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 walked into the 2006 NBA draft as the most scrutinized big man to come out of Europe in years. The 7-foot Italian power forward had drawn…
- 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's uncle is Mike Love, a co-founder of the Beach Boys. His cousins Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson were also founding members of the…
- 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 BoshChris Bosh once stood at center court in Toronto's Air Canada Centre as fans broke into a chant usually reserved for the league's biggest stars: 'MVP'.
- 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 made his professional debut in a Toronto Raptors uniform before he had ever watched an NBA game from a seat in the crowd.
- 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 practiced so relentlessly at New York University that his coach, Howard Cann, once said, "He was in the gym practicing every spare minute.
- 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 SimmonsBen Simmons arrived at the 2016 NBA draft carrying the weight of the highest expectation the league can bestow: the first overall pick.
- Christian LaettnerChristian Laettner topped an ESPN fan poll as the most hated college basketball player in history. That vote came more than twenty years after he left Duke…
- Andrei KirilenkoAndrei Kirilenko was born on the 18th of February 1981 in Izhevsk, a Soviet industrial city whose most famous export was a rifle.
- 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…