High school: South Division High School (Milwaukee), Pros: Portland Trail Blazers (1985-95), Minnesota Timberwolves (1995-98), Miami Heat (1998-99), San Antonio Spurs (1999-2002). The Celtics had played for 10 seasons before Russell joined the team, never once reaching a championship series in that time. In the NBA, Stockton averaged a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.5 assists. His shooting proficiency made him one of the more dangerous shooters in the league, leading the league in three-point percentage (45.7) in 2010-2011. The rest of us are the ones who need to slow down. Pretty much all you can ask for from the best ever, no? As a senior, he averaged a triple-double with 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists, and made the McDonalds All-American team. After helping the Seminoles advance to the Elite Eight in the 1993 NCAA tournament where they lost to the Kentucky he was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the first round with the 24th overall pick. (Or 20. Scott led the Lakers in scoring at 21.7 points per game during the 1987-88 season, and helped them win a title that same year, one of his three NBA championships. This one was a total toss-up between two St. Louis natives in Hall of Famers Jo Jo White and Ed Macauley, whose careers and stats were remarkably similar. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page. The Best No. After coming from tiny Summerfield, Malone played college ball at Louisiana Tech before spending all but one season of his career with the Utah Jazz and finishing second in career points and minutes played in NBA history. Calvin Murphy was born and raised in Norwalk, which is in the New York City metro area. He was born in Lansing and had an outstanding high school hoops career there before staying very close to home and playing at Michigan State, a program that he led to a national championship in 1979. He signed a couple of 10-day contracts and helped the Heat in the scoring and shooting departments, and now is a solid NBA contributor on his third NBA team, averaging 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Jackson was part of the NBAs All-Rookie first team in 1968 and came off the bench to help the Knicks win a title in 1973. 3 to Sabrina Ionescu at No. Read Kareem Abdul-Jabbars Britannica essay on the New York Rens. Starting alongside Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and A.C. Green. In the NBA, Johnson was a three-time MVP who led the Lakers to five championships in the 1980s as one of the most versatile players in history. Yes, they played the kind of slow-paced ball that put most fans to sleep by the third quarter, but there was often a thing of pure beauty hidden among the tire-fire of a 7871 final score: Tim Duncans bank shot. Bryant entered the NBA directly from high school. He has had an amazing career and has many achievements. The 69 Johnson (making him the NBAs tallest point guard) not only posted the best assists-per-game mark in league history (11.2) but had a tremendous all-around game, as well. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBAs all-time leading scorer and a Basketball Hall of Famer. On the womens side, Shaftsbury native Nicole Levesque is the only Vermonter to have ever played in the WNBA. On Tuesday, he highlighted Jazz guard Talen Horton-Tucker as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. He was born in Greenville and spent most of his high school career there before finishing it in Illinois. And, frankly, its sort of fun tweaking all the Chicagoans who are surprisingly defensive about their sporting accomplishments. In the WNBA, Swoopes was the second player to win the MVP and All-Star game MVP in the same season. After getting to the NBA, he became one of the best players and best shooters in league history with the Boston Celtics and forever changed the game. Scottie Pippen wasn't always the best supporting player helping Michael Jordan capture the worlds imagination with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. But he didnt earn his place on this list though some sort of vague, ethereal winningness. Russell was one of the fiercest defenders of all time and he redefined the value of blocking shots, in addition to averaging an incredible 22.5 rebounds per game over his career. Jaycee Carroll has gone from local hero to international star in the EuroLeague and FIBA. But he began to show interest in basketball and relocated to the United States to play college ball at the University of Houston. Oh my, yes. Chris Paul starred in high school, averaging 25 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 steals in his junior year. He was traded to the Pistons, where he teamed up with Isiah Thomas, Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars to win back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990 while becoming one of the most unpopular players in NBA history as the enforcer leader of the "Bad Boys.". Holmes is climbing her way up Indianas all-time scoring list with 1,852 career points, which ranks sixth in school history, and 753 career rebounds.The Gorham, Maine native is also third all-time in blocked shots (185). SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players Lillard 1. Theres one player that always comes to mind when you think about excellence. But before he was the engine of a Celtics dynasty, he became a star center at the University of San Francisco, helping the school become a superpower in college basketball. Of all the great ones to come from the Golden State including current icons like James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook its tough to top Gary Paytons legacy. High school: Don Antonio Lugo High School (Chino, Calif.). Already have a commenting profile? When people knocked him for not winning championships early in his career, they overlooked that he almost single-handedly took an overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers squad to the 2007 NBA finals at just 22 years old. The Sycamores lost the championship game to Magic Johnson and Michigan State, but the final was the beginning of a new era in hoops. All rights reserved. B Cindy Blodgett Brett When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code. Then, he had a decorated University of Minnesota career, ranking second in school history with 1,704 points and 950 rebounds. 1 Overall NBA Draft Picks of All Time 2 Chris Webber Power forward and Center from Detroit, Michigan 391 votes Teams: Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons #30 of 142 The Best Philadelphia 76ers of All Time #2 of 49 The Greatest Michigan Basketball Here's where and how basketball stars, generational talents and legends were born. In the WNBA, she helped the Lynx win a WNBA championship in her rookie campaign in 2011 and added three more titles after that in 2013, 2015 and 2017. He played for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards and is known for his incredible scoring ability and clutch performances. High school: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Baltimore), College: San Jacinto (1989-91), Florida State (1991-93), Pros: Houston Rockets (1993-96), Phoenix Suns (1996), Dallas Mavericks (1996-97), New Jersey Nets (1997-99), Milwaukee Bucks (1999-2003), Minnesota Timberwolves (2003-05), Los Angeles Clippers (2005-08), Boston Celtics (2008-09). Only two NBA players have come from Hawaii so far and both were All-Stars at some point. The Miami Heat's all-time leading scorer has had game for a while. Don't have a commenting profile? Indeedy. Required fields are marked *. Bryant made the leap from high school to the NBA but success was not instant, and he did not become an elite guard until the 1998-99 season, when the Lakers were swept by the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. Combine that with the fact that Maine produces fewer NCAA Division I basketball players than most other states, so when a player of Flaggs caliber comes along, memory gets shorter and cloudy. Cooper Flagg may end up the best basketball player to come from Maine. High school: East Bank High School (East Bank, W.Va.). Its bad form to compare any high school athlete to a professional. DiGregorio only played six seasons in the NBA, but he left a lasting impression. His 14-season NBA career, all spent with the Lakers, included an All-Star selection every single year and 12 appearances on the All-NBA squad. Silver Spring native Victor Oladipo might have something to say about this in a few years but, for now, the title of Marylands best goes to Steve Francis. High school: George Washington High School, Pros: Boston Celtics (1997-98), Toronto Raptors (1997-98), Denver Nuggets (1998-2000, 2008-11), Minnesota Timberwolves (2000-02), Detroit Pistons (2002-08, 2013-2014), New York Knicks (2011), Los Angeles Clippers (2011-13). Billups was an All-State first-team pick four times in high school and was the Colorado Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. In 1991, Jordan won his first NBA championship with the Bulls and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a three-peat. He went across the country to UCLA for college ball, where he was the best player on the 1964 national championship team that went 30-0. has been obsessively watching sports for nearly three decades and arguing about them with friends for nearly as long. Mario Chalmers always has been a winner. The commonwealth of Kentucky has given the NBA some truly great players, with Dave Cowens at the forefront. At UMass, Camby won the Naismith College Player of the Year award and the John R. Wooden award in the 1995-96 season. He was born in Las Vegas but played high school and college hoops in Iowa before being drafted by the Hornets in the first round in 1998. While Kareem put up a whopping 38,387 points during his playing days, I cant look past the fact that he spent a good chunk of his career receiving passes from Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, the two greatest point guards of all time. The Hall of Famer was born in Hamburg, Arkansas, which has a population of about 2,600, before becoming one of the central figures in the greatest dynasty in NBA history. Basketball is one of the most popular games across the world. Griffin was the first overall pick in the 2009 draft and, after sitting out his first season with an injury, made an impact right away with the Los Angeles Clippers, being named rookie of the year in 2011. He transferred to Farragut Academy in Chicago for his senior season, led his team to a 28-2 record and was so good he was named National Player of the Year again after averaging 25.2 points, 17.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1974 and NBA All-Rookie First Team that same year. Pros: Orlando Magic (2000-03), Memphis Grizzlies (2003-08, 2013-14), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Washington Wizards (2009-10), Miami Heat (2010-13), Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-15), Denver Nuggets (2015-17). At LSU he was a star, becoming the SEC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. High school: Harold L. Richards High School, Pros: Miami Heat (2003-16, 2018-present), Chicago Bulls (2016-17), Cleveland Cavaliers (2017-18). Before Tyler Johnson developed his all-around game at Fresno State, averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals. In one season of high school ball, hes well on his way. His 13-year-old daughter Gianna also passed away in the crash. Later that year, Elliott was drafted third overall by the San Antonio Spurs, the team hed win a championship with in 1999. But ONeal wasnt just pure physicalityhe was surprisingly graceful for such a massive man and he had a deft touch with his close-range jump shots. Kevin McHale became a legend early. At the opposite end of the attractive play spectrum from Duncan is Shaquille ONeal. Hes averaged better than 13 points per game over the past two seasons and was a key starter during the Heats trip to the NBA Finals in 2020. There's one state that has never produced an NBA player. He was a four-time All-Star and two-time champion and he missed just nine games from 1980-1993, which is remarkable when you consider how many guys he hammered to the floor during his career. LeBron James overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBAs leading scorer in February 2023.]. In the WNBA, Delle Donne has become a productive star, helping the Washington Mystics advance to their first-ever WNBA Finals in 2018. Then, he went pro, becoming a key component to the Lakers' "Showtime" championships. Three-time All-America at Maine; led NL in ERA (2.08) with Giants in 1992, won 21 games in '93. The late big man was born in Petersburg and was one of the first truly great NBA stars to come to the pros straight out of high school. Cindy Blodgett starred at Lawrence High School, leading the school to an 84-4 record in the four years she was there. As a sophomore, Miller led the Florida Gators to the 2000 NCAA championship game, only to lose to Michigan State. Before Charles Barkley became "The Round Mound of Rebound," he was a stocky, 5-foot-10, 220-pound high schooler who failed to make his varsity squad as a junior. His best year was in 1973, as he averaged 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds per game, helping lead the Celtics to a league-best 68-14 record. Kobe is an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and also a 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. We gave the nod to White because of his multiple rings and his starring role on some stacked Celtics teams in the 1970s. Fantasy Basketball. Then, Robertson starred at Cincinnati, leading the Bearcats to two NCAA Final Four appearances and a 79-9 record when he was there. At Wake Forest, she was a two-time All-ACC Second-Team selection, the school leader in minutes, free throws made and free-throw percentage, while being second all-time in assists. Admittedly, Chamberlain played at a time when post players were significantly smaller and basketball wasnt drawing the types of athletic marvels we see today, but the man was so incredibly dominant that he deserves a spot in the top five regardless of context. Hes led the league four times in assists and six times in steals, making him undoubtedly one of the best pure point guards to ever play the position. He was born in the city of Ogden, Utah and stayed in his home state to play hoops at the University of Utah, where he was a first-team All-WAC selection. 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