Larry Joe Bird is an American former professional basketball player, coach and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend," Bird is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Growing up in French Lick, Indiana, he was a local basketball phenom. Highly recruited, he initially signed to play for coach Bobby Knight of the Indiana Hoosiers, but dropped out after one month and returned to French Lick to attend a local community college. The next year he attended the smaller Indiana State University, playing ultimately for three years for the Sycamores. Drafted by the Boston Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft after his second year at Indiana State, Bird elected to stay in college and play one more season. He then led his team to an undefeated regular season in 1978–1979. The season finished with a national championship game matchup against Michigan State, a team that featured Magic Johnson, beginning a career-long rivalry that the two shared for more than a decade.
Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest centers and one of the greatest basketball players of all time. From 1984 to 2002, he played the center position in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and eventually the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 2016, he was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.
John Houston Stockton is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) as a point guard for the Utah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons. In 1997 and 1998, together with his longtime teammate Karl Malone, Stockton led the Jazz to the franchise's only two NBA Finals appearances, both of which were lost to the Chicago Bulls.
Karl Anthony Malone is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Robert Keith Horry is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any player not to have played on the 1960s Boston Celtics. He is one of only four players to have won NBA championships with three teams; he won two with the Houston Rockets, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and two with the San Antonio Spurs with no defeats in NBA Finals. He earned the nickname "Big Shot Bob", because of his clutch shooting in important games; he is widely considered to be one of the greatest clutch performers and winners in NBA history. Horry now works as a commentator on Spectrum SportsNet for the Lakers.
Charles Oakley is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played for the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders in the NBA. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3.
Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. is an American retired basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A 7-foot-4 phenom, three-time College Player of the Year, and first selection in the 1983 NBA draft, Sampson brought heavy expectations with him to the National Basketball Association (NBA).
KennethSmith, nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and Denver Nuggets. He won back-to-back NBA championships as a starter with Houston alongside Hakeem Olajuwon.
Peter Francis Newell was an American college men's basketball coach and basketball instructional coach. He coached for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Berkeley, compiling an overall record of 234 wins and 123 losses.
Spencer Haywood is an American former professional basketball player and Olympic Gold Medalist. Haywood is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2015.
Trevor Anthony Ariza is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship in his first stint with the Lakers in 2009. He played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins before being selected as the 43rd pick of the 2004 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He also previously played for the Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Miami Heat.
Reginald Wayne Theus is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the head men's basketball head coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman. He was the head coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and in college with the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's teams. He was also an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals under Rick Pitino.
The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Philadelphia 76ers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Prior to the draft, the Baltimore Bullets relocated to Landover, Maryland, and became the Capital Bullets. The Philadelphia 76ers were awarded an extra first-round draft pick as compensation when the Seattle SuperSonics signed John Brisker. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. Before the draft, 11 college underclassmen were declared eligible for selection under the "hardship" rule. These players had applied and gave evidence of financial hardship to the league, which granted them the right to start earning their living by starting their professional careers earlier. The draft consisted of 20 rounds comprising the selection of 211 players.
The 1972 NBA draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 10 and 15, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Portland Trail Blazers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Buffalo Braves were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As a result of last year's supplemental hardship draft, the Cincinnati Royals, the Atlanta Hawks, the Golden State Warriors and the Baltimore Bullets forfeited their first round picks, while the Los Angeles Lakers forfeited their fourth round pick. Prior to the start of the season, the Cincinnati Royals relocated and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. The draft consisted of 18 rounds comprising the selection of 198 players.
Christopher Emmanuel Paul, nicknamed "CP3", is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Paul is a point guard who 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 four times and steals a record six times. He has also been selected to twelve NBA All-Star teams, ten All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Michael Kenneth Green is an American retired professional basketball player. After playing at Louisiana Tech, Green played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1973-1980 and was an All-Star in 1975.
Seth Adham Curry is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one year at Liberty University before transferring to Duke. He is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry and the younger brother of NBA player Stephen Curry. He currently has the fifth highest career three-point field goal percentage in NBA history.
Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Raleigh, North Carolina native, Wall was chosen with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards after playing one year of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Wall, who plays the point guard position, was a five-time NBA All-Star from 2014 to 2018 and was named to the All-NBA Team in 2017. However, he experienced multiple injuries in 2019 and missed more than two years of basketball before being traded to Houston in December 2020.
George Trapp, Jr. was an American professional basketball player.
Freddie Banks is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Banks attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is a member of the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame. Banks was the first pick of the second round of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
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