Vernon Earl Monroe is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams have retired Monroe's number. Due to his on-court success and flashy style of play, Monroe was given the nicknames "Black Jesus" and "Earl the Pearl". Monroe was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990 and the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. In 1996, Monroe was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and in 2021, Monroe was named as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.
Walter Robert "Wally" Szczerbiak Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and current color analyst for the New York Knicks on MSG Network. He played 10 seasons for four teams in the National Basketball Association. Szczerbiak played college basketball for Miami University and is one of five of the university's basketball players whose jerseys have been retired.
Isiah Lord Thomas III, also known as "Zeke", is an American former professional basketball player, philanthropist, and coach who is an analyst for NBA TV. Widely regarded as one of the greatest point guards of all time, the 12-time NBA All-Star was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He played his entire professional career for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). From 2000 to 2012 he coached the Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and for FIU.
Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight years with the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets. He was a four-time NBA All-Star, and led the league in steals in three seasons. He later became a head coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and National Basketball League of Canada.
Donald Arvid Nelson is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. Nelson is second all-time in regular season wins of any coach in NBA history, with 1,335. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors. After an All-American career at the University of Iowa, Nelson won five NBA championships playing with the Boston Celtics, with his number 19 retired by the franchise in 1978.
Robert Allen McAdoo Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a five-time NBA All-Star and named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1975. He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s. In 2000, McAdoo was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Michael Dean Woodson is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team.
Harry Junior "The Horse" Gallatin was an American professional basketball player and coach. Gallatin played nine seasons for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1948 to 1957, as well as one season with the Detroit Pistons in the 1957–58 season. Gallatin led the NBA in rebounding and was named to the All-NBA First Team in 1954. The following year, he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. For his career, Gallatin played in seven NBA All-Star Games. A member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, he is also a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, the SIU Edwardsville Athletics Hall of Fame, the Truman State University Athletics Hall of Fame, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, two Illinois Basketball Halls of Fame, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Hall of Fame, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame, and the SIU Salukis Hall of Fame.
Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings and Boston Celtics. In 1991, he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Kenyon Lee Martin Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward, he played for the New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA, and the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of China. He played college basketball for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was named the national college player of the year during his senior season. Martin was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft by the New Jersey Nets. He was an NBA All-Star in 2004.
Samuel Davis Dalembert is a Haitian-Canadian former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Seton Hall University. During his active NBA career, Dalembert was known for his rebounding as well as his shot blocking ability.
The 1979 NBA draft was the 33rd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA), held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Monday, June 25. In this draft, the 22 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players; it went ten rounds and selected 202 players.
Kurt Vincent Thomas is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9", 230 lb. power forward-center, Thomas was known for his hard-nosed playing style and tough defense during his eight year tenure with the New York Knicks. Having played college basketball at Texas Christian University, he was drafted by the Miami Heat in 1995 and went on to play parts of 18 seasons in the NBA.
Raymond Darlington Felix was an American professional basketball player. He was born in New York City. He played high school basketball at Metropolitan High School in New York and college basketball at Long Island University. Felix was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1953 NBA draft.
The 1964 NBA draft was the 18th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 4, 1964, before the 1964–65 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. 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. In each round, the teams select in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of its home arena as their territorial pick. The draft consisted of 15 rounds comprising 101 players selected.
Ronnie Brewer is an American former professional basketball player. Brewer played collegiately at the University of Arkansas, where his father Ron Brewer was a star in the late 1970s. Brewer is known for having an unorthodox shooting technique, the result of a childhood water slide injury.
Dean Peter "The Dream" Meminger was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for Marquette where he was the NIT MVP in 1970 and a Consensus first-team All-American in 1971. He later played professionally in the NBA for six seasons, winning the NBA championship with the New York Knicks in 1973. Following his playing career, Meminger went into coaching and in 1980 he led the New York Stars to the WBL championship.
Thomas Ray Williams was an American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association from 1977 to 1987. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, he was the younger brother of Gus Williams, who also played in the NBA.
John Arec Gianelli is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 6'10" tall, he played at the power forward and center positions. He played eight seasons (1972–1980) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York Knicks, Buffalo Braves, Milwaukee Bucks, and Utah Jazz.
Wayne McKoy is an American former professional basketball player. He was a highly-recruited high school player during his career at Long Island Lutheran in Brookville, New York, and earned comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. McKoy played college basketball for the St. John's Redmen from 1977 to 1981 and was a two-time All-Big East Conference selection. He was drafted by his hometown New York Knicks but never played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and instead spent his three-year professional career in Spain.
