Curated playlist
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- 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.
- Clyde DrexlerClyde Drexler couldn't make his high school basketball team as a sophomore. He later reached the Hall of Fame twice.
- Dirk NowitzkiDirk Nowitzki hit a winning Finals basket while carrying a 101-degree fever.
- 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.
- Pau GasolPau Gasol first wanted to be a doctor and cure AIDS. Magic Johnson's 1991 announcement changed the boy's plans.
- Tim DuncanTim Duncan was a swimmer until a hurricane destroyed his island's only Olympic-sized pool.
- Manu GinóbiliManu Ginóbili was picked 57th in the NBA draft and still reached the Hall of Fame.
- Larry BirdLarry Bird asked who would finish second at the first Three-Point Shootout, then won it.
- 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.
- J. Walter KennedyHow did a man with childhood polio, who never played sports, come to lead the NBA? That was J. Walter Kennedy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Dave CowensDave Cowens won 1973 NBA MVP at six feet nine, short for a center. He beat out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the award.
- Wilt ChamberlainNo camera filmed Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game. Only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter survived.
- David SternDavid Stern began shipping VHS tapes of NBA games to Chinese state television in 1987.
- 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.
- 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.
- Harlem GlobetrottersThe Harlem Globetrotters are not from Harlem and never have been. A young promoter chose the name for its symbolism.
- Steve NashIn grade eight, Steve Nash told his mother he would become an NBA star.
- 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.
- Maurice PodoloffMaurice Podoloff suspended 32 players for life over a point-shaving scandal. He was the NBA's first commissioner.
- 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.
- Arvydas SabonisArvydas Sabonis was drafted by Portland in 1986 but did not play in the NBA until 1995. He was 30 by then.
- George MikanThe NBA widened its foul lane to slow down one player, George Mikan. The rule was formally dubbed "The Mikan Rule."
- Phil JacksonPhil Jackson convinced Michael Jordan to trust his teammates. In 1991 the Bulls swept the Pistons and won the title.
- Rick BarryRick Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring in a season each.
- Yao MingYao Ming scored the first basket of China's home Olympics in 2008, a three-pointer.
- Artis GilmoreArtis Gilmore played 670 straight pro basketball games without missing one. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2011.
- Becky HammonBecky Hammon went to Spurs practices on a knee injury and left as a coach.
- Earl StromNBA referee Earl Strom once ejected a team mascot, believed to be a first. Benny the Bull charged the court in 1974.
- Dražen PetrovićDražen Petrović scored 112 points in one professional basketball game in 1985. He made all 22 of his free throws.