1977- American basketball player One of the brightest young stars in professional basketball, Vince Carter has helped to popularize basketball in a country that long has focused the bulk of its sports interests on hockey during the fall and winter months. In only his second season with the Toronto Raptors, he led the young franchise to its first-ever appearance in the National Basketball Associati…
1950- American basketball player Julius Erving Julius Erving, commonly referred to as Dr. J, made his mark in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the grace he displayed on and off the court and by playing an instrumental role in the creation of the league as it's known today. As the lone superstar of the ABA, the professional basketball league in direct competition with th…
1977- American basketball player Chamique Holdsclaw's story is one of courage. She struggled against imposing odds to escape the inner city of Queens, New York, becoming Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Rookie of the Year in 1999. Setting milestones all along the way, Holdsclaw set all-time scoring and rebound records in high school and college. In 1999 when Sports Illu…
1966- American basketball player At seven-feet-two-inches, Dikembe Mutombo is a force to be reckoned with under the basket. Known for his strong defense and exceptional shot-blocking abilities, Mutombo is the only player in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to be named Defensive Player of the Year four times. After playing in Denver, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, Mutombo was tr…
1928- American basketball player Earl Lloyd was one of a handful of black basketball players who broke the racial barrier and helped integrate the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 1950, with the Washington Capitols, he became the first African American to play in an NBA game. The top defensive player later joined the Syracuse Nationals and became the first black player to win an NBA champ…
1971- American basketball player Power guard and forward Nikki McCray has played basketball with the WNBA's Washington Mystics and Indiana Fever, and the ABL's Columbus Quest. Earning multiple MVP awards, starter for the WNBA East All-Star team, and gold medals in two Olympics with the women's basketball team, "Nikki Mac" has been called a professional and a role…
1934- American basketball player He never played a championship team or won a scoring title; he played well before the made-for-video era and disdained self-promotion. But teammates, opponents and longtime observers of the game eagerly proclaim forward Elgin Baylor as one of pro basketball's greats. Baylor was an All-NBA First Team choice 10 times in his career, and he participated in 11 Al…
1963- American basketball player Spud Webb Standing only five feet, seven inches tall, Spud Webb was one of the shortest players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Despite his diminutive size, Webb enjoyed superstardom as a small man in a big man's game. In what was perhaps the crowning achievement of his twelve-year career in professional basketball, Webb won the NBA …
1945- American basketball coach Currently president and head coach for the Miami Heat basketball team, Pat Riley has been an NBA coach for more than 20 years. He started as a coach for the Los Angeles Lakers before moving to the New York Knicks, and finally to the Miami Heat. His NBA regular season win-loss record in 2002 stood at a remarkable 1,085-502. Those 1,085 wins were second only to coach …
1973- American basketball player Defeat is not a common word in Rebecca Lobo's vocabulary. During her senior year playing basketball Rebecca Lobo for the University of Connecticut, her team did not lose a single game. The following year she joined USA Basketball's Women's National Team, which won fifty-two straight games on its way to the Olympics, and continued on to w…
1968- American basketball player In 1999 Seattle SuperSonics point guard Gary Payton was dubbed "the best player on the planet" by no less of a basketball authority than superstar Charles Barkley. Payton has won two Olympic gold medals and is one of only eight players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to compile a career total of over 15,000 points, 6,000 assists, and …
1976- American basketball player In 1995, Kevin Garnett became famous as one of the first high school basketball players to be drafted directly into the National Basketball Association (NBA). Despite many people's concerns about how a teenager would fare in that setting, Garnett did extremely well in his first few years. In 1997, when at the age of twenty-two he resigned with the Minnesota …
1943- American basketball player Bill Bradley has found fame in two very different careers, one on the basketball court and one in politics, by applying similarly high levels of determination and skill. Having opted not to play for a basketball powerhouse because of his academic interests, he made headlines as a standout on the Princeton team. As a dazzling shooter and deft freethrower, he led the…
1973- American basketball player Chris Webber, known as C-Webb, is an athletic and dynamic forward who, at six-feet-ten-inches, can get the crowd on its feet with spectacular dunks and nearly poetic play up and down the floor. In the media limelight since high school, Webber has become one of the shining stars of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during his ten-year career. As a member of …
1963- American basketball player Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player in the history of the game, even by some to be the greatest player of any sport. As Jerry Sloan, the coach of the Utah Jazz told the Daily News of Jordan, "I think everybody knows how he should be remembered, as the greatest player that has ever played." A two-time Olympic gold …
1936-1999 American basketball player In a 14-year professional career studded with superla-tives, Wilt Chamberlain established the centrality of court dominance in basketball, and thus changed the game forever. At seven feet, one inch tall, he was a towering figure, nicknamed "Wilt the Stilt"—a moniker he is said to have despised. Chamberlain was not simply a Goliath, however;…
1952- American college basketball coach Patricia Head Summitt is one of college basketball's greatest coaches. In 2003, during her 29th season with the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers, Summitt earned her 800th win. She is the first women's basketball coach and one of four Division I coaches to hit that mark. Summitt's six National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)…
1938- American basketball player Oscar Robertson Oscar Robertson is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. A standout at the University of Cincinnati, he went on to become a star National Basketball Association (NBA) player for the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) and the Milwaukee Bucks, and a co-captain of an Olympic team considered by some to be the grea…
1965- American basketball player David Maurice Robinson, known as "The Admiral," did not play his first professional basketball game until he was twenty-four years old, after serving two years in the U.S. Navy. A member of the San Antonio Spurs for his entire career, Robinson has established himself as one of the best big men to ever play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).…
1962- American basketball player Patrick Ewing Named in 1996 one of the top NBA players of all time, Patrick Ewing was an NBA All-Star eleven times, including for ten seasons in a row, from 1988-97. A center for the New York Knicks for fifteen years starting in 1986, Ewing set team records for the most games played, (1,039), most points scored (23,665), most rebounds (10,759), most steals (…
1938- American basketball player One of the best shooting guards in professional basketball history, Jerry West went on to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to basketball dominance during the last quarter of the twentieth century as first a coach and later general manager and executive vice president. After nearly four decades with the Lakers organization, West stepped down in 2000, but it did not take …
1971- American basketball player Sheryl Swoopes has played on college, professional and Olympic championship basketball teams. She has won all sorts of individual awards, owns countless records and even had a sneaker named after her. She has also played one-on-one against the redoubtable Michael Jordan. And, she has rebounded from serious knee injuries to earn league honors. But perhaps her most n…
1955- American basketball player Basketball trailblazer Ann Meyers takes her hall-of-fame distinction to new limits, with eight enshrinements—including the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, California Youth Organization High School Hall of Fame, Orange County Hall of Fame, California High School Hall of Fame, National High School Hall of Fame, University of California at Los Angele…
1973- American basketball player The odds may not have looked good for NBA star Glenn Robinson. Born January 10, 1973, to Christine Bridgeman, an unmarried teenager, Robinson had little contact with his father, who often found himself in trouble with the law. Robinson's neighborhood in Gary, Indiana, was riddled with crime and drugs, but under Bridgeman's guidance, Robinson stayed st…
1971- American basketball player Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, point guard for the Phoenix Suns, made a name for himself in the NBA while paired with center Shaquille O'Neal in Orlando in the mid-1990s. After O'Neal's departure for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 and several injuries, Hardaway decided to try to restart his career with the Phoenix Suns in 1999. Addres…
1924- American basketball player Destined to become one of the first of basketball's most talented big men, as a young man George Mikan was discouraged from seriously pursuing basketball because of his ungainly height and his acute nearsightedness, conditions that most coaches during the early 1940s believed would leave Mikan hopelessly clumsy. At 6 foot, 10 inches, he towered over other pl…
1930- American college basketball coach Followed by controversy throughout much of his coaching career, Jerry Tarkanian put together one of the most enviable records in college basketball. Known by admirers and detractors alike as Tark the Shark, Tarkanian led his teams to four appearances in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Final Four and one national championship duri…
1966- American basketball player Although knee injuries, a broken foot, and a salary cap that made signing established veterans difficult seem to have brought Tim Hardaway's NBA career to a premature end, when he was playing he was one of the best point guards in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was shuffled from team to team several times in his career, playing five and a half…
1937- American basketball coach With 1,268 victories in his first twenty-nine seasons as an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach, Lenny Wilkens is clearly the winningest coach in professional basketball history. Wilkens began his coaching career more than three decades ago in Seattle where he served as player-coach for the Super Sonics from 1969 until 1972. He pulled the same double duty wi…
1928- American basketball player Dolph Schayes is generally credited with being the first modern basketball forward. His career began in 1948, before the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949. His playing career totaled 16 years with the Syracuse Nationals, which became the Philadelphia 76ers in 1964. He played for the Nationals from 1948 to 1964, and during that time, he …
1965- American basketball player In the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA), there's never been a three-point shooter like Indiana Pacers guard Reggie Miller, undoubtedly the most persistent and productive three-point prodigy of all time. Miller was the first NBA player to sink 2,200 three-pointers and also holds the NBA record for most consecutive seasons with at least 100…
1967- American basketball player Derrick Coleman represents the kind of elite athlete that achieves such success and notoriety so early in his career that he develops a seriously skewed view of his own importance in the world, and even in his sport. The undeniably talented power forward has a record marred by questionable choices that have affected him both on and off the court. Coleman has worn o…
1965- American basketball player Scottie Pippen Considered one of the top basketball players of all time, point forward Scottie Pippen made news both on and off the court throughout his decades-long career as a professional athlete. Beginning in 1987 with the Chicago Bulls, Pippen has gone on to demonstrate his multiple talents in shooting, passing, blocking, and rebounding, as well as in d…
1975- American basketball player At six-feet, 160 pounds, Allen Iverson is one of the smallest players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). But opposing teams can't stop what they can't see, and by all accounts, Iverson is as fast as they come. His lightening speed, prolific scoring ability, and tough competitiveness took his Philadelphia 76ers to the 2001 NBA championship s…
1963- American basketball player Karl Malone, a power forward who has been playing basketball with the Utah Jazz since 1985, earned the nickname "The Mailman" early in his career for his ability to deliver the ball to the hoop reliably, under any conditions. The long-time Jazz combination of Malone, the scorer, Malone's co-captain, point guard John Stockton, the passer, and Je…
1978- American basketball player One of basketball's biggest talents, Kobe Bryant rose to fame as a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Kobe Bryant late 1990s and early 2000s. Together with his superstar teammate, the center Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant led the Lakers to their consecutive 2000, 2001, and 2002 National Basketball Association (NBA) Championship titles. One of th…
1969- American basketball player Shawn Kemp When Shawn Kemp was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 1989, he became the fifth player to go directly to the NBA from high school. His exceptional talent and fierce presence on the court drew comparisons to Michael Jordan, but Kemp's youth was seen as a serious obstacle to his ever reaching superstar status. In a few years the young for…
1960- American basketball player One of the most outstanding basketball players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history, Dominique Wilkins retired as a player after the 1998-99 season. At the time of his retirement, Wilkins ranked eighth on the all-time NBA scoring list with 26,668 points and 10th in career scoring average with 24.8 points per game. Wilkins did not stay away from the game…
1963- American basketball player Hakeem Olajuwon Seven-foot Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon has a rare combination of strength, footwork, and speed that put him on the short list of the best big men to ever play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On the defensive end, his shot blocking abilities are legendary, and on the offensive end he can score with a dunk, a jump ho…
1955- American basketball player In 1974, a 6-10 senior from Petersburg High school graduated from the courts of Virginia's public schools directly to the American Basketball Association (ABA), becoming the first professional player to skip college. During a career that spanned 21 years, seven teams and three most valuable player awards that youngster, Moses Malone, went on to become one of…
1970- American basketball player Latrell Sprewell, a gutsy floor leader, became an unexpected, and at times highly unpopular, star in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He did not play organized basketball until he was a senior in high school, and his college play, although outstanding, drew little recognition. Even after posting stellar numbers as a rookie playing for the Golden State War…
1940- American basketball player John "Hondo" Havlicek is considered by some observers to have been the most well-rounded player in the history of professional basketball. Havlicek was never a flashy player. However, his remarkable physical John Havlicek conditioning, his careful study of the game of basketball and of opposing players, and his skills at both forward and a guar…
1973- American basketball player When Jason Kidd was traded from the powerhouse Phoenix Suns to the woebegone New Jersey Nets in June 2001, many seasoned basketball observers predicted the move would be the beginning of the end for Kidd's career on the court. Kidd proved them all wrong, when he reinvigorated the Nets, powering the team's march to the NBA championship game in 2002. Qu…
1961- American basketball player Bad Boy of Basketball Dennis Rodman is perhaps more famous for his exploits off the court (as well as a few key incidents while on the court) than he is for his superlative play. Rodman's physical appearance is as hard to miss as the rumors and gossip that surround him. Known for his multi-hued, everchanging hair color and a penchant for adding a new tattoo …
1970- American basketball player From humble beginnings in a North Philadelphia housing project, Dawn Staley dedicated herself to being one of the best female basketball players. Among her numerous honors, are USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year, National Player of the Year, and NCAA Region Most Outstanding Player. Staley was a member of the first women's Dream Team in the 1996 and 20…
1945- American basketball coach Phil Jackson's preeminence as a National Basketball Association (NBA) coach is evidenced by his top-ranking winning percentage and nine championship rings. During the 1990s he coached the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles. While star player Michael Jordan was given considerable credit for the Bulls' unprecedented pair of "three-peats," it i…
1961- American basketball player When Isiah Thomas joined the Detroit Pistons in 1981, they were among the worst in the league, a disheartened group of guys struggling through each season. Thomas, however, transformed them into a proud, poised cohesive team. Under Thomas's direction—and attitude—the Pistons became known as the "Bad Boys" of the NBA. As their imag…
1956- American basketball player By the time he joined the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1979, Larry Bird was already a basketball hero in his home state of Indiana. Larry Bird After a brief stay at Indiana University, he transferred to Indiana State University (ISU) and led the men's basketball team to thirty-three consecutive wins in his senior year…
1941- American basketball coach Jody Conradt Jody Conradt, the powerhouse women's basketball coach at the University of Texas-Austin (UT), has won more college women's basketball games than any other coach in history. At a last count just shy of 800 wins, she also holds the record for coaching 1,000 games—the first female coach to do so. She's a five-time Southwe…
1972- American basketball player Shaquille O'Neal represents professional basketball in the third millennium. At seven-feet-one-inch tall and 335 pounds, he dominates a basketball court with little effort. His combination of size, strength, height, and speed is rare. His hulking presence is distinctive and unmistakable even among his peers, the so-called big men of basketball. A giant of a …
1932- American basketball player Like a crazed captain at the helm of a ship, Meadowlark Lemon could take over a court and steer a crowd into the throes of laughter. During his 23 seasons with the Harlem Globetrotters, Lemon proved he was more than just a basketball player. Full of wisecracks and wise moves, Lemon became the "Clown Prince of Basketball," and night after night, year a…
1917- American basketball coach As a coach and executive, Arnold "Red" Auerbach has directed the Boston Celtics to sixteen National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, the third most in North American professional team sports. Auerbach, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, coached the Celtics to nine titles, including eight straight from 1959-66, and oversaw seven other…
1963- American basketball player After being a standout player in college and in European basketball leagues, Cynthia Cooper finally achieved her dream of being able to play professional basketball in the United States when the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) debuted in 1997. She was the star of the Houston Comets for the next four years, leading them to four straight WNBA ch…
1972- American basketball player Hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when Los Angeles Sparks star and WNBA pioneer member Lisa Leslie renounced basketball. Standing six feet tall in the seventh grade, Leslie was asked constantly if she played the game. Rather than spurring her interest, though, the repeated inquisitions turned her against the sport. "I hated it," she has a…
1976- American basketball player Combining skills as a passer, rebounder, shooter, scorer, dribbler, and defender, Tim Duncan is one of the best all-round players in the NBA. Winner of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player honors in 2002, Duncan is no stranger to awards; his resume has a long list of well-earned basketball achievements. Yet despite all the accolad…
1952- American basketball player The professional basketball career of Bill Walton, though plagued by injury, had flashes of brilliance that prompted sportscasters to compare him with the greatest centers in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In a pro ball career spanning thirteen years, Walton played for three teams—the Portland Trailblazers, the San Diego (later Los…
1965- American basketball player Finding his niche and filling it remarkably well is what made point guard Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues a dominant player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A superior athlete, he left his mark in the NBA, ranking among the top 20 players in career assists. He was easily recognizable on the court because he stood more than two feet shorter than ot…
1972- American basketball player Grant Hill has a rare combination of size, speed, and ball-handling skills that set him apart. Able to create his own shots, Hill averaged more than twenty points per game during five of his first six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he averaged 19.9 points per game his rookie year. After four years as a star player at Duke University, Hill spe…
1934- American basketball player Bill Russell, the Boston Celtics' Hall of Fame center who almost single-handedly redefined the game of basketball, was, in the words of Basketball's Big Men by David Klein, "the standard against whom all others will be judged." A big man who specialized in defense rather than scoring, Russell was the ultimate winner. After winning two Na…
1940- American college basketball coach Pete Axthelm of Newsweek has called Bobby Knight a "boiling blend of brilliance and loyalty, fanaticism and temper." And in fact, there isn't a college coach who can incite more debate and who can get the blood of fans boiling more (both his fans and those of opposing teams). Knight is one of those people about whom the phrase "ei…
1958- American basketball player One of the greatest women's basketball players of all time, Nancy Lieberman had a lengthy, decorated career and logged a number of "firsts." At age 18 she was the youngest basketball player to win an Olympic medal as part of the 1976 U.S. team. Ten years later she became the first woman to play in a men's professional Nancy Lieberman…
1959- American basketball player Had Earvin Johnson's earliest nickname stuck with him, he would be known today as "June Bug" rather than "Magic." A reference to his childhood proclivity for bouncing from basketball court to basketball court in search of a game, Johnson's later nickname gained preference when, as a high school player, his superior skills b…
1963- American basketball player During a sixteen-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), forward Charles Barkley proved himself to be one of best basketball players of all Charles Barkley time, as well as one of the more controversial. An excellent rebounder despite his generous girth and unexceptional height, he was dubbed "The Round Mound of Rebound" while…
1928- American basketball player Bob Cousy Bob Cousy was one of greatest passers and playmakers in NBA history. A showman with flair and an entertainer as much as he was a basketball player, Cousy was a renegade in an era of rather conventional league play. He helped to build one of the revolutionary teams in the history of professional basketball. His contribution is as great as—if …
1947- American basketball player More than a decade after his retirement, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 7-feet-2-inches tall remains one of the tallest men ever to play professional basketball. Despite his 267-pound frame, he was never awkward and was known in fact for his grace and flexibility—a rare talent among very large men. Powerful yet smooth in his playing style, he left his mark on the ga…
1944- American basketball player Rick Barry, at six-foot-seven-inches, was one of the most entertaining and talented forwards to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 1970s. Averaging 24.8 points per game over the course of his fourteen seasons of play, Barry was famous for his deadly accurate underhanded free throws (.900). He was Rick Barry equally famous among othe…
1964- American basketball player Teresa Edwards She is the most decorated Olympic basketball player ever, male or female, and has a street named after her in her hometown. But Teresa Edwards is often overlooked among women's greats in the sport, having played before the boom in media and fan interest. "She played many of (her) games before her sport caught the public's …
1898-1971 American tennis and basketball player Before Serena Williams and Venus Williams, before the Women's National Basketball Association, and before civil rights created equity on the tennis and basketball courts across the United States, there was Ora Washington. Washington was a talented athlete who flourished in her chosen sports of tennis and basketball. She was the reigning champi…
1962- American basketball player The NBA all-time leader in assists and steals, John Stockton loves to play basketball. Holding the record for most NBA games with the same team, the Utah Jazz, Stockton became one of the best shooting point guards and helped the Jazz to 19 straight play-off appearances. Eagle-eyed on the court, he holds the record for most assists in a single game, most assists in …
1930- American basketball coach Charles J. "Chuck" Daly is the only coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame to win both an Olympic gold medal and a National Basketball Association (NBA) championship. Lauded as a player's coach, Daly worked his way up from college player to high school coach to college coach, then moved on to coach NBA teams. He is perhaps best known for his work …
