A3 BASKETBALL PLAYERS

  William J. Laimbeer Jr. (born May 19, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). [1] In his National Basketball Association (NBA) career, Laimbeer was known for his 11-year tenure with the Detroit Pistons during their "Bad Boys" era. Although a solid shooter and rebounder, Laimbeer became notorious for his physical play and reputation for delivering hard, often flagrant fouls. Laimbeer played at center with Hall of Fame backcourt guards Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars and forward Dennis Rodman , winning back to back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990 with the Pistons, and being named an NBA All-Star four times. Prior to the NBA, he played for the University of Notre Dame and Palos Verdes High School in Southern California.

  Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. [3] [4] (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen , is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls . Pippen, along with Michael Jordan , played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and in popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s. [5] Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team eight consecutive times and the All-NBA First Team three times. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star and was the NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1994. He was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History during the 1996–97 season, and is one of four players to have his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls (the others being Jerry Sloan , Bob Love , and Jordan). He played a main role on both the 1992 Chicago Bulls Championship...

  Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) [2] is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed " the Worm ", [3] he is known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities. Rodman played for the Detroit Pistons , San Antonio Spurs , Chicago Bulls , Los Angeles Lakers , and Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association . Rodman played at the small forward position in his early years before becoming a power forward . He earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors seven times and won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award twice. He also led the NBA in rebounds per game for a record seven consecutive years and won five NBA championships. His biography at NBA.com states that he is "arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history". On April 1, 2011, the Pistons retired Rodman's No. 10 jersey, [4] and he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later that year. [5] Dennis Keith Rodman (born May...

  Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ , [9] is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. He is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series . He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships with the Chicago Bulls . His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." [5] He was integral in helping to popularize the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s, [10] becoming a global cultural icon in the process. [11] Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels . As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982 . Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly emerged as a league ...

  Metta Sandiford-Artest [1] (born Ronald William Artest Jr. ; November 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He was known as Ron Artest before legally changing his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and later to Metta Sandiford-Artest in May 2020. Sandiford-Artest played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm . He played for six teams in the NBA and gained a reputation as one of the league's premier defenders. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2004, when he was also named an NBA All-Star and earned All-NBA honors. He won an NBA championship in 2010 as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers . Sandiford-Artest was a participant in several controversial on-court incidents, most notably the Malice at the Palace , and is known for his sometimes eccentric and outspoken behavior. During the 2017–18 season, Sandiford-Artest was a player development coach for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League . https://en.wikipedia.o...

  Pau Gasol Sáez ( Catalan pronunciation:  [ˈpaw ɣəˈzɔl] , Spanish pronunciation:  [ˈpaw ɣaˈsol] ; born July 6, 1980) is a Spanish professional basketball player for FC Barcelona of Liga ACB . He is a six-time NBA All-Star and a four-time All-NBA team selection, twice on the second team and twice on the third team. Gasol has won two NBA championships , both with the Los Angeles Lakers back-to-back in 2009 and 2010. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 with the Memphis Grizzlies , being the first non-American player to have won that award. He is the older brother of fellow NBA player Marc Gasol . Gasol was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft , but his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. He holds the Grizzlies' franchise record for free throws made and attempted. [2] Following more than six seasons with Memphis, Gasol played for the Los Angeles Lakers (from 2008 to 2014), the Chicago B...