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* The '''Cleveland Cavaliers''' are a team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - when he was there, they were absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Now that he's gone, they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status, as they've gone roughly nowhere without their best player. In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV, as he announced his free-agency decision with an {{ESPN}} special appropriately named "The Decision".
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* The '''Cleveland Cavaliers''' are a team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - when he was there, they were absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Now that he's gone, they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status, as they've gone roughly nowhere without their best player. In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV, as he announced his free-agency decision with an {{ESPN}} special appropriately named "The Decision". They are also having an abysmal season, having just set the record for the longest single-season losing streak (24 games and counting).
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changing to just this, no need for explanation
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* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival and, due to their long friendship, FriendlyEnemy to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive at a time when many thought such a diagnosis was a death sentence. After his retirement, he played on the 1992 All Star Game and played one more year for the Lakers in 1996.
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* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival and, due to their long friendship, and FriendlyEnemy to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive at a time when many thought such a diagnosis was a death sentence. After his retirement, he played on the 1992 All Star Game and played one more year for the Lakers in 1996.
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* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival and, due to their long friendship, WorthyOpponent to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive at a time when many thought such a diagnosis was a death sentence. After his retirement, he played on the 1992 All Star Game and played one more year for the Lakers in 1996.
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* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival and, due to their long friendship, WorthyOpponent FriendlyEnemy to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive at a time when many thought such a diagnosis was a death sentence. After his retirement, he played on the 1992 All Star Game and played one more year for the Lakers in 1996.
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Changed line(s) 160 (click to see context) from:
* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive.
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* '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival and, due to their long friendship, WorthyOpponent to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive.positive at a time when many thought such a diagnosis was a death sentence. After his retirement, he played on the 1992 All Star Game and played one more year for the Lakers in 1996.
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* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Also, they have possibly the most reviled team owner in sports, Donald Sterling, a local slumlord widely known as a vicious racist. He also heckles his own players and his ExecutiveMeddling is a big factor in the Clippers' perennial mediocrity. Have something of a brighter future though, thanks to owning Blake Griffin who after three months in the league is already a superstar and a fan-favorite. But they still have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
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* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Also, they have possibly the most reviled team owner in sports, Donald Sterling, a local slumlord widely known as a vicious racist. He also heckles his own players and his ExecutiveMeddling is a big factor in the Clippers' perennial mediocrity. Have something of a brighter future though, thanks to owning rookie phenom Blake Griffin who after three months in the league is already a superstar and a fan-favorite. But they still have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
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the Heat have actually done pretty well lately
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* The '''Cleveland Cavaliers''' are a team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - when he was there, they were absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Now that he's gone, they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status, as they've gone roughly nowhere without their best player (the Heat haven't been so hot either, though - karma, maybe). In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV, as he announced his free-agency decision with an {{ESPN}} special appropriately named "The Decision".
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* The '''Cleveland Cavaliers''' are a team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - when he was there, they were absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Now that he's gone, they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status, as they've gone roughly nowhere without their best player (the Heat haven't been so hot either, though - karma, maybe).player. In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV, as he announced his free-agency decision with an {{ESPN}} special appropriately named "The Decision".
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* The '''[[TheWesley Miami Heat]]''' got started in 1988 are have since been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
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* The '''[[TheWesley Miami Heat]]''' got started in 1988 are have since been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've they played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most basketball]] until about midway into the season where they became division leaders. Most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
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* The '''Miami Heat''' got started in 1988 are have since been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
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* The '''Miami Heat''' '''[[TheWesley Miami Heat]]''' got started in 1988 are have since been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].average]].
** Due to the absolute onslaught of [[ShillingTheWesley articles, and coverage by ESPN]], and a fanbase quickly being made up of people, who couldn't tell you two players from the previous season, the Heat may have shotgunned themselves to most overall hated team ever.
** Due to the absolute onslaught of [[ShillingTheWesley articles, and coverage by ESPN]], and a fanbase quickly being made up of people, who couldn't tell you two players from the previous season, the Heat may have shotgunned themselves to most overall hated team ever.
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* '''Steve Nash''' is an extremely skilled veteran guard out of Canada best known for his astounding "no look" passes, his 50-40-90 status (has made 50% of his shooting, 40% from the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line more times than ''Larry Bird'', the former leader) and ability to carry the entirety of the Phoenix Suns through matches, as shown by his 2 MVP awards.
* To describe '''Yao Ming''', take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. He's currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot injury.
* To describe '''Yao Ming''', take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. He's currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot injury.
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* '''Steve Nash''' is an extremely skilled veteran guard out of Canada best known for his astounding "no look" passes, his 50-40-90 status (has made 50% of his shooting, 40% from the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line more times than ''Larry Bird'', the former leader) and ability to carry the entirety of the Phoenix Suns through matches, as shown by his 2 MVP awards.
awards. Sometimes critized for a lack of talent on the defensive end of the floor, but has remained perhaps the top scoring+passing duo threat in the league even at the age when most players would be showing strong signs of decline.
* To describe '''Yao Ming''', take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. He's currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] footinjury.injury - one of several foot/knee injuries he has sustained. Most star centers in the league have been 6'9" to 7'1" - the 7'6" Yao might actually be ''too'' tall to be truly great at basketball, as despite being much more mobile and less awkward than any previous players in his height range, his feet and leg joints just don't seem to be able to take all the stress resulting from his size.
* To describe '''Yao Ming''', take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. He's currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a veteran for the San Antonio Spurs: many-time All-Star, two-time MVP, four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP. Although perhaps now past his prime, Duncan has been said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history and is a shoo-in for the NBA Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Spurs in 1997, a season in which Duncan not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but also teamed up with Hall-of-Famer David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo - the so-called 'twin towers.' Duncan currently leads the Spurs in pursuit of his fifth ring; although known for a quiet and unassuming style of basketball, he has carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites. Also because of his quiet, unassuming style on and off the court, he's a frequent target of TheOnion.
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a veteran for the San Antonio Spurs: many-time All-Star, two-time MVP, four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP. Although perhaps now past his prime, Duncan has been said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history and is a shoo-in for the NBA Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Spurs in 1997, a season in which Duncan not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but also teamed up with Hall-of-Famer David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo - the so-called 'twin towers.' Duncan currently leads the Spurs in pursuit of his fifth ring; although known for a quiet and unassuming style of basketball, he has carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites. Also because Because of his quiet, calm and unassuming style on of basketball - even in his younger years when he was quicker and stronger than most other players, he was as likely to dominant with footwork and intelligence as with his natural talent, and he rarely showboated or let his emotions show while playing. This prompted Shaquille O'Neal to nickname Duncan "The Big Fundamental." Also because his personality off the court, court is also quiet and unassuming, he's a frequent target of TheOnion.
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* '''Robert Horry''' was a solid but otherwise unremarkable player who is best known for having 7 championship rings - the only player not of the '60s Celtics to have that honor - and for playing in more playoff games than any other player.
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* '''Robert Horry''' was a solid but otherwise unremarkable player who is best known for having 7 championship rings - the only player not of the '60s Celtics to have that honor - and for playing in more playoff games than any other player. Was fairly athletic early in his career, but as he got older he became well-known for being invisible for most of a game and then hitting a big three-pointer in the final seconds to win the game or force overtime. For this he got the nickname ''Big Shot Bob''.
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* The '''Detroit Pistons''' were originally known as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, they moved to Detroit early in their history when it became clear that they would need money to survive. Throughout most of the 2000s, they were fairly dominant, even winning it all in 2004. Since then, they've been known as the team that couldn't win it all - from 2006-2008, they went to the conference championship three straight years but lost to the opposing team. Also very good in the late '80s, when the "Bad Boys" of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Traditionally, they are known for strong defense and good-enough offense. Also, they are the ''real'' oldest NBA franchise around, with their roots going back to the '''1941-42''' season in the NBL.
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* The '''Detroit Pistons''' were originally known as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, they moved to Detroit early in their history when it became clear that they would need money to survive. Throughout most of the 2000s, they were fairly dominant, even winning it all in 2004. Since then, they've been known as the team that couldn't quite win it all - in 2005 they lost in the 7th game of the Finals, and then from 2006-2008, they went to the conference championship Eastern Conference Championship three straight years but lost to the opposing team.each times. Also very good in the late '80s, when the "Bad Boys" of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Traditionally, they are known for strong defense and good-enough offense. Also, they are the ''real'' oldest NBA franchise around, with their roots going back to the '''1941-42''' season in the NBL.
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* The '''Boston Celtics''' are one of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstar Bill Russell (contrary to belief, John Havlicek was around for only 6 of the championships won in TheSixties, but won two more in the TheSeventies). They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
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* The '''Boston Celtics''' are one of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning 11 championships, with ''eight'' straight championships in TheFifties and TheSixties behind superstar Bill Russell (contrary to belief, John Havlicek was around for only 6 of the championships won in TheSixties, but won two more in the TheSeventies). They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
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Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
* The '''Boston Celtics''' are one of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstars Bill Russell and John Havlicek. They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
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* The '''Boston Celtics''' are one of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstars superstar Bill Russell and (contrary to belief, John Havlicek.Havlicek was around for only 6 of the championships won in TheSixties, but won two more in the TheSeventies). They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
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* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Have something of a brighter future though, thanks to owning Blake Griffin who after three months in the league is already a superstar and a fan-favorite. But they still have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
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* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Also, they have possibly the most reviled team owner in sports, Donald Sterling, a local slumlord widely known as a vicious racist. He also heckles his own players and his ExecutiveMeddling is a big factor in the Clippers' perennial mediocrity. Have something of a brighter future though, thanks to owning Blake Griffin who after three months in the league is already a superstar and a fan-favorite. But they still have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
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* The '''Houston Rockets''' won two championships in the '90s with the mighty Hakeem Olajuwon. Since then, they've been largely in the same boat as teams like Dallas and Denver - always a bridesmaid, never a bride. On the other hand, they drafted Yao Ming a few years back, starting a trend of Chinese players entering the league. Their first arena has been converted to the most mega of any mega-church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Oh, and they have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Oh, and they have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
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* The '''Houston Rockets''' won two championships in the '90s with the mighty Hakeem Olajuwon.Olajuwon - 1st pick in Michael Jordan's draft, but when he retired, the Rockets' GM said that he [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming will never regret his choice]][[hottip:*:Interesting fact : Olajuwon won both NBA titles during Michael Jordan first retirement]]. Since then, they've been largely in the same boat as teams like Dallas and Denver - always a bridesmaid, never a bride. On the other hand, they drafted Yao Ming a few years back, starting a trend of Chinese players entering the league. Their first arena has been converted to the most mega of any mega-church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names.Oh, Have something of a brighter future though, thanks to owning Blake Griffin who after three months in the league is already a superstar and a fan-favorite. But they still have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
* The '''Los Angeles Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names.
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* The '''Portland Trail Blazers''' are sometimes known as the Portland Blazers. Another team whose best years are behind them. In the early to mid-'00s, they were known as the Jail Blazers for the number of players in trouble with the law. Now known as the black cats of the league, because their players seem to always be injured. Also (in)famous for drafting Sam Bowie one slot ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie's knees gave out immediately and Jordan went on to be one of the most successful athletes in American history. Lightning struck twice when they drafted Greg Oden, who's knees gave out immediately, one slot before Kevin Durant, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
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* The '''Portland Trail Blazers''' are sometimes known as the Portland Blazers. Another team whose best years are behind them. In the early to mid-'00s, they were known as the Jail Blazers for the number of players in trouble with the law. Now known as the black cats of the league, because their players seem to always be injured. Also (in)famous for drafting Sam Bowie one slot ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie's knees gave out immediately and Jordan went on to be one of the most successful athletes in American history. history[[hottip:*:YourMileageMayVary though, because Portland already owned the guard Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, who was something of an Archenemy to Michael during his career, being one of the few players almost as good as he was]]. Lightning struck twice when they drafted Greg Oden, who's whose knees gave out immediately, one slot before Kevin Durant, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
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* The '''San Antonio Spurs''' were one of the more dominant teams of the 2000s, as they've won the championship 4 times and have more division titles than any other team. Also the team of Tim Duncan, who is OneOfUs and whom TheOnion really likes to make fun of. Like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Denver Nuggets, they're one of four ABA teams to move to the NBA. Started out in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and in one season, the Texas Chaparrals.
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* The '''San Antonio Spurs''' were one of the more dominant teams of the 2000s, as they've won the championship 4 times and have more division titles than any other team. Also the team of Tim Duncan, who is OneOfUs and whom TheOnion really likes to make fun of. Like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Denver Nuggets, they're one of four ABA teams to move to the NBA. Started out in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and in one season, the Texas Chaparrals. Known for their numerous "steals" [[hottip:*:picking a good or very good player waaaay below what should be his position]]during the annual drafts : George Gervin at 40th pick, Tony Parker at 28th, and Manu Ginobili at 57th (!!).
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* The '''Denver Nuggets''' are one of the better teams playing today. The current team of Carmelo Anthony, who was the ''real'' runner-up to [=LeBron=] James the year he was drafted. Allen Iverson played here too, but was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups in the 08-09 season. While they've been pretty consistenly good for a while, they're yet another team with that "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" vibe about them. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (with the original name for this team for most of the ABA being the Denver Rockets). Their name's basically [[TheArtifact a homage/an artifact]] of the ''original'' Denver Nuggets team that was in the NBA for only one season. [[SoBadItsHorrible And for good reason.]] During the 80s, they were a famously high-scoring team whose coach, Doug Moe, literally did not believe in defense, once pulling the team to the sidelines late in the game while the other team scored at will as a protest. That style of play ended up getting the highest-scoring game in NBA history with the Nuggets winning over the Pistons '''186-184'''.
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* The '''Denver Nuggets''' are one of the better teams playing today. The current team of Carmelo Anthony, who was the ''real'' runner-up to [=LeBron=] James the year he was drafted. Allen Iverson played here too, but was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups in the 08-09 season. While they've been pretty consistenly good for a while, they're yet another team with that "always "[[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut always a bridesmaid, never a bride" bride]]" vibe about them. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (with the original name for this team for most of the ABA being the Denver Rockets). Their name's basically [[TheArtifact a homage/an artifact]] of the ''original'' Denver Nuggets team that was in the NBA for only one season. [[SoBadItsHorrible And for good reason.]] During the 80s, they were a famously high-scoring team whose coach, Doug Moe, literally did not believe in defense, once pulling the team to the sidelines late in the game while the other team scored at will as a protest. That style of play ended up getting the highest-scoring game in NBA history with the Nuggets winning over the Pistons '''186-184'''.
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a veteran for the San Antonio Spurs: many-time All-Star, two-time MVP, four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP. Although perhaps now past his prime, Duncan has been said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history and is a shoo-in for the NBA Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Spurs in 1997, a season in which Duncan not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but also teamed up with Hall-of-Famer David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo - the so-called 'twin towers.' Duncan currently leads the Spurs in pursuit of his fifth ring; although known for a quiet and unassuming style of basketball, he has carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites.
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a veteran for the San Antonio Spurs: many-time All-Star, two-time MVP, four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP. Although perhaps now past his prime, Duncan has been said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history and is a shoo-in for the NBA Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Spurs in 1997, a season in which Duncan not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but also teamed up with Hall-of-Famer David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo - the so-called 'twin towers.' Duncan currently leads the Spurs in pursuit of his fifth ring; although known for a quiet and unassuming style of basketball, he has carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites. Also because of his quiet, unassuming style on and off the court, he's a frequent target of TheOnion.
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NBA is so powerful that even in some other countries, fanboys tend to forget that there are other basketball leagues. Here is a list of other famous basketball places.
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NBA is so powerful that even in some other countries, fanboys fans tend to forget that there are other basketball leagues. Here is a list of other famous basketball places.
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Ah, basketball. One of the Big Four sports in the United States (UsefulNotes/{{American football}}, UsefulNotes/{{baseball}} and UsefulNotes/IceHockey are the others), basketball has a rich and interesting history.
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Ah, basketball. One of the Big Four sports in the United States (UsefulNotes/{{American football}}, UsefulNotes/{{baseball}} Football}}, UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} and UsefulNotes/IceHockey are the others), basketball has a rich and interesting history.
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Ah, basketball. One of the Big Three sports in the United States (UsefulNotes/{{American football}} and UsefulNotes/{{baseball}} are the other two), basketball has a rich and interesting history.
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Ah, basketball. One of the Big Three Four sports in the United States (UsefulNotes/{{American football}} and football}}, UsefulNotes/{{baseball}} and UsefulNotes/IceHockey are the other two), others), basketball has a rich and interesting history.
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a veteran for the San Antonio Spurs: many-time All-Star, two-time MVP, four-time champion and three-time Finals MVP. Although perhaps now past his prime, Duncan has been said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history and is a shoo-in for the NBA Hall of Fame. He was drafted by the Spurs in 1997, a season in which Duncan not only won the Rookie of the Year award, but also teamed up with Hall-of-Famer David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo - the so-called 'twin towers.' Duncan currently leads the Spurs in pursuit of his fifth ring; although known for a quiet and unassuming style of basketball, he has carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites.
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* The '''Chicago Bulls''' are the former team of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six championships. In TheNineties they were massively popular due to not only Jordan and the championships, but also having many of their games nationally televised on the Chicago "superstation", WGN (it's down to Saturday-only games now). Began the trend of using the instrumental track "Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) for pregame introductions.
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* The '''Chicago Bulls''' are the former team of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six championships. In TheNineties they were massively popular due to not only Jordan and the championships, but also having many of their games nationally televised on the Chicago "superstation", WGN (it's down to Saturday-only games now).now) You do get more games on WGN 9 OTA and Wgn Canada (same feed as WGN 9). Began the trend of using the instrumental track "Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) for pregame introductions.
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Basketball was first created by James Naismith, a physical fitness professor in a Massachusetts school - he wanted to find a way to allow his students to exercise indoors during the cold New England weathers, so he nailed up a peach basket and had people start dribbling a ball.
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Basketball was first created by James Naismith, a physical fitness professor in a Massachusetts school - he wanted to find a way to allow his students to exercise indoors during the cold New England weathers, so weathers. After coming up with a game that would involve throwing a ball into a raised goal, he nailed up a looked for some boxes for goals, but [[SerendipityWritesThePlot could only find peach basket and had people start dribbling a ball.
baskets to nail up.]]
Thus, basketball, at least in it's earliest form, was born.
Thus, basketball, at least in it's earliest form, was born.
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* ''Los Angeles Lakers'', aka The West's answer to the Boston Celtics. They've got 16 championships to their name and they're the first team to win 3,000 regular-season games. This is the NBA's either-love-them-or-hate-them team. Their historical rosters read like a CriterionCollection of [=NBA=] history. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant have all at some point called this place home - all five have between them 8 [=MVP=] awards. Jerry West's image forms the iconic NBA logo. Also the team of George Mikan, who we blame for the fact that you need a pituitary disorder to play basketball today. Here's two fun facts for you: they were originally called the Detroit Gems for one season and the Lakers are the ''only'' team to win a championship from the NBL, the BAA, and the NBA. The name is [[TheArtifact an artifact]] from their early days in Minneapolis. Minnesota has ten thousand lakes; Los Angeles has five. This began the tradition of NBA teams keeping their name on changing cities, no matter how incongruous. Speaking of which...
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* ''Los '''Los Angeles Lakers'', Lakers''', aka The West's answer to the Boston Celtics. They've got 16 championships to their name and they're the first team to win 3,000 regular-season games. This is the NBA's either-love-them-or-hate-them team. Their historical rosters read like a CriterionCollection of [=NBA=] history. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant have all at some point called this place home - all five have between them 8 [=MVP=] awards. Jerry West's image forms the iconic NBA logo. Also the team of George Mikan, who we blame for the fact that you need a pituitary disorder to play basketball today. Here's two fun facts for you: they were originally called the Detroit Gems for one season and the Lakers are the ''only'' team to win a championship from the NBL, the BAA, and the NBA. The name is [[TheArtifact an artifact]] from their early days in Minneapolis. Minnesota has ten thousand lakes; Los Angeles has five. This began the tradition of NBA teams keeping their name on changing cities, no matter how incongruous. Speaking of which...
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* ''[=LeBron=] James'': One of the most heavily-sought players in the year he was drafted. OK, so a lot of guys can make that claim. What sets [=LeBron=] apart is that he was still in ''high school'' when he was getting this press. He had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and had a pending shoe deal while still a student (you may recall your high school experience and begin weeping now). Went first overall to Cleveland in 2003 and almost immediately turned the team from a has-been into a serious contender. As for his clout as a player, he won Rookie of the Year his first year, has 2 repeating [=MVP=] trophies, and he's been to six All-Star games. In the highest-profile free agent signing of the 2010 offseason, he joined the Miami Heat along with Dwayne Wade (who re-signed with the team he won the 2006 championship with) and the Raptors' Chris Bosh. Was [[FaceHeelTurn heavily criticized]] for this decision by pretty much everyone who's not a Heat fan. In fact, some people believe that he won't ''ever'' be in the same status as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan because of him going to Dwayne Wade's team.
* ''Dirk Nowitzki'': A European-born player who has spent his entire career with the Mavericks (unlike former teammate Steve Nash). His incredible career (multiple All-Star appearances, an [=MVP=] award, and so forth) spawned a great deal of interest in other European-born players.
* ''Steve Nash'': An extremely skilled veteran guard out of Canada best known for his astounding "no look" passes, his 50-40-90 status (has made 50% of his shooting, 40% from the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line more times than ''Larry Bird'', the former leader) and ability to carry the entirety of the Phoenix Suns through matches, as shown by his 2 MVP awards.
* ''Yao Ming'': Take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. Currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot injury.
* ''Kevin Durant'': The apparent heir to [=LeBron=] and Kobe. Playing of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant is the youngest PPG leader in a season in the NBA's history. One of the main reasons that the Thunder took a major leap forward in their development with Russell Westbrook, and the current best player on Team U.S.A.
* ''Dirk Nowitzki'': A European-born player who has spent his entire career with the Mavericks (unlike former teammate Steve Nash). His incredible career (multiple All-Star appearances, an [=MVP=] award, and so forth) spawned a great deal of interest in other European-born players.
* ''Steve Nash'': An extremely skilled veteran guard out of Canada best known for his astounding "no look" passes, his 50-40-90 status (has made 50% of his shooting, 40% from the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line more times than ''Larry Bird'', the former leader) and ability to carry the entirety of the Phoenix Suns through matches, as shown by his 2 MVP awards.
* ''Yao Ming'': Take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. Currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot injury.
* ''Kevin Durant'': The apparent heir to [=LeBron=] and Kobe. Playing of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant is the youngest PPG leader in a season in the NBA's history. One of the main reasons that the Thunder took a major leap forward in their development with Russell Westbrook, and the current best player on Team U.S.A.
to:
* ''[=LeBron=] James'': One '''[=LeBron=] James''' was one of the most heavily-sought players in the year he was drafted. OK, so a lot of guys can make that claim. What sets [=LeBron=] apart is that he was still in ''high school'' when he was getting this press. He had appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and had a pending shoe deal while still a student (you may recall your high school experience and begin weeping now). Went first overall to Cleveland in 2003 and almost immediately turned the team from a has-been into a serious contender. As for his clout as a player, he won Rookie of the Year his first year, has 2 repeating [=MVP=] trophies, and he's been to six All-Star games. In the highest-profile free agent signing of the 2010 offseason, he joined the Miami Heat along with Dwayne Wade (who re-signed with the team he won the 2006 championship with) and the Raptors' Chris Bosh. Was [[FaceHeelTurn heavily criticized]] for this decision by pretty much everyone who's not a Heat fan. In fact, some people believe that he won't ''ever'' be in the same status as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan because of him going to Dwayne Wade's team.
*''Dirk Nowitzki'': A '''Dirk Nowitzki''' is a European-born player who has spent his entire career with the Mavericks (unlike former teammate Steve Nash). His incredible career (multiple All-Star appearances, an [=MVP=] award, and so forth) spawned a great deal of interest in other European-born players.
*''Steve Nash'': An '''Steve Nash''' is an extremely skilled veteran guard out of Canada best known for his astounding "no look" passes, his 50-40-90 status (has made 50% of his shooting, 40% from the three-point line, and 90% from the free throw line more times than ''Larry Bird'', the former leader) and ability to carry the entirety of the Phoenix Suns through matches, as shown by his 2 MVP awards.
*''Yao Ming'': Take To describe '''Yao Ming''', take Dirk Nowitzki above, subtract "European", "Mavericks", and "[=MVP=] Award", and replace them with "Chinese", "Rockets", and "Loads and Loads of Charity and Humanitarian work", and that's Yao's career in a nutshell. Currently He's currently inactive while healing a [[GameBreakingInjury game-breaking]], [[WoundThatWillNotHeal potentially career-ending]] foot injury.
*''Kevin Durant'': The '''Kevin Durant''' is the heir apparent heir to [=LeBron=] and Kobe. Playing of for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant is the youngest PPG leader in a season in the NBA's history. One He's one of the main reasons that the Thunder took a major leap forward in their development with Russell Westbrook, and he's the current best player on Team U.S.A.
*
*
*
*
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* ''Atlanta Hawks'': They've bounced around the league from ''Buffalo'' (as the ''Bisons'' for only 13 games) to the then-Tri-Cities of Moline, Illinois; Rock Island, Illinois; and Davenport, Iowa (as the ''Blackhawks''; Bettendorf, Iowa eventually joined in to make it the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee to St. Louis, but they landed in Atlanta in 1968 and have stayed there for a while - they really haven't done much of note, though they've been a playoff contender lately. But in the [[TheEighties '80s]] they were at least fun to watch, with two Slam Dunk Contest champions in Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins. Owned by Ted Turner for many years, they had their games often on TBS, though they hardly attained the status the baseball Braves did.
* ''Boston Celtics'': One of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstars Bill Russell and John Havlicek. They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
* ''Charlotte Bobcats'': The league's newest team (by terms of founding - Oklahoma City is newer, but they moved from Seattle), [[IncrediblyLamePun named for their owner]], who was the founder of {{BET}}. They started play in 2004 and haven't done too much, other than having Michael Jordan being an owner as of the end of the 2009-10 season (on which they reached their first postseason).
* ''Chicago Bulls'': The former team of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six championships. In TheNineties they were massively popular due to not only Jordan and the championships, but also having many of their games nationally televised on the Chicago "superstation", WGN (it's down to Saturday-only games now). Began the trend of using the instrumental track "Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) for pregame introductions.
* ''Cleveland Cavaliers'': A team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - since then, they've been absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Which doesn't bode well for them now that he's gone...they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status. In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV.
* ''Detroit Pistons'': Originally known as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, they moved to Detroit early in their history when it became clear that they would need money to survive. Throughout most of the 2000s, they were fairly dominant, even winning it all in 2004. Since then, they've been known as the team that couldn't win it all - from 2006-2008, they went to the conference championship three straight years but lost to the opposing team. Also very good in the late '80s, when the "Bad Boys" of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Traditionally, they are known for strong defense and good-enough offense. Also, they are the ''real'' oldest NBA franchise around, with their roots going back to the '''1941-42''' season in the NBL.
* ''Indiana Pacers'': Best known as the team of Reggie Miller, who joined them in 1987 and played with them for 18 years. Made it to the Finals in 2000, but weren't able to beat the Lakers to win it all. Most of their players (apart from Miller) were either traded or retired soon afterward. And then the somewhat mentally unstable Ron Artest came, followed by the infamous Pacers-Pistons-fans brawl that alarmed even people that don't care about basketball. Reggie retired after the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs, and the team was never been the same. Also one of four ABA teams (the others being the New Jersey Nets, the Denver Nuggets, and the San Antonio Spurs) to move to the NBA. Used to be very regular playoff contenders who could never seal the deal, but currently they're a rung up from pathetic to just being forgotten.
* ''Miami Heat'': Started in 1988, they've been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
* ''Milwaukee Bucks'': Basketball's version of SoOkayItsAverage. Owned by the state's older US Senator (and retail magnate) Herb Kohl they're not a particuarly bad team, as they do make the playoffs every so often, but they really haven't done anything of note since they had a little player by the name of Lew Alcindor (who you may know better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Their first and last championship was in 1971, their third season of existence. Soon after, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar left because he considered Milwaukee culturally backwards. The team's been mediocre since then, with some good teams in the mid-80s. On another note, when they drafted Glenn Robinson in the 90s, his contract was so ludicrous that the league instigated a salary cap for rookies the very next year.
* ''Boston Celtics'': One of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstars Bill Russell and John Havlicek. They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
* ''Charlotte Bobcats'': The league's newest team (by terms of founding - Oklahoma City is newer, but they moved from Seattle), [[IncrediblyLamePun named for their owner]], who was the founder of {{BET}}. They started play in 2004 and haven't done too much, other than having Michael Jordan being an owner as of the end of the 2009-10 season (on which they reached their first postseason).
* ''Chicago Bulls'': The former team of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six championships. In TheNineties they were massively popular due to not only Jordan and the championships, but also having many of their games nationally televised on the Chicago "superstation", WGN (it's down to Saturday-only games now). Began the trend of using the instrumental track "Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) for pregame introductions.
* ''Cleveland Cavaliers'': A team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - since then, they've been absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Which doesn't bode well for them now that he's gone...they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status. In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV.
* ''Detroit Pistons'': Originally known as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, they moved to Detroit early in their history when it became clear that they would need money to survive. Throughout most of the 2000s, they were fairly dominant, even winning it all in 2004. Since then, they've been known as the team that couldn't win it all - from 2006-2008, they went to the conference championship three straight years but lost to the opposing team. Also very good in the late '80s, when the "Bad Boys" of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Traditionally, they are known for strong defense and good-enough offense. Also, they are the ''real'' oldest NBA franchise around, with their roots going back to the '''1941-42''' season in the NBL.
* ''Indiana Pacers'': Best known as the team of Reggie Miller, who joined them in 1987 and played with them for 18 years. Made it to the Finals in 2000, but weren't able to beat the Lakers to win it all. Most of their players (apart from Miller) were either traded or retired soon afterward. And then the somewhat mentally unstable Ron Artest came, followed by the infamous Pacers-Pistons-fans brawl that alarmed even people that don't care about basketball. Reggie retired after the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs, and the team was never been the same. Also one of four ABA teams (the others being the New Jersey Nets, the Denver Nuggets, and the San Antonio Spurs) to move to the NBA. Used to be very regular playoff contenders who could never seal the deal, but currently they're a rung up from pathetic to just being forgotten.
* ''Miami Heat'': Started in 1988, they've been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
* ''Milwaukee Bucks'': Basketball's version of SoOkayItsAverage. Owned by the state's older US Senator (and retail magnate) Herb Kohl they're not a particuarly bad team, as they do make the playoffs every so often, but they really haven't done anything of note since they had a little player by the name of Lew Alcindor (who you may know better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Their first and last championship was in 1971, their third season of existence. Soon after, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar left because he considered Milwaukee culturally backwards. The team's been mediocre since then, with some good teams in the mid-80s. On another note, when they drafted Glenn Robinson in the 90s, his contract was so ludicrous that the league instigated a salary cap for rookies the very next year.
to:
* ''Atlanta Hawks'': They've The '''Atlanta Hawks''' have bounced around the league from ''Buffalo'' (as the ''Bisons'' for only 13 games) to the then-Tri-Cities of Moline, Illinois; Rock Island, Illinois; and Davenport, Iowa (as the ''Blackhawks''; Bettendorf, Iowa eventually joined in to make it the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee to St. Louis, but they landed in Atlanta in 1968 and have stayed there for a while - they really haven't done much of note, though they've been a playoff contender lately. But in the [[TheEighties '80s]] they were at least fun to watch, with two Slam Dunk Contest champions in Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkins. Owned by Ted Turner for many years, they had their games often on TBS, though they hardly attained the status the baseball Braves did.
*''Boston Celtics'': One The '''Boston Celtics''' are one of the most storied teams in the history of the league, this was the team that ended up winning ''eight'' straight championships in TheSixties behind superstars Bill Russell and John Havlicek. They're also the team associated with Larry Bird during TheEighties. They have 17 league championships (more than any other team) to their credit. From the late '90s to the mid-'00s, the team declined heavily due to some mismanagement. However, thanks to a couple of brilliant trades (acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett), they rebounded and won the 2008 Finals. They've been pretty good since. Also, due to some classic matchups in the '80s, as well as the rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, they've been rivals of the Lakers for a while now. Also only one of two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city (the other team being the New York Knicks).
*''Charlotte Bobcats'': The '''Charlotte Bobcats''' are the league's newest team (by terms of founding - Oklahoma City is newer, but they moved from Seattle), [[IncrediblyLamePun named for their owner]], who was the founder of {{BET}}. They started play in 2004 and haven't done too much, other than having Michael Jordan being an owner as of the end of the 2009-10 season (on which they reached their first postseason).
*''Chicago Bulls'': The '''Chicago Bulls''' are the former team of Michael Jordan, who led the team to six championships. In TheNineties they were massively popular due to not only Jordan and the championships, but also having many of their games nationally televised on the Chicago "superstation", WGN (it's down to Saturday-only games now). Began the trend of using the instrumental track "Sirius" (Alan Parsons Project) for pregame introductions.
*''Cleveland Cavaliers'': A The '''Cleveland Cavaliers''' are a team of many, many ups and downs, the Cavs were largely sagging until [=LeBron=] James was delivered unto them - since then, they've been when he was there, they were absolutely dominant and among the best teams in the league. Which doesn't bode well for them now Now that he's gone...gone, they're in a weird place between ButtMonkey and [[TheWoobie Woobie]] status.status, as they've gone roughly nowhere without their best player (the Heat haven't been so hot either, though - karma, maybe). In the 90's, coach Mike Fratello instituted an absolutely glacial slowdown offense which resulted in unusually low scores; while it worked for the team, he's largely blamed for the dropoff in scoring and more "boring" style of play league-wide that took hold later in the decade and the early 2000s. Currently best known for being betrayed by [=LeBron=] James on national and international TV.
TV, as he announced his free-agency decision with an {{ESPN}} special appropriately named "The Decision".
*''Detroit Pistons'': Originally The '''Detroit Pistons''' were originally known as the Fort Wayne (Zollner) Pistons, they moved to Detroit early in their history when it became clear that they would need money to survive. Throughout most of the 2000s, they were fairly dominant, even winning it all in 2004. Since then, they've been known as the team that couldn't win it all - from 2006-2008, they went to the conference championship three straight years but lost to the opposing team. Also very good in the late '80s, when the "Bad Boys" of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, and Rick Mahorn won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. Traditionally, they are known for strong defense and good-enough offense. Also, they are the ''real'' oldest NBA franchise around, with their roots going back to the '''1941-42''' season in the NBL.
*''Indiana Pacers'': Best The '''Indiana Pacers''' are best known as the team of Reggie Miller, who joined them in 1987 and played with them for 18 years. Made it to the Finals in 2000, but weren't able to beat the Lakers to win it all. Most of their players (apart from Miller) were either traded or retired soon afterward. And then the somewhat mentally unstable Ron Artest came, followed by the infamous Pacers-Pistons-fans brawl that alarmed even people that don't care about basketball. Reggie retired after the Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs, and the team was never been the same. Also one of four ABA teams (the others being the New Jersey Nets, the Denver Nuggets, and the San Antonio Spurs) to move to the NBA. Used to be very regular playoff contenders who could never seal the deal, but currently they're a rung up from pathetic to just being forgotten.
*''Miami Heat'': Started The '''Miami Heat''' got started in 1988, they've 1988 are have since been one of the league's more stable teams - they even won a Finals in 2006 on the backs of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. They've had various All-Stars in and out of their team as well. Now they have, thanks to the great [[MagnificentBastard Pat Riley]], Dwyane Wade, [=LeBron=] James and [[AndZoidberg Chris Bosh]] on the same team. Basically, they're considered to be public enemy #1 to the other 29 teams, [[HypeBacklash and their fans]], [[BeyondTheImpossible even beating out the L.A. Lakers in that mark.]] So far despite the hype, they've played [[SoAverageItsOkay fairly average basketball]], most notably Chris Bosh has played [[SoBaditsHorrible less than average]].
*''Milwaukee Bucks'': Basketball's The '''Milwaukee Bucks''' are basketball's version of SoOkayItsAverage. Owned by the state's older US Senator (and retail magnate) Herb Kohl they're not a particuarly bad team, as they do make the playoffs every so often, but they really haven't done anything of note since they had a little player by the name of Lew Alcindor (who you may know better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Their first and last championship was in 1971, their third season of existence. Soon after, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar left because he considered Milwaukee culturally backwards. The team's been mediocre since then, with some good teams in the mid-80s. On another note, when they drafted Glenn Robinson in the 90s, his contract was so ludicrous that the league instigated a salary cap for rookies the very next year.
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* ''New Jersey Nets'': Formerly known as the New Jersey Americans and the New York Nets. They were the league's running joke until the Jason Kidd era of the 2000s, when they reached the finals (and lost) two years in a row. In the 2009-10 season, they narrowly avoided becoming the worst team of all time. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (back when they were still the New York Nets). Recently they were bought by an eccentric Russian billionare who eventually plans to move the team to Brooklyn (in 2010 they moved from the Meadowlands to Newark while they wait for their new arena to hopefully be opened one day). If the move succeeds as planned, this would undoubtedly put an end to the question, "If the Nets won a championship, where would they hold the parade?" (The Nets' New Jersey home is located in the middle of a mess of suburbs and decayed cities that lacks a natural center.)
* ''New York Knicks'': The former team of Patrick Ewing. Ever since his retirement, the Knickerbockers been in something of a downward spiral, mainly involving cable magnate/part-time blues rocker James Dolan's bumbling ownership of the team and Isiah Thomas's awful run as a coach and GM, both whom managed to field squads which would lose horribly to a team from a Rucker Park pickup game. In Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Willis Reed hobbled out on an injured leg, scored four points, and supposedly inspired his team to win the game and the Championship. On another note, this is the preferred team of famed director Spike Lee. The shame of an otherwise proud sports city. Also, on one last note, they're one of only two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city. Recent rumors have Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul wanting to join up with Amar'e Stoudemire after the 2010-11 season.
* ''Orlando Magic'': One of the better teams playing today, they've had names like Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy [=McGrady=], and - most recently - Dwight Howard. They came within a few games of winning a Finals in the 2008-09 season, but they lost to the Lakers. They were Shaquille O'Neal's original team, and it was with the Magic that Shaq became known for destroying some backboards.
* ''Philadelphia 76ers'': Formerly known as the Syracuse Nationals, and also known more just as the Sixers. In the 1972-73 season, they had a 9-win season. Yes, 9 wins out of 82. On some more positive notes, they were the team of prolific [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean scorer]] Wilt Chamberlain, dunking genius Julius "Doctor J" Erving, and later Allen Iverson, who led the team to the Finals in 2001. They were also Charles Barkley's team in the 80s and early 90s, though both parties today don't care for each other very much. Also, they won one championship in Syracuse and two in Philadelphia.
* ''Toronto Raptors'': Started play in 1995. They haven't made it past the conference championship yet. Market their status as the only Canadian team heavily (they started along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, which has since moved to Memphis), including changing their primary color from purple to red. Their choice of team name (announced when JurassicPark was popular) caused a bit of consternation because their ''original'' NBA team that was around for only one season was the Toronto Huskies.
* ''New York Knicks'': The former team of Patrick Ewing. Ever since his retirement, the Knickerbockers been in something of a downward spiral, mainly involving cable magnate/part-time blues rocker James Dolan's bumbling ownership of the team and Isiah Thomas's awful run as a coach and GM, both whom managed to field squads which would lose horribly to a team from a Rucker Park pickup game. In Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Willis Reed hobbled out on an injured leg, scored four points, and supposedly inspired his team to win the game and the Championship. On another note, this is the preferred team of famed director Spike Lee. The shame of an otherwise proud sports city. Also, on one last note, they're one of only two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city. Recent rumors have Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul wanting to join up with Amar'e Stoudemire after the 2010-11 season.
* ''Orlando Magic'': One of the better teams playing today, they've had names like Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy [=McGrady=], and - most recently - Dwight Howard. They came within a few games of winning a Finals in the 2008-09 season, but they lost to the Lakers. They were Shaquille O'Neal's original team, and it was with the Magic that Shaq became known for destroying some backboards.
* ''Philadelphia 76ers'': Formerly known as the Syracuse Nationals, and also known more just as the Sixers. In the 1972-73 season, they had a 9-win season. Yes, 9 wins out of 82. On some more positive notes, they were the team of prolific [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean scorer]] Wilt Chamberlain, dunking genius Julius "Doctor J" Erving, and later Allen Iverson, who led the team to the Finals in 2001. They were also Charles Barkley's team in the 80s and early 90s, though both parties today don't care for each other very much. Also, they won one championship in Syracuse and two in Philadelphia.
* ''Toronto Raptors'': Started play in 1995. They haven't made it past the conference championship yet. Market their status as the only Canadian team heavily (they started along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, which has since moved to Memphis), including changing their primary color from purple to red. Their choice of team name (announced when JurassicPark was popular) caused a bit of consternation because their ''original'' NBA team that was around for only one season was the Toronto Huskies.
to:
* ''New The '''New Jersey Nets'': Formerly Nets''' were formerly known as the New Jersey Americans and the New York Nets. They were the league's running joke until the Jason Kidd era of the 2000s, when they reached the finals (and lost) two years in a row. In the 2009-10 season, they narrowly avoided becoming the worst team of all time. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (back when they were still the New York Nets). Recently they were bought by an eccentric Russian billionare who eventually plans to move the team to Brooklyn (in 2010 they moved from the Meadowlands to Newark while they wait for their new arena to hopefully be opened one day). If the move succeeds as planned, this would undoubtedly put an end to the question, "If the Nets won a championship, where would they hold the parade?" (The Nets' New Jersey home is located in the middle of a mess of suburbs and decayed cities that lacks a natural center.)
*''New The '''New York Knicks'': The Knicks''' are the former team of Patrick Ewing. Ever since his retirement, the Knickerbockers been in something of a downward spiral, mainly involving cable magnate/part-time blues rocker James Dolan's bumbling ownership of the team and Isiah Thomas's awful run as a coach and GM, both whom managed to field squads which would lose horribly to a team from a Rucker Park pickup game. In Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, Willis Reed hobbled out on an injured leg, scored four points, and supposedly inspired his team to win the game and the Championship. On another note, this is the preferred team of famed director Spike Lee. The shame of an otherwise proud sports city. Also, on one last note, they're one of only two franchises to start in the NBA in its beginnings back in the 1946-47 season and stay in their home city. Recent rumors have Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul wanting to join up with Amar'e Stoudemire after the 2010-11 season.
*''Orlando Magic'': One The '''Orlando Magic''' are one of the better teams playing today, they've had names like Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy [=McGrady=], and - most recently - Dwight Howard. They came within a few games of winning a Finals in the 2008-09 season, but they lost to the Lakers. They were Shaquille O'Neal's original team, and it was with the Magic that Shaq became known for destroying some backboards.
*''Philadelphia 76ers'': Formerly The '''Philadelphia 76ers''' were formerly known as the Syracuse Nationals, and are also known more just as the Sixers. In the 1972-73 season, they had a 9-win season. Yes, 9 wins out of 82. On some more positive notes, they were the team of prolific [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean scorer]] Wilt Chamberlain, dunking genius Julius "Doctor J" Erving, and later Allen Iverson, who led the team to the Finals in 2001. They were also Charles Barkley's team in the 80s and early 90s, though both parties today don't care for each other very much. Also, they won one championship in Syracuse and two in Philadelphia.
*''Toronto Raptors'': Started The '''Toronto Raptors''' started play in 1995. They haven't made it past the conference championship yet. Market their status as the only Canadian team heavily (they started along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, which has since moved to Memphis), including changing their primary color from purple to red. Their choice of team name (announced when JurassicPark was popular) caused a bit of consternation because their ''original'' NBA team that was around for only one season was the Toronto Huskies.
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* ''Washington Wizards'': Formerly known by many names like the Chicago Packers, the Chicago Zephyrs, the Baltimore Bullets ([[DisContinuity who should not be confused with the Baltimore Bullets team who won the BAA/NBA Finals Championship in the 1947-48 season]]), the Capital Bullets (who actually played in the small D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland for one year), and the Washington Bullets. Their name was changed from "Bullets" to "Wizards" because of the UnfortunateImplications of glorifying bullets in a city with an astronomical crime rate. The team of Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas, who decided which team to sign with by flipping a coin, sponsors professional video game teams, and is constantly in trouble with the league administration. However, it's future is considered to be involving John Wall instead. Also, Michael Jordan allegedly used to play for them briefly.
to:
* ''Washington Wizards'': Formerly The '''Washington Wizards''' were formerly known by many names like the Chicago Packers, the Chicago Zephyrs, the Baltimore Bullets ([[DisContinuity who should not be confused with the Baltimore Bullets team who won the BAA/NBA Finals Championship in the 1947-48 season]]), the Capital Bullets (who actually played in the small D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland for one year), and the Washington Bullets. Their name was changed from "Bullets" to "Wizards" because of the UnfortunateImplications of glorifying bullets in a city with an astronomical crime rate. The team of Gilbert "Agent Zero" Arenas, who decided which team to sign with by flipping a coin, sponsors professional video game teams, and is constantly in trouble with the league administration. However, it's future is considered to be involving John Wall instead. Also, Michael Jordan allegedly used to play for them briefly.
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* ''Dallas Mavericks'': The Mavs started playing in 1980, and were so named because ''Maverick'' star [[InJoke James Garner was a part of the founding ownership]]. Throughout most of the '80s, they were generally pretty good - though they entered a bit of a DorkAge in the 1990s. Early in their history they were about to unseat the then-mighty Lakers in the playoffs until their point guard lost track of the score in a critical game. However, when [[AscendedFanboy dot-com bubble billionaire Mark Cuban]] bought the team, and brought in Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash got into the area during the late 90's and early 2000's, they started getting good again - good enough to make the playoffs pretty much year in and year out, even making it all the way to the Finals in 2006.
* ''Denver Nuggets'': One of the better teams playing today. The current team of Carmelo Anthony, who was the ''real'' runner-up to [=LeBron=] James the year he was drafted. Allen Iverson played here too, but was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups in the 08-09 season. While they've been pretty consistenly good for a while, they're yet another team with that "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" vibe about them. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (with the original name for this team for most of the ABA being the Denver Rockets). Their name's basically [[TheArtifact a homage/an artifact]] of the ''original'' Denver Nuggets team that was in the NBA for only one season. [[SoBadItsHorrible And for good reason.]] During the 80s, they were a famously high-scoring team whose coach, Doug Moe, literally did not believe in defense, once pulling the team to the sidelines late in the game while the other team scored at will as a protest. That style of play ended up getting the highest-scoring game in NBA history with the Nuggets winning over the Pistons '''186-184'''.
* ''Golden State Warriors'': A team with its best days far behind it; located in Oakland with a name designed to not peeve either San Francisco, Oakland or the Bay Area in general. The only thing they've really done lately of note was stun the then-top-seeded Mavericks in the 2007 Playoffs, and in 2010 they brought back the classic uniforms featuring an image of one of the famous bridges of the area (formerly the Golden Gate, now the Oakland-San Francisco). Were originally from Philadelphia and later on, San Francisco.
* ''Houston Rockets'': Won two championships in the '90s with the mighty Hakeem Olajuwon. Since then, they've been largely in the same boat as teams like Dallas and Denver - always a bridesmaid, never a bride. On the other hand, they drafted Yao Ming a few years back, starting a trend of Chinese players entering the league. Their first arena has been converted to the most mega of any mega-church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
* ''Los Angeles Clippers'': Quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Oh, and they have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
* ''Los Angeles Lakers'': The West's answer to the Boston Celtics. They've got 16 championships to their name and they're the first team to win 3,000 regular-season games. This is the NBA's either-love-them-or-hate-them team. Their historical rosters read like a CriterionCollection of [=NBA=] history. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant have all at some point called this place home - all five have between them 8 [=MVP=] awards. Jerry West's image forms the iconic NBA logo. Also the team of George Mikan, who we blame for the fact that you need a pituitary disorder to play basketball today. Here's two fun facts for you: they were originally called the Detroit Gems for one season and the Lakers are the ''only'' team to win a championship from the NBL, the BAA, and the NBA. The name is [[TheArtifact an artifact]] from their early days in Minneapolis. Minnesota has ten thousand lakes; Los Angeles has five. This began the tradition of NBA teams keeping their name on changing cities, no matter how incongruous. Speaking of which...
* ''Memphis Grizzlies'': Started play in 1995. They've done very little of note. And by that, we mean ''very,'' '''very''' little. They've shown some improvement in recent years, but remain far from contenders. Grizzly bears are notoriously hard to find around swampy, humid Memphis; the team was originally based in Vancouver, Canada. Basically, the only thing that's known about them was the very one-sided trade to the L.A. Lakers that made the Grizzlies lose their best player (Pau Gasol).
* ''Minnesota Timberwolves'': They can sometimes be called the Minnesota Wolves. The former team of Kevin Garnett, who was known as a great player without a ring - and who was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics where he immediately won a ring. Fun fact: they got their name as a result of a "name that team" contest.
* ''New Orleans Hornets'': Formerly the Charlotte Hornets[[hottip:*:This name's another [[TheArtifact relic]]; during the AmericanRevolution the British described Charlotte as "a hornet's nest"]]. They've been fairly consistent in their 20 years - occasionally very bad, occasionally very good, but mostly in the middle of the pack. Point Guard Chris Paul led the team to their first divisional title in 2008, but they've slipped back into mediocrity since then. Due to a minor weather incident in New Orleans in 2005, the Hornets played home games in Oklahoma City for a while, where they became the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The Seattle (Super)Sonics took note of the team's strong reception there, leading us to...
* ''Oklahoma City Thunder'': Formerly the Seattle (Super)Sonics. They were pretty bad when they first moved to OK - then Kevin Durant started getting really good (becoming the youngest best scorer of the league) and they're suddenly in playoff contention. Seattle's glory days were in the late 70's, when they won a championship, and the mid 90's, when they were the favored team of several noted Seattle bands.
* ''Phoenix Suns'': One of many teams without a championship. They've been pretty solid in the '00s - they've got Steve Nash and some other solid names to their credit. Historically, they are one of the better franchises in the NBA. Ex-Suns coach Mike D'Antoni instituted a system that's successful called "Seven Seconds Or Less". That style of play was not only fun, but other teams started to copy that system during the late 2000s (such as the Golden State Warriors). They're also noted for "The Shot Heard Around the World" back in the 1976 NBA Finals.
* ''Portland Trail Blazers'': They're sometimes known as the Portland Blazers. Another team whose best years are behind them. In the early to mid-'00s, they were known as the Jail Blazers for the number of players in trouble with the law. Now known as the black cats of the league, because their players seem to always be injured. Also (in)famous for drafting Sam Bowie one slot ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie's knees gave out immediately and Jordan went on to be one of the most successful athletes in American history. Lightning struck twice when they drafted Greg Oden, who's knees gave out immediately, one slot before Kevin Durant, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
* ''Sacramento Kings'': They last won a championship in 1951. Bounced around from Rochester (as the Royals) to Cincinnati (also as the Royals) to Kansas City-Omaha to ''just'' Kansas City before settling in Sacramento in 1985. Sacramento's only major league sports team, their fanbase has been among the strongest in the league even during the franchise's lean years, which could just be a testament to how little there is to do in Sacramento. This franchise is the ''second-oldest'' franchise in the NBA, behind only the Detroit Pistons. Their roots began in the ''1945-46'' season -- one year after the BAA/NBA began.
* ''San Antonio Spurs'': One of the more dominant teams of the 2000s, they've won the championship 4 times and have more division titles than any other team. Also the team of Tim Duncan, who is OneOfUs and whom TheOnion really likes to make fun of. Like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Denver Nuggets, they're one of four ABA teams to move to the NBA. Started out in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and in one season, the Texas Chaparrals.
* ''Utah Jazz'': Best known as the team of assist king John Stockton and "The Mailman" Karl Malone. In the more distant past, "Pistol" Pete Maravich (Disney made a movie about his childhood hoop exploits) played for them. However, despite their dominance, they have no championships to show for it. The franchise was originally from New Orleans, in case you wondered what ultra-conservative, Mormon Utah had to do with jazz.
* ''Denver Nuggets'': One of the better teams playing today. The current team of Carmelo Anthony, who was the ''real'' runner-up to [=LeBron=] James the year he was drafted. Allen Iverson played here too, but was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups in the 08-09 season. While they've been pretty consistenly good for a while, they're yet another team with that "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" vibe about them. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (with the original name for this team for most of the ABA being the Denver Rockets). Their name's basically [[TheArtifact a homage/an artifact]] of the ''original'' Denver Nuggets team that was in the NBA for only one season. [[SoBadItsHorrible And for good reason.]] During the 80s, they were a famously high-scoring team whose coach, Doug Moe, literally did not believe in defense, once pulling the team to the sidelines late in the game while the other team scored at will as a protest. That style of play ended up getting the highest-scoring game in NBA history with the Nuggets winning over the Pistons '''186-184'''.
* ''Golden State Warriors'': A team with its best days far behind it; located in Oakland with a name designed to not peeve either San Francisco, Oakland or the Bay Area in general. The only thing they've really done lately of note was stun the then-top-seeded Mavericks in the 2007 Playoffs, and in 2010 they brought back the classic uniforms featuring an image of one of the famous bridges of the area (formerly the Golden Gate, now the Oakland-San Francisco). Were originally from Philadelphia and later on, San Francisco.
* ''Houston Rockets'': Won two championships in the '90s with the mighty Hakeem Olajuwon. Since then, they've been largely in the same boat as teams like Dallas and Denver - always a bridesmaid, never a bride. On the other hand, they drafted Yao Ming a few years back, starting a trend of Chinese players entering the league. Their first arena has been converted to the most mega of any mega-church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
* ''Los Angeles Clippers'': Quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Oh, and they have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
* ''Los Angeles Lakers'': The West's answer to the Boston Celtics. They've got 16 championships to their name and they're the first team to win 3,000 regular-season games. This is the NBA's either-love-them-or-hate-them team. Their historical rosters read like a CriterionCollection of [=NBA=] history. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant have all at some point called this place home - all five have between them 8 [=MVP=] awards. Jerry West's image forms the iconic NBA logo. Also the team of George Mikan, who we blame for the fact that you need a pituitary disorder to play basketball today. Here's two fun facts for you: they were originally called the Detroit Gems for one season and the Lakers are the ''only'' team to win a championship from the NBL, the BAA, and the NBA. The name is [[TheArtifact an artifact]] from their early days in Minneapolis. Minnesota has ten thousand lakes; Los Angeles has five. This began the tradition of NBA teams keeping their name on changing cities, no matter how incongruous. Speaking of which...
* ''Memphis Grizzlies'': Started play in 1995. They've done very little of note. And by that, we mean ''very,'' '''very''' little. They've shown some improvement in recent years, but remain far from contenders. Grizzly bears are notoriously hard to find around swampy, humid Memphis; the team was originally based in Vancouver, Canada. Basically, the only thing that's known about them was the very one-sided trade to the L.A. Lakers that made the Grizzlies lose their best player (Pau Gasol).
* ''Minnesota Timberwolves'': They can sometimes be called the Minnesota Wolves. The former team of Kevin Garnett, who was known as a great player without a ring - and who was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics where he immediately won a ring. Fun fact: they got their name as a result of a "name that team" contest.
* ''New Orleans Hornets'': Formerly the Charlotte Hornets[[hottip:*:This name's another [[TheArtifact relic]]; during the AmericanRevolution the British described Charlotte as "a hornet's nest"]]. They've been fairly consistent in their 20 years - occasionally very bad, occasionally very good, but mostly in the middle of the pack. Point Guard Chris Paul led the team to their first divisional title in 2008, but they've slipped back into mediocrity since then. Due to a minor weather incident in New Orleans in 2005, the Hornets played home games in Oklahoma City for a while, where they became the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The Seattle (Super)Sonics took note of the team's strong reception there, leading us to...
* ''Oklahoma City Thunder'': Formerly the Seattle (Super)Sonics. They were pretty bad when they first moved to OK - then Kevin Durant started getting really good (becoming the youngest best scorer of the league) and they're suddenly in playoff contention. Seattle's glory days were in the late 70's, when they won a championship, and the mid 90's, when they were the favored team of several noted Seattle bands.
* ''Phoenix Suns'': One of many teams without a championship. They've been pretty solid in the '00s - they've got Steve Nash and some other solid names to their credit. Historically, they are one of the better franchises in the NBA. Ex-Suns coach Mike D'Antoni instituted a system that's successful called "Seven Seconds Or Less". That style of play was not only fun, but other teams started to copy that system during the late 2000s (such as the Golden State Warriors). They're also noted for "The Shot Heard Around the World" back in the 1976 NBA Finals.
* ''Portland Trail Blazers'': They're sometimes known as the Portland Blazers. Another team whose best years are behind them. In the early to mid-'00s, they were known as the Jail Blazers for the number of players in trouble with the law. Now known as the black cats of the league, because their players seem to always be injured. Also (in)famous for drafting Sam Bowie one slot ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie's knees gave out immediately and Jordan went on to be one of the most successful athletes in American history. Lightning struck twice when they drafted Greg Oden, who's knees gave out immediately, one slot before Kevin Durant, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
* ''Sacramento Kings'': They last won a championship in 1951. Bounced around from Rochester (as the Royals) to Cincinnati (also as the Royals) to Kansas City-Omaha to ''just'' Kansas City before settling in Sacramento in 1985. Sacramento's only major league sports team, their fanbase has been among the strongest in the league even during the franchise's lean years, which could just be a testament to how little there is to do in Sacramento. This franchise is the ''second-oldest'' franchise in the NBA, behind only the Detroit Pistons. Their roots began in the ''1945-46'' season -- one year after the BAA/NBA began.
* ''San Antonio Spurs'': One of the more dominant teams of the 2000s, they've won the championship 4 times and have more division titles than any other team. Also the team of Tim Duncan, who is OneOfUs and whom TheOnion really likes to make fun of. Like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Denver Nuggets, they're one of four ABA teams to move to the NBA. Started out in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and in one season, the Texas Chaparrals.
* ''Utah Jazz'': Best known as the team of assist king John Stockton and "The Mailman" Karl Malone. In the more distant past, "Pistol" Pete Maravich (Disney made a movie about his childhood hoop exploits) played for them. However, despite their dominance, they have no championships to show for it. The franchise was originally from New Orleans, in case you wondered what ultra-conservative, Mormon Utah had to do with jazz.
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* ''Dallas Mavericks'': The Mavs '''Dallas Mavericks''' started playing in 1980, and were so named because ''Maverick'' star [[InJoke James Garner was a part of the founding ownership]]. Throughout most of the '80s, they were generally pretty good - though they entered a bit of a DorkAge in the 1990s. Early in their history they were about to unseat the then-mighty Lakers in the playoffs until their point guard lost track of the score in a critical game. However, when [[AscendedFanboy dot-com bubble billionaire Mark Cuban]] bought the team, and brought in Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash got into the area during the late 90's and early 2000's, they started getting good again - good enough to make the playoffs pretty much year in and year out, even making it all the way to the Finals in 2006.
*''Denver Nuggets'': One The '''Denver Nuggets''' are one of the better teams playing today. The current team of Carmelo Anthony, who was the ''real'' runner-up to [=LeBron=] James the year he was drafted. Allen Iverson played here too, but was traded to Detroit for Chauncey Billups in the 08-09 season. While they've been pretty consistenly good for a while, they're yet another team with that "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" vibe about them. Also, like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the San Antonio Spurs, they're one of the four surviving ABA teams (with the original name for this team for most of the ABA being the Denver Rockets). Their name's basically [[TheArtifact a homage/an artifact]] of the ''original'' Denver Nuggets team that was in the NBA for only one season. [[SoBadItsHorrible And for good reason.]] During the 80s, they were a famously high-scoring team whose coach, Doug Moe, literally did not believe in defense, once pulling the team to the sidelines late in the game while the other team scored at will as a protest. That style of play ended up getting the highest-scoring game in NBA history with the Nuggets winning over the Pistons '''186-184'''.
*''Golden The '''Golden State Warriors'': A Warriors''' are a team with its best days far behind it; located in Oakland with a name designed to not peeve either San Francisco, Oakland or the Bay Area in general. The only thing they've really done lately of note was stun the then-top-seeded Mavericks in the 2007 Playoffs, and in 2010 they brought back the classic uniforms featuring an image of one of the famous bridges of the area (formerly the Golden Gate, now the Oakland-San Francisco). Were originally from Philadelphia and later on, San Francisco.
*''Houston Rockets'': Won The '''Houston Rockets''' won two championships in the '90s with the mighty Hakeem Olajuwon. Since then, they've been largely in the same boat as teams like Dallas and Denver - always a bridesmaid, never a bride. On the other hand, they drafted Yao Ming a few years back, starting a trend of Chinese players entering the league. Their first arena has been converted to the most mega of any mega-church, Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.
*''Los The '''Los Angeles Clippers'': Quite Clippers''' are quite possibly the worst franchise in all American major sports, though actor Billy Crystal is a well-known supporter. Born as the Buffalo Braves and later on, the San Diego Clippers, they're historically known as one of the league's [[ButtMonkey joke teams]]. They don't have any divisional, conference, or league championships to their names. Oh, and they have the unfortunate distinction of sharing an arena with the...
* ''Los AngelesLakers'': Lakers'', aka The West's answer to the Boston Celtics. They've got 16 championships to their name and they're the first team to win 3,000 regular-season games. This is the NBA's either-love-them-or-hate-them team. Their historical rosters read like a CriterionCollection of [=NBA=] history. Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant have all at some point called this place home - all five have between them 8 [=MVP=] awards. Jerry West's image forms the iconic NBA logo. Also the team of George Mikan, who we blame for the fact that you need a pituitary disorder to play basketball today. Here's two fun facts for you: they were originally called the Detroit Gems for one season and the Lakers are the ''only'' team to win a championship from the NBL, the BAA, and the NBA. The name is [[TheArtifact an artifact]] from their early days in Minneapolis. Minnesota has ten thousand lakes; Los Angeles has five. This began the tradition of NBA teams keeping their name on changing cities, no matter how incongruous. Speaking of which...
*''Memphis Grizzlies'': Started The '''Memphis Grizzlies''' started play in 1995. They've done very little of note. And by that, we mean ''very,'' '''very''' little. They've shown some improvement in recent years, but remain far from contenders. Grizzly bears are notoriously hard to find around swampy, humid Memphis; the team was originally based in Vancouver, Canada. Basically, the only thing that's known about them was the very one-sided trade to the L.A. Lakers that made the Grizzlies lose their best player (Pau Gasol).
*''Minnesota Timberwolves'': They The '''Minnesota Timberwolves''' can sometimes also be called the Minnesota Wolves. The former team of Kevin Garnett, who was known as a great player without a ring - and who was subsequently traded to the Boston Celtics where he immediately won a ring. Fun fact: they got their name as a result of a "name that team" contest.
*''New The '''New Orleans Hornets'': Formerly Hornets''' were formerly the Charlotte Hornets[[hottip:*:This name's another [[TheArtifact relic]]; during the AmericanRevolution the British described Charlotte as "a hornet's nest"]]. They've been fairly consistent in their 20 years - occasionally very bad, occasionally very good, but mostly in the middle of the pack. Point Guard Chris Paul led the team to their first divisional title in 2008, but they've slipped back into mediocrity since then. Due to a [[{{Understatement}} minor weather incident incident]] in New Orleans in 2005, the Hornets played home games in Oklahoma City for a while, where they became the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The Seattle (Super)Sonics took note of the team's strong reception there, leading us to...
*''Oklahoma The '''Oklahoma City Thunder'': Formerly Thunder''' were formerly known as the Seattle (Super)Sonics. They were pretty bad when they first moved to OK - then Kevin Durant started getting really good (becoming the youngest best scorer of the league) and they're suddenly in playoff contention. Seattle's glory days were in the late 70's, when they won a championship, and the mid 90's, when they were the favored team of several noted Seattle bands.
*''Phoenix Suns'': One The '''Phoenix Suns''' are one of many teams without a championship. They've been pretty solid in the '00s - they've got Steve Nash and some other solid names to their credit. Historically, they are one of the better franchises in the NBA. Ex-Suns coach Mike D'Antoni instituted a system that's successful called "Seven Seconds Or Less". That style of play was not only fun, but other teams started to copy that system during the late 2000s (such as the Golden State Warriors). They're also noted for "The Shot Heard Around the World" back in the 1976 NBA Finals.
*''Portland The '''Portland Trail Blazers'': They're Blazers''' are sometimes known as the Portland Blazers. Another team whose best years are behind them. In the early to mid-'00s, they were known as the Jail Blazers for the number of players in trouble with the law. Now known as the black cats of the league, because their players seem to always be injured. Also (in)famous for drafting Sam Bowie one slot ahead of Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie's knees gave out immediately and Jordan went on to be one of the most successful athletes in American history. Lightning struck twice when they drafted Greg Oden, who's knees gave out immediately, one slot before Kevin Durant, one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.
*''Sacramento Kings'': They The '''Sacramento Kings''' last won a championship in 1951. Bounced around from Rochester (as the Royals) to Cincinnati (also as the Royals) to Kansas City-Omaha to ''just'' Kansas City before settling in Sacramento in 1985. Sacramento's only major league sports team, their fanbase has been among the strongest in the league even during the franchise's lean years, which could just be a testament to how little there is to do in Sacramento. This franchise is the ''second-oldest'' franchise in the NBA, behind only the Detroit Pistons. Their roots began in the ''1945-46'' season -- one year after the BAA/NBA began.
*''San The '''San Antonio Spurs'': One Spurs''' were one of the more dominant teams of the 2000s, as they've won the championship 4 times and have more division titles than any other team. Also the team of Tim Duncan, who is OneOfUs and whom TheOnion really likes to make fun of. Like the Indiana Pacers, the New Jersey Nets, and the Denver Nuggets, they're one of four ABA teams to move to the NBA. Started out in the ABA as the Dallas Chaparrals and in one season, the Texas Chaparrals.
*''Utah Jazz'': Best The '''Utah Jazz''' are best known as the team of assist king John Stockton and "The Mailman" Karl Malone. In the more distant past, "Pistol" Pete Maravich (Disney made a movie about his childhood hoop exploits) played for them. However, despite their dominance, they have no championships to show for it. The franchise was originally from New Orleans, in case you wondered what ultra-conservative, Mormon Utah had to do with jazz.
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* ''Kareem Abdul-Jabbar'': One of the players in serious contention for "best ever". He has six [=MVP=] awards, six championships, and is currently the league's all-time leading scorer. He was born Lew Alcindor, but changed his name when he converted to Islam. Best known for the "sky hook" shot and being nigh-unto-unstoppable.
* ''Wilt Chamberlain'': Nicknamed "The Stilt", which he thought sounded lame. Another serious entrant into the "best ever" debate. Among his accolades: the only player to average more than 40 or 50 points a game in a season, and he has the only 100-point game to his credit. Has four [=MVP=] trophies. He's also infamous for the claim that he slept with over 20,000 women.
* ''Larry Bird'': One of the more popular figures in Boston sports history. Has 3 [=MVP=] trophies and 3 championships to his credit. Was TheRival to Magic Johnson when the two matched up. Also white.
* ''Magic Johnson'': TheRival to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. Has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive.
* ''Michael Jordan'': Probably the most recent player to have a legitimate claim to the title of "best ever," and arguably the best athelete in American Sports, period. He played in the '80s and '90s for the Chicago Bulls, and was largely known for being unstoppable - so much so that other teams would often just let him do his thing and just try to stop the other four guys. He was one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised athletes in any sport ''ever''. He retired at the height of his career to attempt a career in baseball - [[EpilepticTrees rumors abound]] as to why this happened. He returned a couple of years later with his skills no less diminshed. He then retired again. Some people may try to tell you that he came out of retirement a second time to play for the Wizards, but they're [[DisContinuity clearly confused]]. Currently president of the Charlotte Bobcats.
* ''Dave Bing'': Former member of the {{Detroit}} Pistons. Admittedly, he's not as notable a career as the others listed here, although he is in the Hall of Fame. He is noteworthy because 1) after retirement, he became a successful businessman in Detroit -- a town not known for much business success at the time -- and 2) he is now mayor of Detroit, perhaps ''the'' most thankless task in America. For all the millionaire jock doofuses who spout platitudes about "giving back to the community", here's a guy who actually rolled up his sleeves and did it. May his mayoral career be as successful as his business career.
* ''Charles Barkley'': A very outspoken player who played for Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Houston. He's way up there on a lot of the career lists for several categories and is a Hall of Famer, but is probably best known for a commercial in which he claimed he was not a role model. This created a ton of debate as to whether athletes should be considered role models.
* ''Scottie Pippen'': TheLancer to Michael Jordan during his golden years, Scottie Pippen was their second-leading scorer and led the team through the three years of Jordan's first retirement. He appeared in the postseason in 16 of his years in the league. In one infamous incident during the Jordanless years, he refused to come off the bench and play when Phil Jackson (then coach of the Bulls) was running the offense through Toni Kukoc near the end of a playoff game.
* ''Robert Horry'': A solid but otherwise unremarkable player who is best known for having 7 championship rings - the only player not of the '60s Celtics to have that honor - and for playing in more playoff games than any other player.
* ''John Stockton and Karl Malone'': The most famous [[ActionDuo duo]] in the NBA history - they played 1,412 games together with the Jazz. The former, a little white point guard, is the best ever for the number of assists in his career with 15,806. The latter, a huge black power forward, is the second scorer ever, being only beaten by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (see above) - with 36,928. Both were also [[EvilDuo quite vicious]], and [[MadeOfIron almost never injured]]. Members of the first Dream Team. Won a MVP trophy of the All-Star Game together.
* ''Reggie Miller'' and ''Gary Payton'': Two very good players of the nineties (for the Pacers and ex-Sonics-now-Thunder respectively), known for being (along with Charles Barkley described above) the [[MotorMouth bigger mouthes]] of the league. Payton was virtually always speaking on the ground, often [[JerkAss to mock]] his direct opponent (which he [[VictoryGloating almost always beated]]), and Miller had some interesting dialogues [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSF8otJH8Y with Spike Lee]].
* ''Wilt Chamberlain'': Nicknamed "The Stilt", which he thought sounded lame. Another serious entrant into the "best ever" debate. Among his accolades: the only player to average more than 40 or 50 points a game in a season, and he has the only 100-point game to his credit. Has four [=MVP=] trophies. He's also infamous for the claim that he slept with over 20,000 women.
* ''Larry Bird'': One of the more popular figures in Boston sports history. Has 3 [=MVP=] trophies and 3 championships to his credit. Was TheRival to Magic Johnson when the two matched up. Also white.
* ''Magic Johnson'': TheRival to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. Has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive.
* ''Michael Jordan'': Probably the most recent player to have a legitimate claim to the title of "best ever," and arguably the best athelete in American Sports, period. He played in the '80s and '90s for the Chicago Bulls, and was largely known for being unstoppable - so much so that other teams would often just let him do his thing and just try to stop the other four guys. He was one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised athletes in any sport ''ever''. He retired at the height of his career to attempt a career in baseball - [[EpilepticTrees rumors abound]] as to why this happened. He returned a couple of years later with his skills no less diminshed. He then retired again. Some people may try to tell you that he came out of retirement a second time to play for the Wizards, but they're [[DisContinuity clearly confused]]. Currently president of the Charlotte Bobcats.
* ''Dave Bing'': Former member of the {{Detroit}} Pistons. Admittedly, he's not as notable a career as the others listed here, although he is in the Hall of Fame. He is noteworthy because 1) after retirement, he became a successful businessman in Detroit -- a town not known for much business success at the time -- and 2) he is now mayor of Detroit, perhaps ''the'' most thankless task in America. For all the millionaire jock doofuses who spout platitudes about "giving back to the community", here's a guy who actually rolled up his sleeves and did it. May his mayoral career be as successful as his business career.
* ''Charles Barkley'': A very outspoken player who played for Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Houston. He's way up there on a lot of the career lists for several categories and is a Hall of Famer, but is probably best known for a commercial in which he claimed he was not a role model. This created a ton of debate as to whether athletes should be considered role models.
* ''Scottie Pippen'': TheLancer to Michael Jordan during his golden years, Scottie Pippen was their second-leading scorer and led the team through the three years of Jordan's first retirement. He appeared in the postseason in 16 of his years in the league. In one infamous incident during the Jordanless years, he refused to come off the bench and play when Phil Jackson (then coach of the Bulls) was running the offense through Toni Kukoc near the end of a playoff game.
* ''Robert Horry'': A solid but otherwise unremarkable player who is best known for having 7 championship rings - the only player not of the '60s Celtics to have that honor - and for playing in more playoff games than any other player.
* ''John Stockton and Karl Malone'': The most famous [[ActionDuo duo]] in the NBA history - they played 1,412 games together with the Jazz. The former, a little white point guard, is the best ever for the number of assists in his career with 15,806. The latter, a huge black power forward, is the second scorer ever, being only beaten by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (see above) - with 36,928. Both were also [[EvilDuo quite vicious]], and [[MadeOfIron almost never injured]]. Members of the first Dream Team. Won a MVP trophy of the All-Star Game together.
* ''Reggie Miller'' and ''Gary Payton'': Two very good players of the nineties (for the Pacers and ex-Sonics-now-Thunder respectively), known for being (along with Charles Barkley described above) the [[MotorMouth bigger mouthes]] of the league. Payton was virtually always speaking on the ground, often [[JerkAss to mock]] his direct opponent (which he [[VictoryGloating almost always beated]]), and Miller had some interesting dialogues [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSF8otJH8Y with Spike Lee]].
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* ''Kareem Abdul-Jabbar'': One '''Kareem Abdul-Jabbar''' is one of the players in serious contention for "best ever". He has six [=MVP=] awards, six championships, and is currently the league's all-time leading scorer. He was born Lew Alcindor, but changed his name when he converted to Islam. Best known for the "sky hook" shot and being nigh-unto-unstoppable.
*''Wilt Chamberlain'': Nicknamed '''Wilt Chamberlain''' was nicknamed "The Stilt", which he thought sounded lame. Another He's another serious entrant into the "best ever" debate. Among his accolades: the only player to average more than 40 or 50 points a game in a season, and he has the only 100-point game to his credit. Has He has four [=MVP=] trophies. He's also infamous for the claim that he slept with over 20,000 women.
*''Larry Bird'': One '''Larry Bird''' is one of the more popular figures in Boston sports history. Has He has 3 [=MVP=] trophies and 3 championships to his credit. Was He was TheRival to Magic Johnson when the two matched up. Also white.
*''Magic Johnson'': '''Magic Johnson''' was TheRival to Larry Bird. Played for the Lakers - it's largely his rivalry with Bird that caused them to be notched as rivals with the Celtics. Has He has 3 [=MVP=] awards and 5 championships. He retired in the early '90s when he revealed he was [=HIV=] positive.
*''Michael Jordan'': Probably '''Michael Jordan''' is probably the most recent player to have a legitimate claim to the title of "best ever," and arguably the best athelete in American Sports, period. He played in the '80s and '90s for the Chicago Bulls, and was largely known for being unstoppable - so much so that other teams would often just let him do his thing and just try to stop the other four guys. He was one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised athletes in any sport ''ever''. He retired at the height of his career to attempt a career in baseball - [[EpilepticTrees rumors abound]] as to why this happened. He returned a couple of years later with his skills no less diminshed. He then retired again. Some people may try to tell you that he came out of retirement a second time to play for the Wizards, but they're [[DisContinuity clearly confused]]. Currently He's currently president of the Charlotte Bobcats.
*''Dave Bing'': Former '''Dave Bing''' is a former member of the {{Detroit}} Pistons. Admittedly, he's not as notable a career as the others listed here, although he is in the Hall of Fame. He is noteworthy because 1) after retirement, he became a successful businessman in Detroit -- a town not known for much business success at the time -- and 2) he is now mayor of Detroit, perhaps ''the'' most thankless task in America. For all the millionaire jock doofuses who spout platitudes about "giving back to the community", here's a guy who actually rolled up his sleeves and did it. May his mayoral career be as successful as his business career.
*''Charles Barkley'': A '''Charles Barkley''' is a very outspoken player who played for Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Houston. He's way up there on a lot of the career lists for several categories and is a Hall of Famer, but is probably best known for a commercial in which he claimed he was not a role model. This created a ton of debate as to whether athletes should be considered role models.
*''Scottie Pippen'': '''Scottie Pippen''' was TheLancer to Michael Jordan during his golden years, Scottie Pippen was their second-leading scorer and led the team through the three years of Jordan's first retirement. He appeared in the postseason in 16 of his 17 years in the league. In one infamous incident during the Jordanless years, he refused to come off the bench and play when Phil Jackson (then coach of the Bulls) was running the offense through Toni Kukoc near the end of a playoff game.
*''Robert Horry'': A '''Robert Horry''' was a solid but otherwise unremarkable player who is best known for having 7 championship rings - the only player not of the '60s Celtics to have that honor - and for playing in more playoff games than any other player.
*''John '''John Stockton and Karl Malone'': The Malone''' are the most famous [[ActionDuo duo]] in the NBA history - they played 1,412 games together with the Jazz. The former, a little white point guard, is the best ever for the number of assists in his career with 15,806. The latter, a huge black power forward, is the second scorer ever, being only beaten by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (see above) - with 36,928. Both were also [[EvilDuo quite vicious]], and [[MadeOfIron almost never injured]]. Members of the first Dream Team. Won a They won an MVP trophy of at the All-Star Game together.
*''Reggie Miller'' '''Reggie Miller''' and ''Gary Payton'': Two '''Gary Payton''' were two very good players of the nineties (for the Pacers and ex-Sonics-now-Thunder respectively), known for being (along with Charles Barkley described above) the [[MotorMouth bigger mouthes]] mouths]] of the league. Payton was virtually always speaking on the ground, often [[JerkAss to mock]] his direct opponent (which he [[VictoryGloating almost always beated]]), beat]]), and Miller had some interesting dialogues [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDSF8otJH8Y with Spike Lee]].
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* ''Shaquille O'Neal'': Formerly dominant center, most famously playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He bounces around from team to team year by year, but he's still pretty good in spite of a growing weight problem. He's got four championship rings (3 with the Lakers, one with the Heat), and he's been to 15 All-Star games. Named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 (which some at the time felt was premature, though there's little doubt he's earned the title since). He's also done some acting and released a couple of rap albums (many of which actually went gold).
* ''Kevin Garnett'': Famous [[JerkAss trash-talker]] and very versatile power-forward, played ten years for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with almost always a defeat in the first round of the playoffs. When younger, famous for his [[MoneyDearBoy huge contract]] which forbade his General Manager to pay other good players. Won a ring during his first year in Boston, now one of the main players of the team.
* ''Kobe Bryant'': Very skilled guard playing for the Lakers. He has five rings, all with the Lakers. When he and Shaq were on the same team, they won 3 consecutive championships. But Kobe and Shaq on a personal level...well, things didn't work out too well. Owned a lot of the league's "youngest-to" records until a certain young man came into town. And that young man's name is...
* ''Kevin Garnett'': Famous [[JerkAss trash-talker]] and very versatile power-forward, played ten years for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with almost always a defeat in the first round of the playoffs. When younger, famous for his [[MoneyDearBoy huge contract]] which forbade his General Manager to pay other good players. Won a ring during his first year in Boston, now one of the main players of the team.
* ''Kobe Bryant'': Very skilled guard playing for the Lakers. He has five rings, all with the Lakers. When he and Shaq were on the same team, they won 3 consecutive championships. But Kobe and Shaq on a personal level...well, things didn't work out too well. Owned a lot of the league's "youngest-to" records until a certain young man came into town. And that young man's name is...
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* ''Shaquille O'Neal'': Formerly '''Shaquille O'Neal''' is a formerly dominant center, most famously playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He bounces around from team to team year by year, but he's still pretty good in spite of a growing weight problem. He's got four championship rings (3 with the Lakers, one with the Heat), and he's been to 15 All-Star games. Named He was named one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history in 1996 (which some at the time felt was premature, though there's little doubt he's earned the title since). He's also done some acting and released a couple of rap albums (many of which actually went gold).
*''Kevin Garnett'': Famous '''Kevin Garnett''' is a famous [[JerkAss trash-talker]] and very versatile power-forward, power-forward who played ten years for the Minnesota Timberwolves, with almost always a defeat in the first round of the playoffs. When younger, he was famous for his [[MoneyDearBoy huge contract]] which forbade his General Manager to pay other good players. Won He won a ring during his first year in Boston, now one of the main players of the team.
*''Kobe Bryant'': Very '''Kobe Bryant''' is a very skilled guard playing for the Lakers. He has five rings, all with the Lakers. When he and Shaq were on the same team, they won 3 consecutive championships. But Kobe and Shaq on a personal level...well, things didn't work out too well. Owned He owned a lot of the league's "youngest-to" records until a certain young man came into town. And that young man's name is...
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* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico being dominant in Central-American basketball.
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* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico being dominant in Central-American basketball. Their greatest feat was in 2004 Olympics where they soundly beat seemingly unbeatable Team USA in the group stage.
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Eve Longoria and Tony Parker are recently divorced.
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* Italy, France: Countries with ups and downs. France is currently the second nationality represented in NBA (after the U.S.A. itself). Tony Parker is also famous for his [[DesperateHousewives wife]].
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* Italy, France: Countries with ups and downs. France is currently the second nationality represented in NBA (after the U.S.A. itself). Tony Parker is also famous for his [[strike:wife]] [[DesperateHousewives wife]].ex-wife]].
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NMTUD used as IANMTU.
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* ''Milwaukee Bucks'': Basketball's version of SoOkayItsAverage. Owned by the state's older US Senator (and retail magnate) Herb Kohl they're not a particuarly bad team, as they do make the playoffs every so often, but they really haven't done anything of note since they had a little player by the name of Lew Alcindor (who you may know better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Their first and last championship was in 1971, their third season of existence. Soon after, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar left because he considered Milwaukee culturally backwards, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer which is not something we just made up]]. The team's been mediocre since then, with some good teams in the mid-80s. On another note, when they drafted Glenn Robinson in the 90s, his contract was so ludicrous that the league instigated a salary cap for rookies the very next year.
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* ''Milwaukee Bucks'': Basketball's version of SoOkayItsAverage. Owned by the state's older US Senator (and retail magnate) Herb Kohl they're not a particuarly bad team, as they do make the playoffs every so often, but they really haven't done anything of note since they had a little player by the name of Lew Alcindor (who you may know better as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Their first and last championship was in 1971, their third season of existence. Soon after, Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar left because he considered Milwaukee culturally backwards, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer which is not something we just made up]].backwards. The team's been mediocre since then, with some good teams in the mid-80s. On another note, when they drafted Glenn Robinson in the 90s, his contract was so ludicrous that the league instigated a salary cap for rookies the very next year.
