Michael Jordan

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

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he led the Tar Heels to a National Championship in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.^[2] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995-96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons in 2001 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular-season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2009 and was inducted on September 11, 2009.^[3]

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

1950s: The early years

On August 3, 1949, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, creating the new National Basketball Association. 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 1953-54, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises, all of which are still in the league (the Knicks, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).

The process of contraction saw the league's smaller-city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" (the area now known as the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee (in 1951) and then to St. Louis (in 1955); the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati (in 1957); and the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit (in 1957). In 1960, the Lakers relocated to Los Angeles, and the Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1963. The following year, the Nationals left Syracuse to bring basketball back to Philadelphia, changing their nickname from "Nationals" to "76ers." Thus far, out of the original eight franchises, only the Knicks and Celtics have not relocated.

Although Japanese-American Wataru Misaka technically broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated. This year witnessed the addition of African American players by several teams, including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols.

During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as the league's first dynasty. To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. If a team does not attempt to score a field goal (or the ball fails to make contact with the rim) within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped and the ball given to its opponent.

In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club 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 great individual rivalries in the history of American team sports.

1940s: The BAA years

The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by the owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. On November 1, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, which the NBA now regards as the first game played in the league's history.^[3] Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League 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 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that league's 1948 title, and the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers won the 1949 BAA title.

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association, often abbreviated to the NBA, is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America which composes thirty 30 franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada. It is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB),^[1] which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body (NGB) for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, which include Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

The league was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).^[2] The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league's several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.

AP source: Thibodeau is Hornets' top choice

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Boston Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau is the leading candidate to fill the New Orleans Hornets' coaching vacancy and the team could offer him the job this week, according to a person familiar with the process.

After interviewing eight candidates, the Hornets began working on a contract for Thibodeau, the person told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because the offer has not yet been made.

The Hornets also interviewed Portland assistant Monty Williams, former Dallas coach Avery Johnson, Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey, former NBA coach Mike Fratello, former New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank, former NBA player Mark Jackson and Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin.

In nearly two decades as an assistant coach in the NBA, Thibodeau has developed a strong reputation as a defensive strategist, and was part of the Celtics' staff when they last won an NBA title in 2008.

The Hornets struggled defensively last season, allowing 102.7 points per game, which ranked 20th in the league.

After firing Byron Scott nine games into this season, the Hornets missed the playoffs for the first time in three years. General manager Jeff Bower coached the club from the time Scott was fired until the end of the regular season before going back to the front office full-time and leading the coaching search along with team president Hugh Weber.

Thibodeau began his NBA coaching career as an assistant with Minnesota in 1989. He later worked as an advance scout with the Seattle SuperSonics before going back to coaching as an assistant with San Antonio, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and now Boston.

His stock has continued to rise with the Celtics' performance in this year's playoffs.

Yahoo! first reported the Hornets' decision to make Thibodeau their top coaching candidate on Monday night.

The Celtics granted the Hornets permission to interview Thibodeau before Boston had eliminated Cleveland earlier this month.

Thibodeau could wind up with his choice of jobs. Several other NBA teams are looking for a new coach, including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers.

NBA Betting: Celtics Favored to Sweep Magic 5/24/2010 - DonBest.com

A week ago everything was going the Magic's way. Dwight Howard and his mates were coming of their second playoff sweep and looked stronger than the Orlando team that made the NBA Final last season. A lot has changed in the last week, however, most of all the Boston Celtics who do not look like the tired, old men they're made out to be. The C's look to close out the Magic Monday night at TD Garden in Game 4.