Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography

About Dave McMenaminNathaniel Butler

Nathaniel Butler one of the founding members of NBA Photos has been photographing and documenting basketball since 1984. From the early years of Michael Jordan Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to Kobe Bryant LeBron James and Steph Curry Butler has had a courtside seat for the best the NBA has had to offer. What started as developing black-and-white film during halftime at arenas across the country has grown to sharing real-time digital photos across the globe. For the past 40 years Butlers imagery of the sport has been on posters in childhood bedrooms and on trading cards treasured by collectors and is now shared with millions across the NBAs various social media platforms. From portraits of the NBAs legendary stars to buzzer-beating action Butlers work continues to be enjoyed by sports fans worldwide. Dave McMenamin is an NBA reporter New York Times bestselling coauthor of Return of the King: LeBron James the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History and contributor to several ESPN platforms including ESPN.com ESPN Radio NBA Todayand SportsCenter. He is a three-time Professional Basketball Writers Association Blumenthal Memorial award winner and proud Syracuse University alumnus.Adam Silver was appointed NBA commissioner on Feb. 1 2014. He presides over a global sports and media business built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA WNBA NBA G League NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League. Silver was named Sports Business Journals Executive of the Decade and has been ranked No. 1 on the publications annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. He was also named to TIMEs 100 Most Influential People and Fortunes Worlds 50 Greatest Leaders. Patrick Ewing is a two-time inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his individual career and for being a part of the 1992 US Olympic Dream Team. In seventeen NBA seasons fifteen with the New York Knicks Ewing was an eleven-time All-Star and a seven-time member of the All-NBA team. After being named Rookie of the Year in 1986 Ewing went on to amass more than 24000 points and 11000 rebounds in the pros and his Knicks teams made two trips to the NBA Finals. He was named to the NBAs 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. Spike Lee is an Academy Awardwinning director producer and screenwriter known for Shes Gotta Have It Do the Right Thing Malcolm X and BlacKkKlansman among many other films. He has also been nominated for four additional Academy Awards won two British Academy Film Awards and two Emmy Awards and was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award for his achievements in film and his championing of independent filmmaking.