Curated playlist
American men's basketball players
- 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.
- Jerry WestThe NBA logo is a silhouette of Jerry West, and he was never paid for it.
- Karl MaloneKarl Malone played 193 playoff games without winning a championship. That is more than any player without a ring.
- Tim DuncanTim Duncan was a swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his island's only Olympic-sized pool.
- Stephen CurryVirginia Tech offered Stephen Curry only a walk-on spot. He later became the NBA's all-time three-point leader.
- Joel EmbiidJoel Embiid scored 70 points against the Spurs on January 22, 2024, breaking a 76ers record from 1967.
- Larry BirdLarry Bird asked who would finish second at the first Three-Point Shootout, then won it.
- Kawhi LeonardKawhi Leonard's Game 7 shot bounced off the rim four times before it fell.
- Patrick EwingPatrick Ewing crossed North Carolina off his list after seeing a nearby Ku Klux Klan rally. He chose Georgetown.
- Hakeem OlajuwonHakeem Olajuwon did not touch a basketball until he was 15. The Nigerian goalkeeper later won an NBA title.
- Isiah ThomasIsiah Thomas scored 25 points in one Finals quarter on a badly sprained ankle. It was a 1988 NBA Finals record.
- Denzel WashingtonIn 2025, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor Denzel Washington said that the emphasis in his first name belongs on the first syllable. His mother had moved it to the second syllable so that young Denzel would answer to her call and not his…
- Bill RussellBill Russell won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. No team has matched that record since.
- Chuck Cooper (basketball)The Celtics owner ignored other teams and drafted Chuck Cooper anyway. He was the first African American drafted.
- Chuck DalyChuck Daly was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice. The second came after his death, for the Dream Team.
- Kevin LoveKevin Love grabbed 31 rebounds in one game in November 2010. It set a Timberwolves record.
- Michael JordanMichael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore for being too short.
- Charles BarkleyCharles Barkley became the shortest player ever to lead the NBA in rebounding.
- Scottie PippenScottie Pippen got no college scholarship offers, yet he ended up with six championship rings.
- Tony ParkerTony Parker was nearly sent home from a Spurs camp after 10 minutes. A highlight tape won him a second chance.
- Jalen BrunsonJalen Brunson spent part of his childhood inside NBA locker rooms. When his father Rick played for the New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau worked there as an assistant coach. Years later Thibodeau became Jalen's head coach, and the boy from…
- Karl-Anthony TownsKarl-Anthony Towns scored 62 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves on the 22nd of January 2024, and his team still lost 128-125 to the Charlotte Hornets. Forty-four of those points came in the first half. Both totals were Timberwolves…
- 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.
- Moses MaloneMoses Malone predicted his 76ers would sweep the playoffs, and they went 12-1.
- Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
- Chris BoshBlood clots ended Chris Bosh's NBA career after two straight championships with Miami.
- Dave CowensDave Cowens won 1973 NBA MVP at six feet nine, short for a center. He beat out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the award.
- 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.
- Norm DruckerNorm Drucker is the only referee ever to eject Wilt Chamberlain from an NBA game. It happened on January 3, 1962.
- Wilt ChamberlainNo camera filmed Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game. Only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter survived.
- John StocktonJazz fans greeted John Stockton's 1984 draft pick with stunned silence.
- Al CerviAl Cervi lost his Rochester job over a $3,500 raise request. He then coached Syracuse to a title.
- Paul TagliabueTwo days after September 11, 2001, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue canceled that weekend's games.
- R. KellyBeneath the Chicago "L" tracks, at the Jackson stop on the Red Line in the Loop, a young school dropout named Robert Kelly sang for passing commuters. Decades later, as R. Kelly, he had sold more than 75 million albums and singles…
- Michael CrichtonMichael Crichton once submitted a George Orwell essay as his own and got a B-minus.
- Bob CousyBob Cousy broke his right hand falling out of a tree, and it helped make him ambidextrous.
- 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.
- Dan IsselDan Issel did not start on his high school basketball team until junior year.
- Dikembe MutomboDikembe Mutombo came to Georgetown to become a doctor, not a basketball star. A coach changed those plans entirely.
- Dolph SchayesDolph Schayes played almost a full season with his right arm in a cast. He learned to shoot left-handed instead.
- Terry RozierTerry Rozier's first NBA start was a triple-double. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
- Walt FrazierWalt Frazier had 36 points and 19 assists in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals. Willis Reed played two minutes.