Curated playlist
Small forwards
- Kevin DurantKevin Durant wore number 35 to honor his murdered youth coach. Charles Craig was 35 when he died.
- LeBron JamesLeBron James led Cleveland back from a 3-1 Finals deficit, a first in NBA history. It ended a 52-year title wait.
- Clyde DrexlerClyde Drexler couldn't make his high school basketball team as a sophomore. He later reached the Hall of Fame twice.
- Luka DončićAt seven, Luka Dončić played basketball against boys up to ten years old.
- Larry BirdLarry Bird asked who would finish second at the first Three-Point Shootout, then won it.
- Kawhi LeonardKawhi Leonard's Game 7 shot bounced off the rim four times before it fell.
- Hedo TürkoğluHedo Türkoğlu's surname means "Son of a Turk." His Bosniak parents changed it from Ramićević after moving to Turkey.
- Chuck Cooper (basketball)The Celtics owner ignored other teams and drafted Chuck Cooper anyway. He was the first African American drafted.
- 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.
- Andrew WigginsAndrew Wiggins shattered a glass backboard at age 14. He later went first in the 2014 NBA draft.
- Luol DengAt 13, Luol Deng averaged 40 points a game against players up to five years older. He had already fled a civil war.
- Giannis AntetokounmpoGiannis Antetokounmpo could not leave Greece for his first 18 years. He had no papers from Greece or Nigeria.
- 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.
- Toni KukočToni Kukoč waited three years after the Bulls drafted him to play an NBA game. He then won three titles in Chicago.
- Rick BarryRick Barry is the only player to lead the NCAA, ABA and NBA in scoring in a season each.
- Ossie SchectmanOssie Schectman scored the first basket in what became the NBA. He did it for the Knicks in Toronto on November 1, 1946.
- Julius ErvingA judge ordered Julius Erving back to the Virginia Squires after he had signed with Atlanta.
- Andrei KirilenkoAndrei Kirilenko's nickname, AK-47, came from the city where the rifle was first made. He was born there in 1981.
- Detlef SchrempfDetlef Schrempf won the NBA Sixth Man Award twice as the league's best reserve.
- Earl LloydEarl Lloyd became the first Black player in an NBA game on Halloween night, 1950. He scored six points.
- Peja StojakovićPeja Stojaković once scored his team's first 20 points before a teammate touched the ball. It was an NBA first.