Curated playlist
21st-century African-American sportsmen
- Kevin DurantKevin Durant wore number 35 to honor his murdered youth coach. Charles Craig was 35 when he died.
- Dwyane WadeDwyane Wade's sister tricked him into a car ride at age eight. She said movies but took him to live with their father.
- LeBron JamesLeBron James led Cleveland back from a 3-1 Finals deficit, a first in NBA history. It ended a 52-year title wait.
- Clyde DrexlerClyde Drexler couldn't make his high school basketball team as a sophomore. He later reached the Hall of Fame twice.
- Kobe BryantKobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006, the second-highest NBA game total ever.
- Elvin HayesElvin Hayes scored 39 points and ended UCLA's 47-game winning streak in 1968. He held Lew Alcindor to 15 points.
- Karl MaloneKarl Malone played 193 playoff games without winning a championship. That is more than any player without a ring.
- Isiah ThomasIsiah Thomas scored 25 points in one Finals quarter on a badly sprained ankle. It was a 1988 NBA Finals record.
- Scottie PippenScottie Pippen got no college scholarship offers, yet he ended up with six championship rings.
- Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson told the world he had HIV from the free throw line in 1991. He was 32 and a five-time NBA champion.
- Chris BoshBlood clots ended Chris Bosh's NBA career after two straight championships with Miami.
- Klay ThompsonKlay Thompson scored 37 points in one quarter against the Kings in 2015, an NBA record.
- Kyrie IrvingKyrie Irving was born in Australia to two American parents. His father had followed basketball there.
- George GervinGeorge Gervin won a 1978 NBA scoring title by seven-hundredths of a point. He scored 63 to edge David Thompson.
- Big Three (Miami Heat)LeBron James nicknamed the Miami Heat's new trio the Heatles before they had played a playoff game.
- Chauncey BillupsChauncey Billups went from a draft bust to NBA Finals MVP. The Pistons guard led a 2004 upset of the Lakers.
- Walt FrazierWalt Frazier had 36 points and 19 assists in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Willis Reed played two minutes.
- Kareem Abdul-JabbarKareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record with a skyhook over a 7-foot-4 defender.
- Damon JonesDamon Jones hit an overtime shot in 2006 that won Cleveland a playoff series.
- Earl LloydEarl Lloyd became the first Black player in an NBA game on Halloween night, 1950. He scored six points.
- Joakim NoahPresident Obama called Joakim Noah's shot the ugliest he had ever seen.
- Cam Ward (American football)Quarterback Cam Ward had just two scholarship offers, yet the Titans picked him first overall in 2025.