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Curated playlist

FIBA Hall of Fame inductees

  • Pau GasolPau Gasol first wanted to be a doctor and cure AIDS. Magic Johnson's 1991 announcement changed the boy's plans.
  • Hakeem OlajuwonHakeem Olajuwon did not touch a basketball until he was 15. The Nigerian goalkeeper later won an NBA title.
  • Bill RussellBill Russell won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. No team has matched that record since.
  • Chuck DalyChuck Daly was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame twice. The second came after his death, for the Dream Team.
  • Michael JordanMichael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore for being too short.
  • Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal twice broke steel backboard supports with his dunks. The NBA then redesigned its equipment.
  • David SternDavid Stern began shipping VHS tapes of NBA games to Chinese state television in 1987.
  • Steve NashIn grade eight, Steve Nash told his mother he would become an NBA star.
  • 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.
  • Yao MingYao Ming scored the first basket of China's home Olympics in 2008, a three-pointer.
  • Andrew BogutAndrew Bogut was cut from a junior state team at fifteen. He became the first Australian picked first in the NBA draft.
  • Dražen PetrovićDražen Petrović scored 112 points in one professional basketball game in 1985. He made all 22 of his free throws.
  • 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball teamThe 1992 Dream Team lost a scrimmage before the Olympics. Its coach reportedly threw the game to remind the stars.
  • Detlef SchrempfDetlef Schrempf won the NBA Sixth Man Award twice as the league's best reserve.
  • Peja StojakovićPeja Stojaković once scored his team's first 20 points before a teammate touched the ball. It was an NBA first.
  • 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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