A3 BASKETBALL PLAYERS

  Yao Ming ( Chinese : 姚明 ; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA , at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). [1] He is the only player from outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star votes. [2] Yao, who was born in Shanghai , started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in t...

  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...

  Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Seattle , Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington [1] in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft . The 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) point guard played in the NBA for the New York Knicks , Boston Celtics , [2] Oklahoma City Thunder , Golden State Warriors , Chicago Bulls , [3] Denver Nuggets , Los Angeles Clippers , and New Orleans Pelicans . Robinson became the NBA's first three-time slam dunk champion in 2010. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Robinson

  Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics . He was most recently an analyst on ESPN 's basketball programs The Jump and NBA Countdown . Pierce was a high school McDonald's All-American and earned consensus first-team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas . After being chosen by the Boston Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft , Pierce spent the first 15 years of his career with Boston. Pierce's nickname, "the Truth" , was given to him by Shaquille O'Neal in March 2001. He starred as captain of the Celtics, earning 10 All-Star selections and becoming a four-time All-NBA team member. Pierce combined with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in 2007 to form a "Big Three" that led Boston to two NBA Finals and an NBA championship in 2008 . Pierce was named NBA Fi...

  John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard . Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. [1] Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four colleges in his native Oklahoma, including Oklahoma State University , he gained fame while playing for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association in the 1990s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Starks

  Michael Anthony Jerome  " Spud "  Webb  (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional  basketball  player. Webb, who played in the  National Basketball Association  (NBA), is known for winning a  Slam Dunk Contest  despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history, being listed at 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) tall. [1]  He is currently the president of basketball operations for the  Texas Legends , the  NBA G League  team for the  Dallas Mavericks  in  Frisco, Texas . [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spud_Webb

  Julius Winfield Erving II   (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname   Dr. J , is an American former professional   basketball   player. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential basketball players of all time and the greatest ABA player of all time, [1] [2] [3]   Erving helped legitimize the   American Basketball Association   (ABA) [4]   and was the best-known player in that league when it   merged   into the   National Basketball Association   (NBA) after the 1975–76 season. Erving won three championships, four  Most Valuable Player  Awards, and three scoring titles with the ABA's  Virginia Squires  and  New York Nets  (now the NBA's Brooklyn Nets) and the NBA's  Philadelphia 76ers . During his 16 seasons as a player none of his teams ever missed the postseason. He is the eighth-highest scorer in ABA/NBA history with 30,026 points (NBA and ABA combined). He...

  Artis Gilmore   (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional   basketball   player who played in the   American Basketball Association   (ABA) and   National Basketball Association   (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the   Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame   on August 12, 2011. A star  center  during his two collegiate years at  Jacksonville University , Gilmore led the Dolphins to the  NCAA Division I  championship game in 1970, where his team was beaten 80–69 by the  UCLA  Bruins. Gilmore remains the top player in rebounds per game in the history of NCAA Division I basketball. Gilmore followed five All-Star seasons with the  Kentucky Colonels  of the ABA by becoming the first overall pick in the  1976 ABA Dispersal draft , which dispersed the players in the ABA clubs, such as the Colonels, that did not join the NBA. During his career, Gilmore was an 11-time All-...

  Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon   ( / ə ˈ l aɪ ʒ u ɒ n / ; [1]   Yoruba:  [olaɟuwɔ̃] ; born January 21, 1963), is a   Nigerian-American   former professional   basketball   player. He was nicknamed " the Dream " during his basketball career after he dunked so effortlessly that his college coach said it "looked like a dream." [2]   From 1984 to 2002, he played the   center   position in the   National Basketball Association   (NBA) for the   Houston Rockets   and the   Toronto Raptors . He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. In 2008, he was inducted into the   Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , and in 2016, he was inducted into the   FIBA Hall of Fame . Born in  Lagos, Nigeria , Olajuwon traveled from his home country to play for the  University of Houston  under head coach  Guy Lewis . His college career for the  Cougars  included three...

  Patrick Aloysius Ewing   (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American   basketball   coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the   Georgetown University men's team . [1]   He played most of his career as the starting   center   for the   New York Knicks   of the   National Basketball Association   (NBA) before ending his playing career with brief stints with the   Seattle SuperSonics   and   Orlando Magic . Ewing played center for Georgetown for four years—in three of which the team reached the  NCAA  Championship Game.  ESPN  in 2008 designated him the 16th-greatest college basketball player of all time. [2]  He had a seventeen-year NBA career, predominantly playing for the  New York Knicks , where he was an eleven-time all-star and named to seven All-NBA teams. The Knicks appeared in the  NBA Finals  twice (1994 and 1999) during his tenure. He won ...