Basketball Fun Facts

• James Naismith, a teacher at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, is credited with inventing basketball in 1891.
• The first “hoops” were actually just peach baskets and the first backboards were made of wire.
• The game became an official Olympic event at the Summer Games in Berlin, Germany in 1936.
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons in the NBA, holds the record for most points scored in a career with 38,387.
• Michael Jordan, who retired in January 1999 but returned to the league in 2001, has scored more points (5,987) in the playoffs than any other player
• The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a 10-team rival league to the NBA that began play in the 1967-68 season and folded nine years later after the 1975-76 season. Four current NBA teams – Indiana, Denver, New York, and San Antonio – originated in the ABA.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics -Dream team USA(winners)

PLAYERS-

10-Kobe Bryant(LA lakers)
5-Jason Kidd(Dallas Mavericks)
13-Chris Paul(New Orleans Hornets)
8-Michael Redd(Milwaukee Bucks)
9-Dwyane Wade(Miami Heat)
7-Deron Williams(Utah Jazz)
15-Carmelo Anthony(Denver Nuggets)
4-Carlos Boozer(Utah Jazz)
12-Chris Bosh(Toronto Raptors)
6-LeBron James(Cleveland Cavaliers)
14-Tayshaun Prince(Detroit Pistons)
11-Dwight Howard(Orlando Magic)

biography-leBron james

Born: December 30, 1984 (1984-12-30) (age 24)Akron, Ohio, U.S.

Nationality-United States

Height-6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)

Weight-250 lb (113 kg)

League-NBA

High school-St. Vincent–St. Mary

Draft-1st overall, 2003Cleveland Cavaliers

Awards
3× Ohio Mr. Basketball (2001–2003)
2003 Naismith Prep Player of the Year
2004 NBA Rookie of the Year
2004 Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award
2004 NBA All-Rookie Team
3× All-NBA First Team (2006, 2008, 2009)
2× All-NBA Second Team (2005, 2007)
5× NBA All-Star (2005–2009)
2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, 2008)
1× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2009)
2008 NBA Scoring Champion
2009 NBA Most Valuable Player Award

United States national team
James played on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team in Athens, where the United States won the bronze medal in men's basketball. It was the first time a U.S. Olympic team with NBA players failed to win the gold medal. Limited to 14.6 minutes per game, James averaged just 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.[57] James also competed in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.[58] However, the team finished with an 8–1 record, and was again awarded the bronze medal.[58] James was named as one of three captains for the 2006 USA Men's World Championship team, alongside Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. After failing to win the 2006 World Championships, the team competed at the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the gold medal game against Argentina, James recorded 31 points, the most by an American in an Olympic qualifier, as the United States captured gold medal honors.[60] He averaged 18.1 points (on tournament-high field-goal percentage (76%) and three-point percentage (62.2%), 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.
James, along with the rest of Team USA reclaimed the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeating Spain 118 to 107. He finished the gold medal game with 14 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the U.S. went unbeaten, winning their first Gold Medal since the 2000 Olympics.

biography-Michael Jordan

Date of Birth17 February 1963, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Nickname-His Airness, Air Jordan ,MJ

Height-6' 6" (1.98 m)

Mini Biography-

Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brookyln, New York on February 17, 1963. He was the fourth of five children born to James and Deloris. James Jordan was a mechanic and Deloris Jordan was a bank teller. Soon after Michael's birth, James and Deloris felt that the streets of Brooklyn were unsafe to raise a family, so they moved the family to Wilmington, North Carolina.As a youngster, Michael immediately became interested in sports. However, it was baseball not basketball that was his first love. He would play catch in the yard with his father, who loved baseball. He soon started to play basketball to try and follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Larry, whom he idolized growing up.At Laney High School, as a sophomore, he decided to try out for the varsity team but was cut because he was raw and undersized. The following summer, he grew four inches and practiced tirelessly.Following high school, he earned a basketball scholarship from North Carolina University where he would play under legendary coach Dean Smith. In his first year, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year. He would help lead the Tarheels to the 1982 NCAA Championship, making the game-winning shot.After winning the Naismith College Player of the Year award in 1984, Jordan decided to leave North Carolina to enter the NBA draft. Although he decided to leave college early, he would later return to the university in 1986 to complete his degree in geography.In the 1984 NBA draft, he was selected with the third overall pick by the Chicago Bulls .Three months later on October 6, 1993, following a run of three consecutive NBA championships, Jordan announced his retirement from basketball citing that "he no longer had the desire to play." Now "retired" at age 33, it was uncertain what Jordan would do next. Would he take a year off out of the public eye to grieve and then come back to the Bulls? Would he go out and look for a white collar job in the field of geography, his college major? Or would he take up a completely different hobby like golf?In early 1994, Jordan decided to take up a new hobby alright. However, it wasn't golf. It was baseball. Despite not playing baseball since high school some 13 years ago, he signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox in 1994.
MyNiceSpace.com He played one unspectacular season for the Double-A Birmingham Barons.On March 18, 1995, Jordan, a man of few words since his retirement, sent two important words to media sources everywhere: "I'm Back". He celebrated his return to the NBA by doing what he always did best: beating the New York Knicks. He lit them up for 55 points on March 29th. Although the Bulls would lose in the playoffs to the Orlando Magic, it was obvious that Jordan was still the same superstar player. He would go on to lead the Bulls to three more consecutive NBA championships and etch his place in the history as the "NBA's greatest player of all-time".On January 13, 1999, Jordan re-announced his retirement, saying that "he was 99.9 percent sure that he would never play again". Soon after, Jordan became part owner of the Washington Wizards.Near the start of the 2001-02 season, there were hints that Jordan may try another comeback to the NBA

biography-kobe bryant

KOBE BRYANT

Position: Guard
Heigth: 6 foot 7 / 201cms
Weight: 210 pounds / 96 kgs.

Born: August 23, 1978
High School: Lower Merion High School (Pa)
NBA Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Jersey Number: 24

Kobe Bryant Facts

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were both named First Team All-NBA after the 2001-02 season. They became the first tandem to be honored as such since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in 1996.
MyNiceSpace.com

Kobe Bryant’s favorite video as a kid was “NBA Showmen,” which highlighted some of basketball’s all-time greats.

Kobe Bryant breaks in a new pair of basketball shoes every three or four games.

Kobe Bryant develops new moves in the off-season by playing against his shadow.

songs

Right Now (Na Na Na) - Akon

Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas

kobe brayant-top 10 plays from 2009

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