query: Tony Bill produced a movie.

pos: Tony Bill Gerard Anthony `` Tony '' Bill ( born August 23 , 1940 ) is an American actor , producer , and director . He produced the 1973 movie The Sting , for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips . As an actor , Bill has had supporting roles in films including Come Blow Your Horn ( 1963 ) , Shampoo ( 1975 ) , Pee-Wee 's Big Adventure ( 1985 ) , and Less Than Zero ( 1987 ) . He made his directorial debut with My Bodyguard ( 1980 ) , and has since directed movies like Six Weeks ( 1982 ) , Five Corners ( 1987 ) , Crazy People ( 1990 ) , and Flyboys ( 2006 ) . He often casts Dudley Moore in his films .

neg: Gran Torino Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood , who also starred in the film . The film co-stars Christopher Carley , Bee Vang and Ahney Her . This was Eastwood 's first starring role since 2004 's Million Dollar Baby . The film features a large Hmong American cast , as well as one of Eastwood 's younger sons , Scott . Eastwood 's oldest son , Kyle , provided the score . Gran Torino opened via a limited theatrical release in North America on December 12 , 2008 , and later to a worldwide release on January 9 , 2009 . Set in Detroit , Michigan , it is the first mainstream American film to feature Hmong Americans . Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975 .   The story follows Walt Kowalski , a recently widowed Korean War veteran alienated from his family and angry at the world . Walt 's young neighbor , Thao Vang Lor , is pressured by his cousin into stealing Walt 's prized 1972 Ford Gran Torino for his initiation into a gang . Walt thwarts the theft with his M1 Garand rifle and subsequently develops a relationship with the boy and his family .   Gran Torino was a critical and commercial success , grossing nearly $ 270 million worldwide ( making it Eastwood 's second highest-grossing film to date ) . Within the Hmong community in the United States , the film received both praise and criticism .

neg: Bill Thurman Bill Thurman ( November 4 , 1920 -- April 13 , 1995 ) was an American film and television actor . From the early 1960s until his death in 1995 , he frequently appeared in B movies and independent films , often playing `` redneck types '' or sheriffs . He worked with low-budget-director Larry Buchanan on numerous films , for example In the Year 2889 and ` It 's Alive ! ' . Thurman was one of those Southern actors who were specialized in so called `` regional '' pictures , films which were made exclusively for distribution in the Southern States .   However , Thurman also appeared in two movies by Hollywood star director Steven Spielberg and played the Coach Popper , the apparently homosexual husband of Cloris Leachman , in Peter Bogdanovich 's classic The Last Picture Show ( 1971 ) . The character actor also appeared in popular television shows like Dallas and Centennial . One of his last big roles was Reverend McWiley in the horror film Mountaintop Motel Massacre ( 1986 ) .

neg: Good Will Hunting Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American drama film , directed by Gus Van Sant , and starring Robin Williams , Matt Damon , Ben Affleck , Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgård . Written by Affleck and Damon ( and with Damon in the title role ) , the film follows 20-year-old South Boston laborer Will Hunting , an unrecognized genius who , as part of a deferred prosecution agreement after assaulting a police officer , becomes a client of a therapist and studies advanced mathematics with a renowned professor . Through his therapy sessions , Will re-evaluates his relationships with his best friend , his girlfriend and himself , facing the significant task of confronting his past and thinking about his future .   The film received positive reviews and was a financial success . It grossed over US$ 225 million during its theatrical run with only a modest $ 10 million budget . It was nominated for nine Academy Awards , including the Academy Award for Best Picture , and won two : Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Affleck and Damon .   After Williams ' death in 2014 , it was ranked at number 53 in The Hollywood Reporters `` 100 Favorite Films '' list .

neg: Door to Door (film) Door to Door is a 2002 television film about Bill Porter , an inspiring and successful door-to-door salesman with cerebral palsy . The film stars William H. Macy , who plays Porter , and also features Helen Mirren , Kyra Sedgwick , Michael Shanks and Kathy Baker . Door to Door , directed by Steven Schachter , was produced for the TNT cable network . It was nominated for twelve and won six Emmy Awards , including Outstanding Made for Television Movie , and also won a Peabody Award .   Porter had been told for many years that he was not employable , but he was determined to succeed and focused his efforts into working as a salesman for Watkins . Despite the awkwardness and pain of his condition , he would walk eight to ten miles a day to meet his customers . Porter supported himself and continued to work as a salesman until age 69 .   Door to Door is also the name of a 2009 Japanese TV movie starring Kazunari Ninomiya loosely based on the Bill Porter story set in Japan .

neg: Bill Cracks Down Bill Cracks Down is a 1937 American film directed by William Nigh . The film is also known as Men of Steel in the United Kingdom .

neg: Paycheck (film) Paycheck is a 2003 American science fiction thriller film based on the short story of the same name by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick . The film was directed by John Woo and stars Ben Affleck , Uma Thurman and Aaron Eckhart . Paul Giamatti , Michael C. Hall , Joe Morton and Colm Feore also appear .

neg: Tony Berg Anthony Rains `` Tony '' Berg ( born October 21 , 1954 in Connecticut ) is an American musician , record producer , and A&R man , in which role he has been described as an `` industry guru '' .   Berg 's music career began in the late 1970s , when he was a session guitarist who appeared on several notable releases including Air Supply , Debby Boone , The Rocky Horror Picture Show and several Muppet Show releases . It the early 1980s , Berg founded Zeitgeist Studios . His first major success was with Michael Penn 's 1989 debut March . From there Berg went on to produce Edie Brickell , Public Image Limited , Altered State , and Aimee Mann as well as an extensive collection of other artists .   In the early 1990s , Berg became an A&R exec with Geffen Records where he played a role in signing artists such as Beck , Wild Colonials , Black Rebel Motorcycle Club , At the Drive-In etc. . During this time he continued to produce records and play on a wide variety of releases including Peter Gabriel 's Up .   In 2004 Berg founded Three Records with industry veteran Michael Rosenblatt and super producer Eric Valentine . Their first release was Mellowdrone 's Box .

neg: Mr. Saturday Night Mr. Saturday Night is a 1992 American comedy-drama film that marks the directorial debut of its star , Billy Crystal .   It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr. , a stand-up comedian . Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz . It was filmed from November 1991 to March 1992 and released on September 23 , 1992 , by Columbia Pictures .   Co-star David Paymer received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor .   The opening title sequence was designed by Elaine and Saul Bass .   The film is based on the Saturday Night Live Weekend Update sketch in which Billy Crystal plays Buddy Young Jr. reviewing a restaurant he went to .

neg: Last Night at the Alamo Last Night at the Alamo is a 1983 American black-and-white independent film directed and co-produced by Eagle Pennell , written and co-produced by Kim Henkel and starring Sonny Carl Davis and Lou Perryman .

neg: Assault on Wall Street Assault on Wall Street ( also known as Attack on Wall Street and formerly known as Bailout : The Age of Greed ) is a 2013 action thriller film written and directed by Uwe Boll , and starring Dominic Purcell . The film stars Purcell as a security guard who struggles to pay for his wife 's medical bills and loses his investments in the 2007 -- 08 financial crisis , prompting a shooting spree on Wall Street after his wife takes her own life .

neg: Bill Raymond William Joseph `` Bill '' Raymond ( born September 9 , 1938 ) is an American actor who has appeared in film , television and theatre since the 1960s .

neg: Anna Biller Anna Biller is an independent American filmmaker who was born and raised in Los Angeles . She is known for her visual style , and for her use of period genres and satire . Her background is mainly in art ( her father is a visual artist , and she has a B.A. in art from U.C.L.A. and an MFA in art and film from The California Institute of the Arts ) . Her 2007 feature film Viva premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam , and won the Best of Fest Award at the Boston Underground Film Festival . The film was also entered into the main competition at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival .   Reason magazine called Viva an `` uncannily precise rendition of the look , sound , mood , and arch dialogue '' of seventies sexploitation films , with `` high-key , pseudo-Technicolor lighting and spare , colorful set design . ''   Her latest film , The Love Witch , is a twist on classic serial killer films , featuring a female killer who kills through calculated sexuality , causing her male victims to fall too much in love . Richard Brody of The New Yorker said of The Love Witch , `` Biller puts genre to the test of do-it-yourself artistry , and puts feminist ideology itself to the test of style . The film pulsates with furious creative energy throughout , sparking excitement and giddy amazement that it even exists . '' In May 2016 , The Love Witch was acquired for distribution by Oscilloscope Laboratories .

neg: Chantal (film) Chantal is a 2007 direct-to-video film written and directed by Tony Marsiglia about a small town girl wanting to make it big in Hollywood .

neg: A Simple Plan (film) A Simple Plan is a 1998 American neo-noir crime thriller film adapted by Scott B. Smith from his 1993 novel of the same name . Directed by Sam Raimi , the film stars Bill Paxton , Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda . Set in rural Minnesota , the story follows Hank Mitchell ( Paxton ) and his brother Jacob ( Thornton ) , who , along with Jacob 's friend Lou ( Brent Briscoe ) , discover a crashed plane containing $ 4.4 million in cash . The three men go to great lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each other 's trust , resulting in lies , deceit and murder .   Development of the film began in 1993 before the novel was published . Mike Nichols purchased the film rights , and the project was picked up by an independent film studio , Savoy Pictures . After Nichols stepped down , the film adaptation became mired in development hell ; during the troubled pre-production , Ben Stiller and John Dahl turned down opportunities to direct the film . After Savoy closed in November 1995 , the project was sold to Paramount Pictures . John Boorman was hired to direct , but scheduling conflicts led to his replacement by Raimi . Principal photography began in January 1998 and concluded in March after 55 days ; filming took place in Wisconsin and Minnesota . The score was produced and composed by Danny Elfman .   A Simple Plan premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival , where it was met with critical acclaim . The film 's appearance at the festival preceded a limited release in the United States on December 11 , 1998 , followed by a general release in North America on January 22 , 1999 . It underperformed at the North American box office , grossing $ 16.3 million on a $ 17 million production budget . Reviewers praised various aspects of the film 's production , including the storytelling , performances and Raimi 's direction . A Simple Plan earned multiple awards and nominations , among them two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor ( Thornton ) and Best Adapted Screenplay ( Smith ) .

neg: Buffalo '66 Buffalo '66 is a 1998 comedy-drama film that is writer-director Vincent Gallo 's full-length motion picture debut . Vincent Gallo and Christina Ricci star in the lead roles and the supporting cast includes Mickey Rourke , Rosanna Arquette , Ben Gazzara , and Anjelica Huston . Gallo also composed and performed much of the music for the film .   The film received critical acclaim and Empire listed it as the 36th-greatest independent film ever made . It was filmed in and around Gallo 's native Buffalo , New York in winter . The film uses British progressive rock music in its soundtrack , notably King Crimson and Yes .   The title refers to the Buffalo Bills football team , with the number referring to the statement , `` They have n't won a championship since 1966 . '' This is critical to the plot which focuses on the Super Bowl in which the Bills , in the early 1990s , came very close to winning , but the game was blown with a missed field goal .

neg: Goodfellas Goodfellas ( stylized as GoodFellas ) is a 1990 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese . It is an adaptation of the 1986 non-fiction book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi , who co-wrote the screenplay with Scorsese . The film narrates the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill and his friends over a period from 1955 to 1980 .   Scorsese initially named the film Wise Guy and postponed making it ; later , he and Pileggi changed the name to Goodfellas . To prepare for their roles in the film , Robert De Niro , Joe Pesci , and Ray Liotta often spoke with Pileggi , who shared research material left over from writing the book . According to Pesci , improvisation and ad-libbing came out of rehearsals wherein Scorsese gave the actors freedom to do whatever they wanted . The director made transcripts of these sessions , took the lines he liked best , and put them into a revised script , which the cast worked from during principal photography .   Made on a budget of $ 25 million , Goodfellas grossed $ 46.8 million . It received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for six Academy Awards , including Best Picture and Best Director , with Pesci winning Best Actor in a Supporting Role . The film won five awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts , including Best Film and Best Director . Additionally , Goodfellas was named the year 's best film by various critics ' groups .   Goodfellas is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in the crime genre . In 2000 , it was deemed `` culturally , historically , and aesthetically significant '' and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress . Its content and style have been emulated in numerous other films and television shows .

neg: Black Hawk Down (film) Black Hawk Down is a 2002 American war film co-produced and directed by Ridley Scott . The screenplay by Ken Nolan is adapted from the non-fiction book of the same name by Mark Bowden , which in turn is based on the 29-part series of articles published in The Philadelphia Inquirer chronicling the events of a 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid and the ensuing firefight , known as the Battle of Mogadishu .   The film features a large ensemble cast , including Josh Hartnett , Ewan McGregor , Eric Bana , Tom Sizemore , William Fichtner , Jason Isaacs , Tom Hardy , and Sam Shepard . It won two Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 74th Academy Awards . Although it was received positively by critics , the film was strongly criticized by a number of groups and military officials .   In 2009 , an extended cut of the film was released on DVD . The cut contained an additional 8 minutes of footage increasing the running time to 152 minutes . This extended cut has yet to be released on Blu-Ray .

neg: Kill Bill Kill Bill is an American two-part martial arts film series , and the fourth film overall that was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino . It was originally set to be released as one film , but with a running time of over four hours , it was separated into two films : Kill Bill : Volume 1 , released in late 2003 , and Kill Bill : Volume 2 , released in early 2004 . The original four-hour cut , retitled Kill Bill : The Whole Bloody Affair , was screened at select cinemas in 2011 .   Tarantino has discussed the possibility of a third Kill Bill film .

neg: Donnie Brasco (film) Donnie Brasco is a 1997 American crime drama film directed by Mike Newell , and starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp . Michael Madsen , Bruno Kirby , James Russo , and Anne Heche appeared in supporting roles .   The film is based on the true story of Joseph D. Pistone ( Depp ) , an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Mafia Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s , under the alias Donnie Brasco , a.k.a. `` The Jewel Man '' . Brasco maneuvers his way into the confidence of an aging hit-man , Lefty Ruggiero ( Pacino ) , who vouches for him . As Donnie moves deeper into the Mafia , he realizes that not only is he crossing the line between federal agent and criminal , but also leading his friend Lefty to an almost certain death .   It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay . The adaptation of the book by Joseph D. Pistone and Richard Woodley was by screenwriter Paul Attanasio . The film was a box office success , earning $ 124.9 million against a $ 35 million budget , and receiving critical acclaim .

neg: Million Dollar Bill (album) Million Dollar Bill is the debut album by Australian musician Billy Thorpe , released in 1975 . The album spawned the singles `` It 's Almost Summer '' , `` Drive My Car '' , `` Do the Best You Can '' and `` Mama Told Her '' . The album peaked at number 37 on the Kent Music Report in Australia .


query: Colin Quinn is an elderly writer.

pos: Colin Quinn Colin Edward Quinn ( born June 6 , 1959 ) is an American stand-up comedian , actor , and writer . On television , he is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live , where he anchored Weekend Update , on MTV 's 1980s game show Remote Control , where he served as the announcer/sidekick , and as host of Comedy Central 's late-night panel show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn . Notable film work includes his role as Dooey in A Night at the Roxbury , Dickey Bailey in the Grown Ups films and playing Amy Schumer 's father in the film Trainwreck . Comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld and Dave Attell cite him as the quintessential New York comedian .   Quinn has also become known for his comedic one-man shows that offer his unique takes on history and growing up in New York City . As of 2015 , he has written and starred in five shows : Irish Wake , My Two Cents , Long Story Short , Unconstitutional , and The New York Story , two of which he collaborated on with Seinfeld as director . Long Story Short was filmed as an HBO special that aired on April 9 , 2011 and Unconstitutional and The New York Story were released as Netflix specials .

neg: Colin Crompton George Colin Crompton ( 22 June 1931 -- 24 August 1985 ) was an English stand-up comedian .   Crompton was born in Manchester , Lancashire , and found fame on the Granada Television programme The Comedians in the early 1970s .   From 1974 to 1977 he was also the `` club chairman '' in another Granada programme , The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club . An attempt by producer Johnnie Hamp to reproduce the atmosphere of the working men 's clubs in a television studio , Crompton was famous for ringing a hand-operated fire alarm bell and telling the audience to `` give order '' when making announcements from `` the committee '' in between acts . He wrote his own scripts , with occasional additions by Neil Shand . The MC for the show , Bernard Manning , claimed he was cast in the role because he `` had been on The Comedians and he had that gormless look about him so he was ideal . ''   According to Johnnie Hamp : `` Colin was criticised by real club chairmen for the way he acted . One actual club chairman wanted to appear and have it out with him on the show . He came along and met Colin , who was dressed in a very good suit , very smart , and here was this man looking more of a caricature than Colin ever did . ''   Later , Crompton also had a small role as ` Roughage ' in the film Confessions from a Holiday Camp in 1977 .   A favourite moment during The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club was when he rang his bell to interrupt ventriloquist Ray Alan halfway through his act : '' ... excuse me Mr. Allen we 've had some complaints that they ca n't quite hear you at the back . Could you hold your dummy a little closer to the microphone please ? '' This particular joke , like the character of the club chairman itself , owed a heavy debt to the comedian Norman Collier .   In later life Crompton bought and ran a pub called the Birch and Bottle in Whitley , Cheshire . He died of lung cancer at the age of 54 . He was survived by his three children , Cheryl , Erica and John .

neg: Colin Clark Colin Clark may refer to :  Colin Clark ( economist ) ( 1905 -- 1989 ) , British and Australian economist and statistician  Colin Clark ( soccer ) ( born 1984 ) , American soccer player  Colin Clark ( filmmaker ) ( 1932 -- 2002 ) , British writer and filmmaker  Colin Clark of the Clark baronets  Colin Clark ( golfer ) in NCAA Division III Men 's Golf Championships  `` Colin Clark '' , the name under which Kryptonian orphan Kal-El ( a.k.a. Superman ) is raised in the alternate universe of Superman : True Brit  Colin W. Clark , Canadian mathematician and behavioural ecologist

neg: Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science-fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963 . The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called `` The Doctor '' , an extraterrestrial being from the planet Gallifrey . He explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS . Its exterior appears as a blue British police box , which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired . Accompanied by a number of companions , the Doctor combats a variety of foes , while working to save civilisations and help people in need .   The show is a significant part of British popular culture , and elsewhere it has gained a cult following . It has influenced generations of British television professionals , many of whom grew up watching the series . The programme originally ran from 1963 to 1989 . There was an unsuccessful attempt to revive regular production in 1996 with a backdoor pilot , in the form of a television film titled Doctor Who . The programme was relaunched in 2005 , and since then has been produced in-house by BBC Wales in Cardiff . Doctor Who has also spawned numerous spin-offs , including comic books , films , novels , audio dramas , and the television series Torchwood ( 2006 -- 2011 ) , The Sarah Jane Adventures ( 2007 -- 2011 ) , K-9 ( 2009 -- 2010 ) , and Class '' ( 2016-present ) , and has been the subject of many parodies and references in popular culture .   Twelve actors have headlined the series as the Doctor . The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation -- an idea introduced in 1966 to allow the show to continue after the departure of original lead William Hartnell who was becoming very ill at the time . The concept is that this is a Time Lord trait through which the character of the Doctor takes on a new body and personality to recover from a severe injury or anything that would otherwise kill a normal person . Each actor 's portrayal differs , but all represent stages in the life of the same character and form a single narrative . The time-travelling feature of the plot means that different incarnations of the Doctor occasionally meet . The current lead , Peter Capaldi , took on the role after Matt Smith 's exit in the 2013 Christmas special `` The Time of the Doctor '' . In 2017 , Capaldi confirmed he would be leaving at the end of the tenth series , with his final appearance being the 2017 Christmas Special .

neg: Colin Bruce (disambiguation) Colin Bruce is a British science writer .   Colin Bruce may also refer to :   Colin S. Bruce ( born 1965 ) , United States judge  Colin Bruce ( actor ) in Gotham ( film ) etc. .  Colin Bruce , editor and chief compiler of Standard Catalog of World Coins

neg: Ben Travers Ben Travers CBE AFC ( 12 November 1886 -- 18 December 1980 ) was an English writer . His output includes more than twenty plays , thirty screenplays , five novels , and three volumes of memoirs . He is best remembered for his long-running series of farces first staged in the 1920s and 1930s at the Aldwych Theatre . Many of these were made into films and later television productions .   After working for some years in his family 's wholesale grocery business , which he detested , Travers was given a job by the publisher John Lane in 1911 . After service as a pilot in the First World War , he began to write novels and plays . He turned his 1921 novel , The Dippers , into a play that was first produced in the West End in 1922 . His big break came in 1925 , when the actor-manager Tom Walls bought the performing rights to his play A Cuckoo in the Nest , which ran for more than a year at the Aldwych . He followed this success with eight more farces for Walls and his team ; the last in the series closed in 1933 . Most of the farces were adapted for film in the 1930s and 1940s , with Travers writing the screenplays for eight of them .   After the Aldwych series came to a close , in 1935 Travers wrote a serious play with a religious theme . It was unsuccessful , and he returned to comedy . Of his later farces only one , Banana Ridge ( 1938 ) , rivalled the runs of his 1920s hits ; it was filmed in 1942 . During the Second World War Travers served in the Royal Air Force , working in intelligence , and later served at the Ministry of Information , while producing two well-received plays .   After the war Travers 's output declined ; he had a long fallow period after the death of his wife in 1951 , although he collaborated on a few revivals and adaptations of his earlier work . He returned to playwriting in 1968 . He was inspired to write a new comedy in the early 1970s after the abolition of theatre censorship in Britain permitted him to write without evasion about sexual activities , one of his favourite topics . The resulting play , The Bed Before Yesterday ( 1975 ) , presented when he was 89 , was the longest-running of all his stage works , easily outplaying any of his Aldwych farces .

neg: Colin MacIntyre Colin MacIntyre ( born 8 April 1971 ) is a Scottish musician and novelist . A singer , song-writer , and multi-instrumentalist , he has released five albums under the name Mull Historical Society as well as two albums under his own name . His most successful album , Mull Historical Society 's Us ( 2003 ) , reached number 19 in the UK Albums Chart . His debut novel , The Letters of Ivor Punch , was published in 2015 .

neg: Tom Quinn (Spooks) Tom Quinn is a fictional character in the BBC espionage television series Spooks ( called MI-5 in the United States ) , which follows the exploits of Section D , a counter-terrorism division of MI5 . He is portrayed by British actor Matthew Macfadyen . In the first two series , Tom is the chief of Section D . The character was in the first and second episode of the third series but was decommissioned as a result of sabotaging an operation .   Series creator David Wolstencroft believed that writing Tom was the most fun , yet hardest to work on . During the second series , the producers were unsure whether Macfadyen would return for the third ; because of this , Tom was originally killed in the second series finale . However , when Macfadyen decided to appear in the first two episodes of the third series , series writer Howard Brenton had to `` unkill him . '' Reaction towards the character by fans were positive , though critics were mixed about Macfadyen 's portrayal . Tom Quinn would later appear again as a cameo on the final episode of Spooks ; his brief return was met with generally positive reactions .

neg: Peggy O'Shea Mary Margaret `` Peggy '' O'Shea ( October 3 , 1922 -- May 1 , 2014 ) was an American screenwriter for soap operas .   Born in Niagara Falls , New York , she began writing for television with her former husband Lou Shaw for such series as Dr. Kildare , Ben Casey , and Have Gun -- Will Travel . She would later serve as head writer for One Life to Live from 1979 to 1983 , Capitol from 1983 to 1984 , and again for OLTL from 1984 to 1987 . She also wrote for Peyton Place . She won a Writers Guild of America Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on OLTL . She was also nominated for a total of four WGA Awards and five Daytime Emmys .   While writing for OLTL , O'Shea lived in New York City , but she would move to live in Los Angeles . On May 1 , 2014 , she died of complications from a stroke . She was 91 . She was survived by a son from her marriage to Shaw .

neg: Pat Quinn (copywriter) Patrick `` Pat '' Quinn ( 1937 , London -- , Melrose , Scotland ) was a professional advertising copywriter and author who was also an aeroplane pilot and active in the Edinburgh music scene .   Quinn had 40 years ' experience of the advertising business , and was also an advertising industry trainer and seminar leader . After moving to Scotland , he was a jazz critic for the Edinburgh Evening News .   He died of prostate cancer on 13 June 2008 at Borders General Hospital in Melrose , Scotland .

neg: Providence: The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest Providence : The Story of a Fifty-Year Vision Quest is a book by Daniel Quinn , published in 1994 , and written largely as an autobiography blended with additional philosophical reflections . It details how Quinn arrived at the ideas behind his 1992 novel Ishmael and articulates upon some of these ideas .   Although primarily nonfiction in content , Providence is written with a fictional backdrop , in which the reader is presented as someone who has read Ishmael and sneaked into Daniel Quinn 's house at night to ask Quinn for further information regarding his inspirations for the novel and its philosophical ideas . Quinn , though tired , welcomes the reader into his house and opens himself up to the reader 's questions . Throughout the story , Quinn narrates as though replying to questions asked by ( the character of ) the reader , which Quinn `` restates '' in his answers and explanations ; the voice of the reader is never directly heard .

neg: Penguin Celebrations Penguin Celebrations was a book series released by Penguin Books in 2008 , Penguin re-released 36 modern popular works using Penguin 's distinctive late 1940s style , rebranded ` Penguin Celebrations ' . Following the 1940s style ; Green is for ` mystery ' , Orange for ` fantastic fiction ' , Pink for ` distant lands ' , Dark Blue for ` real lives ' and Purple for ` viewpoints ' .   The ` Penguin Celebrations ' books are as follows :  Fiction  William Boyd - Any Human Heart  Jonathan Coe - What a Carve Up !  Jonathan Safran Foer - Everything Is Illuminated  Zoë Heller - Notes on a Scandal  Nick Hornby - How to Be Good  Marian Keyes - The Other Side of the Story  Matthew Kneale - English Passengers  Hari Kunzru - The Impressionist  Marina Lewycka - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian  Meg Rosoff - How I Live Now  Ali Smith - The Accidental  Zadie Smith - White Teeth  Sue Townsend - Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction  Pat Barker - Regeneration   Non-fiction  Noam Chomsky - Hegemony or Survival  Niall Ferguson - Empire  Robin Lane Fox - The Classical World  Malcolm Gladwell - Blink  Brian Greene - The Fabric of the Cosmos  Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner - Freakonomics  James Lovelock - The Revenge of Gaia  Eric Schlosser - Fast Food Nation   Crime  Donna Tartt - The Secret History  P. D. James - A Certain Justice  John Mortimer - Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders  Alex Garland - The Beach  Barbara Vine - The Chimney-sweeper 's Boy   Travel and adventure  Ryszard Kapuściński - The Shadow of the Sun  Redmond O'Hanlon - Congo Journey  Paul Theroux - Dark Star Safari   Biography  Charles Nicholl - Leonardo da Vinci : Flights of the Mind  Claire Tomalin - Jane Austen : A Life  Jeremy Paxman - The English   Essays  Alain de Botton - The Consolations of Philosophy  Jeremy Clarkson - The World According to Clarkson  Alistair Cooke - Letter from America

neg: Patricia Leitch Patricia Leitch born 13 July 1933 , Paisley , Renfrewshire , Scotland , died 28 July 2015 , was a Scottish writer , best known for her series of children 's books in the pony story genre about Jinny Manders and her wild , traumatised Arabian horse Shantih , set in the Scottish Highlands . The 12 books in the Jinny series were published between 1976 and 1988 by Armada . They are currently in reprint by Catnip Publishers   The Jinny series books often contain this brief biographical information :   `` Patricia Leitch started riding when a friend persuaded her to go on a pony trekking holiday - and by the following summer she had her own Highland pony , Kirsty . She wrote her first book shortly after this and writing is now her full-time occupation , but she has also done all sorts of different jobs , including being a riding-school instructor , groom , teacher and librarian . She lives in Renfrewshire , Scotland , with a bearded collie called Meg . ''   Patricia Leitch was a vegan . Animal welfare and vegetarianism are strong themes in her books . Celtic , Arabic and Buddhist mythology and philosophy are also frequently referred to .   The Jinny series marks a significant departure from the traditional ` tweedy ' horse and pony stories aimed at middle-class children . Jinny is a scruffy , willful , tom-boyish girl who does n't have any social or romantic aspirations . Serious social justice issues are raised throughout the series , forcing Jinny to confront her own prejudices and character faults .   Underlying the series is a sense of predestination deriving from Celtic mythology . Jinny is portrayed as a gifted or chosen child with special and dangerous tasks to perform , guided by mysterious and sometimes frightening characters such as the Red Horse ( agent of the Celtic Horse Goddess Epona ) and the Walker . In this way it resembles the Dark Is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper .

neg: Jane Bryant Quinn Jane Bryant Quinn ( born February 5 , 1939 ) is an American financial journalist . She is one of the nation 's leading commentators on personal finance . Her policy columns have addressed matters of top concern to citizens , including investor protection , health insurance , Social Security , and the sufficiency of retirement plans .

neg: Pegarty Long Pegarty Long ( born August 17 , 1940 in New York City , New York ) is a film producer and director , best known for the campy horror movie An Irish Vampire in Hollywood ( 2007 ) and the experimental film Incision ( 1999 ) . She runs Raven Productions ( in Venice , CA ) , a production company for film and literature , whose catalogue includes these poetry books : `` The Prose and Poetry of John Thomas , `` The Collected Poems of Philomene Long , '' `` Memoirs of a Nun on Fire , '' and `` Bukowski in the Bathtub , '' about Charles Bukowski Pegarty lives in Venice , California .   She is the twin sister of the poet Philomene Long .   Reviews of An Irish Vampire in Hollywood  Winner Best Film Score The International Moondance Film Festival .  `` Utterly fantastic ! Most cinema is boring . This film is different , creative and artistic . Better than Batman ! '' - Peter McCarthy , Producer-Director `` Repo Man '' , `` Sid & Nancy '' , `` Floundering '' `` Death and Taxes '' .  `` I was very taken with the film , by its poetic sensibility and often arresting images and by the narrative permutations you brought to the vampire genre . Conjuring up a vivid and indelible world , you present an Ireland admittedly a `` tad '' darker than say John Ford in The Quiet Man but no less evocative . '' - Robert Dawson , Award-Winning Movie Titleler ` The Doors '' , `` Point Break '' , `` Gladiator '' , `` X Men '' .  `` The Irish Vampire Goes West '' , is the first Irish vampire film . '' - Kim Newman The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies  `` Art / vampire . Pegarty Long has discovered a new genre . Reminds one a bit , stylistically , of the German expressionists , especially NOSEFERATU . '' - Peter Belsito , Founder Filmfinders , Producer `` Tarkowsky : Time Within Time '' .  `` A beautifully shot film . `` Irish Vampire '' brought back my evenings in the underground cinema of the 60s . Too bad it 's not still with us , because then you have a camp cult classic on your hands . - Wanda Coleman , Award-Winning Poet , Writer `` Mad Dog Black Lady , `` A War of Eyes and Other Stories '' .  `` Timelessly classical . '' - Jeanne Collachia , Director , Editor , Producer `` Bread and Salt '' .

neg: Human Writes Human Writes is a long established , non-profit organization founded for the purpose of befriending prisoners on Death Row in the USA . Whilst they are against the death penalty , the organisation does not campaign as such , its main remit being the befriending , and in many ways ` humanising ' of inmates through letter writing :   `` Receiving letters can make a huge difference to -LSB- prisoners ' -RSB- quality of life ; prisoners speak of us as their sunshine or their window on the world . Above all , they value being able to have a normal conversation with someone and the feeling that someone cares . '' ( * Human Writes website   ` Human Writes ' is not linked to any particular political or religious groups . The organisation has become well known internationally though and many prominent public figures actively encourage and support the work that they do , among them the former Archbishop of Canterbury , Dr. Rowan Williams , who describes the organisation 's aims as :   `` A small but hugely significant witness , telling someone that they are not facing death alone . ''   ` Human Writes ' has become generally known and accepted by the US prison authorities as a reputable organisation , working within the parameters of their systems .

neg: Steve Regan Steve Regan ( born 1958 in Wigan ) is a UK-based journalist and television critic who worked for the ORACLE teletext service during the 1980s and early 1990s . For many years he wrote a popular column on the service under the pseudonym Sam Brady in which he regularly poured scorn on the `` middle class blandies '' he believed were running the British television industry .   The column was very popular with viewers and when ORACLE closed on 31 December 1992 , the column was taken up by its replacement Teletext on 3 . It continued for nine years until it was dropped following a change in direction by Teletext .   From the mid-1990s Regan wrote columns for the Hull Daily Mail ( where he became known as the King of Hull ) , the Whitstable Times , the Kentish Times and the Moorlands Trader ( Staffordshire ) . He is now working as a communications director . He writes a blog under his real name , and he also writes as Sam Brady , but again now as a blogger .

neg: Len Doherty Len Doherty ( 1930 -- 1983 ) was a British miner , journalist and writer . He has been named as `` among the most important practitioners of the socialist novel in Britain . ''   Born in Maryhill , Glasgow in 1930 , Doherty moved with his family to Yorkshire , England in the 1940s and started work as a miner at the age of 17 . In the mid 1950s while working at Thurcroft Colliery near Rotheram he became active in the local Communist Party and was one of a number of working class writers of the period sponsored by the Party and published by in-house company Lawrence and Wishart . His 1955 debut novel A Miner 's Sons was the most successful of its type .   Second novel The Man Beneath appeared in 1957 ; Doherty left the Party the same year and began work as a journalist for the Sheffield Star , later becoming chief leader writer . Third and final completed novel The Good Lion was published in 1958 and praised in The Spectator .   Doherty was the model for the character of ` Davie ' in Clancy Sigal 's semi-autobiographical 1960 novel Weekend in Dinlock , the pair becoming friends after having been introduced by Doris Lessing . His writing was also an influence on Stan Barstow . According to Sid Chaplin , Doherty was part of a `` Northern writers ' mafia '' brought together by media coverage of kitchen sink/angry young men literature of the period , including Chaplin , Barstow , John Braine and Keith Waterhouse .   Doherty was named Provincial Journalist of the Year in 1969 , which led to foreign assignments . In February 1970 , he was one of several passengers injured in a terrorist attack by the PDFLP at Munich airport while on a return El Al flight from a trip to Israel , which affected his career and health .   He committed suicide in 1983 .

neg: Southern Ontario Gothic Southern Ontario Gothic is a subgenre of the Gothic novel genre and a feature of Canadian literature that comes from Southern Ontario . This region includes Toronto , Southern Ontario 's major industrial cities ( Windsor , London , Hamilton , St. Thomas , Oshawa , St. Catharines ) , and the surrounding countryside . While the genre may also feature other areas of Ontario , Canada , and the world as narrative locales , this region provides the core settings .   The term was first used in Graeme Gibson 's Eleven Canadian Novelists ( 1972 ) to recognize an existing tendency to apply aspects of the Gothic novel to writing based in and around Southern Ontario . In an interview with Timothy Findley , Gibson commented that Findley 's novel The Last of the Crazy People shared similarities with the American Southern Gothic genre , to which Findley replied , '' ... sure , it 's Southern Gothic : Southern Ontario Gothic . ''   Notable writers of this subgenre include Alice Munro , Margaret Atwood , Robertson Davies , Jane Urquhart , Marian Engel , James Reaney and Barbara Gowdy .   Like the Southern Gothic of American writers such as William Faulkner , Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty , Southern Ontario Gothic analyzes and critiques social conditions such as race , gender , religion and politics , but in a Southern Ontario context . Southern Ontario Gothic is generally characterized by a stern realism set against the dour small-town Protestant morality stereotypical of the region , and often has underlying themes of moral hypocrisy . Actions and people that act against humanity , logic , and morality all are portrayed unfavourably , and one or more characters may be suffering from some form of mental illness . In a review of Alice Munro 's Dear Life for Quill & Quire , literary critic James Grainger writes that `` Violence , illness , and reputations ruined by a single indiscretion are accepted in Munro 's secretive , repressed communities as a kind of levelling mechanism , rough justice for those who dare to strive for something finer . ''   The Gothic novel has traditionally examined the role of evil in the human soul , and has incorporated dark or horrific imagery to create the desired setting . Some ( but not all ) writers of Southern Ontario Gothic use supernatural or magic realist elements ; a few deviate from realism entirely , in the manner of the fantastical gothic novel . Virtually all dwell to a certain extent upon the grotesque .   Notable works of the genre include Davies ' Deptford Trilogy , Findley 's Headhunter , Atwood 's Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin , and Munro 's Selected Stories .   The genre has been criticised as having `` little or nothing to distinguish it from everyday , garden-variety type realism . ''

neg: Harry Wingfield John Henry `` Harry '' Wingfield ( 4 December 1910 -- 5 March 2002 ) was an English illustrator , best known for his drawings that illustrated the Ladybird Books Key Words Reading Scheme ( also known as Peter and Jane ) in the 1960s through to the 1980s ,  which sold over 80 million copies worldwide .   Wingfield was born in Denby , near Derby , the son of a blastfurnace man . He grew up in Manchester and Derbyshire . Hoping to become an engineer , he failed to obtain an apprenticeship to Rolls Royce because of his stammer , he started his first job , in an advertising agency in Derby , aged 16 , and then worked in Walsall and Birmingham . He took evening classes in drawing , where he met his wife , Ethel and he served in the RAF in the Second World War as a driver in the RAF regiment . Based in the Azores he painted camouflage but also gained a reputation for painting portraits of colleagues and family members . He worked as a graphic designer when he returned to England before working as a freelance illustrator for Ladybird in the 1950s .   His watercolours , along with those of Martin Aitchison , provided strong images to accompany the simple text devised by William Murray . Wingfield 's wife Ethel , as an expert in early learning , was a significant collaborator . His best-known work accompanied books in the Key Words Reading Scheme brought out by Ladybird as competition to the American Janet and John books . They conformed to stereotypes , with neat , obedient children ; Peter helping Daddy with the car or in the garden , and Jane helping Mummy in the kitchen . They featured images initially based on photography of families on new council estates of the period , a market they targeted with phenomenal success .   Within a few years , new lifestyles meant that Wingfield 's images were looking out of date , so he modernised the illustrations in the 1970s . The children became scruffier , and the domestic settings changed , though the books never truly reflected the social changes of the period .   Wingfield remained a freelance for most of his life and in 1989 , Ladybird returned a catalogue of around 600 original pictures to him , some of which were sold at exhibition , but many of which he retained . He lived modestly , and after retirement continued to live in the house in Little Aston , near Walsall , where he had spent his working life as an artist .   Exhibitions of Wingfield 's pictures were held in Walsall in 2002 and 2003 and across the UK , organised by Ladybird enthusiasts including the writer Cressida Connolly . His works , along with the books , have increased in value in recent years as Ladybird books and their accompanying illustrations have become more fashionable and therefore more collectable .   In late 2014 Ladybird books received major UK media coverage with the release of an iconic ` covers ' collection to celebrate their 100th anniversary . Many of Harry Wingfield 's illustrations were reproduced in the UK media as part of that announcement .

neg: Pat Kavanagh (agent) Patricia Olive `` Pat '' Kavanagh ( 31 January 1940 , Durban , South Africa -- 20 October 2008 , London , England ) was a British literary agent .   Kavanagh was born in 1940 in Durban , South Africa , where her father was a journalist before and after his service as a fighter pilot in the SAAF during the Second World War . Her mother , Olive ( née Le Roux ) , was a pioneering public health inspector . Her half-sister , Julie Kavanagh , is a ballet critic . Her half-brother , Michael O'Brien , is a geologist living in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada .   She attended the University of Cape Town , but pursued an interest in acting . She had an uncredited , non-speaking role in Dylan Thomas 's Under Milk Wood after coming to Britain in 1964 . She did not get paid for the part , but , as she later recalled , she did `` get to snog Richard Burton '' . It marked the end of her acting career . While working for J. Walter Thompson as a copywriter , she answered an advertisement for a position as a literary agent . She was hired by `` legendary agent '' A. D. Peters who taught her how to negotiate and gave her responsibility for selling serialization and newspaper rights for the agency 's early group of clients , including Arthur Koestler , S. J. Perelman , Rebecca West and Tom Wolfe .   She was married to , and was the literary agent of , the writer Julian Barnes . They lived in North London . In the 1980s , Kavanagh left Barnes for a relationship with author Jeanette Winterson , author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit , but later returned to the marriage . Winterson is said to have used the relationship as the basis of her novel The Passion ( 1987 ) .   Kavanagh became the agent in 1985 of Martin Amis , who left her after 23 years to `` throw in his lot '' with American agent , Andrew Wylie , as part of an effort to get a large advance for his own novel , The Information . In 2001 , her employer , now known as Peters , Fraser & Dunlop , was purchased by CSS Stellar , a company specializing in sports marketing . Kavanagh was one of several former employees who left the company in September 2007 to form United Agents . Her clients left to join her at the new firm .   She died of a brain tumour on 20 October 2008 in London , aged 68 .


query: Moses Malone was in the NBA Finals.

pos: Moses Malone Moses Eugene Malone ( March 23 , 1955 -- September 13 , 2015 ) was an American basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association ( ABA ) and the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) from 1974 through 1995 . The center was named the NBA Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) three times and was a 12-time NBA All-Star and an eight-time All-NBA selection . Malone won his only NBA championship in 1983 , when he was both the league and Finals MVP with the Philadelphia 76ers . He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2001 .   Malone began his pro career out of high school after he was selected in the third round of the 1974 ABA Draft by the Utah Stars . He was named an ABA All-Star as a rookie and played two seasons in the league until it merged with the NBA in 1976 . He landed in the NBA with the Buffalo Braves , who traded him after two games to the Houston Rockets . Malone became a five-time All-Star in six seasons with the Rockets . After leading the NBA in rebounding in 1979 , he was named league MVP for the first time . He led the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981 , and won his second MVP award in 1982 . Malone was traded to Philadelphia the following season , when he repeated as MVP and led the 76ers to a championship in his first year . In his first of two stints with Philadelphia , he was an All-Star in each of his four seasons . Following another trade , Malone was an All-Star in his only two seasons with the Washington Bullets ( known later as the Wizards ) . He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks , earning his 12th straight and final All-Star selection in his first season . In his later years , he played with the Milwaukee Bucks before returning to the 76ers and completing his career with the San Antonio Spurs .   Malone led the NBA in rebounding six times , including a then-record five straight seasons ( 1981 -- 1985 ) . He finished his career as the all-time leader in offensive rebounds after leading both the ABA and NBA in the category a combined nine times . Malone was nicknamed `` Chairman of the Boards '' for his rebounding prowess . Combining his ABA and NBA statistics , he ranks seventh all-time in career points ( 29,580 ) and third in total rebounds ( 17,834 ) . He was named to both the ABA All-Time Team and the NBA 's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team .

pos: NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the seasonal championship series of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . The entrants are determined by the victors of the Eastern and Western conferences , who engage in a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion . The winners of the Finals are awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy , which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983 .   Prior to the 1949-50 season , the series was named the BAA Finals , before seeing alteration following the merger between the Basketball Association of America ( BAA ) and the National Basketball League ( NBL ) which created the modern NBA . The competition oversaw further name changes to NBA World Championship Series from 1950 to 1982 , as well as a brief stint as the Showdown , before settling on NBA Finals in 1986 .   The NBA Finals was initially structured to harbor a 2 -- 3 -- 2 format until 2013 , where the first and last two games of the series were played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season . This was then altered as teams with home-court went 21 -- 8 in all Finals appearances . The competition is currently structured under a 2 -- 2 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 format , where the first two games are played at home for the higher seeded team , and the following two at the home of the lower seeded team . The following three are played at each team 's home arena respectively .   A total of 19 franchises have won the NBA Finals . The Boston Celtics hold the record for the most victories , having won the competition 17 times , as well as winning the competition the most times in a row , winning it eight times from 1959 to 1966 . The Los Angeles Lakers have been runners-up the most times , losing fifteen finals . The Eastern Conference has provided the most champions , with 38 wins from eight franchises , while the Western Conference have 32 , also from eight franchises . The current champions are the Cleveland Cavaliers , who beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the 2016 Finals .

neg: Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles . The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) , as a member of the league 's Western Conference Pacific Division . The Lakers play their home games at Staples Center , an arena shared with the NBA 's Los Angeles Clippers , the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women 's National Basketball Association , and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League . The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in the history of the NBA , and have won 16 NBA championships , their last being in 2010 . As of 2015 , the Lakers are the second most valuable franchise in the NBA according to Forbes , having an estimated value of $ 2.7 billion .   The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of a disbanded team , the Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League ( NBL ) . The new team began playing in Minneapolis , calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers in honor of the state 's nickname , `` Land of 10,000 Lakes '' . Initially a member of the NBL , the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America and winning five of the next six BAA and NBA championships in Minneapolis after the NBA formed in 1949 . The team was propelled by center George Mikan , who is described by the NBA 's official website as the league 's `` first superstar '' . After struggling financially in the late 1950s following Mikan 's retirement , they relocated to Los Angeles before the 1960 -- 61 season .   Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West , Los Angeles made the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s , but lost each series to the Boston Celtics , beginning their long and storied rivalry . In 1968 , the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Wilt Chamberlain to play center , and after losing in the Finals in 1969 and 1970 , they won their sixth NBA title -- and first in Los Angeles -- in 1972 , led by new head coach Bill Sharman . After the retirement of West and Chamberlain , the team acquired another center , Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , who had won multiple MVP awards , but was unable to make the Finals in the late 1970s . The 1980s Lakers were nicknamed `` Showtime '' due to their Magic Johnson-led fast break-offense , and won five championships in a 9-year span , including their first ever Finals championship against the Celtics in 1985 . This team featured Hall of Famers in Johnson , Abdul-Jabbar , and James Worthy , and a Hall of Fame coach , Pat Riley . After Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson 's retirement , the team struggled in the early 1990s before acquiring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996 . Led by O'Neal , Bryant , and another Hall of Fame coach , Phil Jackson , Los Angeles won three consecutive titles between 2000 to 2002 , securing the franchise its second `` three-peat '' . After losing both the 2004 and 2008 NBA Finals , the Lakers won two more championships by defeating the Orlando Magic in 2009 and Boston in 2010 .   The Lakers hold the record for NBA 's longest winning streak , 33 straight games , set during the 1971 -- 72 season . 21 Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles , while four have coached the team . Four Lakers -- Abdul-Jabbar , Johnson , O'Neal , and Bryant -- have won the NBA MVP Award for a total of eight awards .

neg: Michael Malone (basketball) Michael Malone ( born 1971 ) is an American professional basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) .

neg: NBA Live 96 NBA Live 96 is the second installment of the NBA Live video games series . The PC and PlayStation covers features Shaquille O'Neal of the Orlando Magic , while the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis box covers show a photo of the tip-off to Game 1 of the 1995 NBA Finals . The game was published by EA Sports and released on November 30 , 1995 . The PlayStation and PC versions were the first games in the series to feature a 3D rendered court , allowing for multiple camera angles using EA 's `` Virtual Stadium '' technology ( also used by FIFA Soccer 96 ) . The on-court player graphics remained 2D sprites . It was also the first NBA Live game released for the PlayStation . NBA Live 96 is followed by NBA Live 97 .

neg: 1998 NBA Finals The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1998 playoffs of the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) and the conclusion of the 1997 -- 98 NBA season . The Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls played against the Western Conference champion Utah Jazz , with the Jazz holding home-court advantage with the first 2 games in Salt Lake City . In a repeat of the previous year 's Finals , the Bulls won the series 4 games to 2 for their third consecutive NBA title and their sixth in eight seasons . Michael Jordan was voted the NBA Finals MVP of the series ( he also had won the award the last five times the Bulls won the Finals : 1991 , 1992 , 1993 , 1996 , and 1997 ) . This would be his sixth NBA championship and sixth Finals MVP award in six full basketball seasons . Until 2014 , it was the last consecutive Finals rematch between two teams .   The 1998 Finals garnered the highest Nielsen TV ratings in NBA history at 18.7 , and even surpassed the Nielsen ratings for the 1998 World Series , marking the first time the NBA had a higher rating in its championship round than of Major League Baseball 's championship round .   The 1998 NBA season documentary `` Unforgettabulls '' was the first of five narrated by Will Lyman through NBA Entertainment , which recaps the entire Bulls ' season . Rick Telander narrates on the opening credits . Marv Albert narrates the timeline of Michael Jordan 's career with the Bulls .

neg: Joe Smith (basketball) Joseph Leynard Smith ( born July 26 , 1975 ) is an American former professional basketball player who played at power forward position for 12 teams of the NBA during his 16-year career .   Born and raised in Norfolk , Virginia , Smith was the College Player of the Year at Maryland in 1995 and the No. 1 pick of that season 's NBA draft , picked by the Golden State Warriors . He was named to the 1995 -- 96 All-Rookie team . Smith was mobile throughout his career , the NBA indicated that he was one of the most traded players . In 1998 , Smith was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers ; he then played for the Minnesota Timberwolves ( with a mid-way pitstop for the Detroit Pistons ) until 2003 . He later played for the Milwaukee Bucks , the Denver Nuggets , the 76ers again , the Chicago Bulls , the Oklahoma City Thunder , the Cleveland Cavaliers , the Atlanta Hawks , the New Jersey Nets , and the Los Angeles Lakers .

neg: 2004 NBA Finals The 2004 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2003 -- 04 National Basketball Association season . The Finals were between the Los Angeles Lakers of the Western Conference and the Detroit Pistons of the Eastern Conference ; the Lakers held home court advantage . The series was played under a best-of-seven format , so the first team to collect four game victories would win the series .   Although the Lakers were the heavy favorite , the Pistons won the series four games to one to win their first title since 1990 and their fifth overall ( three NBA Championships , two NBL Championships ) . Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups was named as the NBA Finals MVP . The series was noted for the perceived underdog , the Pistons , dominating a Lakers team that had four future Hall of Famers .   Pistons owner William Davidson became the first owner in sports history to win two championships in one year . Eight days earlier , the other team that Davidson owned , the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League had won the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Calgary Flames .

neg: 1996–97 Denver Nuggets season The 1996 -- 97 NBA season was the Nuggets ' 21st season in the National Basketball Association , and 30th season as a franchise . In the offseason , the Nuggets acquired Mark Jackson and Ricky Pierce from the Indiana Pacers while signing free agent Ervin Johnson . However , after a 4 -- 9 start to the season , Bernie Bickerstaff was forced out as head coach and replaced with Dick Motta , where the Nuggets then lost ten straight games along the way . Midway through the season , Jackson was traded back to the Indiana Pacers , while Pierce was dealt to the Charlotte Hornets . Meanwhile , the Nuggets signed free agent Kenny Smith , who won championships with the Houston Rockets . As the season drew , the Nuggets still struggled losing 26 of their final 30 games finishing fifth in the Midwest Division with a 21 -- 61 record . Despite playing just 55 games due to injury , LaPhonso Ellis led the team in scoring with a career high of 21.9 points per game .   Following the season , second-year star Antonio McDyess was traded to the Phoenix Suns , Dale Ellis was traded back to the Seattle SuperSonics , Johnson was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks , Tom Hammonds signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves , Smith retired and Motta was fired as coach .

neg: NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given to the player ( s ) voted best of the annual All-Star Game . The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year 's game . The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games . Ed Macauley and Paul Arizin were selected as the 1951 and 1952 MVP winners respectively . The voting is conducted by a panel of media members , who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game . The player ( s ) with the most votes or ties for the most votes wins the award . No All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 since the game was canceled due to the league 's lockout . , the most recent recipient is New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis .   Bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times . Oscar Robertson , Michael Jordan , and Shaquille O'Neal have each won the award three times , while Bob Cousy , Julius Erving , Isiah Thomas , Magic Johnson , Karl Malone , Allen Iverson , LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have all won the award twice . James ' first All-Star MVP in 2006 made him the youngest to have ever won the award at the age of 21 years , 1 month . Kyrie Irving , winner of the 2014 All-Star Game MVP , is the second-youngest at 21 years , 10 months . They 're notable as being the two youngest to win the award , both as Cleveland Cavaliers . Four of the games had joint winners -- Elgin Baylor and Pettit in 1959 , John Stockton and Malone in 1993 , O'Neal and Tim Duncan in 2000 , and O'Neal and Bryant in 2009 . O'Neal became the first player in All-Star history to share two MVP awards . The Los Angeles Lakers have had eleven winners while the Boston Celtics have had eight . Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Irving of Australia are the only winners not born in the United States . Both Duncan and Irving are American citizens , but are considered `` international '' players by the NBA because they were not born in one of the fifty states or Washington , D.C. No player trained entirely outside the U.S. has won the award ; Irving lived in the U.S. since age two , and Duncan played U.S. college basketball at Wake Forest .   Bob Pettit ( 1958 , 1959 ) and Russell Westbrook ( 2015 , 2016 ) are the only players to win consecutive awards . Pettit ( 1956 ) , Bob Cousy ( 1957 ) , Wilt Chamberlain ( 1960 ) , Bill Russell ( 1963 ) , Oscar Robertson ( 1964 ) , Willis Reed ( 1970 ) , Dave Cowens ( 1973 ) , Michael Jordan ( 1988 , 1996 , 1998 ) , Magic Johnson ( 1990 ) , Shaquille O'Neal ( 2000 ) , and Allen Iverson ( 2001 ) all won the All-Star Game MVP and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award in the same season ; Jordan is the only player to do this multiple times . 14 players have won the award playing for the team that hosted the All-Star Game : Macauley ( 1951 ) , Cousy ( 1957 ) , Pettit ( 1958 , 1962 ) , Chamberlain ( 1960 ) , Adrian Smith ( 1966 ) , Rick Barry ( 1967 ) , Jerry West ( 1972 ) , Tom Chambers ( 1987 ) , Jordan ( 1988 ) , Karl Malone ( 1993 ) , John Stockton ( 1993 ) , O'Neal ( 2004 , 2009 ) , Bryant ( 2011 ) and Davis ( 2017 ) ; Pettit and O'Neal did this multiple times . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the distinction of playing in the most All-Star Games ( 18 ) without winning the All-Star Game MVP , while Adrian Smith won the MVP in his only All-Star Game .

neg: List of AAU men's basketball champions The Athletic Amateur Union Tournament ( AAU ) is the annual championship series for the AAU teams . It started in 1897 and has continued until present . Most of the Finals have been played in a single final format , apart from some occasions that the winner 's tournament had been decided by a round robin format .  Later professional players like David Robinson , Larry Brown , Gregg Popovich were crowned champions of the AAU . Popovich and Robinson represented the US Armed Forces All-Stars . Between 1920 and 1950 , some of the strongest basketball teams in the United States were sponsored by corporations , including Phillips 66 , 20th Century Fox , Safeway Inc. , Caterpillar Inc. , and others .

neg: List of American Basketball Association awards and honors The American Basketball Association ( ABA ) was a professional basketball league that operated from the until it ceased to exist with the ABA -- NBA merger in 1976 . The ABA presented a variety of annual awards and honors to recognize its players and executives .   There were six awards presented by the ABA . Three Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) awards were presented annually in the All-Star Game , the regular season , and the playoffs . In sports , the player judged to be the most important to the team is the Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) . Other annual awards include the Executive of the Year , the Coach of the Year , and the Rookie of the Year . Honors were also presented to players who excelled in the respective categories of : best players , best defensive players , and best rookies . The Executive of the Year Award and the All-Defensive Team started in the , while the rest started in the first season . Julius Erving has won the most ABA awards with five MVP awards -- three in the regular season and two in the playoffs . Artis Gilmore has won the most ABA honors with nine . A total of 80 ABA players and executives have received at least one award or honor .

neg: 1989–90 New York Knicks season The 1989 -- 90 NBA season was the 44th season for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association . Before the season , owners Gulf + Western reorganized and became Paramount Communications , renaming themselves after the Paramount Pictures film studio .   During the offseason , the Knicks hired Stu Jackson as their new head coach . The team got off to a solid start , winning 20 of their first 27 games , while posting a nine-game winning streak . At midseason , the Knicks traded second-year guard Rod Strickland to the San Antonio Spurs for Maurice Cheeks . However , as they stood at a 39 -- 22 record , they struggled and lost 15 of their final 21 games . The Knicks had a 45 -- 37 record and finished third in the Atlantic Division . The Knicks ' fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference earned them a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the third straight year . Patrick Ewing was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game .   In the first round of the playoffs , New York defeated the 4th-seeded Boston Celtics three games to two , after overcoming an 0 -- 2 deficit . The Knicks were then eliminated in the conference semifinals by the Detroit Pistons , who later on won their second consecutive NBA title , four games to one over the Portland Trail Blazers . Following the season , Johnny Newman signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Charlotte Hornets .

neg: 1993–94 Atlanta Hawks season The 1993 -- 94 NBA season was the Hawks ' 45th season in the National Basketball Association , and 26th season in Atlanta . In the offseason , Michael Jordan shocked the NBA by announcing his retirement . This meant that various teams in the league had an opportunity to contend for a championship . The Hawks hired Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens as their new head coach . Wilkens was a star guard for the franchise when it was based in St. Louis in the 1960s . Wilkens was quickly moving up the all-time coaching wins list after successful runs with the Seattle SuperSonics and Cleveland Cavaliers . Wilkens employed a defensive system which benefited several members of the team . The team also signed free agents Craig Ehlo and Andrew Lang during the offseason .   The Hawks got off to a slow start losing four of their first five games , but then went on a 14-game winning streak as they held a 34 -- 13 record before the All-Star break . Despite being in first place in the East , the Hawks would trade franchise leading scorer Dominique Wilkins to the Los Angeles Clippers for All-Star forward Danny Manning on February 24 . By the end of the season , the Hawks finished first overall in the Eastern Conference with a record of 57 wins and 25 losses . Guards Stacey Augmon and Mookie Blaylock were both named to the NBA All-Defensive team . Blaylock was also selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game along with Wilkins , and Coach of The Year , Lenny Wilkens coaching the Eastern Conference .   In the playoffs , the Hawks defeated the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in five games after trailing 2 -- 1 , but lost to the 5th-seeded Indiana Pacers four games to two in the semifinals . Following the season , Manning signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Phoenix Suns , Duane Ferrell signed with the Indiana Pacers , and second-year forward Adam Keefe was traded to the Utah Jazz .

neg: NBA Most Valuable Player Award The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1955 -- 56 season to the best performing player of the regular season . The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy , which is named in honor of the first commissioner ( then president ) of the NBA , who served from 1946 until 1963 . Until the , the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players . Since the , the award is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada , each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections . Each first-place vote is worth 10 points ; each second-place vote is worth seven ; each third-place vote is worth five , fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one . Starting from 2010 , one ballot was cast by fans through online voting . The player with the highest point total wins the award . , the current holder of the award is Stephen Curry , who won both the 2015 and 2016 MVP Awards .   Every player who has won this award and has been eligible for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has been inducted . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the award a record six times . Both Bill Russell and Michael Jordan won the award five times , while Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James won the award four times . Russell and James are the only players to have won the award four times in five seasons . Moses Malone , Larry Bird and Magic Johnson each won the award three times , while Bob Pettit , Karl Malone , Tim Duncan , Steve Nash and Stephen Curry have each won it twice . Only two rookies have won the award : Wilt Chamberlain in the and Wes Unseld in the 1968 -- 69 season . Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria , Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands , Steve Nash of Canada and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only MVP winners considered `` international players '' by the NBA .   Stephen Curry in 2015 -- 16 is the only player to have won the award unanimously . Shaquille O'Neal in 1999 -- 2000 and LeBron James in 2012 -- 13 are the only two players to have fallen one vote shy of a unanimous selection , both receiving 120 of 121 votes . Since the , every winner was from a team that won at least 50 games in the regular season that year.Except for seasons affected by lockouts , when the schedule was shortened from the norm of 82 games . Karl Malone won in 1998 -- 99 when Utah was 37 -- 13 in 50 games , which projected to 60 wins in 82 games . James won in 2011 -- 12 when the Miami Heat were 46 -- 20 in 66 games , which projected to 57 wins .

neg: 2004–05 Cleveland Cavaliers season The 2004-05 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 35th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland , Ohio . During the offseason , the Cavaliers acquired Drew Gooden from the Orlando Magic . In his second season , expectations were high for LeBron James as the Cavaliers hoped for a return to the playoffs . Through the first half of the season , the Cavs held a 30 -- 21 record at the All-Star Break as James was selected to his first All-Star selection in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game . However , as March began , the Cavaliers were unable to upgrade at the trading deadline as the team went on a 6-game losing streak . Head coach Paul Silas was fired and replaced by interim Brendan Malone . The Cavaliers finished the season with a 42 -- 40 record , a fourth-place finish in the Central Division , and barely missed out of the playoffs , losing a tiebreaker for the 8th spot to the New Jersey Nets . Despite their collapse , James had an outstanding sophomore season averaging 27.2 points , 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game .   Key dates :   On June 24 , the 2004 NBA Draft , took place in New York City , New York .  In July , the free agency period began .  On September 15 , the Cavaliers named Brendan Malone assistant coach .  On October 14 , the Cavaliers ' preseason began with a 94 -- 102 loss to Memphis .  On November 3 , the Cavaliers ' regular season began with a 104 -- 109 2OT loss to Indiana .  On March 21 , head coach Paul Silas was fired and Brendan Malone was named interim head coach . Mike Bratz and Wes Wilcox were added to Malone 's staff as assistants .  On April 20 , the Cavaliers ' season ended in a 104 -- 95 win over the Toronto Raptors .  On April 21 , Jim Paxson was fired as President of Basketball Operations and General Manager .

neg: 1966 NBA All-Star Game The 16th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on January 11 , 1966 , at Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati , Ohio . The coaches were Red Auerbach for the East , and Fred Schaus for the West . Much of the game would focus around the local team 's three named All-Stars . Cincinnati 's Oscar Robertson had been named the event 's MVP in 1964 , and Cincinnati 's Jerry Lucas had been named MVP in 1965 . At game time , the East Division 's top three teams , Boston , Philadelphia and Cincinnati , had the three best records in the league , with New York trailing far behind . This lead East Coach Red Auerbach to name Cincinnati 's Adrian Smith as a reserve and not New York 's sharpshooting Dick Barnett , a source of some controversy at the time . The home crowd rallied behind Smith as he emerged as the game 's star . It was Smith 's only All-Star appearance , and he remains to-date the only one-time NBA All-Star ever named the event 's MVP . The overmatched West suffered not just from poor shooting , but also from losing key All-Star Jerry West to an eye injury in the first quarter . The game was nationally televised , with an attendance of 13,653 .

neg: Eastern Conference (NBA) The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of 15 teams , organized in three divisions .   The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records , with all remaining non-division winners seeded 5 through 8 . This leaves open the possibility that a # 2 or # 3 seed could be a non-division winner . Home-court advantage in a playoff series is decided by record , not by seeding , so if the # 4 and # 5 teams meet in a playoff series in which the # 5 team has the better record , the # 5 team would have home-court advantage .   The reasoning behind this seeding arrangement is that a non-division winner could have a better record than the winners of the two divisions other than the non-division winning team in question . If the three division winners were seeded 1 through 3 for the playoffs in order of their records , and all non-division winners seeded 4 through 8 , it would be possible for the two best teams of the conference to meet in the Conference Semifinals . This actually happened in the 2006 NBA Playoffs when the two best teams in the Western Conference , the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks , both from the Southwest Division , faced one another in the Western Conference Semifinals while the 3rd seed , the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets , had fewer wins than the 4th , 5th , 6th , and 7th seeds.The NBA proposed and approved of the current format to ensure that the best two teams of a conference can meet no earlier than the Conference Finals .   The Eastern Conference playoffs are divided into two preliminary rounds followed by the Eastern Conference Finals , with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Western Conference champion in the NBA Finals to determine the champion . All playoff series are best-of-seven .   The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004 -- 05 season , when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA 's 30th franchise . This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans from the Eastern Conference 's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference

neg: John Mason (announcer) John Mason ( real name Earnest Wooten ) is the public address announcer for the Detroit Pistons games at The Palace of Auburn Hills who is best known for his 18-year career as the host of Mason in the Morning show on WJLB , and for his colorful introductions , and is credited with coining the popular chant `` Deeeeee-troit basketball ! '' Mason 's flamboyant voice has been requested at many sporting events , and he was chosen to serve as the PA announcer at the 2007 NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas . In addition , he also served as the announcer for the international ALL-STAR game in Cyprus & Turkey in 2005 . Mason is very popular with his announcing during nationally televised games . When the NBA on ESPN or the NBA on ABC features a Detroit Pistons home game , both networks put him on TV when he introduces the starting lineups .   Mason is also a radio personality in Detroit , Michigan . He was the host of the extremely Popular `` Mason in The Morning '' on WJLB for 18 years . He was also host of his own radio show on 102.7 / 105.9 KISS-FM ( WDMK ) . Mason left WDMK in July 2006 as his contract had expired . Mason was offered an intriguing contract from the Cleveland Cavaliers , his former hometown . He declined the offer , saying the Pistons gave him the raw shot to craft his art in their gym . The Pistons have also given Mason the opportunity to serve as PA announcer for an NBA title contender . When Mason replaced longtime Pistons PA announcer Ken Calvert before the start of the 2001-02 NBA season , Detroit soon became a perennial contender for the NBA Championship . Mason saw the Pistons win back-to-back NBA Eastern Conference titles in 2004 & 2005 , and most notably saw them win the NBA title in 2004 , upsetting the Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games . From 2003 to 2008 , Mason saw his Detroit Pistons make an impressive 6 consecutive appearances in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals .   Mason independently owns his morning show , MASON RADIO INC. . Mason is perhaps the only morning show personality in a major market to own his own show . Mason 's morning show is a syndicated program , which can be heard live from Detroit on the 50 thousand watt powerhouse 107.5 WGPR . Mason also won a television Emmy for an entertainment video show ( Urban Chartbusters ) on the local NBC station WDIV Detroit . Mason has also been an acclaimed motivational speaker in prisons throughout Michigan , and schools and universities in Ohio and Michigan . The Fox network comedy hit , Martin starting Martin Lawrence that ran from 1992 to 1997 , was based on the radio career of John Mason and characters such as Gina Waters , Bruh Man , Tommy Strawn , and Sheneneh Jenkins were also loosely based on Mason 's friends , as well as characters on his Detroit radio show .   Currently , Mason is the host of `` Mason and Coco in the Morning '' alongside the female comedian Coco on KISS 105.9 FM Detroit . He is also the host of a syndicated weekend show entitled `` Once Upon a Time in Soul '' which features Angie Starr along with his famous radio characters and legendary artist stories . `` Once Upon a Time in Soul '' is produced by John Mason , co-produced and engineered by Tobias Smith and recorded at Luv2flo Studios in Detroit .

neg: 1970 ABA Playoffs The 1970 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association 's 1969-1970 season . The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Indiana Pacers defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Stars , four games to two in the ABA Finals .   The Indiana Pacers finished the season with the league 's best regular season record ( 59-25 , .702 ) before going on to win the ABA championship . This same feat was accomplished by the Oakland Oaks during the prior season and by the Pittsburgh Pipers in the year before that .   The Pacers became the first ABA champions to return in the same form for the following season . The Oakland Oaks became the Washington Caps for the 1969-1970 ABA season ; the Pittsburgh Pipers had become the Minnesota Pipers after winning the ABA championship the prior season .   Roger Brown of Indiana was the Most Valuable Player of the ABA playoffs .

neg: Three-peat Three-peat is a term used primarily in American sports to refer to winning three consecutive championships . The term , a portmanteau of the words three and repeat , originated with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association , during their unsuccessful campaign for a third consecutive championship during the 1988 -- 89 season , having won the previous 2 NBA Finals in 1987 and 1988 against the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons , but were swept by the Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals . The term is a registered trademark owned by Hardo Beers , the Lakers ' Hardo strength coach from 1981 -- 1990 , although it was coined by L.A. player Byron Scott immediately after their victorious championship defense against the Detroit Pistons in the 1988 NBA Finals .

neg: 1999–2000 Phoenix Suns season The 1999 -- 2000 NBA season was the 32nd season for the National Basketball Association 's Phoenix Suns . During the offseason , the Suns acquired All-Star guard Anfernee Hardaway from the Orlando Magic , while signing free agent Rodney Rogers and re-signing former Suns center Oliver Miller . Scott Skiles would come on as head coach , replacing Danny Ainge after a 13 -- 7 start to the season . The Suns would finish third in the Pacific Division at 53 -- 29 , and extend the franchise 's record for playoff appearances before losing in the Western Conference semifinals .   Clifford Robinson led the team in scoring at 18.5 points per game . Hardaway , Jason Kidd , Rodney Rogers , Tom Gugliotta , and top draft pick Shawn Marion rounded out a list of six Suns players averaging double-digits in points . Kidd led the NBA in assists per game and was tied for fifth in steals , while being selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game . Rogers finished the regular season fourth in three-point field goal percentage , and won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award . Kidd would earn All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors . In March , former Suns guard Kevin Johnson came out of his retirement and played in six games . He would then retire for the second time after the playoffs .   The Suns finished with the same regular season record , but did not have home court advantage going into their first round match-up with the San Antonio Spurs . Still , the Suns would advance to their first conference semifinals appearance since the 1994 -- 95 season en route to taking the series three games to one . The Suns lost in the conference semifinals to new league MVP Shaquille O'Neal and the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers four games to one . Following the season , Rex Chapman retired , Miller was released and Luc Longley was traded to the New York Knicks .