Chicago Bulls

Joakim Simon Noah is a professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association . Born in New York City to a Swedish mother and French father, he holds American, Swedish and French citizenship. He played college basketball for the University of Florida, and was a... key member of the Florida Gators' starting five that won two consecutive NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, the Chicago Bulls selected Noah in the first round in the 2007 NBA Draft. Noah was born in New York City in 1985 to French singer and former professional tennis player Yannick Noah, and Cécilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden 1978. His paternal grandfather Zacharie Noah was a Cameroonian professional soccer player, winner of the Coupe de France in 1961. Noah lived in Paris, France from 1988 to 1998 and returned to New York City at age 13. He competed on basketball teams at several high schools: the United Nations International School, Poly Prep, and The Lawrenceville School. During his freshman year at Florida , he played sparingly, clocking in just 10.
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Aaron Michael Gray is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA. Gray played high school basketball at Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania's highly competitive Lehigh Valley Conference, where he was a standout center. Gray did not start playing for the... varsity team until the middle of his sophomore season. While at Emmaus, Gray was recruited by, and committed to attend, the University of Pittsburgh. He chose Pitt over Penn State and Rutgers, which also aggressively recruited him. While at Pitt, Gray was named an Associated Press Third Team All-American, after helping lead the University of Pittsburgh to the Sweet 16 in the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in March 2007. In 2007, Gray announced his intention to enter the 2007 NBA Draft. At the NBA's 2007 pre-draft camp, Gray was the only player whose height measured at least seven feet without shoes. He is 7'0" and weighs 270 pounds. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 49th overall selection.
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James D. Stern is an American film director and producer, and Broadway producer, and a member of the Producers Guild of America. He won a 2003 Tony Award for "Hairspray," has been nominated for many Tony awards, and was a Drama Desk Award Winner for "Stomp." In 2002, Stern founded Endgame... Entertainment as an independent production company to produce, develop and finance films and other forms of entertainment properties. Under his leadership, Endgame Entertainment has financed or cofinanced more than 25 films. Endgame recently wrapped production on The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce. Recent releases include An Education , which garnered three Academy Award nominations, and Every Little Step , which Stern coproduced and co-directed. The documentary grossed more than $1.7 million and was short listed for an Academy Award. Previous Endgame releases include Summit’s The Brothers Bloom, Sony Pictures Classics’ Easy Virtue and the Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by Cate Blanchett.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in... 1970 as an expansion team. They play their home games at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers first began play in the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team under the ownership of Nick Mileti. The father of Brett Tomko, Jerry Tomko, submitted the winning entry to name the team the "Cavaliers" through a competition sponsored by the The Plain Dealer, supporters preferred it to "Jays", "Foresters" and "Presidents". Playing their home games at Cleveland Arena under the direction of head coach Bill Fitch, they compiled a league-worst 15–67 record. The team hoped to build around the number one 1971 draft pick Austin Carr who had set numerous scoring records at Notre Dame, but Carr severely injured his leg shortly into his pro career and never was able to realize his potential. The following seasons saw the Cavaliers gradually improve their on-court performance, thanks to season-by-season additions of talented players such as Bingo Smith, Jim Chones, Jim Cleamons and Dick Snyder.
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The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern... Conference of the National Basketball Association . The Pacers play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which they share with their WNBA counterpart, the Indiana Fever, also owned by Herb Simon. The Indiana Pacers began play in 1967 as members of the American Basketball Association , where they won three championships and created a dynasty. In 1976, the Pacers moved from the ABA to the NBA when the Indiana dynasty ended and the Pacer organization began to struggle. The Pacers organization saw success with the acquisition of Reggie Miller. Following the appearance in the 2000 NBA Finals, the Pacers have not seen much playoff success, experiencing a four-season playoff drought from 2007 until making the playoffs again in 2011. In early 1967, a group of six investors pooled their resources to purchase a franchise in the proposed American Basketball Association.
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The Orlando Magic is a professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the... National Basketball Association and are currently coached by Stan Van Gundy. The franchise was founded in 1989 as an expansion franchise and has had such notable NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Dwight Howard, Hedo Türkoğlu, Vince Carter, Nick Anderson, Gilbert Arenas and Rashard Lewis throughout its young history. The franchise has also been in the playoffs for more than half of their existence . Orlando has been the most successful of the four expansion teams brought into the league in 1988 and 1989 in terms of winning percentage. As of 2011, they are the only team in the "big four" sports leagues to play in the city of Orlando. The Orlando Magic went to the NBA as an expansion franchise in 1989. A contest sponsored by Orlando Magic team officials and the local Orlando Sentinel newspaper allowed the community to suggest names for their new franchise.
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The Charlotte Bobcats are a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. They play in the Southeast Division of... the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, relocated to New Orleans and became the New Orleans Hornets. The Bobcats play their home games at Time Warner Cable Arena in center city Charlotte. As of the end of the 2010–11 season, the Bobcats have compiled a record of 222–352. In their 8-year history they have qualified for the postseason just once, which was during the 2009–10 season when they achieved a record of 44-38. When the Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans in 2002, the NBA promised Charlotte leaders that the city would be granted an NBA expansion team for the 2004–05 season. Several ownership groups, including one led by former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, made bids for the team. On December 18, 2002, a group led by Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson was awarded the franchise, allowing him to become the first majority African American owner in U.S.
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