BASKETBALL SCH OOL MAGAZINE KING WITHOUT A CROWN It’s All About Basketball Ready To Rock 11 Lagend Players KOBE BRYANT LEBRON JAMES TE’A COOPER
C ONTENT Inside Letter from the editor The lagend Kobe Bryant Kevin Love Kaila Charles Te’a Cooper Baron Da Lexie Brown Lebron James Blake Griffin Chris Paul Tayler Hill Satou Sabally Cover Page Content List Advertisment Advertisment Back Page / Advertisment 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8-9 10 11 12-13 14 15 16-17 18 19 20
EDITOR JULY 2023 EDITOR’S NOTE Welcome to the new look basketball sports e-magazine. In this magazine there are some professional basketball players in the United States. In addition, this magazine tells about the background of the life of basketball players between men and women and describes the success they have obtained in every competition they compete. 3 Basket Ball
4 5 KOBE BRYANT THE LEGEND.... Kobe Bean Bryant was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the AllNBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and a two-time NBA Finals MVP. Bryant also led the NBA in scoring twice, and ranks fourth in league all-time regular season and postseason scoring. He was posthumously voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, he was born in Philadelphia and partly raised in Italy. Recognized as the top American highschool basketball player while at Philadelphia suburb Lower Merion, Bryant declared for the 1996 NBA draft and was selected by the Char- lotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick; he was then traded to the Lakers. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant hold the Larry O’Brien trophy, left, and the most valuable player trophy after winning the NBA Finals in June, 2010,. AP Basket Ball Sport June / 2023
This may seem an odd way for an article to open, since that’s the sort of sentencethat’stypcally stuck somewhere deep in the belly of a piece, a parenthetical aside meant to explain what seems a glaring oversight: the author’s inability to include the profile subject’s point of view. But in this case, it feels proper to get it out there early, not with the slightest bit of scorn or spite, but because his acceptance—through a Cavaliers’ spokesman—actually wouldn’t have made the slightest bit of sense. It simply wouldn’t square with his reticence to reveal much about himself since coming to the Cavaliers. Since that trade, one strongly endorsed if not orchestrated by LeBron James, the former franchise face of the Timberwolves has had quite the bumpy ride, whether standing out on the fringe of the Cavaliers’ offense or sitting in the center of a media storm— subjected to an army of word-parsers, pop psychologists and charac- ter caricaturists. Love, who spoke on the first day of training camp of the need to “keep the circle tight” amid the prying outsider eyes, hasn’t hid his contempt for the circus that since has come. It’s been apparent to everyone regularly around the team, as his eyes. The award, now in its eighth year, was named after Morton E. Ruderman, a founder of the Ruderman Family Foundation. Past recipients include Acade- my Award-nominated actor Taraji P. Henson, actor Tara- ji P. Henson, filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly, Olympian Michael Phelps, Oscar-winning actor Marlee Matlin, and former U.S. senator and Americans with Disability Act architect Tom Harkin. After six seasons with Minnesota, Love was traded to the Cavaliers in 2014. After making four straight NBA Finals with the team and winning a ring, Love suffered multiple injuries from 2018 to 2021. He slotted into a reserve role in 2021–22 and finished as runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award. However, reduced playing time the following season led Love to reach a contract buyout agreement with the Cavaliers. After nine seasons with Cleveland, he joined Miami in February 2023, where he reached his fifth NBA Finals in just his fifth playoff run. Basket Ball “ W h e n I f i r s t s p o k e o u t a b o u t m y m e n t a l h e a l t h s t r u g g l e s , i t t r a n s f o r m e d m y l i f e ,” KEVIN LOVE Sport June / 2023 6 KEVIN LOVE
KAILA CHARLES ‘‘ Failure will never overtake me if determination to succeed is strong enough ” AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 7 Kaila Charles (born March 23, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. She played college basketball for the University of Maryland, College Park. After a successful college career there, Charles was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. Charles’ mother, Ruperta Charles, competed in the 100 meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda after attending Howard University. While at Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles’ teams won two Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class AAAA state championships (2014 and 2015). Charles also earned Washington Post All-Metro honors as a sophomore and junior. She transferred her senior year to Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, and helped the team to a national championship game.
Basket Ball ...Te’a Cooper... “The shorts came in short or extra short. As soon as I heard that — ‘sleek and sexy’ — I was like, ‘Um, excuse me, I play basketball.’ 8 Te’a Omari Cooper (born April 16, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the Los Angeles Sparks . She played college basketball for the Baylor Lady Bears, South Carolina Gamecocks, and the Tennessee Volunteers. Cooper played high school basketball for McEachern High School. In her freshman year, McEachern High School was undefeated as they finished 33–0. She shot 65 percent from the field. She won three Georgia 6A State titles in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and she was the co-MVP of the 2015 McDonald’s All-America game. On April 17, 2020, the Phoenix Mercury selected Cooper as the 18th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft. Due to the global pandemic from COVID-19, Phoenix Mercury were forced to cut some of their players from the team in May 2020, including Te’a Cooper.[6] The Los Angeles Sparks team took this as an opportunity to transfer some of the Phoenix Mercury players to play for them, and Cooper was picked to play as a point guard.
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BARON DAVIS BARON DAVIS Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an Americanformeprofessiobasketball player who is a studio analyst for the NBA on TNT. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in steals. He was drafted with the third overall pick in the 1999 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He also played in the NBA for the New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. Davis played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, earning All-American honors before turning professional after his sophomore year. He was a star high school player while at Crossroads School. Davis holds the NBA’s career playoff record for steals per game with an average of 2.28 over 50 games. As a senior at Crossroads, Davis led his team to the championship of The Beach Ball Classic tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, over perennial prep powerhouse Simon Gratz High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), while earning MVP honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team along with future St. John’s standout Erick Barkley at that prestigious event. That year, Davis was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year and a Parade All-American. He was also selected to play in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Game in Colorado Springs in 1997, playing with future NBA players Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Larry Hughes and Ron Artest. “ I g ri n d . I h u s t l . I d o n ’ t h a v e t i m e t o g e t no haircut” 10
L E X I E BROWN Kiah Brown (born October 27, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She previously played for the Chicago Sky, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Brown was the ninth overall pick by the Connecticut Sun i n the 2018 WNBA draft. She was traded to the Minnesota Lynx a year later. She played college basketball at the University of Maryland and Duke University. Brown was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Tammy and Dee Brown. Her father played twelve years in the NBA as a point guard, most notably for the Boston Celtics, with whom he won the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest. Brown played her freshman season at Dr. Phillips in Orlando, Florida, where she helped the team achieve its first-ever undefeated regular season. Brown played her freshman season at Dr. Phillips in Orlando, Florida, where she helped the team achieve its first-ever undefeated regular season. After transferring to North Gwinnett in Suwanee, Georgia, she led her team to the state semifinals her junior year and the Class 5-A state championship game her senior year.[3] Brown’s high school career also featured stints with the A.O.T. AAU team and an appearance in the 2013 McDonald’s All-American Game. “When I first started playing I wasn’t the best. I wasn’t the fastest. I wasn’t the tallest. But, I definitely was the smartest and I credit that to him,” Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 11
Basket Ball J a m e s i s t h e f i r s t a c t i v e N B A p l a y e r t o become a billionaire, with Forbes estim a t i n g h i s n e t w o r t h a t $ 1 b i l l i o n j u n e 2022. OF HEIGHT AUDACITY The A l l y o u r l i f e y o u a r e t o l d t h e t h i n g s y o u c a n n o t d o. A l l y o u r l i f e t h e y w i l l s a y y o u ’ r e n o t g o o d e n o u g h o r s t r o n g e n o u g h o r t a l e n t e d enough. three Ohio state championships in his four years on the team. He became a national media sensation in his junior year after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, where he was billed by the magazine as “The ChosenOne.”James was the consensus national high-school player. He became a national media sensation in his junior year after appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, where he was billed by the magazine as “The Chosen One.” James was the consensus national 12 LeBron James, in full LeBron Raymone James, byname King James, (born December 30, 1984, Akron, Ohio, U.S.), American professional basketball player who is widely considered one of the greatest Heat (2012 and 2013). three times while leading Akron’s St. Vincent– St. Mary High School to high-school player of the year in his senior season, and he was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall selection of the 2003 NBA draft. Named the 2004 NBA Rookie of the Year, he soon established himself as one of the league’s premier players, leading the Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and winning the NBA MVP award in 2009 and 2010. The Decision and is among the most controversial free agency moves in sports history.
LeBron D E C E M B E R A L L - S T A TIMES R 19 BORN 30 84 19 WON EPSY AWARDS 13 Sport June / 2023 JAMES
In September 2022, Griffin signed with the Boston Celtics. Brown played her freshman season at Dr. Phillips in Orlando, Florida, where she helped the team achieve its first-ever undefeated regular season. After transferring to North Gwinnett in Suwanee, Georgia, she led her team to the state semifinals her junior year and the Class 5-A state championship game her senior year. Brown’s high school career also featured stints with the A.O.T. AAU team and an appearance in the 2013 McDonald’s All-American Game. Brown elected to play college basketball at the University of Maryland. BLAKE GRIFFIN “You have to fall in love with the process of becoming great” Blake Austin Griffin (born March 16, 1989)is an American prfesional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma Sooners, when he was named the consensus national college player of the year as a sophomore. Griffin was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA draft, and has since been a six-time NBA All-Star and a five-time All-NBA selection. In January 2018, Griffin was traded to the Detroit Pistons and played for them until 2021. In March 2021, Griffin signed with the Brooklyn Nets. Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 14
Chris Paul 16 Basket Ball
Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed “CP3” and “the Point God”, is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time,[5][6][7][8] Paul has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists five times and steals a record six times. He has also been selected to twelve NBA All-Star teams, eleven All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He also served as the president of the National Basketball Players Association from 2013 to 2021. Among the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with companies such as Jordan Brand and State Farm.Paul was a McDonald’s All-American in high school and attended Wake Forest University for two years of college basketball, where he helped the Demon Deacons achieve their first-ever number-one ranking. He was selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets, where he developed into one of the league’s best players, finishing second in NBA Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2008. During the 2011 offseason, the Hornets organized a deal to send Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the transaction was controversially voided by the NBA. He was instead dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers later that year. Sport June / 2023 17 Love him, or hate him, Chris Paul has earned basketball’s respect “ “
Tayler Hill (born October 23, 1990) is an Ameican professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Hill previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hill was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school and left high school as the all-time leading scorer in Minnesota basketball history with 3,888 points. She was selected fourth overall in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Mystics. On December 6, 2013, the Washington Mystics announced that Hill was pregnant with her first child, with her boyfriend David Lighty. The child was born June 18, 2014. Hill joined the team as an 8th grader. Hill won the state scoring title her sophomore and senior years and led South to a 139–14 record in her five-year career. After two consecutive Minnesota State High School League Class AAAA state championship losses to St. Paul Central, Minneapolis South got what they longed for by beating Centennial High School 68–61 in the 2009 class AAAA state final. Tayler Hill led all scorers, tying the all-time tournament record for most points in a single game with 47. TAYLER HILL “ K e e p i t s i m p l e . w h e n y o u g e t t o o c o m p l i c a t e d y o u f o r g e t t h e o b v i o u s .” Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 18
Isatou “Satou” Sabally (born 25 April 1998)is a German-American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League (KBSL). She played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks.Despite having one remaining season of college eligibility, Sabally announced in February 2020 that she would enter the 2020 WNBA draft; she was draft-eligible because she reached the league’s minimum age of 22 shortly after the April draft. Sabally was born in New York City to a Gambian father and German mother. Her given name of Isatou is that of her father’s sister; according to Sabally, the name is derived from that of Aisha, one of the wives of Islamic prophet Muhammad. While Gambian tradition normally calls for a family’s oldest daughter to receive an aunt’s name, she was so named despite not being the oldest daughter.[5] The family moved to Gambia when she was 2 years old, and then moved to Berlin when she was preparing to start school. She was discovered by a local coach as a 9-year-old at a playground and began regularly attending practices. She was the only girl on her first youth team. Satou Sabally “Act quickly, but don’t hurry.” Basket Ball Sport June / 2023 20