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Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics

  • Karl MaloneKarl Malone played 193 playoff games without winning a championship. That is more than any player without a ring.
  • Hakeem OlajuwonHakeem Olajuwon did not touch a basketball until he was 15. The Nigerian goalkeeper later won an NBA title.
  • 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.
  • Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
  • John StocktonJazz fans greeted John Stockton's 1984 draft pick with stunned silence.
  • Toni KukočToni Kukoč waited three years after the Bulls drafted him to play an NBA game. He then won three titles in Chicago.
  • Arvydas SabonisArvydas Sabonis was drafted by Portland in 1986 but did not play in the NBA until 1995. He was 30 by then.
  • Vlade DivacVlade Divac was traded for a teenage Kobe Bryant. The Lakers center had arrived from Yugoslavia speaking no English.
  • Šarūnas MarčiulionisThe Grateful Dead backed Lithuania's basketball team with tie-dyed jerseys. Šarūnas Marčiulionis lined up the sponsors.

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