Categories: 1948 births | Living people | People from New York City | African American basketball players | UTEP Miners basketball players | Cincinnati Royals players | Kansas City Kings players | New York Nets players | Boston Celtics players | Milwaukee Bucks players | Basketball Hall of Fame “NBA” redirects here. ... The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History (also referred to as the NBAs 50th Anniversary All-Time Team) were chosen in 1996 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... For the football player, see Abdul-Karim al-Jabbar. ... Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed Pitchin Paul, was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. ... Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. ... Richard (Rick) Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944, in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American former professional basketball player. ... Elgin Gay Baylor (born September 16, 1934 in Washington, D.C.) is an American former basketball forward. ... David Bing (born November 24, 1943 in Washington, D.C.) is a former All-Star player in the National Basketball Association, primarily for the Detroit Pistons from 1966 to 1975. ... Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is a retired American NBA basketball player, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, and one of the best clutch performers in the history of sports. ... Wilton Norman Wilt Chamberlain (August 21, 1936–October 12, 1999), nicknamed Wilt the Stilt and The Big Dipper, was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; and also played for the Harlem Globetrotters. ... Robert Joseph Cousy (born August 9, 1928 in New York City, is an American former professional basketball player, who played point guard with the NBAs Boston Celtics from 1951 to 1963 and (briefly) with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-1970 season, being recognized as one of the greatest... Dave Cowens David William Cowens (born October 25, 1948 in Newport, Kentucky) is a former professional basketball player and NBA Head Coach. ... William John Billy Cunningham (born June 3, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former pro basketball player, who was nicknamed the Kangaroo Kid, and coach. ... David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 - May 14, 2003) was a professional basketball player born in Detroit, Michigan. ... Clyde Austin Drexler (born June 22, 1962 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is a former National Basketball Association shooting guard. ... Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950 in Roosevelt, New York), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a former American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim. ... Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-born American former professional basketball player. ... Walter Clyde Frazier (born March 29, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a retired American basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... George Gervin (born April 27, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is a former professional basketball player, a shooting guard for the American Basketball Associations (ABA) Virginia Squires and San Antonio Spurs and the National Basketball Associations (NBA) San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls. ... Harold Everett Greer (born June 26, 1936 in Huntington, West Virginia) is a former pro basketball player. ... John J. Havlicek (born April 8, 1940 in Martins Ferry, Ohio) is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons. ... Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945 in Rayville, Louisiana) is considered as one of the all-time great collegiate and professional basketball players. ... “Earvin Johnson” redirects here. ... Samuel Sam Jones (born June 24, 1933 in Wilmington, North Carolina) is a former professional basketball player. ... For other persons named Michael Jordan, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). ... Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) was a legendary basketball star from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a world-renowned memory education expert. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Moses Eugene Malone (born March 23, 1955 in Petersburg, Virginia) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player who also played in the American Basketball Association (ABA), as well as on the NBAs Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Washington Bullets. ... Peter Press Maravich (June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988) was a Serb-American basketball player known for his dazzling ballhandling, incredible shooting abilities, and creative passing. ... Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who starred for thirteen seasons in the NBA for the Boston Celtics. ... George Lawrence Mikan, Jr. ... Earl Vernon Monroe (born on November 21, 1944, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), was an American professional basketball player known for his flamboyant dribbling, passing and play-making. ... Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (born Akeem Abdul Olajuwon on January 21, 1963) is a retired Nigerian-American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Shaquille Rashaun ONeal (pronounced shak-KEEL) (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a retired American basketball center. ... Bob Pettit (with the ball) as a player of the St. ... Scottie Maurice Pippen (born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas) is a former American professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is most remembered for leading the Chicago Bulls together with Michael Jordan to six championships and being one of the best all-around players... Willis Reed Jr. ... Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee), nicknamed The Big O, is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks. ... David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965)) is a retired American NBA basketball player, who is often considered one of the greatest centers to ever play the game. ... William Felton Bill Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, the 6 ft 9 in Russell was the... Adolph Schayes (known as Dolph Schayes) (born May 19, 1928 in New York, New York) was a professional basketball player and coach in the NBA. He played his college basketball at New York University 1944-48. ... William Walton Bill Sharman (born May 25, 1926 in Abilene, Texas) is a former professional basketball player and coach. ... This article is about the professional basketball player. ... For the boxer, see Isiah Thomas (boxer). ... Nathaniel Nate Thurmond (born July 25, 1941, in Akron, Ohio) is rated by many one of the best defensive centers ever to play pro basketball, feared and praised by legends including Bob Pettit, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain. ... Westley Sissel Wes Unseld (born March 14, 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American former basketball player and coach in the NBA. Unseld is a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans. ... William Theodore Walton III, better known as Bill Walton (born November 5, 1952), is a former American basketball player and current television sportscaster. ... Jerry Alan West (born May 28, 1938, in Chelyan, West Virginia) is a retired American basketball player who played his entire professional career for the NBAs Los Angeles Lakers. ... Lenny Wilkens with the Portland Trail Blazers Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, USA) is a former National Basketball Association player, as well as the NBAs career leader in coaching wins and losses. ... James Ager Worthy (b. ... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the state. ...