Curated category
Power forwards
- LeBron JamesLeBron Raymonde James Sr. was born on the 30th of December 1984, at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, to a 16-year-old mother named Gloria Marie James.
- Dirk NowitzkiDirk Nowitzki stood in the visiting locker room in Miami in June 2011, carrying a 101-degree fever, his left middle finger held together by a surgically…
- Andrea BargnaniAndrea Bargnani began his professional basketball journey in 2002 with Stella Azzurra Roma. He played in the Italian fourth-tiered league Serie B2 during…
- Elvin HayesElvin Ernest Hayes scored 39 points and held Lew Alcindor to just 15 in front of 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome on the 20th of January, 1968.
- Karl MaloneKarl Anthony Malone grew up on a farm in Summerfield, Louisiana, the youngest of nine children raised by a single mother named Shirley.
- Pau GasolPau Gasol Sáez was born on the 6th of July, 1980, in Barcelona, at Sant Pau Hospital, where both of his parents worked. He was 11 years old when Magic…
- Tim DuncanTim Duncan was born on the 25th of April 1976, on the island of Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and he nearly never played basketball at all.
- Larry BirdLarry Bird walked into the locker room at the inaugural Three-Point Shootout during the 1986 NBA All-Star Weekend and asked who was going to finish second.
- Hedo TürkoğluHedo Türkoğlu was the first Turkish-born player in NBA history, selected 16th overall in the 2000 draft by the Sacramento Kings.
- Kevin LoveKevin Love grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he played basketball from his earliest days. As a child, he practiced bounce passes with a cardboard box and…
- Charles BarkleyCharles Wade Barkley was born on the 20th of February 1963 in Leeds, Alabama, a small town 17 miles east of Birmingham. He was the first Black baby born at…
- Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson stood at the free throw line on the 7th of November 1991 and told the world he had HIV. He was 32 years old, five-time NBA champion, and…
- Chris BoshChristopher Wesson Bosh was born on the 24th of March 1984 in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Hutchins, a suburb where his father played pick-up games at a…
- Dave CowensDave Cowens stood six feet nine inches tall, which made him one of the shortest centers in the NBA during the 1970s. In an era when rivals like Kareem…
- Pascal SiakamPascal Siakam was born on the 2nd of April 1994 in Douala, Cameroon. He grew up as the youngest of four brothers in a family where his father worked for a…
- Giannis AntetokounmpoGiannis Sina Ougko Antetokounmpo was born on the 6th of December 1994, in Athens, Greece, to Nigerian parents who had no work permits and struggled to find…
- Yi JianlianYi Jianlian was spotted playing street basketball as a child, and a single coach's decision changed the course of his life.
- Dan IsselDan Issel grew up in Batavia, Illinois, with a backyard that touched his friend Ken Anderson's backyard. Anderson went on to become an NFL quarterback and…
- Dolph SchayesAdolph Schayes arrived in the world on the 19th of May 1928, within the Bronx borough of New York City. His parents were Romanian-Jewish immigrants who…
- Phil JacksonPhil Jackson holds eleven NBA championships as a head coach, a record no other coach in league history has matched. Born on the 17th of September, 1945, in…
- Ben SimmonsBenjamin David Simmons arrived in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy on the 20th of July 1996. His mother Julie was a White Australian and his father Dave was…
- Christian LaettnerChristian Donald Laettner was born on the 17th of August 1969 in Angola, New York. This small town sits near Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
- Andrei KirilenkoAndrei Kirilenko was born in the Soviet city of Izhevsk on the 18th of February 1981. The same place that manufactured the AK-47 rifle would later give him…
- Detlef SchrempfDetlef Schrempf was born on the 21st of January 1963 in Leverkusen, West Germany. He began his basketball journey with youth teams at Bayer Leverkusen before…
- Kosta KoufosKosta Koufos was born on the 24th of February 1989, the son of Greek immigrants in Canton, Ohio. His full name, Konstantine Demetrios Koufos, carried the…