High school: Dominguez High School (Compton, Calif.), College: Ventura (1986-88), Cal State Fullerton (1988-90), Pros: Phoenix Suns (1990-94, 1997-98), Los Angeles Lakers (1994-97), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2000), Detroit Pistons (2000), Miami Heat (2000-01), Las Vegas Slam (2002), Harlem Globetrotters (2002), Hapoel Tel Aviv (2002), Lokomotiv Mineralnye Vody (2002-03), Sioux Falls Skyforce (2003), San Miguel Beermen (2003-04), Los Angeles Stars (2004-05), Orange County/Maywood Buzz (2005-07, 2008-11), Phoenix Flame (2007). He led the league in rebounding six times and was a 13-time All-Star who spent time with nine different franchises across the ABA and NBA, winning a championship with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983. Were not technically a sports website, but this editor (hi!) Kobe Bean Bryant is an American former basketball player. Milwaukee native Latrell Sprewell is remembered by some for one regrettable outburst that nearly derailed his NBA career but he was a great player for many years. In the NBA, Davis bounced around in his career, but had his most productive seasons in Boston, where he averaged 19.7 points per game in 2005 and 19.1 points per game in 2006. High school: East Bank High School (East Bank, W.Va.). Mamba came to the NBA straight out of high school there and spent his entire Hall-of-Fame career with the Lakers, winning five titles and making 18 All-Star Game appearances, which is one off of the all-time record. 3 high school basketball freshman. Dont be fooled by his humble small-college provenance and the Hick from French Lick nicknameLarry Bird was one of the fiercest competitors and greatest smack-talkers in NBA history. I know I risk getting run out of my beloved Chicago on a rail for daring to suggest His Airness isnt the best player ever but, well, I just dont think he is. Before David Robinson earned his nickname "The Admiral" for his military service, he attended Osbourn Park High School in Virginia, where he earned all-district honors despite never before playing organized basketball. While this list honors NBA greats from every state, Rhode Islands best player was more known for his brilliant-but-brief career in the ABA. Adam Augustyn is Managing Editor, Reference Content at Encyclopdia Britannica. In the 1960s and 70s, The Zen Master spent 12 seasons with the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets, far from the quaint town of Deer Lodge, Montana that he came from. He stayed home and played college ball at Colorado, where his number has also since been put in the rafters. Lets wait to anoint Cooper Flagg as the best basketball player ever from Maine, Varsity Maine boys basketball Player of the Year, Flagg the third-best college basketball prospect nationwide in the Class of 2025. This path has helped Roberson become a strong defensive player. WebPages in category "Basketball players from Maine" The following 19 pages are in this category, out of 19 total. The leading scorer in National Basketball Association (NBA) history is just the 10th-best player ever? The Pistol played in only 4 All-Star games but still managed to average 24.2 points per game over his career and is considered one of the best pure scorers in NBA history.. Pete Maravich 14. High school: Bethel High School (Hampton, Va.), Pros: Philadelphia 76ers (1996-2006, 2009-10), Denver Nuggets (2006-08), Detroit Pistons (2008-09), Memphis Grizzlies (2009), Besiktas (2010-11). In his senior season at Florida State, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds and led the ACC in steals. While the late Kobe Bryant would seem like the obvious choice to represent his home state, there was a lot of great competition representing Pennsylvania. Taurasi won her second championship in 2009 against the Indiana Fever, while earning WNBA MVP honors in the process. He only lived there as an infant but no other player born in the Volunteer State has demonstrated the kind of all-around skill he did during his years in the NBA. During his historic high school career, he was named Ohios Mr. Basketball a remarkable three times before skipping college and being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers first overall in 2003. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players Lillard becoming one of best scorers ever. Michael Jordan was a player who had it all. He was named to the All-Mountain West Conference second team in his senior year in 2014. 13. With a Press Herald subscription, you can gift 5 articles each month. High school: Mount Anthony High School (Bennington, Vt.). In the NBA, Stockton averaged a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.5 assists. After that, Hazzard spent 10 seasons playing guard in the NBA, averaging 12.6 points per game and making the All-Star Game with the Seattle SuperSonics during the 1967-68 season. 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. After that, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected third overall by the Charlotte Bobcats. Deerings Nik Caner-Medley and Edward Littles Troy Barnies have made very good livings playing professional basketball overseas after playing collegiately at Maryland and Maine, respectively. West averaged 32 points per game during the tournament and led his team in scoring and rebounding each game. Sign up and get high school sports news and scores in your inbox from preseason through the championships. #39 Paul Arizin (1951-1962) Amazon The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. WebFeaturing Hall of Fame greats, superstars, and active players, this list of basketball players who were born in Maine includes Duncan Robinson, Jeff Turner, and Skip Chappelle. 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. Delle Donne received a scholarship to play for UConn, but dropped out of the summer school program because she wanted to be close to family. A former womans canoeing champion of the great state of Maine died last week. The NBAs most valuable player for the 1993 season and 11-time All-Star was born in Leeds and stayed in Alabama to play college basketball at Auburn, where he was named SEC player of the year in 1984. Before he had a solid college career at Florida State and a pro career in Europe, Ralph Mims scored 41 points, including 35 in a row, for Brunswick in a 51-42 win over Bangor in the 2004 Eastern Class A championship game. He led the franchise to its first championship in Los Angeles in 1972. The Hall of Famer edged out Wes Unseld and Rajon Rondo as the best from the Bluegrass State because of his lengthy list of accolades from the league. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. In his junior year, he led the nation in scoring at 28.1 points per game and helped Gonzaga get a berth in the NCAA tournament, making it to the Sweet 16 before succumbing to UCLA. Amazing how quickly people forget how good he was. 1. Before retiring in 2015, he spent 12 seasons in the league, splitting his time with five different franchises but in Seattle for the majority of them. 23 jersey is now honored by the program. Lucas McNelly Feb 25, 2023 3 comments Regional Final After being born in Oakland, The Glove spent 17 seasons in the NBA, making the All-Star team, All-NBA first team and All-Defensive first team nine times each. But to give him that label now is at best premature, and at worst willfully ignorant (Or 20. On Tuesday, he highlighted Jazz guard Talen Horton-Tucker as one of his top NBA DFS picks on DraftKings and FanDuel. As a Laker, he was a 10-time All-NBA First Team and 11-time All-Star selection. High school: Wagner High School (San Antonio, Texas), Pros: Oklahoma City Thunder (2013-20), Brooklyn Nets (2021-present). But do you know how he got to be so great? In total, Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 seasons in the NBA with Milwaukee and Los Angeles. But before they were pros, basketball greats had to put in work to perfect their craft. This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login. Oh jeez, this guy. LeBron James just does things that shouldnt be humanly possible. But he began to show interest in basketball and relocated to the United States to play college ball at the University of Houston. Cedric Ceballos didn't always light up scoreboards. He graduated to Auburn, where he holds the school record for field goal percentage (62.6 percent), and went on to become one of the best rebounders in NBA history. Brandon, a sub-6-foot point guard, averaged solid numbers for his career, including 13.8 points and 6.1 assists per game. With years of experience in both creative and technical writing, I have sharpened my skills and developed a unique representative that resonates with readers. That would mean LeBron plays another three or four years. Following a college career in California, his only All-Star season would happen there as well, while he was playing with the Lakers in 1995. Hes bigger than a good portion of the players in the NFL and yet he still moves as gracefully as the most nimble guards in basketball. He was born in Greenville and spent most of his high school career there before finishing it in Illinois. Hollins was an All-Star the next season and an All-Defensive team member in 1978 and 1979. Before he was a two-time All-Star with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Terrell Brandon was born and raised in Portland. He finished his senior year as first-team All-Met and was the area's best basketball player in 1954. In 1969, Abdul-Jabbar signed with the Milwaukee Bucks and began his storied professional career. Create one. Chauncey Billups became "Mr. Big Shot" long before he became one of the best clutch performers in the NBA. Plus his 30.1 points per game is the NBAs highest career scoring average. After leading Nokomis to the first boys basketball title in school history, Cooper and Ace will continue their basketball careers at Floridas Montverde Academy, a school that regularly produces college and NBA players. He was born with great genes, and he worked hard to realize his incredible potential. In 2007 he also led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA finals appearance against the San Antonio Spurs. Hall of Famer Chet The Jet Walker, who came from Bethlehem, made this a tough choice but we had to give Mississippis crown to fellow inductee Spencer Haywood. While John Stocktons NBA career is forever linked to Utah, he learned his trade in his native Washington. In this article, we have listed the 5 greatest basketball players ever. But, well, he played alongside another top-25 talent in Scottie Pippen and was coached by the strategic genius Phil Jackson during his most productive years. While his entire pro career was spent in Los Angeles, Johnsons brilliant career started up north. Know Double Dribble Rules. Before she became one of the best players in WNBA history, she helped the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to an NCAA womens The result: Horton-Tucker had 16 That was the case with Charles Barkley, whose roots in Alabama run deep. Michael Jordan is easily the best basketball player of all-time in the NBA history. Hi, to comment on stories you must create a commenting profile. In high school, he broke a city record for points scored in one game. An elite high school player, Elena Delle Donne led Ursuline to three consecutive Delaware state championship titles. He was first-team All-Pac-12 and the conference Defensive Player of the Year during his junior season. 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. Before he left his mark on the NBA, he starred at Bethel High School, where he led both the football and basketball programs to state championships. During the 196162 season, The Big O averaged a triple-double with 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists per game. While Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo makes a very strong case as the best player to ever come out of North Carolina, we had to give the crown to future Hall of Famer Chris Paul. [This list was originally published in April 2014. He grew four inches in the summer and averaged 20 points per game over his final two years in high school. The NBA had three very good players from Kansas all playing at the same time starting in the mid-1970s. 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. Before he was The Big Ticket, Kevin Garnett was a kid growing up in upstate South Carolina. Nicole Levesque was named one of the 50 Greatest Sports Figures from Vermont. There must be something in the water in Louisiana that turns kids into great basketball players because this might have been the toughest state from which to pick a GOAT. The gold standard for Maine high school hoops is still Cindy Blodgett, who did things at Lawrence that no girls or boys basketball player in Maine had done before or since. Ceballos bounced around with five teams over his lengthy career, averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a small forward. He was also named the NCAAs Most Outstanding Player those three years and was twice named College Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Michael Jordan. His accomplishments in the NBA are unmatched and include six championships, five MVP awards and 10 league scoring titles. 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). From Diana Taurasi at No. Robertson was the first player in league history to average a triple double for an entire season, which he did in 1962 with the Cincinnati Royals, and his career averages ended up being 25.7 points, 9.5 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. He eventually won three NBA championships and was a 13-time All-Star, all with the Miami Heat. Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Olajuwon is also considered one of the greatest centers ever to play the game. Bryant, along with center Shaquille ONeal, led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles from 2000 to 2002. Fantasy Basketball. Login. The state is behind only California, New York and Illinois in terms of producing NBA players, and has given us all-time legends like Wilt Chamberlain and Pistol Pete Maravich. He had 63 points in a game against his old high school, Phelps. Bill Russell was an 11-time NBA champion in a 13-year Hall of Fame career. Oh, and while this has nothing to do with his ranking on this list, its still incredibly awesome and noteworthy that he has successfully fought off HIV for over two decades, helped de-stigmatize AIDS through his high-profile advocacy, and launched a second career as an entrepreneur who opens businesses predominantly in poverty-stricken areas in efforts to spur urban revitalization. In his senior year at Providence, DiGregorio helped the Friars reach the Final Four, where they lost to Memphis State. Bill Laimbeer was born in Boston, raised in Chicago and went to high school in Southern California. 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. Point guard Luke Ridnour is the only Idahoan to last more than five years in the NBA, according to Basketball Reference. In the WNBA, Swoopes was the second player to win the MVP and All-Star game MVP in the same season. The Coeur dAlene native had a standout college career at Oregon before being drafted in the first round by the SuperSonics in 2003. Kobe Bryant developed his closing skills in his youth on the way to greatness. For most of his childhood, he dreamed of becoming a soccer player like his father. as a member of the Miami Heat. 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. The Cowboy State isnt exactly known for cranking out ballers but Johnson has done a nice job representing his home state in the past decade. Then, he went onto the NBA, where he played on five different teams and averaged double digits in scoring six times. 3 to Sabrina Ionescu at No. Position: Shooting guard and small forward, High school: Davenport North High School (Davenport, Iowa), Pros: Charlotte Hornets (1998-2000), Miami Heat (2000-01, 2007-08), Cleveland Cavaliers (2001-03), Boston Celtics (2003-06), Minnesota Timberwolves (2006-07), Los Angeles Clippers (2008-10), Turk Telekom (2010), Jiangsu Dragons (2010), Chorale Roanne (2011), Maine Red Claws (2011-12), Piratas de Quebradillas (2012), Erie BayHawks (2013-14). 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