Curated playlist
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
- 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.
- 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.
- Bill RussellBill Russell won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. No team has matched that record since.
- 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.
- 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.
- Dan IsselDan Issel did not start on his high school basketball team until junior year.
- Dolph SchayesDolph Schayes played almost a full season with his right arm in a cast. He learned to shoot left-handed instead.
- 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.
- Christian LaettnerChristian Laettner topped an ESPN fan poll as college basketball's most hated player.