The Milwaukee Bucks is a club, American basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks play as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division, the National Basketball Association. The team was established as an expansion team in 1968, and is being played at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the team's former owner, but on April 16, 2014, a consortium headed by billionaire hedge fund investors Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to buy a controlling stake in Kohl's franchise, an arrangement that was accepted by NBA owners and their board of governors a month later on May 16. The organisation is run by the former director of basketball operations Jon Horst who took over in May 2017 for John Hammond. The Official Mascot in Bucks is Bango. The Bucks 'famous play-by-play announcer, Eddie Doucette, first invented the term "Bango." Every time a Bucks player scored on a long-range basket, Doucette used the expression. Jon McGlocklin, even using it as a sharpshooter. Once it was time for the Bucks to choose a replacement for their new mascot, they won the search for the replacement "Bango." Since 18 October 1977, Bango has been the Bucks 'official mascot, which was Milwaukee's home opener of the 1977–78 season. The game itself pitted Milwaukee against the iconic Bucks centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his Los Angeles Lakers at the Milwaukee arena, in addition to the date being Bango's home debut. Throughout the years Bango has worked tirelessly to become famous with Bucks fans in the state of Wisconsin, serving as a neighbourhood goodwill ambassador at colleges, parades, and festivals. His high-flying acrobatic layups, bold steals and other entertaining tricks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center also play a significant role in Bucks 'energising fans. Bango appeared annually in the NBA All-Star Game since 2001. Bango suffered injuries during a mascot-participating skit at the All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Az 2009. The right leg of Bango went into the net, balancing on top of one basket before crashing down on top of another. He then stepped on and sunk into the water completely. Bango ripped his ACL due to the crash, and was unable to compete despite occasional appearances in a wheelchair at games for the rest of the 2008–09 season. A video of the 2009 Mascot Festival accident in Bango was posted to YouTube minutes after the incident happened. During game four of the first-round playoff series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks in 2009–10, Bango completed successfully a back-flip dunk from the top of a 16-foot pole, a feat close to the feat of Seattle SuperSonics mascot squatch during a game between the SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns on March 19, 2008. The first jerseys from the Bucks were based on the jerseys from the Boston Celtics, with the lines and numbers being lettered. The uniforms of the hunter green road featured the name of the town and the numbers in red trim gold. Unit logo and numbers in hunter green with red trim were used on the home white uniforms; the colour scheme was changed for the 1971–72 season. The road jerseys in the 1973–74 season featured a "Milwaukee" script and red numbers with white trim; they adopted the same pattern for their home jerseys two seasons later. The road uniforms modified in the 1975–76 season to the "Milwaukee" block lettering, though maintaining a homemade style. To the bottom, the shorts have the new Bucks branding to them. The Bucks also revamped their uniforms, which coincided with Robert Indiana's legendary MECCA court's 1976–77 season debut. Now it featured green side stripes of kelly, brown and hunter, influenced by Houston Astros "Rainbow Guts" uniforms. The green and white hunter uniforms all featured the streamlined lettering of "runners" on the team logo and the lettering of buttons. By the 1985–86 season they had dropped the colour purple. The Bucks overhauled their identity and jerseys for the season 1993–94. The black road uniforms featured a modernised "bucks" lettering with white side streaks and hunter green highlights from their badge and silver numbers. The handmade white uniforms in hunter green had the same lettering and numbers, with silver accented purple side stripes. For the 2001–02 season the marks were added to the Shirt.

The Miami Heat is an American professional basketball club based in Florida. The club was playing as a member of the Southeast Division in the League's Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Heat plays their home games at American Airlines Arena and has won three NBA championships. During the 1988–89 NBA season the franchise started playing as an expansion team. The Heat would gain success in the 1990s after a period of mediocrity with the appointment of iconic head coach Pat Riley to Team President spot. Riley would create the high-profile trades of Alonzo Mourning in 1995, and the high-profile trades of Tim Hardaway in 1996, which soon propelled the franchise into playoff contention. In the end, Mourning and Hardaway will lead the Heat to four divisional wins, respectively, prior to their 2001 and 2002 exits. The squad struggled as a result, and a reconstruction started on schedule for the 2002–03 season. Joined by Dwyane Wade and after a trade with former NBA Most Valuable Player Shaquille O'Neal, Miami advanced to the 2006 NBA Finals where they clinched their first title along with Riley as the head coach. Two years on, following O'Neal's retirement, the franchise began another period of decline for the remainder of the 2000's. That meant the departure of Riley as head coach, going back to his position as team manager, and being replaced by Erik Spoelstra. In 2010 the Heat joined Wade to create the "Big Three" alongside future league MVP LeBron James and perennial NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, after creating significant cap space. Together during their four-year tenure, and under the names of Spoelstra, Johnson, Wade, and Bosh, they will lead the Heat to the NBA Finals every season, winning two back-to-back titles in both 2012 and 2013. The three will all leave by 2016 and the team started another period of rebuilding. Wade was eventually reacquired in 2018, though with the franchise he resigned. The Heat hold the record of 27 consecutive games for the NBA's third-longest winning streak set during the 2012–13 season. Four Hall of Famers have played for Miami while James won the NBA MVP Award while playing for the franchise. The first Miami Heat jerseys, unveiled during the season 1988–89, consist of plain striping, exclusive only on the right side of the shirt and trousers. Home uniforms were white with lettering in red, black and orange trim, while away uniforms were black with red, green, and orange trim; green numbers with red, black, and orange trim, using the same script as the new Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. The original 'flaming ball' logo appears on the left leg shorts and on the right side is the word 'Miami.' The new Heat uniforms have been in use since the 1999–2000 season. While similar, these uniforms have visible differences such as stripping on both sides, changing from orange to yellow piping, new lettering and block numbering, and a modified symbol for 'flaming ball' on the right hip. The regular numbers black away now fit the colours in the lettering. The rivalry between the New York Knicks and the expansion of the Miami Heat resulted from their four consecutive playoff series from 1997 through 2000. Every series went out to seven instalments. Pat Riley, both teams 'head coach, was central figure in the game. Jeff Van Gundy took over Riley's time as the Knicks 'head coach, while his older brother Stan Van Gundy was also an assistant coach with the Heat. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Grieving, friends of their Georgetown career from Basketball time. One of the Knicks, Larry Johnson, holding bad blood with Grieving as far back as their days at the Charlotte Hornets. The Bulls broke the Heat's record-setting 27-game winning streak on March 27, 2013, with a 101–97 victory at the Chicago United Centre. Despite playing without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Marco Belinelli, the Bulls managed to snap the second longest win streak in nba history.

It’s been a rough month for sports lovers around the globe, including those of us that are fans of the United States NBA. Many major sports associations have suspended or canceled their seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is unknown how long these breaks will last. As a Portland Trail Blazer fan, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this season suspension; however, this team had been struggling all season long with a grueling list of injuries and unbalanced team chemistry as a result. While doing my best to be optimistic, I realized that this hiatus could truly be a blessing in disguise for the Blazers.

It has been a good 2 weeks since the NBA season had been suspended. Fans like myself have gone through basketball withdrawal as we wait for the NBA season to resume. So in order to fill time, NBA readers have come to the right place, as here are a list of the best games to watch during the hiatus!

On January 26, 2020, the world was really shaken up. My world was really shaken up. Kobe Bryant, a legendary NBA player, his daughter, Gianna and 7 others were tragically killed in a helicopter crash. I know, it seems like it's been so long already, but to me, I just can't keep my mind off of it. I grew up loving the Los Angeles Lakers, especially Kobe. How he played, what he and the Lakers represented, he was one of my heroes. I even went to a Lakers game for my 18th birthday. He wasn't there but his spirit certainly was. I could feel the Lakers energy in the room, even if Kobe wasn't playing that night. So, when the crash happened, something inside of me broke.

At first glance, when you see the Portland Trail Blazers, you think of a great Western Conference team led by a superstar, Damian Lillard and another all-star calibre player in CJ McCollum. This is the team that went to the Western Conference Finals last year and have consistently made the playoffs the past decade. But right now, at the All-star break, they sit with a losing record. What is going on?

Training for any sport is a difficult process that requires years of practice to perfect. When it comes to basketball, there are quite a few components that you should master to be at the top of your game. Whether you are the competitive type that wishes to outwork your opponents and focus on your skills, or you are interested in what it takes to be a successful hooper, you are in the right place. Here are a few tips on how to train to be a solid basketball player.

For Black History Month, I created a series showcasing our everyday heroes, who work tirelessly day in and day out to give back to their community. The work that they do does not require recognition. The individuals were selected based on their dedication and positive community efforts. The first person being recognized this month is Bridget Pettis.

Michael Jordan was born February 17th, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York to James R. Jordan and Deloris Peoples. Michael and his family would soon move to Wilmington, North Carolina when he was just a toddler due to an increase in crime in Brooklyn. By Michael's sophomore year of high school he was 5'11 and was believed to be too short for the varsity basketball team at Emsley A. Laney High School. Michael would instead join the Junior Varsity team where he averaged 40 points per game becoming the star of the team. This, combined with Michael growing four inches over the summer, helped Michael earn a spot on the Varsity team in his Junior year. In his Senior year, Michael was recruited by several colleges but chose to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Michael would go on to be drafted 3rd overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA draft. Michael would go on to play 14 seasons with the Chicago Bulls and 3 seasons with the Washington Wizards. Michael also played on the United States Olympic teams in 1984 and 1992 where he won a gold medal at both. Currently, Michael is the majority owner of the NBA team the Charlotte Hornets.

Grown folks don’t usually cry over nothing. With the passing of the Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, the tears flowed. The other seven passengers on that helicopter, including his daughter Gianna, had lives, too. As individuals, they must be acknowledged for their time on earth as well. But they didn’t win five championships. They didn’t have a career high and National Basketball Association second best 81-point game. They didn’t earn the Most Valuable Player award for the league. Bryant did all of these things and more. His dedication to his craft and undying spirit of competition propelled him to the greatest of heights. Even in his lowest times and hours of darkness, a light appeared that guided Bryant along a path of true, earthly righteousness.

As I write my first draft for this post, Tuesday, January 28th, 2020, I attempted to buy Kobe’s autobiography: the Mamba Mentality. I was not able to purchase the book, however, for it was completely sold out. On Amazon. Since Kobe passed away, I’ve been surprised at how much of an impact he had on the world. I had ignorantly thought of Kobe as merely a great basketball player, and as a huge basketball fan, I certainly recognized him as one of the greatest.

I do not think that there are any words to describe the devastation in the sports world right now. It's been 3 days since we lost one of the most influential players in basketball history, his daughter and 7 other members of the basketball community to a terrible accident.