Curated playlist
NBA broadcasters
- Jerry WestThe NBA logo is a silhouette of Jerry West, and he was never paid for it.
- Isiah ThomasIsiah Thomas scored 25 points in one Finals quarter on a badly sprained ankle. It was a 1988 NBA Finals record.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Wilt ChamberlainNo camera filmed Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in one game. Only a radio broadcast of the fourth quarter survived.
- Bob CousyBob Cousy broke his right hand falling out of a tree, and it helped make him ambidextrous.
- Dan IsselDan Issel did not start on his high school basketball team until junior year.
- Rick BarryRick Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring in a season each.
- Jay TrianoJay Triano scored 2,616 career points at Simon Fraser University, the most in the program's history.
- Julius ErvingA judge ordered Julius Erving back to the Virginia Squires after he had signed with Atlanta.
- Pete MaravichPete Maravich played 658 NBA games with no left coronary artery. An autopsy found it missing from birth.
- Red AuerbachBoston restaurants once banned cigar smoking for everyone except Red Auerbach.