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Aaand done. Now to just figure out and finalize the split.
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* '''Gilbert Arenas''' was the Washington Wizards' main star during their run of success in the mid 2000s. Originally a second round pick by the Warriors in 1999 out of Arizona, Arenas quickly gained the nickname "Agent Zero" for his jersey number (which was chosen to reflect the number of minutes his critics thought he would play) and his clutch performances. He won Most Improved Player in his second year, after which his low draft position allowed him to leave the Warriors for a more lucrative contract in Washington. Arenas racked up three All-Star nods with the Wizards and put up some excellent performances, including a 60-point game (he and Tom Chambers are the only Hall of Fame-elligible players with that accomplishment not enshrined in Springfield). However, Gibby's career was soon derailed, first by injuries and then by a lengthy suspension for firearm violations; he left the Wizards in 2010 after being traded to Orlandothen spent some time with the Grizzlies and in the CBA before retiring in 2013. He was featured on the cover of ''NBA Live 08''.
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* '''Don Barksdale''' was a trailblazer for African-American players in multiple levels of basketball, becoming [[JackieRobinsonStory the first Black NCAA All-American, Olympic team member, and NBA All-Star]]. A forward who gained national attention while playing at UCLA, he campaigned hard to be part of the gold-medal 1948 Olympic team, then moved back home to Oakland to play amateur ball and work as a popular disc jockey, TV host, and beer distributor. Barksdale became the Baltimore Bullets' (not the same team that's part of the Wizards' lineage, but close enough) first Black player and a 28-year-old NBA rookie in 1951, the year after the NBA integrated, and was named an All-Star in his second season; he was then traded to the Celtics, and his career was cut short by ankle injuries two years later. He died of cancer in 1993 and was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2012.
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* '''Bradley Beal''' was the second-in-command to John Wall with the Washington Wizards after being drafted #3 overall in 2012 out of Florida. After Wall ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Russell Westbrook]]) left Washington, he became their scoring general and a regular All-Star while setting the Wizards franchise record for 3-pointers. After many years of the Wizards languishing in mediocrity, Beal was traded to the Suns in 2023.
* '''Walt Bellamy''' was the #1 overall pick in 1961 out of Indiana and made an immediate impact in the NBA after being selected by the expansion franchise Chicago Packers. An Olympic gold-winner in 1960, Bellamy had one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history, averaging 31.6 points per game (still second only to Chamberlain). The Rookie of the Year continued to play well as the Packers became the Zephyrs, then when they became the Baltimore Bullets, but the team itself struggled. He was traded to the Knicks in the 1965-66 season and bounced around the league for another decade before retiring in 1974. He passed away in 2013.
* '''Walt Bellamy''' was the #1 overall pick in 1961 out of Indiana and made an immediate impact in the NBA after being selected by the expansion franchise Chicago Packers. An Olympic gold-winner in 1960, Bellamy had one of the best rookie seasons in NBA history, averaging 31.6 points per game (still second only to Chamberlain). The Rookie of the Year continued to play well as the Packers became the Zephyrs, then when they became the Baltimore Bullets, but the team itself struggled. He was traded to the Knicks in the 1965-66 season and bounced around the league for another decade before retiring in 1974. He passed away in 2013.
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* '''Manute Bol''' was the tallest player in NBA history (later tied by Gheorghe Mureșan) and a beloved EnsembleDarkhorse in basketball lore. Standing at '''7'7"''', Bol was a member of the Dinka ethnic group in modern-day UsefulNotes/SouthSudan and came to the U.S. in the early '80s after an American coach saw him on a trip and figured he'd be really good at basketball. He immediately attracted NBA attention, but questions around his legal status led to Bol getting drafted by the Clippers, having the draft pick rescinded, leaving D-I Cleveland State to play at D-II Bridgeport, and being drafted by the Washington Bullets in the second round in 1985. While he generally struggled with many aspects of pro play due to his unique physiology (including a clawed right hand), his record-setting height, arm span, and hand size meant he immediately excelled at blocking shots, leading the league in the category in his rookie season (397, the second most ever in a single year). Fans flocked to games just to witness the giant man play (especially when he was briefly paired with Muggsy Bogues, the ''shortest'' NBA player ever), and his benevolent nature and sense of humor made him a fan favorite. Bol was traded to the Warriors in '88, where he again led the league in blocks, and bounced around the NBA afterwards (including returning to Washington in '93 to help train Mureșan). Bol was done with basketball after 1995 but remained a prominent figure due to his political activism around the civil war and human rights abuses in UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}}; Bol gave away almost all of his basketball earnings to support refugees and aid efforts, which wound up financially ruining him when he was severely injured in a 2004 car accident. Despite his health problems, he continued traveling to Sudan until he contracted Stevens–Johnson syndrome and died in 2010 at the age of 47 (though many suspect he was several years older what was listed in his official documentation). Bol sits behind only Mark Eaton in blocks per game and is the only NBA player [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative to have posted more blocks than points]]. His legacy lives on in part through his many children, including his son '''Bol Bol''', an active NBA player currently with the Suns.
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* '''Kwame Brown''' was selected #1 overall out of high school by the Washington Wizards in 2001 (their first year with UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan as team president). Despite putting together a 12-year journeyman career, he is frequently cited as one of the biggest busts in NBA history. Freakishly athletic for his listed size (6'11", 290 lbs), his lack of maturity both on and off the court (including a DUI arrest in 2003 and a public clash with teammate Gilbert Arenas) created significant friction with the team, leading to Brown being specifically cited as one of the reasons the NBA changed the rules for draft eligibility a few years later. Even Jordan coming out of retirement to mentor Brown on the court did not significantly improve his lagging play. After four underachieving seasons in Washington, he was traded in '05 to the Lakers, who were still trying to replace Shaq. Brown played well enough in injury relief to be named the starting center in '06 but suffered a series of injuries and another arrest (disorderly conduct, DUI, driving with a suspended license) that brought his LA tenure to an end. He bounced around to five teams over the next six seasons (including the Jordan-owned Bobcats, in what many saw as a last-ditch effort by Jordan to justify his first pick, the other being the Grizzlies, 76ers, and Pistons), never reaching the potential that made him a #1 pick.
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* '''Elvin Hayes''', a Hall of Fame power forward was drafted #1 overall by the San Diego Rockets after a legendary college career at Houston. In his first season, "The Big E" led the NBA in scoring, the last rookie to do so. He stayed with the Rockets through their move back to his college town in Houston until being traded to the Baltimore Bullets in 1972, where he and Wes Unseld became one of the most feared frontcourt combos of their day. An excellent scorer, especially famous for his turnaround jumper, and roughly equal to Unseld as a rebounder (he led the NBA in '70 and '74), he was critical to the Bullets' '78 championship. He made a total of 12 All-Star teams, eight with the Bullets, before being traded back to the Rockets in '81, where he finished his career three years later as [[MadeOfIron the NBA's all-time leader in minutes and games played]] (since passed). The Rockets retired his #44 and the Wizards his #11; he remains the Wizards' all-time leading scorer and blocker.
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* '''Gus Johnson''' (not to be confused with the famous broadcaster) was a Hall of Fame forward who spent most of his career with the Baltimore Bullets. He started his NBA career fairly late at age 25, having struggled to obtain a college scholarship before landing at Boise Junior College (now Boise State) and transferring to Idaho. A second round pick (#8 overall) in 1963, he earned the nickname "Honeycomb" for the "sweetness" of his play, earning five All-Star nods and helping to lead the Bullets to a Finals appearance in 1971. He was traded to the Suns the following year and waived soon after, but he managed to land a spot on the Pacers that season and win a championship in the ABA before retiring. Sadly, Johnson died of brain cancer at just 48 years old; the Bullets retired his #25 shortly before his passing.
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* '''God Shammgod''' was a second-round selection for the Washington Wizards in 1997 out of Providence and played just one season for them before going overseas for his basketball career, and is currently a player development coach for the Dallas Mavericks. Despite this, he has become a street and college ball legend in his own right, due to his eponymous crossover dribble. Current point guards in the NBA and international basketball have since adopted his moves to the pro game with much success.
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* '''Wes Unseld''', a Hall of Fame center who spent his entire NBA career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, arrived in the league in 1968 out of his hometown school of Louisville after being drafted #2 overall. He made an immediate impact, bringing the Bullets from last place to first in their division and becoming the only player after Wilt Chamberlain to be named league MVP in their rookie year. At 6'7", Unseld was short for his position even in his era, but he made up for it with brute strength and determination. The five-time All-Star was especially noted for his rebounding skills (leading the NBA in '75), outlet passes, and picks, and he still holds the franchise records for games, minutes, and rebounds. He helped lead the Bullets to three NBA Finals in the second half of the '70s, including a championship in 1978 in which he won Finals MVP. After his retirement from play in 1981, Unseld moved straight to the Wizards front office, even serving as head coach from 1988-94 and GM from 1996-2004. Unseld's #41 is retired by the franchise, and he passed away in 2020; his son Wes Jr. began a brief tenure as the Wizards' head coach the following year.
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* '''John Wall''' is a point guard who made his name with the Washington Wizards in the 2010s. A massive college star at Kentucky, he was drafted to Washington #1 overall in 2010 and quickly gained national recognition. He finished 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting behind unanimous selection Blake Griffin. The Wizards finished near the bottom of the standings in Wall's first three years in the league, but fans' worries that he would bolt to another team were eased when he signed a five-year "max" deal with the Wizards in the 2013 offseason. After setting franchise records for career assists and steals, he signed a four-year, $170 million supermax extension in 2017 that took effect in '19. Unfortunately, he became a poster child for the risk teams take in giving a supermax deal--Wall tore an Achilles late in the 2018–19 season in a fall at his home and missed the entire 2019–20 season. In 2020, the Wizards dealt him along with a first-round pick to the Rockets for Russell Westbrook, but despite showing some signs of improvement, he sat out his second season in Houston to force a trade to the Clippers but only lasted a year there.
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Finished the Jazz. Just the Wizards left.
* '''Adrian Dantley''' was a Hall of Fame small forward who saw the peak of his career with the Utah Jazz, though he didn't start his career there. Drafted #6 overall in 1976 by the Buffalo Braves shortly after helping the amateur U.S. national team win gold, the Notre Dame product broke out as Rookie of the Year, only to be immediately traded. Dantley played well in short stints with the Pacers and Lakers, but he truly began to shine once landing with the Jazz in 1979, their first year in Utah. Dantley earned six All-Star nods with the Jazz, led the NBA in scoring in '81 and '84, and won Comeback Player of the Year in the latter season after leading the young franchise on their first playoff run. Part of his exceptional scoring ability came from his unique talent for drawing fouls, often leading the league in free throws (at which he was exceptional). Contract disputes led Dantley to leave Utah in 1986 for Detroit. Dantley was part of the "Bad Boy" Pistons teams of the late '80s, but was traded during their championship 1988-89 season and he retired in 1991 after less spectacular stints with other teams. He later became an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets from 2003-11, briefly becoming their interim HC while George Karl battled cancer.
* '''Mark Eaton''' was one of the most dominant defenders in NBA history and played his whole career with the Utah Jazz. After barely seeing the court in his time at junior college Cypress and UCLA, the 7'4" center was taken in the fourth round in 1982 by the bottom-feeder Jazz as a developmental prospect. No one, not even the team that drafted him, expected Eaton to emerge as one of the best blockers the game has ever seen. While he wasn't offensively prolific, he protected the rim like few others have before or since. He led the league in blocks four times and won Defensive Player of the Year twice, the first in '85 after setting a still standing single-season record for blocks per game (5.6) and the second in '89 after earning his only All-Star nod. When the five-time All-Defensive teamer retired in '93 due to injuries, he was second behind only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in career blocks; he remains in the top five in that category (top among Jazz players) and still holds the career record for blocks per game (3.5). Eaton's #53 was retired by the Jazz, though his relatively short career and fairly poor non-defensive stats have kept him out of the Hall of Fame. He died in a bicycle accident in 2021.
* '''Rudy Gobert''', a 7'1" center out of France, has become one of the league's most dominant defenders, especially at the rim (earning him the FanNickname [[PunnyName "Stifle Tower"]]). Noted for his ridiculous length, even for his size--when he was measured for the 2013 NBA draft combine, his wingspan of 7-8.5 (2.35 m) and standing reach of 9-7 (2.92 m)[[note]]to put it in perspective, that's a mere five inches below the top of the rim[[/note]] were then all-time records. The Utah Jazz picked him at #27, which was lower than he thought he would go--he wears #27 to remind him of the "snub". Gobert truly emerged in the 2016–17 season, leading the league in blocks, and was named Defensive Player of the Year the next two seasons and a third time in 2021. However, he may wind up more remembered as the first NBA player to test positive for the COVID-19 virus that soon [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic swept the world]]. Gobert's diagnosis caused the league to suspend its 2019-20 season immediately in March 2020 and required the teams he played against that week to quarantine themselves.[[note]]Shortly before his positive test, he mocked coronavirus concerns by deliberately touching all reporters' microphones and recording devices after a home game... while apparently unknowingly carrying the virus. Gobert later apologized and hoped the incident would convey the seriousness of the pandemic, which it [[https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/the-night-covid-19-broke-into-the-american-consciousness.html likely did]].[[/note]] In 2022, while coming off of leading the NBA in rebounds, the Jazz entered a dramatic rebuild and decided to trade Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves for quite the haul of four different (role) players and four unprotected first round picks.
* '''Gordon Hayward''', a 6'8" small forward, became the face of the Utah Jazz in the mid-'10s. Hayward first entered the national consciousness as a college player at [[UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}} Butler]], where he led the Bulldogs to [[DownToTheLastPlay within an eyelash]] of a national title in 2010. He declared for the Draft that spring, going to the Jazz #9 overall, and steadily improved from good to All-Star level. His decision to opt out of the last year of his contract to join the Celtics in 2017 unfortunately cut short his ascent, as he suffered a gruesome leg injury in the season opener. He missed all of that season and didn't recover completely until late in the 2019–20 season, and even then he was never the same player he was pre-injury. He moved to the Hornets after that season, where he remained until being dealt to the Thunder in a 2024 trade-deadline deal. Also JustForFun/OneOfUs, as he's a video game enthusiast, even dabbling in UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming.
* '''Jeff Hornacek''', better known by his nickname "Horny", was the complementary third piece of the Utah Jazz's '90s run, though he started his career in 1986 as a second-round pick out of Iowa State for the Phoenix Suns. Horny was one of the more accurate three-point and free throw shooters of his era and added an important dimension to the Jazz offense after his arrival in 1994 after two years with the Sixers. He retired in 2000 to spend time with his family; once they were grown, he returned to the NBA as a coach, posting generally poor results with the Suns and Knicks. The Jazz retired his #14.
* '''Joe Ingles''' is an Australian swingman who made his way to the NBA as an undrafted player after winning championships in his home country, Spain, and Israel. He played for the Utah Jazz from 2014-22 as a capable role player, setting the standing franchise record for three-pointers before moving on to stints with the Bucks and Magic. He also won Olympic bronze in 2020.
* '''Andrei Kirilenko''', one of the most versatile forwards of the early 21st century, arrived in the NBA from his homeland of Russia in 2001 after winning Russian League MVP the prior year. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, the first 10 of them for the Utah Jazz (who drafted him #24 overall in 1999). Throughout his career, he was a threat [[JackOfAllStats on both offense and defense]], led the NBA in blocks per game in '05, and thrice accomplished the rare feat of a "5x5", amassing at least five in each of the major statistical categories in a game (only Hakeem Olajuwon had more, and they're the only players with more than one). He frequently returned to play in Russia during the off-season, winning [=EuroBasket=] MVP in 2007. During the lockout season of 2011–12, he returned to Russia to play for his former club of CSKA Moscow, won MVP there too, led Russia to Olympic bronze, then came back to the States with the Timberwolves and Nets. During the 2014–15 season, he was traded to the Sixers but refused to report for the blatantly tanking team; he was first suspended and then released. He played the last months of that season in Russia with CSKA before announcing his retirement. He's also known for his love of puns--throughout his pro career, he wore the #47, inevitably leading to the nickname [[IncrediblyLamePun "AK-47"]].[[note]]Probably not coincidentally, he was born in Izhevsk, the city where the famous rifle was designed.[[/note]] Shortly after his retirement, he became head of the Russian Basketball Federation.
* '''Karl Malone''' was a Hall of Fame power forward for the Utah Jazz. [[MightyGlacier A huge but relatively slow man]] drafted #13 overall in 1985 out of Louisiana Tech, he was paired with fellow Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton, who was his perfect complement; [[ThoseTwoGuys the two played more games together than any pair in NBA history]] and elevated the franchise to its greatest run of sustained success. Stockton's passes made up for his lack of speed, enabling Malone to focus on dominating the board, which he did like few before or since. Malone became a two-time MVP ('97, '99), a 14-time All-Star, 14-time All-NBA, is third all-time in career points (36,928), and leads all NBA players in career free throws attempted and made due to opponents having little option in defending him but to foul him. Nicknamed "The Mailman" for his remarkable consistency; having averaged 25 points and 10.1 rebounds in his 19 seasons, he virtually never had a down year and holds Jazz franchise records for points, minutes, and rebounds. Not to mention that he was first-team All-NBA 11 straight seasons, a record that only [=LeBron=] has matched. The same year Stockton retired, Malone went to the Lakers to try winning a title, [[AntiClimax only to lose in the finals to the Pistons]], meaning he too [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut never won a ring]] (though he did win two Olympic gold medals). Malone subsequently retired, and his #32 jersey was retired by the Jazz.
* '''"Pistol" Pete Maravich''' played during the '70s, mostly for the Atlanta Hawks (1970-74) and New Orleans/Utah Jazz (1974-80). After leading the nation in scoring in three straight years while at LSU, he set the record for career college scoring with 3,667 points, an absolutely absurd record considering his lower-scoring era. (It took over half a century for another collegiate player, UsefulNotes/CaitlinClark, to beat his record; he still holds the men's record.)[[note]]Note that this does ''not'' include 741 points he scored as a junior-varsity freshman ''and'' that there was no three-point line ''or'' shot clock at the time. Maravich was an exceptional outside shooter, and someone calculated that, had there been a three-point line, his scoring average would have risen from 44 to ''57'' points a game. One male player ''did'' seriously threaten the record--Antoine Davis, who ended his career at Detroit Mercy in 2023 ''three points shy'' of the record. However: (1) Davis got to play for ''FIVE'' years, thanks to the NCAA giving every player active in the COVID-disrupted 2020–21 season an extra year of eligibility. (2) Not only did he have the benefit of the three-point line, he made more threes than any other player in NCAA history (again, partially thanks to the extra year). As for Clark, she had four years and the three-point line. For his part, Maravich's oldest son considers comparisons to his father's and Clark's records to be apples and oranges.[[/note]] While not ''quite'' as prolific in the NBA, he remained an exceptional scorer, earning five All-Star nods and the scoring title in 1977, and dazzled fans with his dexterity and ball tricks. His ''teams'' never quite lived up to his skills; he didn't really fit in with the Hawks, and while the newly formed Jazz moved mountains to trade for him to help sell tickets in the Big Easy, this likely contributed to the team's very poor start that led to their move to Utah. Maravich retired in 1980 after a very brief stint with the Celtics, missing a shot at a championship by a year. Sadly, his other claim to fame was his early death from an undiagnosed heart condition at the age of 40, which happened while [[FatalMethodActing he was playing a casual game]] of basketball at a church.[[note]]One of the other players in said game was James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, the Christian ministry responsible for ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey''.[[/note]] When the 50 greatest players were selected in 1996, he was the only one who was deceased, despite being born decades later than some of the others. Both the Hawks and Jazz retired his jersey number (#44 and #7, respectively), as did the ''Pelicans'', a team he never played for but who owe a great deal to what Maravich did to popularize basketball in Louisiana.
* '''Donovan Mitchell''' is a 6'1" shooting guard who became one of the league's most explosive young players in the last part of the '10s. Picked #13 overall out of Louisville in 2017 by the Utah Jazz (via the Nuggets), he immediately emerged as a star, averaging over 20 points and finishing runner-up to Ben Simmons for Rookie of the Year. Nicknamed [[ComicBook/SpiderMan "Spida"]] due to his acrobatic playstyle, Mitchell became the first rookie since Carmelo Anthony more than a decade earlier to be the [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative scoring leader for a playoff team with a winning record]] and won the Slam Dunk Contest during that season's All-Star weekend. He increased his scoring average in each of the next two seasons, making his first All-Star appearance in 2020 and returning every season since. His playoff scoring average so far has been better than his regular-season numbers. Notably, Mitchell had two 50-point games in the Jazz's losing effort against the Nuggets in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs; Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson are the only other players who have done so in a single playoff series. However, that wasn't enough to get the Jazz over the hump, and in 2022 they traded Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a haul of picks and role players. He has continued to play well in Cleveland, posting a 71-point performance in his first year there and returning them to the playoffs for the first time since [=LeBron's=] departure.
* '''John Stockton''' was a Hall of Fame point guard who played for [[LongRunner 19 seasons]] with the Utah Jazz after they drafted him #16 overall in 1984 out of Gonzaga, the longest single-team tenure ever seen in the league before Kobe made it 20 in his final season. Short but fast, the 10-time All-Star was a playmaking genius (he remains the NBA all-time leader in career assists and led the NBA in the category in ''nine straight seasons'', including a record 14.5 assists per game in 1989-90), who could switch to perimeter shooting while also [[MadeOfIron staying tough]] (only missing 23 games in his whole career) and dominating defensively (he [[TheAce likewise remains the all-time NBA leader in career steals]] and led the league in that category twice). Stockton and Malone popularized the "pick and roll" play, which was soon copied across the league. Though he [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut never could take the Jazz to a championship]], falling short in both of their Finals appearances against the Bulls, Stockton won two Olympic gold medals. Stockton retired in 2004 while still an active and productive starter in his early 40s, wanting to spend more time with his family, and his #12 was retired by the Jazz. Also associated with short shorts (which he continued to wear even as the whole league adopted baggier ones) and controversial/conspiratorial politics.
* '''Deron Williams''' was a point guard originally drafted #3 overall out of Illinois by the Utah Jazz in 2005. Although initially flourishing under Jerry Sloan's pick-and-roll system, the two came to have disagreements, which led Sloan to resign and Williams to be traded to the Nets in '11. He won Olympic gold medals in '08 and '12 and had some success with the Nets before being pushed out in '15, bouncing around the league before retiring in 2017.
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* '''Trae Young''' is the most recent star for the Atlanta Hawks. Young went from an unknown to an instant superstar in college, being the nation's leader in both points scored and assists made in his only year at Oklahoma. Drafted #5 overall by the Mavericks in 2018, he was traded to Atlanta after the Hawks gave up Luka Dončić for him and another first round pick from Dallas. He became an instant leader for the team; if he were drafted in any other year, he likely would have won Rookie of the Year instead of being runner-up to the aforementioned Luka. (Due to the above trade, comparisons to Luka are always going to be a given.) In his third season, Young got the team into the Conference Finals, losing to the eventual champion Bucks.
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* '''Trae Young''' is the most recent star for the Atlanta Hawks. Young went from an unknown to an instant superstar in college, being the nation's leader in both points scored and assists made in his only year at Oklahoma. Drafted #5 overall by the Mavericks in 2018, he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks after the Hawks gave up Luka Dončić for him and another first round pick from Dallas. He became an instant leader for the team; if he were drafted in any other year, he likely would have won Rookie of the Year instead of being runner-up to the aforementioned Luka. (Due to the above trade, comparisons to Luka are always going to be a given.) In his third season, Young got the team into the Conference Finals, losing to the eventual champion Bucks. However, the Hawks have been consistently less competitive each season since, with many detractors pointing to the relatively slight Young's deficiencies on defense.
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* '''Andrea Bargnani''' was the first European player to be drafted #1 overall, going to the Toronto Raptors in 2006 out of his native Italy where was coming off an Italian League championship. A seven-footer with athleticism, range, and ball-handling skills, he was naturally compared to Dirk Nowitzski but struggled to break out through his first three seasons. When Chris Bosh left for Miami as a free agent in 2010, Bargnani became the team's focal point and had a career-best year in terms of points and blocks. However, the 2011 NBA lockout followed by a serious elbow injury brought his time in Toronto to an end. He was traded to the Knicks in 2013 but continued to struggle with injuries, moved onto the Nets as a bench player, and then returned to Europe. While he was adequate enough to avoid the major bust label, helped by the 2006 Draft being considered rather weak, he was still taken ahead of multi-time All-Stars [=LaMarcus Aldridge=] and Brandon Roy.
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* '''Vince Carter''' is a Hall of Fame SG/SF drafted #5 overall by the Toronto Raptors out of North Carolina in 1998. He quickly made a name for himself due to his awe-inspiring and borderline superhuman dunks, winning Rookie of the Year, being featured on the cover of ''NBA Live 2004'', and gaining the nicknames "Vinsanity", "Air Canada", and "Half-Man, Half Amazing". His athleticism took him to the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest where he wowed the crowd with a dazzling array of finishes and even further into the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he jumped ''over'' a seven-foot player in-game for a dunk on the way to a gold medal. In his twilight years with the Raptors, he became a pariah to the franchise, sandbagging games due to his falling out with the front office. He was traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2004 and then became a journeyman, playing for six different teams[[note]]Magic, Suns, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Kings, and Hawks[[/note]] while commendably adapting his game as a role player, something many stars simply can't do. While the eight-time All-Star didn't see the court as much in his final years, Carter's 22 seasons in the league [[LongRunner are the most of any player]], and he is the only NBA player to have played in four different decades (the 1990s through the 2020s). Carter retired in 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdown and went into broadcasting. To put in perspective just how long Carter was in the league, on the opening night of his final NBA season...
** Carter was the oldest player in the league by three full years.[[note]]Carter was born in January 1977; the next-oldest player on an opening-night roster, Udonis Haslem (see the Miami Heat folder), was born in June 1980.[[/note]]
** Carter was nearly 12 years older than any of his Hawks teammates.[[note]]The next-oldest, Chandler Parsons, was born in October 1988.[[/note]]
** [[WhileYouWereInDiapers Four of Carter's Hawks teammates had yet to be born when Carter was drafted]]; the youngest wasn't born until nearly 7 months after Carter played his first NBA game.[[note]]Carter's rookie season was shortened by a player lockout, and didn't start until early February 1999.[[/note]]
** Carter was the oldest player in the league by three full years.[[note]]Carter was born in January 1977; the next-oldest player on an opening-night roster, Udonis Haslem (see the Miami Heat folder), was born in June 1980.[[/note]]
** Carter was nearly 12 years older than any of his Hawks teammates.[[note]]The next-oldest, Chandler Parsons, was born in October 1988.[[/note]]
** [[WhileYouWereInDiapers Four of Carter's Hawks teammates had yet to be born when Carter was drafted]]; the youngest wasn't born until nearly 7 months after Carter played his first NBA game.[[note]]Carter's rookie season was shortened by a player lockout, and didn't start until early February 1999.[[/note]]
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* '''[=DeMar DeRozan=]''' is a shooting guard who spent his first nine NBA seasons in Toronto, becoming the franchise leader in points, games, and minutes. Drafted #9 overall out of USC in 2009, he made his name in much the same way as former Raports star Vince Carter, with slashing drives and acrobatic dunks, and embraced [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} a city]] that isn't among the most popular playing destinations for American NBA stars, going so far as to re-up with the Raptors in 2016 after leading the franchise to their first Conference Finals appearance instead of returning to his native L.A. as a free agent (though his Canadian loyalty only went so far, as he went on to win Olympic gold with the U.S. that same year). However, he was dealt to San Antonio in 2018 for Kawhi Leonard (just a few months after being featured on the Canadian cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 18''). His departure had a major impact on Raptors fans, falling roughly between [=LeBron's=] first and second departures from Cleveland, and stung all the more when the Raptors won a championship immediately after his departure. Another face of the league's ongoing push for mental health awareness, he has since opened up about his struggles with depression. After spending three seasons in San Antonio, he joined Chicago in a sign-and-trade deal and bounced back to All-Star form.
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* '''Mike James''' was a journeyman point guard undrafted out of Duquesne who played for 11 different NBA teams over his 13 year career but is most notable as a OneHitWonder with the Toronto Raptors and one of the worst free agent signings in NBA history. [[RedBaron Nicknamed]] "[[Film/TheAmityvilleHorror1979 The Amityville Scorer]]"[[note]]His hometown is Amityville, New York[[/note]], James started off in some lower tier North American leagues, as well as stints in Austria and France, before becoming a bench player in the NBA for his first four seasons, even winning a championship with Detroit in '04. He joined the Raptors in 2005 and had a break out season, averaging 20.3 points (double his career average) and 5.8 assists per game while shooting top five in the league in three point percentage. He signed a big money free agent deal the following offseason with Minnesota, but badly regressed; his albatross of a contract was traded around between three different teams over the next three seasons, averaging just 7.1 PPG for the rest of his career.
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* '''Kyle Lowry''' was the heart and soul of the Toronto Raptors following the Demar [=DeRozan=] trade. Drafted #24 overall by the Grizzlies out of Villanova in 2006, he spent his first three seasons in Memphis before being displaced by the arrival of Mike Conley and being traded to the Rockets. He played reasonably well in Houston, but the combination of a poorly timed illness and clashes with coach Kevin [=McHale=] led to him being dealt to the Raptors in 2012 in a salary dump. There, Lowry flipped the script on his career and emerged as one of the better point guards in the league, a perennial All-Star selection, and became the franchise leader in 3-pointers, assists, and steals. Frequently compared to a pit bull for his on-court tenacity, highlighted by the fact that [[{{Determinator}} he played with]] [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction a broken hand]] during the 2019 [=NBA=] Playoffs in which he was a key contributor in helping the franchise to their first NBA championship title, Lowry also won Olympic Gold in '16. In 2021, he joined the Heat in a sign-and-trade deal, then was traded to the Hornets in 2024.
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* '''Pascal Siakam''' is a Cameroonian power forward drafted #27 overall by the Toronto Raptors in 2016 out of New Mexico State. Despite putting up decent numbers in his rookie season, his performance was considered lackluster and he was sent down to the Raptors 905, which he helped lead to a D (now G) League title along with earning Finals MVP. He returned to the NBA the next year and broke out the next season, being named Most Improved Player. During the 2019 playoffs, he helped the Raptors reach the Finals and he recorded team highs in points during Game 1 and Game 6 en route to the team's first championship. With the departure of Kawhi Leonard, Raptors fans looked to Siakam to fill the void, and he made All-NBA twice in Toronto before being traded to the Pacers during the 2023–24 season.
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* '''Damon Stoudamire'''[[note]]No relation to Amar'e Stoudemire which is spelled with an "e"[[/note]] was the first draft pick in Toronto Raptors team history, selected #7 overall out of Arizona in 1995. Nicknamed "WesternAnimation/MightyMouse", the 5'10 point guard immediately broke out, winning Rookie of the Year while setting the NBA rookie record for three-pointers made (since surpassed) and putting up the third most assists-per-game by a rookie in NBA history. He continued his strong play, but following changes to team leadership, was traded to the Trail Blazers midway through his third season. He'd spend the next eight seasons in Portland, though he struggled to match his early career success due to injuries, clashes with coaches that led to benchings, and marijunana suspensions. Still, he signed a large free agent deal with Memphis in 2005 but tore his patellar tendon early in his first season there. He never regained form after the injury, was bought out after two more years, and, after a final season with the Spurs, retired. He moved into coaching and, after several seasons as an NBA assistant, is currently the head coach at Georgia Tech.
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* '''Fred [=VanVleet=]''' is one of the more notable undrafted players in recent NBA history, being ''completely passed over'' in the 2016 Draft despite a strong collegiate career at Wichita State. That setback clearly didn't faze the 6'0" point guard, as he stuck by his slogan of ''Bet on Yourself'' to become arguably the most successful undrafted player of the modern era. Signing with the Toronto Raptors, he spent some time on their D-League (now G-League) team before breaking out during the 2018-19 season. During the playoffs, he entered a significant slump while waiting on the impending birth of his son. After his son was born, [=VanVleet=] was a key factor in delivering Toronto its first NBA title while defensively frustrating Steph Curry in the finals.[[note]]The joke among Raptors fans was that Fred's son was the actual MVP and, if anything, should get a ring of his own.[[/note]] After continued improvement during the Covid-shortened 2019-20 season in which he was made the de facto shooting guard, the Raptors rewarded [=VanVleet=] with a 4-year contract worth $85 million, at the time was the largest contract ever signed by an undrafted player[[note]]Miami's Duncan Robinson surpassed this a season later with a 5-year/$90-million contract.[[/note]]; he rewarded them by settling in as a team leader and being named an All-Star the following season. In 2023, he left for the Rockets and ''again'' signed the richest contract for an undrafted player in league history, this time for 3 years and $130 million.
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Finished the Sonics. Three teams to go! (Thanks for the help, BB)
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* '''Fred Brown''' was drafted #6 overall in 1971 out of Iowa and played his entire 13-year career with the Seattle [=SuperSonics=]. "Downtown Freddie Brown" was renowned for his long-range accuracy for the era (he led the league in three-pointer percentage the year the rule was introduced) and was an important contributor to the Sonics' sole league title in 1979. The franchise retired his #32.
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* '''Shawn Kemp''', nicknamed "Reign Man", was a power forward known for his athleticism and dunking ability while playing with the Seattle [=SuperSonics=], most notably with his infamous [[SignatureMove "Lister Blister"]] where he jumped on a defender and pointed to him after the dunk. The six-time All-Star unfortunately had a lot of trouble off the court, starting before he even entered the NBA; he was drafted #17 overall by the Sonics in 1989 without playing in college, having been cut from the team at Kentucky after being accused of stealing chains from a teammate. He traded to Cleveland in 1997 and quickly faded away due to struggles with his weight and substance abuse, being out of the NBA in 2003 after stints in Portland and Orlando (though he attempted numerous failed comebacks afterwards). He was featured on the cover of ''VideoGame/NBAJam Extreme'' with Hakeem Olajuwon.
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* '''Nate [=McMillan=]''' was drafted in the second round out of NC State in 1986 and spent the next two decades with the Seattle [=SuperSonics=] as a player and coach, earning the nickname "Mr. Sonic". [=McMillan=] played 12 years in Seattle as a guard, never an All-Star but a capable defender who led the NBA in steals in '94. He moved straight into coaching, serving as an assistant before becoming HC from 2000-05 before bouncing around to stints with the Trail Blazers (2005-12), Pacers (2016-20), and Hawks (2020-23). The Sonics retired his #10.
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* '''Gary Payton''' was a Hall of Famer drafted #2 overall in 1990 with the Seattle [=SuperSonics=], where he would play until 2003 and became arguably the best player in that team's history. Payton was known for two things: his dominant defense and [[IShallTauntYou his trash talk]]. The two were closely intertwined, as Payton had a way of getting into his opponents' heads as few other could. "The Glove" was about as tenacious a defender as the league has ever seen--for years he was the only point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year, doing so when he led the league in steals in 1996, and in Game 6 of that year's Finals, he held ''Michael Jordan'' to 22 points on 5-of-19 shooting, arguably Jordan's worst Finals game ever. The 6'4" player out of Oregon State became the Sonics all-time leader in games, minutes, field goals, assists, and steals. In 13 seasons, Payton missed a total of ''[[MadeOfIron five regular-season games]]''. In the twilight of his career, the nine-time All-Star and two-time Olympic Gold-winner became a journeyman and won his only ring with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat in 2006 the year before he retired. Payton's son, '''Gary Payton II''', also played at Oregon State, has had NBA success as a defender, and eventually won himself a championship 16 years later in 2022 with the Warriors.
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* '''Jack Sikma''', a 6'11" forward/center who went #8 overall to the Seattle [=SuperSonics=] in the 1977 Draft despite playing for NAIA school Illinois Wesleyan,[[note]]which has since moved to NCAA D-III[[/note]] went on to make seven straight All-Star Games (1979–85) and contribute to the Sonics' only NBA title in 1979. In some ways, he was an American precursor to Dirk Nowitzki, with unusually good shooting ability for a big man and his own SignatureMove, a behind-the-head jumper; also like Nowitzki, he was a very good free throw shooter, even leading the NBA in free-throw percentage one season (the only center in NBA history to accomplish this). After nine years in Seattle, he played another five with the Bucks before his retirement. Despite his strong Hall of Fame credentials, both in traditional numbers and in more advanced metrics, he was long unable to gain any momentum for induction to Springfield, never making the list of finalists before his long-awaited induction in 2019. The Sonics retired his #43, and he remains the franchise leader in rebounds.
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* '''Spencer Haywood''' was one of the most promising prospects in college basketball history, having performed so well at Trinidad State Junior College that he landed on the 1968 Olympic team at just 19 years old, becoming the youngest U.S. basketball Olympian ever. He led that gold medal team in scoring, then led the NCAA in rebounds the next year after transferring to Detroit. The sophomore power forward decided to go pro in 1969 to help his financially struggling mother and ten siblings, and the ABA adopted a "hardship exemption" specifically for him. The Denver Rockets took him at #4 and reaped huge rewards: the 21-year-old didn't just win Rookie of the Year but led the ABA in scoring and rebounds and was named ''league MVP'', the youngest in ABA-NBA history. This turned out to be something of a curse for Denver, as with his elite talent now established, Haywood left to seek more money from the NBA and teamed with Seattle [=SuperSonics'=] ownership to launch an antitrust suit against the NBA. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the league settled and adopted its own hardship exemption to permit Haywood to play. Haywood played four complete All-Star seasons in Seattle, then was traded to stints with the Knicks and Jazz. He landed with the Lakers in the 1979-80 season and ''technically'' won a championship, though his role was limited and he was fired ''during'' the Finals due to his struggles with cocaine addiction. After a year playing ball in Italy, he played two final seasons with the Bullets before retiring. The Sonics retired his #24, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
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* '''Kawhi Leonard'''[[note]]first name usually pronounced ka-WYE[[/note]] became the Spurs main star in the late [=2010s=]. A slashing small forward out of San Diego State, he was drafted #15 overall by the San Antonio Spurs (via the Pacers), became a starter in his second season, and quickly evolved from a defensive role-player to one of the best in the NBA on both sides of the ball. He is known for his ball-hawking style of play (he won Finals MVP in 2014 for successfully guarding [=LeBron=] James and won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2015-16, leading the NBA in steals in the former season), [[TheStoic extremely quiet]] demeanor, enormous hands, thriftiness[[note]]Despite a big contract, he drove a 1997 SUV that he bought in his high school days for more than 20 years, and has an endorsement deal with a restaurant chain that gives him discount coupons.[[/note]], and his name, which has proven to be a [[IHaveManyNames magnet for puns and nicknames]] (most notably "Klaw"). He missed almost the entire 2017–18 season to a quadriceps injury he initially suffered in the 2017 Western Conference finals and became alienated from the team late in that season. With free agency looming in 2019, the Spurs dealt him to the Toronto Raptors, getting [=DeMar DeRozan=] as part of the trade. In his first year, Leonard not only won his second ring but became the third player to win Finals MVP with two different teams after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and [=LeBron=] (and the first to win it in both conferences).[[note]]When Kareem won with the Bucks, they were in the Western Conference.[[/note]] Despite his immediate success in Canada, he chose to sign the following year with his hometown Los Angeles Clippers, where he has unfortunately struggled with injury, missing the entire 2021-22 season while recovering from an ACL tear, before returning to form.
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* '''Kawhi Leonard'''[[note]]first name usually pronounced ka-WYE[[/note]] became the Spurs main star in the late [=2010s=]. A ka-WYE[[/note]], a slashing small forward out of San Diego State, he was drafted #15 overall by the San Antonio Spurs (via the Pacers), became a starter in his second season, and quickly evolved from a defensive role-player to one of the best in the NBA on both sides of the ball. He is known for his ball-hawking style of play (he won Finals MVP in 2014 for successfully guarding [=LeBron=] James and won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2015-16, leading the NBA in steals in the former season), [[TheStoic extremely quiet]] demeanor, enormous hands, thriftiness[[note]]Despite a big contract, he drove a 1997 SUV that he bought in his high school days for more than 20 years, and has an endorsement deal with a restaurant chain that gives him discount coupons.[[/note]], and his name, which has proven to be a [[IHaveManyNames magnet for puns and nicknames]] (most notably "Klaw"). He missed almost the entire 2017–18 season to a quadriceps injury he initially suffered in the 2017 Western Conference finals and became alienated from the team late in that season. With free agency looming in 2019, the Spurs dealt him to the Toronto Raptors, getting [=DeMar DeRozan=] as part of the trade. In his first year, Leonard not only won his second ring but became the third player to win Finals MVP with two different teams after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and [=LeBron=] (and the first to win it in both conferences).[[note]]When Kareem won with the Bucks, they were in the Western Conference.[[/note]] Despite his immediate success in Canada, he chose to sign the following year with his hometown Los Angeles Clippers, where he has unfortunately struggled with injury, missing the entire 2021-22 season while recovering from an ACL tear, before returning to form.
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* '''Tony Parker''' is a Hall of Fame point guard spent [[LongRunner 17 seasons]] with the San Antonio Spurs before leaving for the Hornets as a free agent in 2018 and retiring in 2019. He was born in Belgium but raised in France; his father was an African-American basketball player and his mother was a Dutch model. The Spurs drafted Parker #28 overall in 2001, with his relative no-name status keeping him off most teams' radars. He quickly grew into one of the most skilled players in the league, slowly replacing Duncan as TheHero for the Spurs and becoming the team's sole captain after Duncan's retirement. He won four rings with the Spurs, was named Finals MVP in '07 (the first European to receive the award), became the Spurs' all-time assists leader, and had his #9 retired by the franchise. The six-time All-Star was featured on worldwide cover of ''NBA Live 09'' and the French cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 16''. He has kept himself busy as owner of ASVEL, a team in France's top pro league playing in Lyon, where he was raised. Parker opened a basketball academy in Lyon in fall 2019 and has publicly expressed hopes of owning an NBA team in the future. For a few years, he owned a small stake in Seattle's team in the National Women's Soccer League, known during his ownership as OL Reign before reverting to its original name of Seattle Reign FC. Parker has also dabbled in music and acting and was once married to Creator/EvaLongoria.
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* '''Tony Parker''' is a Hall of Fame point guard spent [[LongRunner 17 seasons]] with the San Antonio Spurs before leaving for the Hornets as a free agent in 2018 and retiring in 2019.Spurs. He was born in Belgium but raised in France; his father was an African-American basketball player and his mother was a Dutch model. The Spurs drafted Parker #28 overall in 2001, with his relative no-name status keeping him off most teams' radars. He quickly grew into one of the most skilled players in the league, slowly replacing Duncan as TheHero for the Spurs and becoming the team's sole captain after Duncan's retirement. He won four rings with the Spurs, was named Finals MVP in '07 (the first European to receive the award), became the Spurs' all-time assists leader, and had his #9 retired by the franchise.franchise after he spent the 2018-19 season with the Hornets. The six-time All-Star was featured on worldwide cover of ''NBA Live 09'' and the French cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 16''. He has kept himself busy as owner of ASVEL, a team in France's top pro league playing in Lyon, where he was raised. Parker opened a basketball academy in Lyon in fall 2019 and has publicly expressed hopes of owning an NBA team in the future. For a few years, he owned a small stake in Seattle's team in the National Women's Soccer League, known during his ownership as OL Reign before reverting to its original name of Seattle Reign FC. Parker has also dabbled in music and acting and was once married to Creator/EvaLongoria.
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* '''Lenny Wilkens''' was a NBA legend as both a player and a coach, being the only man honored in ''both'' categories on the league's 75th Anniversary team (fitting, since he was an active part of the league for [[LongRunner over half that time]]). Relatively tiny for the NBA at just 6'1", he was regardless drafted #6 overall out of Providence in 1960 by the St. Louis Hawks, where he played for eight seasons before being traded to the Seattle [=SuperSonics=]. In his second season with the Sonics, Wilkens was promoted to player-coach for the young team and steadily improved its performance, posting the team's first winning record... at which point he was shipped out of town to Cleveland and the team's performance deflated once again. The nine-time All-Star had another stint as a player-coach in Portland before retiring from playing in 1975. He would later return to Seattle to lead the franchise to its only championship. His #19 was retired by the Sonics. See more of his bio on [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation the main NBA page]] under "Coaches".
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Finished the Spurs
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* '''Tim Duncan''' is a Hall of Famer said by many to be the greatest power forward in NBA history, having played for the San Antonio Spurs for [[LongRunner 19 seasons]], becoming the franchise's all-time leader in points, games, minutes, rebounds, and blocks. A dominant defender, he earned a record ''15'' selections to the NBA's All-Defensive Team, though he surprisingly was never named Defensive Player of the Year. He likely wouldn't complain about missing out; in addition to being one of the most humble and [[TheQuietOne understated]] players to ever see the court, he won back-to-back MVP awards (2002-03) and Finals MVP in his first three of five titles across three decades ('99, '03, '05, '07, '14), plus Olympic bronze in '04. The [[UsefulNotes/UnitedStatesVirginIslands St. Croix]] native (who had originally planned to be a pro swimmer before a hurricane destroyed his pool) was drafted #1 overall by the Spurs out of Wake Forest in 1997; he probably would have been drafted at the same spot two or even three years earlier had he not promised his mother on her deathbed that he would graduate from college. However, his four-year tenure honed his skills to the point that he ''was already playing at an All-Star level from the moment he stepped on an NBA court''. Fittingly he won Rookie of the Year, teamed up with David Robinson to create a legendary basketball duo – the so-called "Twin Towers" - and carved his niche into NBA history by lifting his team into one of the Western elites: the only time in his career that the Spurs won fewer than 50 regular-season games was in 1999, where due to a lockout there only were 50 games played, and they never missed the playoffs. Because of his calm and unassuming style of basketball – even in his younger years, he was as likely to dominate with footwork and intelligence as with his natural talent, and he rarely showboated or showed much emotion while playing - Shaquille O'Neal nicknamed Duncan "The Big Fundamental". He was likewise durable and extremely consistent, being the only player ever to make 13 straight All-NBA ''and'' All-Defensive selections. JustForFun/OneOfUs at times, as he's a D&D fan and was even nicknamed [[TheSpock "Mr. Spock"]] for his [[TheStoic stoic]] and [[TheSmartOne intelligent]] demeanor. His retirement during the 2016 offseason matched his personality--no farewell tour, no hype, just a statement to the press. To no one's surprise, the team retired his #21. He's occasionally worked with the Spurs' bigs since his retirement, even returning to the team in 2019–20 as a full-time assistant. Duncan was featured on the cover of ''NBA Live 2000''.*
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* '''Manu Ginóbili''' was a Hall of Fame shooting guard and one of the greatest draft day steals in the history of the league, taken ''#57'' overall (''second-to-last'' at the time) by the San Antonio Spurs in 1999. At the time, he was playing in Italy with Reggio Calabria, moving to traditional power Virtus Bologna in 2000, where he led them to a [=EuroLeague=] title in his first season in Bologna and was named MVP of the competition's Final Four. Breaking into the NBA in 2002, Ginóbili quickly earned a reputation of being one of the best sixth men in the league, winning the award in '08. He also has an accomplished international record, leading Argentina to victories over the USA's Dream Team in the FIBA championships in '02 and again in the Athens Olympic Games in '04 on the way to a gold medal. One of the few players with a decidedly unique SignatureMove, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5AvZQzj7CA pass between the legs of an opponent]], he also popularized the Euro step in the league and was one of the best shooting guards in the league (though he was also known negatively for his use of flopping in order to try to draw a foul). Manu is one of only two players (the other being Bill Bradley) to have won an NBA title, the [=EuroLeague=][[note]]or its historic equivalent, the FIBA Europe Clubs Championship[[/note]], and an Olympic gold medal in his career. He retired in 2018 as the Spurs' all-time leader in steals and 3-pointers, with the team retiring his #20.
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* '''Kawhi Leonard'''[[note]]first name usually pronounced ka-WYE[[/note]] became the Spurs main star in the late [=2010s=]. A slashing small forward out of San Diego State, he was drafted #15 overall by the San Antonio Spurs (via the Pacers), became a starter in his second season, and quickly evolved from a defensive role-player to one of the best in the NBA on both sides of the ball. He is known for his ball-hawking style of play (he won Finals MVP in 2014 for successfully guarding [=LeBron=] James and won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2015-16, leading the NBA in steals in the former season), [[TheStoic extremely quiet]] demeanor, enormous hands, thriftiness[[note]]Despite a big contract, he drove a 1997 SUV that he bought in his high school days for more than 20 years, and has an endorsement deal with a restaurant chain that gives him discount coupons.[[/note]], and his name, which has proven to be a [[IHaveManyNames magnet for puns and nicknames]] (most notably "Klaw"). He missed almost the entire 2017–18 season to a quadriceps injury he initially suffered in the 2017 Western Conference finals and became alienated from the team late in that season. With free agency looming in 2019, the Spurs dealt him to the Toronto Raptors, getting [=DeMar DeRozan=] as part of the trade. In his first year, Leonard not only won his second ring but became the third player to win Finals MVP with two different teams after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and [=LeBron=] (and the first to win it in both conferences).[[note]]When Kareem won with the Bucks, they were in the Western Conference.[[/note]] Despite his immediate success in Canada, he chose to sign the following year with his hometown Los Angeles Clippers, where he has unfortunately struggled with injury, missing the entire 2021-22 season while recovering from an ACL tear, before returning to form.
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* '''Tony Parker''' is a Hall of Fame point guard spent [[LongRunner 17 seasons]] with the San Antonio Spurs before leaving for the Hornets as a free agent in 2018 and retiring in 2019. He was born in Belgium but raised in France; his father was an African-American basketball player and his mother was a Dutch model. The Spurs drafted Parker #28 overall in 2001, with his relative no-name status keeping him off most teams' radars. He quickly grew into one of the most skilled players in the league, slowly replacing Duncan as TheHero for the Spurs and becoming the team's sole captain after Duncan's retirement. He won four rings with the Spurs, was named Finals MVP in '07 (the first European to receive the award), became the Spurs' all-time assists leader, and had his #9 retired by the franchise. The six-time All-Star was featured on worldwide cover of ''NBA Live 09'' and the French cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 16''. He has kept himself busy as owner of ASVEL, a team in France's top pro league playing in Lyon, where he was raised. Parker opened a basketball academy in Lyon in fall 2019 and has publicly expressed hopes of owning an NBA team in the future. For a few years, he owned a small stake in Seattle's team in the National Women's Soccer League, known during his ownership as OL Reign before reverting to its original name of Seattle Reign FC. Parker has also dabbled in music and acting and was once married to Creator/EvaLongoria.
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* '''Victor Wembanyama''' was the #1 overall pick of the 2023 Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. Sporting freakish athleticism at 7'3" with an 8' wingspan, "Wemby" was widely regarded as the best prospect since UsefulNotes/LeBronJames and made for one of the most anticipated Draft Lotteries of all time. Born and raised in France where he played in the top pro league and on the national team as a teenager, his combination of size, shooting (including from three-point range), ball-handling, and shot-blocking ability made him a unique and multiple-threat prospect. Spurs fans hope that he will live up to the legacy of former Spurs #1 picks David Robinson and Tim Duncan and return their franchise to its former greatness after an unprecedented dry spell in the wake of Kawhi's departure. He almost immediately set about breaking several "youngest ever" records, mostly pertaining to his ability to rack up sizable block and steal tallies; not only did he lead the entire league in blocks in his rookie year, he averaged well over one more per game than the nearest runner-up.
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* '''Sean Elliott''' was a small forward drafted #3 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 1989 out of Arizona. After several solid seasons, Elliott was traded to the Pistons in 1993-94 for Dennis Rodman, which turned out poorly for both teams; Rodman was surrounded by off-court drama, while Elliott was diagnosed with a kidney disease that tanked his perceived trade value. He was subsequently sent back to the Spurs and proceeded to post some of the best numbers of his career, win a championship in '99, and even continued to play after receiving a kidney transplant. He retired in 2001, and the Spurs retired his #32.
* '''Alvin Robertson''' was one of the best defensive players in NBA history, holding the record for career steals per game (2.71). Drafted #7 overall in 1984 out of Arkansas by the San Antonio Spurs, his second year was one of the most dominant defensive performances ever seen, as he became the only player to amass over 300 steals in a single season and became both the only non-center ever to post a quadruple-double ''and'' the only one to do so with steals as one of the categories. For his efforts, he was named Defensive Player of the Year and the league's inaugural Most Improved Player. This performance wasn't a flash in the pan, either, as he led the NBA in steals two more times and was named a four-time All-Star and six-time All-Defensive teamer (a span that also includes his time with the Bucks from 1989-93). He retired in 1997 after bouncing around the NBA and CBA. Such a resume would seem to make Robertson a no-brainer Hall of Famer were it not for two factors: 1. His teams were never very good while he was with them, and 2. He had a long history of serious legal trouble during and after his career involving domestic and sexual assault charges, including a jail sentence while with the Bucks.
* '''David Robinson''' is one of the greatest and most respected centers in NBA history who played his whole pro career with the San Antonio Spurs. He is a Hall of Famer, Rookie of the Year, 1995 MVP, 1992 Defensive Player of the Year, 10-time All-Star, eight-time All-NBA player, eight-time Defensive Teamer, and a two-time NBA champion with Tim Duncan; the pair was known as the "Twin Towers". He's also notable for having been drafted #1 overall out of the U.S. Naval Academy and serving two years as a commissioned officer before beginning his basketball career in 1989, giving him the nickname "The Admiral" (he was actually a lieutenant, though the idea of a 7-foot tall FourStarBadass who could kick your ass on the court is certainly awesome). That two-year gap meant he was still an "amateur" in 1988, allowing him to play for the bronze medal-winning Olympic team that year, which made his membership in the Dream Team in 1992 MyGreatestSecondChance; he won gold in that and the next Olympics. Robinson's arrival immediately turned the Spurs around after a few down years. He was one of the few NBA players of his era to post a 70+ point game, doing so in the final game of the 1993-94 season; this monster effort ensured he ''narrowly'' won his only scoring title that year (he had previously led the league in rebounds and blocks). That season also saw him become the last player to put up a quadruple-double. Despite his individual success and leading the team on several playoff runs (including a Conference Finals appearance after his MVP year), a title eluded Robinson until late in his career after Duncan's arrival. He retired in 2003 after winning his second ring, and the Spurs retired his #50. The trophy for NBA's Community Assist Award recognizing philanthropic activity is named in his honor.
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* '''Blake Griffin''' was the #1 overall pick of the 2009 Draft, but a [[GameBreakingInjury knee injury]] kept the power forward from Oklahoma off the court for a whole season. When he did reach the field the next year, his exceptional dunking talent helped to finally turn his Los Angeles Clippers into a team that could fill arenas after three decades as an NBA bottom-feeder. His spectacular dunks earned him All-Star nods in his first five seasons and helped him make the cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 13''. He became a more versatile player as he aged, and by his last year in L.A., he had started to become fairly dependable from behind the three-point line. However, he also began to struggle with injuries, the Clips decided to blow up their roster during the 2017–18 season, trading Griffin to the Pistons. After one more All-Star year, Detroit bought his contract out in 2020, and he has since bounced around to the Nets and Celtics. In the back half of his playing career, Griffin notably began to dabble in comedy, performing stand-up and even hosting a hidden camera TV show on Creator/TruTV.
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* '''Blake Griffin''' was the #1 overall pick of the 2009 Draft, but a [[GameBreakingInjury knee injury]] kept the power forward from Oklahoma off the court for a whole season. When he did reach the field the next year, his exceptional dunking talent helped to finally turn his Los Angeles Clippers into a team that could fill arenas after three decades as an NBA bottom-feeder. His spectacular dunks earned him All-Star nods in his first five seasons and helped him make the cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 13''. He became a more versatile player as he aged, aged and by his last year in L.A., he had started to become fairly dependable from behind the three-point line. However, he also began to struggle with injuries, injuries; the Clips decided to blow up their roster during the 2017–18 season, trading Griffin to the Pistons. After one more All-Star year, Detroit bought his contract out in 2020, and he has since bounced around to the Nets and Celtics.Celtics, retiring in 2024 after not playing the prior season. In the back half of his playing career, Griffin notably began to dabble in comedy, performing stand-up and even hosting a hidden camera TV show on Creator/TruTV.
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* '''George Gervin''' was a Hall of Fame shooting guard most known for his prolific scoring, [[SignatureMove trademark finger roll]], and stoic demeanor (his nickname was "The Iceman", which he spun off into an iconic poster of him sitting on an icy throne). Suspended and removed from his team at Eastern Michigan after punching an opposing player in 1972, Gervin initially had no choice but to enter the ABA, starting out with the Virginia Squires before hopping to the San Antonio Spurs after they folded in 1974. He was named an All-Star in each of his 12 seasons in San Antonio (winning All-Star MVP in 1980), led the league in scoring four times, set multiple franchise records (since passed by Robinson and Duncan), and reached three Conference Finals, though he [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut never got the Spurs to the NBA Finals, let alone a championship]]. In 1985, he was traded for one last NBA season with the Bulls, then played a few more in Europe and with the CBA before retiring in 1990. His #44 was retired by the Spurs, and his alma mater of Eastern Michigan renamed its arena to honor him in 2021. %% Renamed from Convocation Center to George Gervin GameAbove Center, with GameAbove obviously being a corporate sponsor
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* '''James Silas''' was drafted in the fifth round by the Rockets out of Stephen F. Austin in 1972 but was waived before the season and instead signed with the Dallas Chaparrals of the ABA. The point guard broke out as the young franchise's first real star after they became the San Antonio Spurs, earning the nicknames "the Snake" and "the late Mr. Silas" for his clutch ability late in games. He retired in 1982 after a year in Cleveland, and his #13 was the first jersey retired by the Spurs.
