and professionally. Mercersburg's Josh Edgin is a pitcher for the New York Mets . Former Peddie standout Fernando Perez played two seasons for the Tampa Bay Rays and has also spent time with minor-league affiliates of the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets . Perez

3192-670: The 2012–13 season, the New Orleans Hornets were renamed the Pelicans . During the 2013–14 season, Stern retired as commissioner after 30 years, and deputy commissioner Adam Silver ascended to the position of commissioner. During that season's playoffs, the Bobcats officially reclaimed the Hornets name, and by agreement with the league and the Pelicans, also received sole ownership of all history, records, and statistics from

3276-553: The BAA's history and considers its founding on June 6, 1946, as its own. In 1976, the NBA and the American Basketball Association (ABA) merged , adding four franchises to the NBA. The NBA's regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing 82 games. The league's playoff tournament extends into June, culminating with the NBA Finals championship series. As of 2020 , NBA players are

3360-551: The Bulls to two three-peats in eight years during the 1991–1998 seasons. Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back titles with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team , the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan as the anchor, along with Bird, Johnson, David Robinson , Patrick Ewing , Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler , Karl Malone , John Stockton , Chris Mullin , Charles Barkley , and star NCAA amateur Christian Laettner . The team

3444-403: The MAPL Boys' Varsity Soccer for three consecutive years since 2010. In 2013 fall boys' varsity soccer, Lawrenceville got the second place. Notable boy's crew alumni from the MAPL Emily Tierney (Blair Academy) - Junior Olympics 2024 Notable football alumni from the MAPL: Notable Alumni from the MAPL National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association ( NBA )

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3528-407: The MAPL and no single school in the country produced as many players as The Hun School. Blair Academy has been the dominant basketball program in recent years, compiling a 63-12 record since the league's inception in 1999 and winning 7 of the last 10 league championships. The Hill School won the 2007-2008 MAPL Basketball league regular season championship and year-end tournament championship for

3612-426: The MAPL has been an extremely competitive league and arguably the best combination of academics and basketball in the United States. While producing NBA players Luol Deng , Charlie Villanueva and Royal Ivey (all from Blair), as well as Joakim Noah (Lawrenceville), the MAPL has also become a pipeline for Ivy League basketball programs. From 2004-2008 no league in the country produced more Ivy League players than

3696-457: The Minneapolis Lakers won five NBA championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty ; their squad was led by center George Mikan who was the NBA's first superstar . To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics , which already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach , and went on to lead

3780-405: The NBA from 1959 to 1966. This championship streak is the longest in the history of American professional sports. They did not win the title in 1966–67 , but regained it in the 1967–68 season and repeated in 1969 . The domination totaled nine of the ten championship banners of the 1960s. Through this period, the NBA continued to evolve with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles,

3864-408: The NBA would return to the traditional leather basketball in use prior to the 2006–07 season. The change was influenced by frequent player complaints and confirmed hand injuries (cuts) caused by the microfiber ball. The Players' Association had filed a suit on behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball. As of the 2017–18 season , the NBA team jerseys are manufactured by Nike , replacing

3948-549: The NBA's actions to combat the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. The NBA started its drug-testing program in 1983 and substantially improved it in 1999. In the 1999–2000 season, all players were randomly tested during training camp, and all rookies were additionally tested three more times during the regular season. Of the nearly 4,200 tests for steroids and performance-enhancing drugs conducted over six seasons, only three players were confirmed positive for NBA's drug program, all were immediately suspended, and as of

4032-402: The NBL, became the chairman. The NBA later adopted the BAA's history and statistics as its own but did not do the same for NBL records and statistics. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories . In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954–55, when

4116-410: The Pelicans' time in Charlotte. As a result, the Hornets are now officially considered to have been founded in 1988, suspended operations in 2002, and resumed in 2004 as the Bobcats, while the Pelicans are officially treated as a 2002 expansion team. (This is somewhat similar to the relationship between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL .) Donald Sterling , who was then-owner of

4200-405: The Warriors faced each other in the Finals a record four consecutive times . In the 2015–16 season, the Warriors finished the season 73–9, the best season record in NBA history . However, the Cavaliers overcame a 3–1 deficit in the Finals to win their first championship that season, and end a 52-year professional sports championship drought for the city of Cleveland . In the 2016–17 season,

4284-414: The Warriors recruited free agent Kevin Durant and went on to win the 2017 and 2018 Finals against the Cavaliers. After the departure of James in free agency in 2018, the Cavaliers' streak of playoff and Finals appearances ended. The Warriors returned for a fifth consecutive Finals appearance in 2019 but lost to the Toronto Raptors, who won their first championship after acquiring Kawhi Leonard in

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4368-402: The allegations and said Donaghy was a convicted felon and a "singing, cooperating witness". Donaghy served 15 months in prison and was released in November 2009. According to an independent study by Ronald Beech of Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, although the refs increased the Lakers' chances of winning through foul calls during

4452-461: The bronze medal game to France. The national team's next appearance was in Moscow for EuroBasket 1953 . They found themselves on the unfortunate end of a three-way tiebreaker after finishing 3–1 in their preliminary group, and their 3rd place rank in the group sent them to the classification round, a disappointing turn of events for Bulgaria which had expected to do at least as well as they had two years prior. They won their next five matches to take

4536-464: The continuous near year-over-year decline in NBA viewership. Between 2012 and 2019, the league lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. While some of it can be attributed to "cable-cutting", other professional leagues, like the NFL and MLB have retained stable viewership demographics. The opening game of the 2020 Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat brought in only 7.41 million viewers to ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That

4620-560: The design of Jerry Dior's Major League Baseball logo a year prior, created the modern NBA logo inspired by the MLB's. It incorporates the silhouette of Jerry West , based on a photo by Wen Roberts. The NBA would not confirm that a particular player was used because, according to Siegel, "They want to institutionalize it rather than individualize it. It's become such a ubiquitous, classic symbol and focal point of their identity and their licensing program that they don't necessarily want to identify it with one player." The logo debuted in 1971 (with

4704-443: The event. In their preliminary round group they finished with a 2–0 record to move on to the second round. There they finished with an impressive 4–1 record to advance to the semifinals with a matchup against the Soviet Union . The outcome did not turn out in the favour of the Bulgarian side though, as they were manhandled 77–54. The devastating loss sent the Bulgarians to the bronze medal match versus France , where they came away with

4788-408: The final round. There, they finished with a 2–4 record, but after controversy struck. As they along with the Soviets refused to play Formosa , due to political reasons. This mishap caused the national team to be relegated to seventh place at the tournament. At the EuroBasket 1961 , the national team returned to the top European basketball tournament looking to place better than their last trip at

4872-405: The first European coach to become a head coach for a team in the NBA. In the 2023–24 season , the Mavericks and the Thunder each had eight international players on their roster. For six consecutive seasons from 2018–19 to 2023–24 , the league's MVP award has been given to an international player. In 2001, an affiliated minor league , the National Basketball Development League, now called

4956-429: The first time in school history. After winning the MAPL, Hill lost in overtime to ANC (at one point raked number #1 among prep schools) in the Pennsylvania Independent League Tournament. Hill also won the MAPL Basketball league in 2013-2014. Losing only once in the league to Hun. The Hun School of Princeton has been one of the dominant programs in the MAPL league for years, at one point winning 4 straight championships and

5040-489: The franchise to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new single-game records in scoring ( 100 ) and rebounding (55). Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics. Led by Russell, Cousy, and Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in

5124-424: The game, there was no collusion to fix the game. On alleged "star treatment" during Game 6 by the referees toward certain players, Beech claimed, "there does seem to be issues with different standards and allowances for different players." The NBA Board of Governors approved the request of the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City on April 18, 2008. The team, however, could not move until it had settled

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5208-469: The highest place available, after the preliminary round. Thus, reaching the quarterfinals in the tournament with an 8–1 record. At EuroBasket 1955 in Budapest , the Bulgarian side open up their campaign at the tournament with a 107-33 dismantling of Denmark . They would go on to only drop one match in their preliminary group to finish with a 2–1 record, which allowed them to advance to the final round along with group leader Czechoslovakia . After losing to

5292-414: The largest crowd ever, 108,713. A referee lockout began on September 1, 2009, when the contract between the NBA and its referees expired. The first preseason games were played on October 1, 2009, and replacement referees from the WNBA and NBA Development League were used, the first time replacement referees had been used since the beginning of the 1995–96 season. The NBA and the regular referees reached

5376-523: The league at that time to 22. The franchises added were the San Antonio Spurs , Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers , and New York Nets (now the Brooklyn Nets). Some of the biggest stars of this era were Abdul-Jabbar, Barry, Dave Cowens , Erving, Elvin Hayes , Walt Frazier , Moses Malone , Artis Gilmore , George Gervin , Dan Issel , and Pete Maravich . The end of the decade, however, saw declining TV ratings, low attendance and drug-related player issues – both perceived and real – that threatened to derail

5460-512: The league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The leagues engaged in a bidding war. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who went on to become the league's best player of the 1970s. However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry , jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees— Norm Drucker , Earl Strom , John Vanak, and Joe Gushue. In 1969, Alan Siegel , who oversaw

5544-457: The league in 2000-2001. The Storm has won nine league championships in the 14 years since. Mercersburg played in the tournament championship game eight out of 11 times. The MAPL discontinued its league tournament in 2012 and has since crowned its league champion on the basis of the regular season record. Mercersburg has won or shared the MAPL crown every year since 2011; three of those four titles were won outright, while Mercersburg and Peddie shared

5628-444: The league reached its smallest size of eight franchises: the New York Knicks , Boston Celtics , Philadelphia Warriors , Minneapolis Lakers , Rochester Royals , Fort Wayne Pistons , Milwaukee Hawks , and Syracuse Nationals , all of which remain in the league today, although the latter six all did eventually relocate. The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks had shifted from

5712-459: The league. The league added the ABA's three-point field goal beginning in 1979. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers respectively, initiating a period of significant growth of fan interest in the NBA. The two had faced each other in the 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Game , and they later played against each other in three NBA Finals (1984, 1985, and 1987). In

5796-511: The league. The NBA defines "international" players as those born outside the 50 United States and Washington, D.C. This means that: The beginning of the 2017–18 season saw a record 108 international players representing 42 countries marking 4 consecutive years of at least 100 international players and each team having at least one international player. In 2018, the Phoenix Suns hired Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov as their new head coach, replacing Canadian interim coach Jay Triano , making Kokoškov

5880-464: The major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens , in a game the NBA now refers to as the first game played in NBA history. The first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including

5964-439: The only non-white player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter , signing with the Washington Capitols in 1950. Hunter was cut from the team during training camp, but several African-American players did play in the league later that year, including Chuck Cooper with the Celtics, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton with the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols . During this period,

6048-435: The past two seasons and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. On August 15, 2007, Donaghy pleaded guilty to two federal charges related to the investigation . Donaghy claimed in 2008 that certain referees were friendly with players and "company men" for the NBA, and he alleged that referees influenced the outcome of certain playoff and finals games in 2002 and 2005. NBA commissioner David Stern denied

6132-611: The position, and was succeeded by his deputy, Adam Silver . After four seasons with the Miami Heat, LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2014–15 season. He led the team to their second Finals appearance with the help of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love . The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cavaliers in six games, led by the " Splash Brothers " Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson . The Cavaliers and

6216-533: The previous supplier, Adidas . All teams will wear jerseys with the Nike logo except the Charlotte Hornets , whose jerseys will instead have the Jumpman logo associated with longtime Nike endorser Michael Jordan , who owns the Hornets. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began an investigation on July 19, 2007, over allegations that veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy bet on basketball games he officiated over

6300-512: The spring to determine the winner of the Headmasters' Cup. In the four years it has been awarded, the Headmasters' Cup has been won three times by Peddie School. MAPL Headmasters' Cup Recipients The Lawrenceville School Boys' Varsity Squash Team has been the winner of the MAPL Squash Championships since 2002. Mercersburg's Ahmed Abdel Latif was undefeated (not losing one game) in 2010-2011. Since its inception in 1999,

6384-459: The three eventual medalists in the final round, Bulgaria finished the round with a 4–3 record while once again reaching the semifinals. Bulgaria hosted the EuroBasket 1957 , in Sofia . The national team breezed through their three preliminary round matches, and kept their win streak through the first six of the final round games, including an 82–80 victory over Czechoslovakia. In their final game of

6468-448: The time of the testimony, none were playing in the NBA. After the Spurs won the championship again in 2005 , the 2006 Finals featured two franchises making their inaugural Finals appearances. The Miami Heat , led by their star shooting guard, Dwyane Wade , and Shaquille O'Neal, who had been traded from the Lakers during the summer of 2004, won the series over the Dallas Mavericks . The Lakers/Spurs dominance continued in 2007 with

6552-599: The tournament, which by chance was against the similarly undefeated Soviet Union squad, Bulgaria led by 4 points at halftime, 23–19. Their lead did not last through the second half though, however, as the Soviets powered to a 60–57 final, Bulgaria finished as the runners-up with the silver medal . Bulgaria made its debut at the World Cup in 1959 . They were placed in Group C, where they went undefeated (3-0) and advanced to

6636-420: The uneven talent distribution between the conferences and the cord-cutting of younger viewers as the main reason for the decline. During the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons, the Milwaukee Bucks would defeat the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 NBA Finals , securing their second NBA championship since 1971, and the Golden State Warriors made their sixth appearance in the finals defeating the Boston Celtics in

6720-453: The upper bracket semifinal groups. There they lost all three of their games, putting them in a 7th/8th place classification match versus Hungary , which they lost. The national team would once again end the tournament reaching the quarterfinals. Bulgaria's third appearance was at EuroBasket 1951 in Paris . They won their two contested preliminary games, outscoring opponents 145–70, and gained

6804-696: The world's best paid athletes by average annual salary per player. The NBA is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices in Midtown Manhattan , while its NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey . The NBA

6888-668: Was a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year at the University of Pennsylvania and now plays professionally for Italian club Pallacanestro Virtus Roma . Jaaber, a naturalized Bulgarian citizen, is also a member of the Bulgaria national basketball team . Other Peddie alums that have played collegiately include Darren Smith (Penn), Colin Aldridge (Brown), Noruwa Agho (Columbia), Steve Frankoski (Columbia), and Wesley Dickinson (Dartmouth). Mercersburg has dominated MAPL baseball since joining

6972-525: Was drafted in the 7th round of the 2004 amateur draft after playing for Columbia. Joseph Florio (Blair), Nick Francona (Lawrenceville), Steve Garrison (Hun), Christian Binford (Mercersburg), and James Stokes (Hill) are minor league players for the Oakland Athletics , Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers , Kansas City Royals , and Cleveland Indians respectively. Hun School graduate Mike Ford went on to play for Princeton University from 2011-2013. He

7056-616: Was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , while 11 of the 12 players (along with three out of four coaches) have been inducted as individuals in their own right. In 1995, the NBA expanded to Canada with the addition of the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Toronto Raptors . In 1996, the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 1998,

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