Amare Stoudemire

Steve Nash

Stephen John Nash, OC, OBC (born 7 February 1974), is a Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nash, who was born in South Africa but grew up in Canada, enjoyed a successful high-school basketball career, and he was eventually given a scholarship by Santa Clara University. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA Tournament appearances, and Nash was twice named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year.

After graduating from Santa Clara as the team's all-time leader in assists, he entered the 1996 NBA Draft and was selected as the 15th pick by the Phoenix Suns. He made a minimal impact, and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his third season with the Mavericks, he was voted into his first NBA All-Star Game and had earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season. However, he became a free agent after the 2003–04 season and returned to the Phoenix Suns.

In the 2004–05 season, Nash led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named MVP again in the 2005–06 season, and missed out on a third consecutive MVP title to Nowitzki the next season. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth greatest point guard of all time, Nash has led the league in assists and free-throw percentage at various points in his career, although he has occasionally been criticised for his poor defence. He is also ranked as one of the top players in league history for three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists and assists per game.

Nash, who is married, is involved in charity and humanitarian work, and he is also interested in soccer and film-making. In 2006, Time named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. On 28 December 2007 it was announced that Nash would receive Canada's highest civilian honour, the Order Of Canada, and on 3 June 2008, it was announced that Nash would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Stephen Nash was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to a Welsh mother and English father on 7 February 1974. His family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan, when he was 18 months old, and then again to Vancouver, before finally settling in Victoria, British Columbia. Although Nash played in soccer and ice hockey, he did not start playing basketball until he was 12 or 13. However, in eighth grade, he told his mother that one day he would play in the NBA and become a star.

Nash originally attended Mount Douglas Secondary School, but after his grades began to drop, his parents decided to enroll him at St. Michaels University School, a private boarding school. At St. Michaels, he starred in basketball, soccer, and rugby union. While playing basketball during his senior season, Nash almost averaged a triple-double with 21.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 9.1 rebounds per game. In the 1991–92 season, he led his team in his final year to the British Columbia AAA provincial championship title, and was named the province's player of the year.

Although Nash's high school coach, Ian Hyde-Lay, sent letters of inquiry and highlight reels on Nash's behalf to over 30 American universities, Nash was not recruited by any university, until Santa Clara University head coach Dick Davey requested video footage of the young guard. After watching Nash in person, Davey said he "was nervous as hell just hoping that no one else would see him. It didn't take a Nobel Prize winner to figure out this guy's pretty good. It was just a case of hoping that none of the big names came around." However, Davey told Nash that he was "the worst defensive player" he had ever seen.

Nash was awarded a scholarship by Santa Clara for the 1992–93 season. At that time, it had been five years since the Broncos appeared in the NCAA tournament. That changed when Nash led the Broncos to a West Coast Conference (WCC) title and an upset win over the No. 2 seeded Arizona Wildcats in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. In that game, Nash scored six straight free throws in the last 30 seconds of the contest. Although Santa Clara was defeated by Temple University in the next round, the 1992–93 campaign was considered a successful one. However, the Broncos failed to sustain the momentum the following season, and only managed a 5–7 record in the conference. The team rebounded in 1994–95, with Nash being named Conference Player of the Year and the Broncos topping the WCC. Featuring the league leader for scoring and assists in Nash, the Broncos returned to the NCAA tournament, but they were defeated by Mississippi State University. After the season, Nash contemplated turning professional, but decided against it when he learned that he would probably not be considered a first-round pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.

In the 1995–96 season, Nash began attracting the attention of the national media and professional scouts. He had spent the summer before that honing his skills, playing with the national team and working out with the likes of established NBA players Jason Kidd and Gary Payton. Santa Clara again captured the WCC title, and for the second consecutive year, Nash was named Conference Player of the Year, the first Bronco to do so since Kurt Rambis. He scored 28 points in leading the #10 seed Broncos to a first round upset win over #7 seed Maryland, but then the Broncos were eliminated by University of Kansas. Nash's performances ensured that he was named Honorable Mention All-America as a senior by The Associated Press and the USBWA. He also finished his career as Santa Clara's all-time leader in career assists (510), free-throw percentage (.862), and made and attempted three-pointers (263–656). He remains third on the school's all-time scoring list (1,689), and holds Santa Clara's single-season free-throw percentage record (.894). In September 2006, Nash had his jersey (#11) retired, becoming the first Santa Clara student-athlete to receive that honour.

After graduating with a degree in sociology, Nash was selected 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. Upon hearing the draft announcement, Suns fans booed in disapproval of the relatively unknown player. This was because despite his impressive college accomplishments, Nash had not played in one of the major college conferences. During his first two seasons in the NBA, Nash played a supporting role behind NBA star point guards Kevin Johnson, Sam Cassell, and later, Jason Kidd. In his rookie season, he only managed 10.5 minutes a game, but in his second season, his playing time increased significantly and he was even ranked 13th in the league for three-point field-goal percentage. Nevertheless, the Canadian's tenure with the Suns was not to last. While at Santa Clara, Nash had met and befriended Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson, who worked for the Golden State Warriors at that time. After moving to Dallas, Nelson was able to convince his father, Don Nelson—then the Mavericks coach and general manager—to acquire the under-utilized Nash. Following the 1998 NBA Draft, Nash was traded from the Suns to the Mavericks in exchange for Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells, the draft rights to Pat Garrity and a first-round draft pick.

It was in Dallas that Nash established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA. During his first year as a Maverick (the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season) he started in all 40 games he played in, and averaged 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. The Mavericks failed to make the playoffs but in the 1999–2000 season, the team's prospects improved considerably. Nash missed 25 mid-season games due to an ankle injury, but came back to record six double-doubles in the last month of play. He finished the season with averages of 8.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. More importantly for the team, second-year teammate and friend Dirk Nowitzki was blossoming quickly into a top player, veteran Michael Finley was having an All-Star-calibre year, and the team's new owner, billionaire Mark Cuban, was bringing new energy and excitement to the franchise. Nash now had a supportive environment in which he could thrive.

In the 2000–01 season, Nash averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists per game in a breakout season. With Nash directing the team's offence, Nowitzki and Finley playing at their best, and the acquisition of All-Star Juwan Howard complementing the high-scoring trio, the Mavericks earned a playoff berth for the first time in more than a decade. Dallas lost in the Western Conference Semifinals four games to one to the San Antonio Spurs, but it marked the beginning of a memorable run for Nash and the Mavericks. In the 2001–02 season, Nash posted career-highs of 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game and earned a spot in the NBA All-Star Game and on the All-NBA Third Team. He was now an All-Star, increasingly appearing in television commercials and, with Finley and Nowitzki, a part of the Dallas Mavericks "Big Three." Dallas earned another trip to the playoffs but lost again in the Semifinals to the Sacramento Kings four games to one.

Nash closely replicated his previous season's performance in the 2002–03 season, averaging 17.7 points and 7.3 assists per game, again earning All-Star and All-NBA Third Team honours. Nowitzki and Nash led the Mavericks from a 14-game winning streak to open the season all the way to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the eventual NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs four games to two. It was only the second Conference Finals appearance in the franchise's history. The 2003–04 season saw an offensively boosted Mavericks roster (with the acquisitions of Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison) but a dip in Nash's scoring contributions. As a result he was not selected for the All-Star and All-NBA team rosters even though he achieved new career highs in assists per game (8.8) and free-throw accuracy (91.6%). In the playoffs, the fifth-seeded Dallas failed to make progress yet again as the Sacramento Kings saw them off four games to one.

Nash joined a Suns team which had emerging young players in Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire. In the season before Nash arrived, the Suns had recorded a 29–53 win–loss record, and they were projected to have another poor season. Head coach Mike D'Antoni favoured an up-tempo style of basketball; this required smaller and more athletic players with the capability to outrun and outshoot their opponents. Nash's familiarity with this style combined with the athleticism of his teammates produced an NBA-best 62–20 record and a points-per-game average of 110.4, the highest in a decade. The catalyst of this turnaround, Nash averaged 11.5 assists per game while making 50.2% of his field goals and 43.1% of his three-pointers in the regular season. He edged Shaquille O'Neal to win the 2004–05 NBA MVP award, becoming the first Canadian to earn the honour, as well as the third point guard ever to be named MVP, along with Magic Johnson and Bob Cousy. In the playoffs, Phoenix swept the Memphis Grizzlies in four games before meeting the Dallas Mavericks in the second round. Nash led the Suns to a 4–2 series win, and the Suns reached the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1993, but lost to the eventual NBA Champions, the San Antonio Spurs, in five games.

The next season, Stoudemire suffered a serious knee injury, and Johnson and Quentin Richardson were traded away. The Suns were not expected to repeat their successful 2005 season, but with Nash directing the same high-tempo offence, the team compiled a respectable 54–28 record and won the division title. The Suns were again the highest-scoring team in the league with seven players averaging double figures in points per game, and Nash was voted for the first time to start for the 2006 Western All-Star team. Having recorded career highs in points (18.8), rebounds (4.2), field goal percentage (.512) and free-throw percentage (a league-leading .921), and leading the league with 10.5 assists per game, Nash was named the league MVP for the second year in a row. In the first round of the playoffs, Phoenix overcame a 3–1 deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers and won the series 4–3. The Los Angeles Clippers were their Conference Semifinals opponents, and the Suns again needed seven games to clinch the series. For the second year in a row however, the Suns bowed out in the Conference Finals, this time to Nash's former team, Dallas.

In the 2006–07 season, Nash had another stellar campaign, averaging 18.6 points and a career-high 11.6 assists per game while becoming the first person since Magic Johnson in 1990–91 to average 18 points and 11 assists per game during the regular season. Nash received the most votes for first-team All-NBA and was joined by teammate Stoudemire; the two were the first teammates to make the first team since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal in 2003–04. Nash received 129 first-place votes and 645 total points from the panel of 129 media members. He narrowly missed being MVP a third consecutive time, coming in second with 44 first place votes to 83 for Dirk Nowitzki. In the playoffs, the Suns eliminated the Lakers in five games, but were unable to overcome the Spurs in the Conference Semifinals, losing the series 4–2.

Nash played in 81 regular-season games during the 2007–08 season; in this campaign, the Western Conference was especially competitive and he led the Suns to 55 wins and the sixth seed for the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Although there was a dip in his regular-season output, Nash's shooting remained sharp; the accuracy of his shooting was on par with his 2005–06 MVP campaign (shooting at least 50% from the field, 40% from the three-point arc, and 90% from the free throw line). On 31 January 2008, he collected his All-Star stripes for the sixth time in his career. However, Nash continued to experience agony in the playoffs. Despite a mid-season trade that sent Shawn Marion to the Miami Heat and brought four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal to the team, the Suns were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs for the third time in four years. In the deciding Game 5, Nash was perceived to have suffered from "elimination-game jitters", and turned over the ball twice in the final two minutes of what was a tight contest. Nevertheless, Nash was later named to the All-NBA Second Team for the 2007–08 season.

In 1993, while in college, Nash played for the national team and competed in the Canada Games and World University Games. He won a bronze medal at the Canada Games and won a silver medal at the World University Games, losing to Team USA, which included players such as Michael Finley and Damon Stoudamire.

Nash captained Canada at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. He led Canada to win their round robin group with a victory over Spain and a stunning 83–75 win over favoured Yugoslavia when he scored 26 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a loss to France and Nash left the court in tears. Nash expressed disappointment with the result, saying "It hurts a lot. I feel like I let everybody down. We could have been in the championship game. We were good enough." Nevertheless, he did see a possible silver lining, saying "Hopefully kids will be inspired to play—that's what I really hope." A victory in its final game of the tournament, a placement game against Russia, enabled Canada to salvage 7th place. Nash's Olympic performance propelled him to stardom in Canada and he finished fifth in voting for the 2000 Lionel Conacher Award, which is handed out to the Canadian male athlete of the year.

Nash is most noted for his playmaking, ball-handling skills and shooting. He led the league in assists for three years, averaging 11.5 assists per game in 2004–05, 10.5 in 2005–06 and 11.6 in 2006–07, and won the 2005 NBA All-Star Skills Contest. As at the end of 2007–08 season, he has an 89.7% free-throw shooting average (third-best in NBA history), a 43.1% career three-point shooting average (fifth-best in league history), and his total assists, assists per game, and three-point field goals made rank him as one of the top 20 players in league history. In the 2005–06 season, Nash became the fourth player in NBA history to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from three-point range (43.9), and 90% from the line, joining Larry Bird, Reggie Miller and Mark Price; this was a feat he would repeat two seasons later in the 2007–08 campaign.

In terms of specific skills, Nash is particularly effective playing the pick and roll, notably with Nowitzki when he was at Dallas and later with the Suns' Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. When Nash returned to Phoenix in 2004, he helped the Suns improve from a 29–53 record in 2003–04 to 62–20 in 2004–05, reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in 11 years, earning him his first MVP award. The next season, he led the Suns into the Conference Finals, despite the injuries of all three big men (Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant); further, Nash was responsible for seven of his teammates attaining career-highs in season scoring.

Nash has a brother, Martin, who plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps and has made 30 appearances for the Canadian national soccer team. He also has a sister, Joann, who was the captain of the University of Victoria women's soccer team for three years and was named one of the Canada West Universities Athletic Association All-Stars. Nash is married to his longtime girlfriend, Alejandra Amarilla, whom he met in 2001 in Manhattan. They married in June 2005, and they have twin girls, Lola and Bella, who were born on 14 October 2004.

Nash suffers from a medical condition called spondylolisthesis which causes muscle tightness and back pain. Due to his condition, when he is not in the game, rather than sitting on the bench, he lies on his back to keep his muscles from stiffening.

In 2001, Nash formed the Steve Nash Foundation. Through grants to public service and nonprofit entities, the Foundation aims to foster health in kids by funding projects that provide services to children affected by poverty, illness, abuse, or neglect, and create opportunity for education, play, and empowerment. It focuses its resources on communities in Phoenix, Arizona, and British Columbia, Canada. It was given charitable status in 2004. This foundation was awarded the Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy in 2008. Nash also founded the Jim Jennings Memorial Endowment Fund, established in honour of a volunteer staff member at Santa Clara University who served the basketball team for more than 20 years.

Elsewhere, Nash is the sponsor of the Steve Nash Youth Basketball League in British Columbia that has grown over 10,000 participants. He has also become involved with GuluWalk, a Canadian-operated charitable organization that raises awareness and funds for the war-affected children of northern Uganda. In September 2007, Nash and Yao Ming headlined a group of NBA players who travelled to China and played an exhibition game with the Chinese national basketball team. The charity event reportedly raised 2.5 million dollars, earmarked for Chinese children in need. In May 2006, Nash was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In the accompanying write-up by Charles Barkley, Nash was lauded for his unselfishness on the basketball court, and being "just a nice guy" who had paid for a new pediatric cardiology ward in a Paraguayan hospital.

Nash is known to be selective about endorsing products, preferring to work with companies he deems socially responsible. After winning his first MVP award, he was approached to be the spokesperson for numerous products, including MDG Computers, Raymond Weil watches, and Clearly Canadian bottled water. He also has a longstanding relationship with Nike. Like fellow NBA stars Yao Ming, Carmelo Anthony, and Greg Oden, Nash is represented by agent Bill Duffy.

Nash grew up playing soccer—he stated in a 2005 interview that he could have played professionally if he had focused on it—and continues to hold an interest in the sport. When Dirk Nowitzki arrived in the NBA from Germany, he and Nash became close friends, in part because they enjoyed watching soccer together. Nash is friends with several professional soccer players, including Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry, Owen Hargreaves, Massimo Ambrosini and Steve McManaman. During his off-season, when he lives in New York City, he has trained with Red Bull New York of Major League Soccer, and once tried to arrange a pick-up game in the city's Central Park with the Red Bulls and one of his local teams.

Nash—whose father was born in the Tottenham district of London—is a lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter, and has expressed interest in owning a minority stake in the club. "I'd like to be an owner. It's something I could do for the rest of my life after my little window of popularity dies," he said in an interview with The New York Times. Nash added, "I've been a passionate supporter all my life. My parents are from north London and so it's not like I'm some Yank who wants to make a profit out of football. I don't care about making money. I just want to see Spurs succeed and, if I can help, that's great." However, he said any participation in Spurs would come after his basketball career is over, and he has had only "casual contact" with chairman Daniel Levy and director of football Damien Comolli. Nash has also said that he intends to bring Major League Soccer to Vancouver as early as 2011.

Nash, along with former Yahoo! president and fellow Victoria-native Jeff Mallett, are investors in Women's Professional Soccer, a soccer league that will be launched in April 2009. Nash cited his twin daughters and wanting to have role models for them to look up to as a reason for supporting the league. Nash also co-hosted Showdown in Chinatown in 2008, an 8-on-8 charity soccer game held at Sara D. Roosevelt Park. He scored two goals in his team's 8–5 victory. Participants included Thierry Henry, Jason Kidd, Baron Davis, and Suns teammates Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa.

Nash and a Montreal-based partner, Leonard Schlemm, opened the first Steve Nash Sports Club in the spring of 2007 in downtown Vancouver, a high-end, $5-million, 38,500-square-foot (3,580 m2) facility that will mirror Nash's own fitness philosophy.

In 2007, Nash wrote and produced an 81-second commercial for Nike titled "Training Day", directed by Julian Schnabel's daughter Lola, which gained popularity as a viral video on YouTube. Nash also started a film production company together with his cousin, filmmaker Ezra Holland, and intends to produce independent films. The first creative effort to come from Meathawk was a 91-second commercial, titled "The Sixty Million Dollar Man", for Nike's eco-friendly Trash Talk shoe, the first high-performance shoe to be made—at the behest of the environmentally conscious Nash—from recycled materials. Nash has worn the shoe since February 2008 but Nike produced only 5,000 pairs for sale. The ad which broke virally on Earth Day 2008, was written by Nash and the directors of the spot, Danny Vaia and Ezra Holland. It is a spoof remake of the title sequence of the American television series The Six Million Dollar Man and plays on Nash’s numerous on-court collisions. Amaré Stoudemire and Raja Bell have cameo appearances.

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Stephon Marbury

Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977 in Coney Island, New York) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a member of the Boston Celtics.

The 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) point guard/shooting guard was selected out of the Georgia Institute of Technology by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 4th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, but was traded shortly thereafter to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was an NBA All-Star in 2001 and 2003 and was voted into the All-NBA Third Team in 2000 and 2003.

Marbury has often gone by the nickname "Starbury", a name created during his youth. Marbury, the sixth of seven children, was born and raised on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York City. He attended elementary school PS 238. During his teenage years, he starred at NYC powerhouse Lincoln, and was often heralded as the next great NYC point guard, expected to follow the success of NBA stand-outs Mark Jackson and Kenny Anderson.

While still attending Abraham Lincoln High School he was one of the subjects of Darcy Frey's book "The Last Shot," which followed three seniors and Marbury, a freshman, through the early months of his first season with the school's team. In high school he played for an AAU team called the New York Gauchos.

He was named a 1995 McDonalds All-American along with future NBA All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and Antawn Jamison. Marbury was listed as one of the top five recruits in the country that year and heavily pursued by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Bobby Cremins. Eventually, Marbury would commit to Georgia Tech.

At Georgia Tech, Marbury took over the starting point guard role left vacant with Travis Best's departure. Teaming with future NBA players Matt Harpring and Drew Barry, Marbury led Georgia Tech to a 24–12 record enroute to the Regional Semifinal game of the NCAA tournament, where the Yellow Jackets lost to Cincinnati 87–70. For the season, Marbury averaged 18.9 ppg and 4.5 assists and was named a Third Team All American by the Associated Press, along with several conference honors. Following the conclusion of the season he announced his intention to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft.

He was selected fourth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1996 NBA Draft, then traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the draft rights to Ray Allen (who was drafted immediately after him) and a future first-round pick. In his first season in the league, Marbury averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game and was named to the 1997 All-Rookie Team. He, along with Kevin Garnett, who would later be his teammate on the Celtics, led the Timberwolves to the NBA Playoffs in 1997 and 1998. Marbury fell out with Timberwolves management stemming from a dispute with coaches about his role in the offense, and his agent David Falk demanded a trade during the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Marbury was traded to the New Jersey Nets in a three-way trade in which Terrell Brandon was sent from Milwaukee to Minnesota and Sam Cassell was sent from New Jersey to Milwaukee.

Marbury was traded during the 1998-1999 lockout season. While in New Jersey, Marbury blossomed into an All-Star. Marbury made the All-NBA 3rd Team in 2000 and was selected as a reserve for the 2001 All-Star Game, where he hit 2 clutch threes to win the game. Marbury also scored a career-high 50 points on February 13, 2001 in an overtime loss against the Los Angles Lakers. Despite his individual accolades, the Nets never made the playoffs during Marbury's time with the team. He was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the 2001 offseason for Jason Kidd. As a Sun, Marbury made his second All-Star team and the All-NBA 3rd team in 2003. Teamed with Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire and All-Star Shawn Marion, the trio took the team to the playoffs, but the Suns were ousted by the Spurs in the first round. Marbury was traded to the Knicks during the 2003-2004 season.

Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski were traded to the New York Knicks on January 5, 2004 for Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Antonio McDyess, Maciej Lampe, draft rights to Miloš Vujanić, a first-round 2004 draft choice, and an additional future first-round draft choice, likely to be in the 2010 draft. This brought Marbury full circle, as he grew up in New York and was a lifelong Knicks fan.

Marbury played for the U.S. (Dream Team IV) in the 2004 Summer Olympics, the first of the U.S. teams composed of NBA players to fail to win the gold medal at the Olympics. He and his teammates returned with bronze. Despite the disappointment, Marbury scored a U.S. team Olympic record 31 points in a game against Spain.

During the 2005-06 season Marbury feuded with head coach Larry Brown.

The public feud between Marbury and Brown was one of the reasons Larry Brown was fired at the end of the 2005-06 season. Isiah Thomas took over the coaching role and the Knicks were slightly more successful during the 2006-2007 season, surpassing the previous year's 23 wins, 54 games into their 82-game season, before falling off and finishing with only 33. Despite the fact that Marbury had less impressive statistics than in prior years, some pundits claimed that Marbury's newfound unselfishness was key to the team's apparent improvement towards the end of the season.

The start of the 2007-08 season found the Knicks again floundering and Marbury again involved in a public feud, this time with Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas. The pivotal incident involved Marbury leaving the team after learning that Thomas planned to remove him from the starting lineup. There were reports that Marbury and Thomas actually came to blows on the team plane, and that Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for taking him out of the starting lineup—both in the presence of Knick teammates. Following the incident and Marbury's return to the team in mid-November after one missed game, Knick fans consistently chanted "fire Isiah" at home games and constantly booed virtually all of the Knicks, especially Marbury. The dysfunction and drama were accompanied by 8 straight Knicks losses, and several newspapers reported that Isiah's job was in jeopardy. There were also rumors that the Knicks would like to trade Marbury to another team. However, this proved difficult for the Knicks to accomplish, in view of the two years and approximately $42 million remaining under his contract with the Knicks. Following a season-ending ankle surgery in February 2008, which was reportedly deemed unnecessary by the team, but which Marbury elected to undergo regardless, Isiah Thomas hinted that Marbury could have played his final game in a Knicks uniform. However, in April 2008, it was Thomas who was removed from his position; first as president, being replaced by Donnie Walsh, and then as coach, being replaced by Mike D'Antoni.

After D'Antoni took over, the Knicks signed Chris Duhon, leading to speculations over Marbury's future in New York. Marbury arrived to training camp, and competed with Duhon for the starting point guard job. Duhon won the position battle, and Marbury was put on the team's inactive list, according to D'Antoni, to avoid embarrassing him with limited playing time. However, when D'Antoni told Marbury that Marbury had an opportunity to play approximately 35 minutes in a game if he wanted to, Marbury, apparently feeling he and the Knicks had gone their own ways, refused. Following that, on December 1st, Marbury was banned from attending any Knicks' practices or games, and was instructed to stay home. On December 16th, Marbury defied the spirit of the ban and bought a ticket for a courtside seat and attended a Knicks road game where, while spending most of the game talking on his cellphone, he was greeted by several celebrities in attendance at the game but was ignored by all of the Knicks players.

On February 24, 2009, the Knicks and Marbury agreed to a buyout after much speculation. He cleared waivers two days later, making him a free agent. Marbury had been speculated to become a Boston Celtic by many NBA analysts since late 2008; and on February 27, 2009, Marbury signed with the Boston Celtics. In his debut as a Celtic, he played against the Indiana Pacers, adding 8 points on 4 of 6 shooting, and 2 assists in 13 minutes. Marbury wears the jersey number 8, Antoine Walker's old number (No. 3 had been retired in honor of the late Dennis Johnson).

Marbury is a cousin of Marcus Harper and Sebastian Telfair. Additionally, his brother Zach plays professional basketball in Venezuela.

Marbury's father Don died during a December 2, 2007 game between the Knicks and the Phoenix Suns.

In 2006, Marbury partnered with Steve & Barry's to promote a line of shoes and clothing bearing his nickname, "Starbury". The line of shoes he endorses sells for $14.98, far less than many other shoe lines that teens feel compelled to buy. Marbury is not paid to endorse the shoes, but is compensated based on sales of the shoes.

Marbury is on the cover of the Midway video game NBA Ballers. He has been named to The Sporting News list of "Good Guys in Sports" three times.

In 2007, Marbury made controversial public statements defending Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and dogfighting. Marbury was quoted in Newsweek magazine as saying, "We don't react the same when other animals are being killed for sport or for the sake of human pleasure." Many people supported Marbury in his statement, while many others derided him.

In March 2008, WWE superstar Montel Vontavious Porter said in an interview that he based his wrestling persona on Marbury. M.V.P. said he had an encounter with Marbury when he was a doorman at a club.

During Isiah Thomas' sexual harassment trial, a witness testified that Marbury has sexually assaulted a team intern; the intern later testified that the sex was consensual. Marbury, a married father, testified that he had sex with the intern in the back of his truck after a group outing to a strip club in 2005.

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Boris Diaw

Boris Babacar Diaw-Riffiod, better known as Boris Diaw (born April 16, 1982 in Cormeilles, France), is a French professional basketball player for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats. After being traded in a multi-player deal with his former team, the Phoenix Suns on December 10, 2008, he made his debut with the Bobcats on Saturday, December 13. Diaw is 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and 235 lbs (106.6 kg). He played for Pau Orthez, France's top league team, before joining the NBA. His NBA career averages are 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.

At the end of the 2005–06 NBA season, Diaw was awarded the Most Improved Player trophy by garnering 80 first-place votes in balloting by 124 sports writers and sportscasters. He received 489 overall points.

In 2000, he won the European Junior Championship with the French National Team. He was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, twenty-first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft where he played for two seasons before being traded in the offseason of 2005 with two future first round picks to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Joe Johnson. He had won the bronze medal at the European Championship with the French National Team in 2005.

In Phoenix, Diaw blossomed into an all-round player, playing any position from center to point guard and garnered the nickname "3D" because of his multidimensional play (his motto being "drive, dish, defend") and the combination of his number (3) and last name. Diaw averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.05 blocks per game on .526 field goal percentage and 73.1% from the free throw line in the 2005-06 season for the Phoenix Suns, playing mostly small forward and then center in absence of the injured big men Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. During the 2006 NBA playoffs as the Suns' starting center, Diaw averaged 18.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.10 blocks per game on .526 field goal percentage and 76% at the free throw line in 3 rounds of the playoffs. In Game 1 of the 2006 Western Conference Finals against the Mavericks, Diaw scored a career-high 34 points, including the game-winning 7-foot turnaround jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation, to help his Suns to a 121-118 victory.

Diaw recorded his first career triple-double on January 31, 2006 when his Suns defeated the Philadelphia 76ers at Philadelphia, 123-99. Diaw had 14 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds, as well as a block and zero turnovers in 39 minutes. He is the first French NBA player ever to record a triple-double. He recorded his second career triple-double shortly afterwards on March 5, 2006 when his Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks at Dallas, 115-107. On April 14, 2006, Diaw recorded his third career triple-double when the Suns suffered a loss to the Golden State Warriors, 110-102. Diaw had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high, 16 assists, while adding three blocks and two steals in 42 minutes. Two days later, Diaw recorded his fourth career triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers as his Suns lost 109-89. On December 15th, 2006, Diaw recorded his fifth career triple-double in a victory against the Golden State Warriors.

In July 2006 Diaw was named captain of the French national team. Diaw led the French team in the 2006 FIBA World Championship with 107 points and 22 assists in 9 games.

In the 2008 NBA Playoffs, 1st Round, Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs, even though he fouled out in the game, Diaw recorded almost another triple double with is 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists in 44:51 minutes.

Diaw saw a reduced role with the Suns after the 2005-06 season with the return of Amar'e Stoudemire and largely played in a reserve role, failing to average double-digit points per game for the next two seasons. On December 10, 2008, Diaw, along with Raja Bell and Sean Singletary, was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley in a move by the Suns to retool their roster.

At 6'8" and 230 lbs, Diaw is a natural small forward. However, his passing skills and capability to score inside have earned him a reputation of being capable of playing all positions on the floor well. This is best seen in the 2005-06 season, during which Diaw started as a bench player, then convincingly subbed as a point guard when starting playmaker Steve Nash (that season's MVP) was injured, then started as a small forward and was finally moved to center when all three Suns pivots got injured, posting impressive stats of 18.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the playoffs despite playing out of position. Based on the 2007-2008 Season: His PPG: 8.5 his RPG: 4.50 his BPG: 0.5 his APG: 3.9 his EFF: +11.71. His breakout season (13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game) was crowned with the Most Improved Player Award. He is lauded for his unselfish, but assertive play, and his versatility also makes him a triple-double threat: as of December 2006, he has recorded five of them.

Athletics run in his family as his 6'2" (1.88 m) mother Élisabeth Riffiod is regarded as one of the best centers in French women's basketball history, while his father Issa Diaw was a Senegalese high jump champion. He also has a half brother, Papa Saliou "Paco" Diaw, who was a guard at Georgia Tech, but transferred to Lee University, a small NAIA school in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Paco's major is French, which he already speaks as a native of Dakar, Senegal. His other brother is Martin Diaw, who played basketball for Division II's California University of Pennsylvania.

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2007 NBA Playoffs

The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.

There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the team with the better record in a match-up had home court advantage.

The 2007 NBA Champions were the San Antonio Spurs who won their fourth title in the last nine years. The team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 4-0 in the 2007 NBA Finals with the Spurs' Tony Parker being named Finals MVP.

Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involve nearly two months of play in a best-of-seven, bracket format, with no reseeding.

The playoffs are conducted in four rounds of best-of-seven series. The three division winners in each conference, along with the five best non-division winners in each conference, qualify for the playoffs. The division winners and top second-place team are seeded first through fourth based on record, with the remaining teams seeded fifth through eighth on record.

Up until 2006 year, the division winners earned the top three seeds in the conference; this was amended by the NBA on August 2, 2006 to rectify the problem highlighted by controversy in the 2006 playoffs. Under this new system, the teams with the two best records in the conference cannot meet until the conference finals, unlike the 2006 season, when the 63-win San Antonio Spurs and the 60-win Dallas Mavericks met in the conference semifinals.

In each series, the team with the better record (or which wins a tiebreaker, in the event that teams with identical records are matched) holds home court advantage, meaning that the seventh game, if played, is held in their home arena.

The first two games in each series are played in the home arena of the team with home court advantage. The third and fourth games are played in the other arena. The fifth, sixth, and seventh games alternate between the two arenas. However, in the NBA Finals, the team with home court advantage hosts Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, while the other team hosts Games 3, 4 and 5.

The Orlando Magic's first playoff trip in 4 seasons was short lived as the top ranked Detroit Pistons dispatched the upstart Magic in 4 games. The Pistons recorded their first series sweep since sweeping Indiana in the first round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs. The series was also the first time Orlando forward Grant Hill had appeared in the postseason since leaving Detroit after the 1999–2000 NBA season.

A rematch of the previous year's first round series was spoiled when Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were both forced out of the playoffs due to injuries received in the later parts of the regular season. Without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards found themselves unable to stop LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers from sweeping them out of the playoffs. It was Cleveland's first playoff sweep in franchise history.

The Nets won the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs in their sixth straight appearance in the NBA Playoffs. The series was the only one in the Eastern Conference not to result in a sweep.

The series was notable for pitting ex-Raptor Vince Carter, who was traded to the Nets in 2004 after an acromonious split, against his former team. So great was the Toronto crowd's disdain for Carter that he was booed every time he touched the ball. The Nets took home court advantage in Game 1, holding off a late Raptors rally in the fourth quarter. The Raptors pulled away in another tight game to even the series at one game apiece. When the series shifted to New Jersey, the Nets took charge of the series, winning games 3 and 4 in routs. New Jersey had a chance to win the series in game 5 in Toronto, but the Raptors took a 20-point lead after one quarter. Still, New Jersey managed to chip away, and had a chance to win the game, but Bostjan Nachbar's three-pointer missed at the buzzer. Needing to win in New Jersey to force a game 7, Toronto held a one-point lead with under a minute to play in game 6, but Richard Jefferson hit a layup with eight seconds left to play. Toronto attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted a pass to seal the series for the Nets.

The Bulls won their first playoff series since the 1998 NBA Finals and the retirement of Michael Jordan. This was the Bulls first 4-game sweep, since sweeping the Orlando Magic back in the 1996 Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Miami became the first defending champion in NBA history since 1957 to be swept in the First Round the following season.

In addition, Southeast Division champions Miami and other division qualifiers Washington and Orlando were swept (0–12) by Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit respectively, all from the Central division (12–0).

Despite the huge obstacle, the Bulls rallied to take Game 4 in a romp, and then proceeded to shock everyone with a blow-out victory in Detroit in Game 5. Despite the renewed momentum, the Pistons' playoff experience ultimately won out as they closed out the Bulls in leading throughout in a 95-85 Game 6 win. The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year.

The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1992, while the Nets have lost in the Conference Semifinals in three out of the last four years.

New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd averaged a triple double the entire playoffs, scoring 14.6 points, grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 10.9 assists per game.

In a rematch of last year's thrilling second round series, the Pistons and the Cavaliers matched up in perhaps one of the closest contested series in NBA history, with the first five games being decided by 6 points or less. The spotlight of the series fell on Cleveland's LeBron James. Despite gaining some momentum in the opening games of the series against the experienced Pistons, key last second decisions by James led to Cleveland losses in Games 1 and 2 in Detroit, by identical scores where Cleveland led for most of the two games. They faced a 0–2 defecit for the second straight year but would easily remember from the year before they could win 3 straight games to get back into the series.

With media circles on his back for his complacency in these games (James had a playoff career low 10 points in Game 1), LeBron came back to will the Cavs to close victories in Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland, evening the series at 2. The series shifted back to Detroit for a Game 5 that proved to be one of the most memorable postseason games in recent NBA history. In a match that went into double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to LeBron James' playoff career-high 48 point performance. James scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points of the game, including all 18 points in overtime making it 2 straight 2 point wins at the Palace in Game 5.

The heavily-favoured Cavaliers took advantage of their home court in 2007 and exploded in Game 6 to close out the Pistons once and for all, and to clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals. Rookie Daniel Gibson scored his career high 31 points including 5 three-pointers to lift the Cavs in the second half behind a roaring home crowd.

The Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the second longest such streak in league history. However, the Warriors were heavy underdogs against the Dallas Mavericks despite sweeping the regular season series between the teams, as Dallas had one of the best records in NBA regular season history. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his rather frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at a game apiece.

But when the series shifted to Oakland for the next two games, a new X-factor emerged for the Warriors: their home crowd at the Oracle Arena. The electric crowd, which was the highest paid attendance crowd for an NBA game in the history of that arena, gave the Warriors a huge lift as they blew out Dallas in Game 3, and edged out a close victory in Game 4. As the series shifted back to Dallas, the top-ranked Mavericks found themselves one game from seeing their record breaking season end prematurely. The Mavericks gave their all and were able to stave off elimination in Game 5, but had nothing left in Game 6 in Oakland. The Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run, sparked by Stephen Jackson's 13 straight points en route to a franchise playoff record seven three-pointers, and an unexpected collapse from MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki (2–13 from the field with 8 points) to finish Dallas and become the first #8 seed to win a best-of-seven series in the first round, and just the third overall in NBA history, in one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history. The Warriors also won their first playoff series since 1991.

Both 2006 NBA Finalists (Dallas and Miami) were eliminated in the first round. This was the first time since 1956 that this had happened.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers went up against the high powered Phoenix Suns in a rematch of the previous year's first round series, which saw the Lakers take a 3–1 lead before the Suns took the series in 7. Unlike the previous series, the Suns had near complete control of the series, taking the series in 5 games. The Suns advanced to their third straight conference semifinals by eliminating the Lakers in the first round for the second straight year. In Game 4, Phoenix point guard Steve Nash made a run at the record for most assists in a playoff game, finishing one shy of the record 24 shared by Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz.

The Nuggets duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson got Denver off to a fast start, winning Game 1 and taking home-court advantage away from Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Despite the early letdown, the Spurs showed their championship mettle and bounced back for a 97-88 win in Game 2. In the pivotal Game 3, the Nuggets built an eight-point first-quarter lead before Manu Ginóbili's eight second-quarter points helped put San Antonio up 43-40 at halftime. A back-and-forth contest turned in the final 2:24 of the third quarter: Michael Finley hit two three-pointers, and Robert Horry later hit a three that gave the Spurs a 75-67 lead at the end of the quarter. They hung on for a 96-91 win.

Denver started strong again in Game 4 and led by eight at halftime. But San Antonio stormed back after Anthony went to the bench in the third quarter with his fourth foul. The Spurs held a one-point lead with 30 seconds left in the game when Horry, playing for his seventh championship ring, hit a three from the right corner to help seal a 96-89 win. The stunned Nuggets could not recover from the Game 4 letdown. Finley was the hero in Game 5, hitting a team-playoff-record eight threes for 26 points as San Antonio won 93-78 to end the series, marking the Nuggets' fourth straight season where they lost in the first round in five games. This is the second time in three seasons that the Nuggets lost the first-round series to the Spurs, after taking Game 1 in San Antonio (the first also happened in five games).

The resurgent Utah Jazz, fresh off one of their best seasons since the Stockton/Malone years, faced Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, who were seeking their first playoff series victory in 10 years. Home court advantage proved to be the key as the series progressed, as both the Rockets and the Jazz won closely contested matches in front of their home crowds.

As a result, the series had to go to a seventh and deciding game, which was played in Houston since the Rockets had the better record and thereby earned home court advantage, despite the division-winning Jazz being the higher-seeded team. Nevertheless, Utah overcame the Houston crowd and stunned the Rockets for the win on the road. The Jazz became only the second road team in history to win Game 7 of a seven-game series in which the home team won each of the first six games. Houston's Tracy McGrady lost his sixth straight post-season series (out of 10 seasons) and has not been out of the first round in his entire career.

After losing the series, the Rockets failed to reach a new contract agreement with their head coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was subsequently fired.

Fresh off their stunning upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors faced a very different team in Utah. The Warriors continued the frantic style of play they exhibited against the Mavericks, but the Jazz, a more defensive-minded team, managed to shut them down to take Game 1. The Warriors tried to bounce back in Game 2, and took the Jazz to overtime. But the Jazz were able to prevail, due to the inspired clutch play of guard Derek Fisher, who arrived at halftime after being with his family in New York City because of his daughter's emergency eye cancer surgery.

The series shifted back to Oakland and the raucous Oracle Arena crowd, which lifted the Warriors to a resounding blowout in Game 3, a game which saw the Warriors hit a playoff record 11 threes in the first half, and saw guard Baron Davis delivering a series of spectacular plays. However, the Jazz were able to shrug off the crowd and handed the Warriors their only playoff home loss of the year in Game 4. The Warriors' magical playoff run ended as the Jazz finished them off in Game 5. The Jazz advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998.

The highly anticipated match-up between the high-powered Phoenix Suns, led by two-time MVP Steve Nash, and the fundamentally sound San Antonio Spurs, led by three-time Finals MVP Tim Duncan, had high expectations before the series tip-off. The Suns were looking to make the conference finals for the third straight year, and also looking for their first Finals berth since 1993. The Spurs, on the other hand, were looking for their third trip in five years, and their fourth NBA title overall. The series received international interest with a playoff-record of 12 players originating outside the US. When the series ended, it had become one of the most hotly contested and controversial series in recent NBA history.

The Suns had their home court advantage quickly taken away as the Spurs took a tight Game 1, a game that saw Nash missing the final minutes for Phoenix due to a gash to his nose, which bled profusely. Nash and the Suns recovered to take Game 2 but after the game, Suns star forward Amare Stoudemire accused the Spurs, especially Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginóbili, of being a dirty team. Despite the added scrutiny by the media circles, the Spurs took Game 3. The Suns, trying to overcome their recent failures against Texas teams in the playoffs (the Spurs and the Mavericks both defeated them in the Conference finals), willed themselves to a come-from-behind victory in Game 4 to tie the series at 2.

However, the celebration would be short-lived. In the closing minute of Game 4, with the Suns leading by 3 points, Nash brought up the ball and was shoved into the press table by Robert Horry, creating a momentary ruckus, wherein Raja Bell received a technical. As this took place, Stoudemire and Boris Diaw left the Suns bench. Although they were not involved in the altercation, they broke an established NBA rule that prohibits players from leaving their bench during an altercation. As a result, the NBA suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game, while Horry received a two-game suspension for the flagrant foul and ejection. Severely undermanned, the Suns came into Game 5 with the task of beating the Spurs without their star big man. The suspensions created a national outrage, as well as a frontcourt breach for San Antonio to exploit during Game 5.

Although the Suns were able to control most of the game without the suspended players, even taking a 16-point lead on the Spurs at one point, the Spurs came back to win an incredibly close Game 5. Stoudemire and Diaw returned for the Suns in Game 6, though that didn't help the Suns to force a game 7 and the Spurs eliminated them to advance to the Western Conference finals with a 114-106 win.

For the first time since 1990, neither the #1 nor #2 seed participated in the Western Conference Finals. However, the series pitted youth against experience as the up-and-coming Utah Jazz faced off against the seasoned San Antonio Spurs. Coming into the series, the Jazz were not given much of a chance due to their inexperience. However, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and the Jazz were able to hold their own against San Antonio for a good part of the series.

Unfortunately, it was not enough. The series' first two games - both San Antonio home victories - saw the Spurs blow big first-half leads and the Jazz mount last-gasp rallies that were ultimately thwarted by San Antonio's clutch shooting. When the Spurs' 19-point first-half advantage dwindled to 95-87 late in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili came through with timely buckets down the stretch. When San Antonio's 22-point edge shrank to 83-76 late in Game 2, Bruce Bowen broke the Jazz's rhythm with a three from the left corner and another from the right to silence the threat.

The Jazz, who were undefeated at home in the postseason coming into the series, had their most cohesive effort in a 109-83 Game 3 rout. Utah pestered Duncan into early foul trouble and got baskets from players other than Williams and Boozer, who had combined for 57.7% of their team's points through the first two games. But Jazz fans' euphoria over the team's only series victory gave way to frustration in Game 4 - with most of it aimed at Ginóbili and his flair for drawing fouls. Eleven of his 16 fourth-quarter points came at the foul line in an ugly-but-effective overall team performance in which the Spurs made more free throws (30) than field goals (28). Contributing to that discrepancy were four technical fouls called against Utah in the fourth. The subsequent ejections of Utah headcoach Jerry Sloan and Jazz guard Derek Fisher had a charged-up EnergySolutions Arena crowd raining debris onto the court in protest.

The unflappable Spurs responded with yet another commanding start in Game 5. They outscored the Jazz by 19 in the first quarter and led by as many as 29. Not even another late-game arrival of Fisher (from New York again) could help the Jazz enough and the Spurs won a 109-84 series-clinching victory and an eventual date in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers.

The Spurs swept the Cavaliers in the Finals after two blowout games at home and two close ones in Cleveland. San Antonio's Tony Parker was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals.

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Cypress Creek High School (Orlando, Florida)

Cypress Creek High School is located in south Orlando, Florida and serves students in grades 9 through 12.

Cypress Creek is an IB World School with an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. As an IB World School, CCHS is a local magnet school allowing students from other Orange County, Florida schools to attend. Notable alumni include Phoenix Suns basketball player Amare Stoudemire from Class of 2002.

Cypress Creek High School receives graduating students from Meadow Woods Middle School, South Creek Middle School, and Walker Middle School.

The IB Diploma Program is offered at the school and is selected by application. Students from any county may attend the program, but no transportation is provided. The program begins with the freshman taking five Pre-IB courses composed of Biology, Geometry Honors/Algebra I Honors/Algebra II Honors, English I, German/Spanish I or II, and one elective. The sixth class is at a college level which AP Human Geography. The students then move on to take their courses at the next level, but math must be at the Algebra II level by the start of their sophomore year. The students then enter their IB upperclassmen years where their IB credits begin to count and CAS, ToK, and ITGS begin. IB students usually compose the majority of the top 10% of the class.

The marching band is a six-time Florida Marching Band Coalition Class 4A Champion (in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2007) and was named Grand Champion an unprecedented five times (1998 - 2002) before FMBC eliminated the Grand Champion title (now only class champions are named). The marching band has finished in the top 20 at the Bands of America Grand National Championship twice, in 2000 and 2002. The wind ensemble has earned superior ratings at Music Performance Assessments and will perform at Carnegie Hall in 2009. The band is currently under the direction of Derek Shapiro and Jeff Willis.

The Naval Junior ROTC program provides an opportunity for cadets to learn valuable leadership skills, citizenship skills, and the value of commitment, honor and courage. The unit provides support to many components of the school including sports, drama, administration, parking, and many clubs.

The movie Never Back Down, released in 2008, was filmed in part the previous year at Cypress Creek.

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2007 NBA All-Star Game

The 2007 NBA All-Star Game was played on Sunday, February 18, 2007 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas' Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It was the 56th annual All-Star Game. It was the first time the All-Star Game was played in a city without an NBA franchise and first to be played on a college campus. The game was televised on TNT at 9 ET as part as the NBA on TNT production studios.

The Western Conference set All-Star records with 69 field goals and 52 assists on its way to an emphatic 153-132 win over the Eastern Conference All-Stars at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Amare Stoudemire racked up 29 points and nine boards and Carmelo Anthony had 20 and nine for the West. 2006 All-Star MVP LeBron James led the Eastern Conference with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists and Dwight Howard tallied 20 points and 12 boards. Kobe Bryant, previously the MVP of the 2002 All-Star Game, moved from 11th to 10th place on all-time All-star scoring, surpassing Magic Johnson. Bryant posted 31 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists and steals; for his performance, he was selected as the MVP of the All-Star game receiving a more favorable reception from the crowd than 2002. Also, Dirk Nowitzki became the first European born-player to be a starter at the All-Star Game.

Announced on August 5, 2005, the NBA, led by Commissioner David Stern, would not allow wagering on the results of the game in the state of Nevada.

The choice to choose Vegas as the location was widely regarded as a bid by the city to give Las Vegas its first sports franchise. Mayor Oscar Goodman met with David Stern to discuss the possibility during the events. On April 5, Goodman sent a letter to the commisionner, requesting a meeting to sort out the matter. All-Star MVP and former teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal welcomed the possibility, amid the gambling.

The 2006 All-Star MVP LeBron James was the top vote-getter, receiving 2,516,049 votes for the Eastern Conference's small forward position. One player has received more votes in NBA history: Yao Ming with 2,558,278. Other players that received more than two million votes: guards Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and center Yao of the Houston Rockets. All three started at their positions in their respective conference—with the exception of Yao Ming due to injury.

In the Western Conference, the race was tight. Allen Iverson, formerly the seven-time East point guard starter, moved to Denver from Philadelphia, attracting votes from reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash. But surprisingly, neither of the two was voted in; both were reserves as swingman Tracy McGrady came in the back door win. Dirk Nowitzki, another player who analysts predicted that would be starting, was not able to muster enough votes to get over former MVP Kevin Garnett's 1,600,000, but was put in by coaches as a reserve and later added to the starting lineup by West coach Mike D'Antoni. Tim Duncan was also voted in as a forward. Carmelo Anthony, the star small forward for the Nuggets, was not voted in as a starter or reserve, contrary to earlier reports that head coaches from the conference would put him in the lineup despite being involved in a brawl, but was allowed as a reserve (because Carlos Boozer was injured). Mehmet Okur of the Utah Jazz and Ray Allen of the Seattle Sonics were chosen by Stern to replace the injured Nash and Iverson.

Gilbert Arenas of the East benefited from Iverson's move to the West. In one of the closest races in game history, Arenas gained enough calls to start as the point guard of the East, over the New Jersey Nets' Vince Carter. Carter was eventually named as a reserve along with teammate Jason Kidd. In a controversial race, Shaquille O'Neal was voted in as starting center for the 14th straight time (despite playing only four games up to that point), over young star Dwight Howard, whose Orlando Magic were a surprise that season. Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors was voted by the fans to start, marking the first time a Raptor started since Vince Carter was the top vote getter in his last season in Toronto. The blooming forward was having his best season yet, and coaches and fans mutually agreed that he deserved a starting spot. Supporters of O'Neal defended the fact that the All-Star Game is a fan event, while detractors said this was an example of what was wrong with the voting system.

The coach whose team has the best record in its conference is granted the right to coach their team. However, despite this rule, no one is allowed to coach in two consecutive All-Star Games. The Dallas Mavericks' Avery Johnson, who coached the West last year, fell under this rule so Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns took his place. The East's coach was Eddie Jordan of the Washington Wizards, as Flip Saunders was ineligible due to coaching the East last year.

Appearance denotes the number of times the player been selected to play in the All-Star game, including 2007. Jason Kidd of the East and Carlos Boozer, Steve Nash, Allen Iverson, and Yao Ming of the West could not play due to injuries. The game featured seven first time All-Stars.

David Lee hit all 14 of his field-goal attempts for a game-high 30 points as the Sophomore beat the Rookies for the fifth consecutive year, 155-114. Lee, who added 11 rebounds and four assists, took home MVP of the 2007 Rookie Challenge.

Chris Paul notched novice-game records of 17 assists and nine steals to go with 16 points. Monta Ellis was the beneficiary of many of Paul's assists, as he had 5 alley-oop dunks in a 3:25 span, en route to scoring 28 points. Rudy Gay and Paul Millsap paced the Rookie squad with 22 points apiece.

Jason Kapono tied Mark Price's final-round record with 24 points and outlasted Gilbert Arenas on his way to the 2007 Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout title. Arenas notched a first-round high of 23 points and had 17 in the finals. Defending champion Dirk Nowitzki had 20 in round one and nine in the finals, and Kapono narrowly made the finals with a first-round score of 19. Mike Miller (18), Damon Jones (15) and Jason Terry (10) were eliminated early.

The Slam Dunk Contest was a memorable one. Dwight Howard jumped up and dunked while posting a sticker of him laughing, on the backboard. Eventually, Gerald Green and Nate Robinson went to the final round. Robinson looked unimpressive with his first dunk, and Green looked as bad as Robinson. However, Robinson had to do his second dunk after the limited two-minute period, and scored below 40. Green finished it off by getting a perfect score after jumping over a table. The judging panel included an impressive list of former champions who are considered some of the greatest dunkers in NBA history: Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving, Kobe Bryant, and Vince Carter.

Dwyane Wade won his second straight Skills Challenge.

The San Antonio team tried to be the first team to win back-to-back titles. Team Chicago (48.8) and Team Detroit (1:06) advanced to final round. Due to Ben Gordon shooting out of order before Candice Dupree, Detroit won by default.

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New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers are a professional basketball team based in New York City. The team plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

According to Forbes Magazine, the Knicks are the most valuable basketball franchise in the United States, valued at approximately $608 million.

At one point, the Knicks were owned by Gulf+Western, which was renamed to Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold to Viacom in 1994. Viacom then sold the team to ITT Corporation and Cablevision, and in 1997, ITT sold their share of the team to Cablevision, who still owns the team today.

The Knicks, the shortened form of Knickerbockers, are one of only two teams of the original National Basketball Association still located in its original city (the other being the Boston Celtics). The Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League merged in 1949 to form the National Basketball Association.

The Knicks' (and the BAA's) first game was played on November 1, 1946 against the Toronto Huskies as the New York Knickerbockers at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, where the Knickerbockers won 68-66. The Knickerbockers' first head coach was Neil Cohalan. The Knickerbockers were consistent playoff contenders in their early years. During the first decade of the NBA's existence, the Knickerbockers made the NBA Finals in three straight years (1951–53), and they were respected by basketball players and fans. For the remainder of the 1950s, the Knicks would field decent, if not spectacular teams, and made the playoffs in 1955, 1956 (where they lost a one-game playoff to the Syracuse Nationals), and 1959.

From 1960 to 1966, the Knicks fell on hard times, and they finished last in the NBA's Eastern Division each year. Some of the biggest losses in Knicks history occurred during this time. One such game occurred on November 15, 1960, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers by a score of 162-100. Another notable loss occurred on March 3, 1962, as the Philadelphia Warriors' Wilt Chamberlain scored a NBA-record 100 points against the Knicks, and the Warriors won the game 169-147 in a game played in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

During the Knicks' slide into futility, there were signs of better things to come. In 1964, the Knicks drafted Willis Reed, who went on to become 1965's NBA Rookie of the Year. In 1965, the Knicks were given an extra first-round draft pick by the NBA (as were the San Francisco Warriors, who owned the worst record in the league's Western Division in 1964-65) and took advantage by drafting Bill Bradley and Dave Stallworth.

In 1967, right after the Knicks made it to the playoffs for the first time since 1959, the Knicks hired Red Holzman as their head coach. With Holzman at the helm, and young players such as Bill Bradley and Walt "Clyde" Frazier, the Knicks were a playoff team again in 1968. The next season, the team acquired Dave DeBusschere from the Detroit Pistons, and the team went 55–27. In the ensuing playoffs, the team made it past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1953, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in three games, before falling to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Division finals.

In the 1969–70 season, the Knicks had a then-NBA record 18 straight victories en route to 60-22 record, which was the best regular season record in the team's history. After defeating the Bullets in the Eastern Division semifinals and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Division finals, the Knicks faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

With the series tied at 2–2, the Knicks would be tested in Game 5. Reed tore a muscle in his right leg in the first quarter, and was lost for the rest of the game. Despite his absence, New York would go on to win the game, rallying from a 16–point deficit. Without their injured captain the Knicks would lose Game 6, setting up one of the most famous moments in NBA history. Reed limped onto the court before the 7th game, determined to play through his pain. He scored New York's first two baskets before going scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Although he was not at full strength, Reed's heroics inspired the Knicks, and they won the game by a score of 113-99, giving them their first championship. The entire starting line up for the 69-70 Knicks had their jerseys retired by the New York Knicks. The jerseys of Walt Frazier (#10), Willis Reed (#19), Dave DeBusschere (#22), Bill Bradley (#24), and Dick Barnett (#12) all hang from the rafters at Madison Square Garden. Reed's walking on to the court was voted the greatest moment in Madison Square Garden history.

The Knicks' success continued for the next few years. After losing to the Bullets in the 1971 Eastern Conference finals, the team, aided by the acquisitions of Jerry Lucas and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, returned to the Finals in 1972. This time the Knicks fell to the Lakers in five games. The next year, the results were reversed, as the Knicks defeated the Lakers in five games to win their second NBA title in four years. The team had one more impressive season in 1973–74, as they reached the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell in five games to the Celtics. It was after this season that Reed announced his retirement, and the team's fortunes took a turn for the worse.

In the 1974–75 season, the Knicks posted a 40–42 record, their first losing record in eight seasons. However, the record still qualified them for a playoff spot, though the Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets in the first round. After two more seasons with losing records, Holzman was replaced behind the bench by Reed. In Reed's first year coaching the team, they posted a 43–39 record and made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were swept by the Philadelphia 76ers. The next season, after the team got off to a 6–8 start, Holzman was rehired as the team's coach. The team did not fare any better that season, finishing with a 31–51 record, their worst in thirteen years.

After improving to a 39–43 record in the 1979–80 season, the Knicks posted a 50–32 record in the 1980–81 season. In the ensuing playoffs, the Chicago Bulls swept them in two games. Holzman retired the following season as one of the winningest coaches in NBA history. The team's record for that year was a dismal 33–49. However, Holzman's legacy would continue through the players he influenced. One of the Knicks' bench players and defensive specialists during the 1970s was Phil "Action" Jackson. Jackson went on to coach the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers to nine NBA championships, tied with Red Auerbach for the most in NBA history. Jackson has cited Red Holzman as the best coach he ever played for and a major influence on his coaching philosophy.

Hubie Brown replaced Holzman as coach of the Knicks, and in his first season, the team went 44–38 and make it to the second round of the playoffs, where they were swept by the eventual champion Philadelphia 76ers. The next season, the team, aided by new acquisition Bernard King, improved to a 47–35 record and returned to the playoffs. The team beat the Detroit Pistons in the first round with an overtime win in the fifth and deciding game, before losing in second round once again, this time in seven games to the Celtics. The team's fortunes again turned for the worse the next season, as they lost their last twelve games to finish with a 24–58 record. The first of these losses occurred on March 23, 1985, where King injured his knee and spent the next 24 months in rehabilitation. Some figured that his career would end from this injury, but he proved them wrong and resumed his career near the end of the 1986–87 season.

As a result of the Knicks' dismal performance in the 1984–85 season, the team was entered into the first-ever NBA Draft Lottery. The team ended up winning the number one pick in that year's NBA Draft. They selected star center Patrick Ewing of Georgetown University.

In Ewing's first season with the Knicks, he led all rookies in scoring (20 points per game) and rebounds (9 rebounds per game), and he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. The team would not fare as well, though, as they posted a 23–59 record in his first season, and a 24–58 record in his second season.

The team's luck changed in the 1987–88 season with the hiring of Rick Pitino as head coach, and selection of point guard Mark Jackson in the draft. Combined with Ewing's consistently stellar play, the Knicks made the playoffs with a record of 38–44, where they lost to the Celtics in the first round. The team would do even better the next season as the team traded backup center Bill Cartwright for power forward Charles Oakley before the season started and then posted a 52–30 record, which was good enough for their first division title in nearly twenty years. In the playoffs, they defeated the 76ers in the first round before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

Before the 1989–90 season began, a couple of major changes occurred. Pitino left the Knicks to coach the University of Kentucky's basketball team and Stu Jackson was named head coach. The Knicks went 45–37 and defeated the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, winning the final three games after losing the first two. They went on to lose to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons in the next round. In the 1990–91 season, the team, who hired John McLeod as head coach early that season, had a 39–43 record and were swept by the eventual NBA champion Bulls.

Sensing that the team needed a better coach in order to become a championship contender, new Knicks president Dave Checketts hired Pat Riley prior to the 1991–92 season. Riley, who coached the Lakers to four NBA titles during the 1980s, taught the Knicks hard, physical defense, and immediately gave them a boost. That season, the team, which now included fan favorite John Starks, posted a 51–31 record, good enough for a first place tie in the Atlantic Division. After defeating the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, the team battled with the Bulls for seven games, before once again letting the Bulls get the best of them.

The 1992–93 season proved to be even more successful, as the Knicks won the Atlantic Division with a 60–22 record. Before the season, the Knicks traded Mark Jackson to the Los Angeles Clippers for Charles Smith, Doc Rivers, and Bo Kimble while also acquiring Rolando Blackman from the Dallas Mavericks. The team made it to the Eastern Conference finals, where once again they met the Bulls. After taking a two games-to-none lead, the Knicks lost the next four games.

After the Bulls' Michael Jordan made what would be his first retirement from basketball prior to the 1993–94 season, many saw this as an opportunity for the Knicks to finally make it to the NBA Finals. The team, who acquired Derek Harper in a midseason trade with the Dallas Mavericks, once again won the Atlantic Division with a 57–25 record. In the playoffs, the team played a then NBA-record 25 games (the Boston Celtics played 26 games in the 2008 playoffs); they started by defeating the New Jersey Nets in the first round before finally getting past the Bulls, defeating them in the second round in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they faced the Indiana Pacers, who at one point held a three games-to-two lead. They had this advantage thanks to the exploits of Reggie Miller, who scored 25 fourth quarter points in Game 5 to lead the Pacers to victory. However, the Knicks won the next two games to reach their first NBA Finals since 1973.

In the finals, the Knicks would play seven low-scoring, defensive games against the Houston Rockets. After splitting the first two games in Houston, the Knicks would win two out of three games at Madison Square Garden. In Game 6, however, a last-second attempt at a game-winning shot by Starks was tipped by Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, giving the Rockets an 86–84 victory and forcing a Game 7. The Knicks lost Game 7 90–84, credited in large part to Starks's dismal 2-for-18 shooting performance and Riley's stubborn refusal to bench Starks, despite having bench players who were renowned for their shooting prowess, such as Rolando Blackman and Hubert Davis available. However, during the finals, the New York Rangers provided the Knicks inspiration winning their their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals on the Knicks' own home court.

The next year, the Knicks were second place in the Atlantic Division with a 55–27 record. The team defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers before facing the Pacers again in the second round. The tone for the Knicks–Pacers series was set in Game 1, as Miller once again became a clutch nuisance to the Knicks by scoring eight points in the final 8 seconds of the game to give the Pacers a 107–105 victory. The series went to a Game 7, and when Patrick Ewing's last-second finger roll attempt to tie the game missed, the Pacers clinched the 97–95 win. Riley resigned the next day, and the Knicks hired Don Nelson as their new head coach.

During the 1995–96 season, Nelson was fired after 59 games, and, instead of going after another well-known coach, the Knicks hired longtime assistant Jeff Van Gundy, who had no prior experience as a head coach. The Knicks ended up with a 47–35 record that year, and swept the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual champion Bulls (who had an NBA record 72 wins in the regular season) in five games.

In the 1996–97 season, the Knicks, with the additions of such players as Larry Johnson and Allan Houston, registered a 57–25 record. In the playoffs, the Knicks swept the Charlotte Hornets in the first round before facing the Miami Heat (coached by Riley) in the second round. The Knicks took a 3–1 lead in the series before a brawl near the end of Game 5 resulted in suspensions of key players. Many of the suspended Knicks players, Ewing in particular, were disciplined not for participating in the altercation itself, but for violating an NBA rule stipulating that a benched player may not leave the bench during a fight (the rule was subsequently amended, making it illegal to leave the "bench area"). With Ewing and Houston suspended for Game 6, Johnson and Starks suspended for Game 7, and Charlie Ward suspended for both, the Knicks lost the series.

The 1997–98 season was marred by a wrist injury to Ewing on December 22, which forced him to miss the rest of the season and much of the playoffs. The team, which had a 43–39 record that season, still managed to defeat the Heat in the first round of the playoffs before having another meeting with the Pacers in the second round. Ewing returned in time for game two of the series. This time, the Pacers easily won the series in five games, as Reggie Miller once again broke the hearts of Knicks fans by hitting a tying three-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining in Game 4, en route to a Pacers overtime victory. For the fourth straight year, the Knicks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Prior to the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, the Knicks traded Starks in a package to the Golden State Warriors for 1994's 1st team all league shooting guard Latrell Sprewell (whose contract was voided by the Warriors after choking Warriors' head coach P. J. Carlesimo during the previous season), while also trading Charles Oakley for Marcus Camby. After barely getting into the playoffs with a 27–23 record, the Knicks started a Cinderella run. It started with the Knicks eliminating the #1 seeded Heat in the first round after Allan Houston bounced in a running one-hander off the front of the rim, high off the backboard, and in with 0.8 seconds left in the deciding 5th game. This remarkable upset marked only the second time in NBA history that an 8-seed had defeated the 1-seed in the NBA playoffs. After defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the second round four games to none, they faced the Pacers yet again in the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite losing Ewing to injury for the rest of the playoffs prior to Game 3, the Knicks won the series (aided in part to a four-point play by Larry Johnson in the final seconds of Game 3) to become the first eighth-seeded playoff team to make it to the NBA Finals. However, in the Finals, the San Antonio Spurs, with superstars David Robinson and Tim Duncan, proved too much for the injury-laden Knicks, who lost in five games. The remarkable fifth game of this Finals is remembered for its 2nd half scoring duel between the Spurs' Tim Duncan and the Knicks' Latrell Sprewell, and was decided by a long jumper by Avery Johnson with less than 10 seconds left to clinch the title for the Spurs.

The 1999–2000 season would prove to be the last one in New York for Ewing, as the Knicks, who had a 50–32 record that season, defeated Miami in another dramatic 7-game series in which Ewing's dunk with over a minute remaining in game 7, provided the winning margin in a 1-point road victory. They would however lose in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pacers in six games. After the season, Ewing was traded on September 20, 2000 to the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Ewing era, which produced many successful playoff appearances but no NBA championship titles, came to an end.

Despite the loss of Ewing, the Knicks remained successful in the regular season, as they posted a 48–34 record. In the NBA playoffs, however, they fell in five games to the Toronto Raptors, failing to get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Soon, the Knicks began suffering through a steep decline. After starting the season 10–9, the team was stunned on December 8, 2001 by the sudden resignation of Van Gundy. The team, which named longtime assistant Don Chaney as their new head coach, ended up with a 30–52 record, and for the first time since the 1986–87 season, they did not qualify for the playoffs.

The Knicks attempted to improve during the 2001–02 season by initiating a number of trades and free agent signings. Among these included acquiring guards Shandon Anderson and Howard Eisley, both of whom carried expensive, long-term contracts. These moves were criticized by many analysts and Knicks fans, as it was considered that not only were these players overpaid in light of their recent performances, but also because the contracts took up valuable salary-cap space. Such trades heavily contributed to the Knicks sky-rocketing payroll, which would burden them in the years to come. The Knicks improved slightly in 2002–03 but still delivered a disappointing season, posting a 37–45 record and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season.

After a 15–24 start to the 2003–04 season, the Knicks underwent a massive overhaul. Isiah Thomas was named the Knicks' president on December 22, 2003 after the firing of Scott Layden, and eventually replaced Don Chaney with Lenny Wilkens behind the bench. At the same time, Thomas orchestrated several trades, including one that brought point guard Stephon Marbury to the team. The team seemed to have good chemistry following the Marbury trade as he executed the pick and roll successfully with the team's two jump-shooting big men, Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac. However, that chemistry unravelled when the latter two were traded in a three team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks, bringing in Tim Thomas and Nazr Mohammed. The team qualified for the playoffs that year with a 39–43 record, but were swept by the New Jersey Nets in the first round. The series included a much publicized spat between the Knicks' Tim Thomas and Nets' Kenyon Martin, in which Thomas challenged Martin to a fight in the newspapers and called him "Fugazy".

The Knicks fared worse in the 2004–05 season, as they ended up with a 33–49 record. Wilkens resigned during the season, and Herb Williams served as interim coach for the rest of the season. During the off-season, the team signed Larry Brown to a five-year contract worth about $50 million, hoping he would lead the Knicks back to the NBA playoffs.

In the summer before the season, the Knicks acquired two centers. Jerome James was signed for the Mid-Level Exception for 5 years plus 1 year player option. Later, Chicago Bull Eddy Curry, who reportedly had a worrying heart condition, was refusing to take a controversial heart test, and was on the outs with John Paxson, Chicago's General Manager. The Bulls signed-and-traded him to the Knicks along with Antonio Davis for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, the Knicks 2006 first round pick, and the right to swap first round picks with the Knicks in 2007, as well as 2007 and 2009 second round picks. Regrettably, Isiah Thomas did not lottery protect the picks, and the Knicks forfeited the 2nd pick in the 2006 draft, and the 9th in the 2007 draft. The Knicks' payroll was the highest in the league at over $130 million, but the team was among the worst in the NBA, having finished the 2005–06 season with a dismal 23–59 record and capped off with the firing and $18.5 million buy-out of coach Larry Brown.

Over the last two years, Thomas' trades have been highly criticized, bringing in expensive players, such as Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Jerome James, Malik Rose, Jalen Rose, and Steve Francis. Moreover, Thomas has also accepted many bad contracts to make these trades, such as those of Penny Hardaway, Jerome Williams or Maurice Taylor, and given up draft picks. To Thomas' credit, his draft picks of David Lee, Trevor Ariza (later traded by Thomas), Nate Robinson, and Wilson Chandler are considered wise, as was his signing free agent center Jackie Butler who later signed with the Spurs. Conversely, many considered his 2006 first-round draft pick of Renaldo Balkman very foolish, although Balkman's better-than-expected play in his rookie season led many to initially reverse this early sentiment before his play regressed in his second season.

Numerous anti-Knick websites have sprung up, most notably SellTheKnicks.com, who organized a march on Madison Square Garden, the home of the Draft, to protest Dolan's "abysmal" management of the Knicks' players and coaching staff.

On December 16, 2006, the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets broke into a brawl during their game in Madison Square Garden.

On December 20, 2006, with many players still serving the suspension above, David Lee created one of the most memorable plays in recent Knicks history during a game against the Charlotte Bobcats. With a tie game and 0.1 seconds left on the game clock in double overtime, Jamal Crawford inbounded from the sideline, near half-court. The ball sailed towards the basket, and with that 0.1 seconds still remaining on the game clock, Lee tipped the ball off of the backboard and into the hoop. Because of the Trent Tucker Rule (instituted in 1994), a player is allowed solely to tip the ball to score when the ball is put back into play with three-tenths of a second or less remaining. Because of this rule, the rarity of Lee's play increases. The Knicks won, 111–109 in double overtime.

The Knicks improved by 10 games in the 2006–2007 campaign, and were only eliminated from playoff contention in the last week of the season. Injuries ravaged the team at the end of the year, and they ended with a 33–49 (.402) record, avoiding a 50-loss season by defeating the Charlotte Bobcats 94–93 in a thriller on the last day of the season.

During the 2007 offseason, the organization sunk to a new low. Anucha Browne Sanders, a former Knicks executive, had filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in 2006 against Isiah Thomas, James Dolan, and Madison Square Garden LP. On October 2, 2007, the jury returned a verdict finding Thomas and Madison Square Garden liable for sexual harassment. The jury also levied $11.6 million in punitive damages against MSG. The trial proved embarrassing for the Knicks, Thomas, and Marbury, revealing sordid details about Knicks management and the environment at MSG.

At the 2007 NBA Draft, Thomas traded Channing Frye and Steve Francis to the Portland Trail Blazers for Zach Randolph, Fred Jones, and Dan Dickau. The draft also featured the Knicks selecting Wilson Chandler with the 23rd pick and later acquiring the rights to Demetris Nichols — the 53rd pick in the draft — from the Blazers. Dickau was traded to the Clippers for draft pick Jared Jordan. Jordan and Nichols were both released by the end of the preseason. The Knicks started out 2–1 and went on to post a 7th consecutive losing season and tied the franchise mark for their worst record ever, at 23-59. Many Knicks fans called for the firing of coach and GM Isiah Thomas. The chant "Fire Isiah" became common at Madison Square Garden over the course of the season. On November 29, 2007 after engaging in pre-game trash talk with the league-leading Celtics prior to a road game while they were still winless on the road, the Knicks were handed one of their worst defeats in their history by the Boston Celtics, with a final score of 104–59. This matched their third-largest margin of defeat.

In 2000 owner James Dolan instituted media training for all Garden employees who might deal with the press and an ironclad rule against team personnel criticizing others in the organization. This has resulted in controversial media policies limiting access to players, such as prohibiting reporters and Knicks' beat writers from interviewing players without an MSG public relations official present, forbidding one-on-one and exclusive interviews, and ex-communicating writers who write articles critical of the organization. Such measures are not standard practice for other NBA teams. The Knicks also do not make their medical staff available to the press. In 2004 fan favorite broadcaster Marv Albert was fired for criticizing the Knicks' poor play.

On April 2, 2008, James Dolan signed Indiana Pacers CEO and president Donnie Walsh to take over Isiah Thomas's role as team president. Upon the conclusion of the 2007–2008 regular season, Walsh fired Isiah Thomas, and on May 13, 2008, Walsh officially named former Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni as head coach. D'Antoni signed a four-year, $24 million deal to coach the team. On May 20, 2008, the Knicks received the 6th pick in the 2008 NBA draft via the draft lottery. On June 26, 2008, the Knicks selected Italian Danilo Gallinari with that pick. The Knicks also signed veteran guard Chris Duhon using a portion of their salary cap exemption. On November 21, 2008, the Knicks dealt Jamal Crawford to the Golden State Warriors for Al Harrington. Not long after, New York then traded their leading scorer Zach Randolph along with Mardy Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas. The idea behind these trades is to free up salary-cap space for the summer of 2010, when some notable free agents could hit the market such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amar'e Stoudemire. In 2009 the Knicks traded Tim Thomas, Jerome James, and Anthony Roberson to the Chicago Bulls for Larry Hughes . They also sent Malik Rose to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Chris Wilcox. Additionally, the long standing controversy with Stephon Marbury ended when the two sides agreed to a buy-out of Marbury's contract, which allowed him to sign with any team he wishes when he cleared waivers on February 27th. Marbury ended up signing with the Celtics.

The current logo has been used since 1995, and it is a modernized version of the "roundball" logo the Knicks have used since 1964. The logo displays the words "NEW YORK KNICKS" (with "KNICKS" being larger than the other two words) above a basketball on top of an upturned isosceles triangle. The design is featured on the Knicks uniform shorts.

The Knicks also use a circular emblem, with the letters NYK, designed to look like a subway token. From the late 1960s to 1990, the Knicks used an orange interlocking NY logo—the same design as on the New York Yankees' jerseys—on their warmup jackets and later their shorts (sometimes within an "apple" silhouette, sometimes by itself); it remains on their throwback-uniform shorts.

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