Ricard "Ricky" Rubio Vives (born October 21, 1990 in El Masnou, Catalonia, Spain) is a Spanishprofessional basketball player with Regal FC Barcelona. Rubio became the youngest player ever to play in the Spanish ACB League on October 15, 2005, at age 14.[1][2] On June 25, 2009, he was drafted with the fifth pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves,[3] making him the first player born in the 1990s to be drafted by the NBA. The Timberwolves had an agreement in principle with his former Spanish team, DKV Joventut, to buy out his contract, but Rubio backed out of the deal, indicating that he felt he needed to mature more before entering the NBA.[4] On August 31, 2009, Joventut traded the rights to Rubio to FC Barcelona,[5] and Rubio signed a six-year contract with FC Barcelona the following day.
Pau Gasol i Sàez (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈpaw gəˈzɔɫ]) (born July 6, 1980 in Barcelona,[1] Spain) is a Spanish professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball AssociationAtlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA Draft, but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, with whom he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He currently holds the Memphis Grizzlies franchise records for career games played, minutes played, field goals made and attempted, free throws made and attempted, offensive, defensive, and total rebounds, blocked shots, turnovers, and points.[2] After seven seasons with the team, Gasol was traded to the Lakers on February 1, 2008. His younger brother, Marc Gasol is also a professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Fisher started out his basketball career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Selected the twenty-fourth draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1996 NBA Draft, Fisher spent his first eight seasons with the franchise. During this time, he played a role in the Lakers' "three-peat", and was the third-leading scorer on the team behind Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. After his success with Los Angeles, Fisher signed with the Golden State Warriors, but was later traded to the Utah Jazz, where he helped lead the team to the Western Conference Finals. Due to his daughter's health, he asked to be released from his contract and rejoined the Lakers in 2007.[2] In 2010, he won his fifth NBA Championship with the Lakers. Only he and Kobe Bryant have played in all five of the Lakers' most recent championships.
Fisher has played in 199 career playoff games, the fifth highest total in NBA history.[3] He ranks second all time in NBA Finals three-pointers made (43), behind former teammate Robert Horry. He has the highest three-point field goal percentage in NBA Finals history (42.6%). The NBA listed his "0.4 Shot" as the 18th-greatest playoff moment of all time.[4]
With the Argentina national team, Ginóbili has also enjoyed success. He made his debut with the national team in 1998, and was a member of the team which won the gold medal during the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. Hailed as one of the finest European-based players to grace the NBA, he plays a high-tempo and intensive game. He is also one of only two players, along with Bill Bradley, to have won a Euroleague title, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal.
Stoudemire's first name had previously been listed in the Phoenix Suns media guide as Amaré or Amare, but it was changed to Amar'e in October 2008.[2] Stoudemire told NBA.com that his name had always been spelled Amar'e, but the media had been spelling it incorrectly since he joined the NBA.[3]
In the 2004–05 season, Nash led the Suns to the Western Conference Finals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP). He was named MVP again in the 2005–06 season, and missed out on a third consecutive MVP title to Nowitzki the next season. Named by ESPN in 2006 as the ninth greatest point guard of all time, Nash has led the league in assists and free-throw percentage at various points in his career. He is also ranked as one of the top players in league history for three-point shooting, free-throw shooting, total assists and assists per game.
Nash, who is married, is involved in charity and humanitarian work, and he is also interested in soccer and film-making. In 2006, Time named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. On 28 December 2007 it was announced that Nash would receive Canada's highest civilian honour, the Order of Canada,[4] and on 3 June 2008, it was announced that Nash would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.[5] On 18 September 2009, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Victoria, in recognition of his athletic achievements and his philanthropic work on behalf of young people through the Steve Nash Foundation.[6]
