Curated playlist
Shooting guards
- 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.
- Kobe BryantKobe Bryant scored 81 points against Toronto in 2006, the second-highest NBA game total ever.
- Luka DončićAt seven, Luka Dončić played basketball against boys up to ten years old.
- Jerry WestThe NBA logo is a silhouette of Jerry West, and he was never paid for it.
- Manu GinóbiliManu Ginóbili was picked 57th in the NBA draft and still reached the Hall of Fame.
- Leandro BarbosaLeandro Barbosa won a Sixth Man of the Year Award without starting most nights.
- Chuck Cooper (basketball)The Celtics owner ignored other teams and drafted Chuck Cooper anyway. He was the first African American drafted.
- Michael JordanMichael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity team as a sophomore for being too short.
- Klay ThompsonKlay Thompson scored 37 points in one quarter against the Kings in 2015, an NBA record.
- Al CerviAl Cervi lost his Rochester job over a $3,500 raise request. He then coached Syracuse to a title.
- R. KellyBeneath the Chicago "L" tracks, at the Jackson stop on the Red Line in the Loop, a young school dropout named Robert Kelly sang for passing commuters. Decades later, as R. Kelly, he had sold more than 75 million albums and singles…
- George GervinGeorge Gervin won a 1978 NBA scoring title by seven-hundredths of a point. He scored 63 to edge David Thompson.
- Chauncey BillupsChauncey Billups went from a draft bust to NBA Finals MVP. The Pistons guard led a 2004 upset of the Lakers.
- Terry RozierTerry Rozier's first NBA start was a triple-double. He had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
- Ossie SchectmanOssie Schectman scored the first basket in what became the NBA. He did it for the Knicks in Toronto on November 1, 1946.
- Dražen PetrovićDražen Petrović scored 112 points in one professional basketball game in 1985. He made all 22 of his free throws.
- Pete MaravichPete Maravich played 658 NBA games with no left coronary artery. An autopsy found it missing from birth.
- Damon JonesDamon Jones hit an overtime shot in 2006 that won Cleveland a playoff series.
- Šarūnas MarčiulionisThe Grateful Dead backed Lithuania's basketball team with tie-dyed jerseys. Šarūnas Marčiulionis lined up the sponsors.