High school: Conard (West Hartford, Conn.), Hartford Public, Pros: Toronto Raptors (1996-98), New York Knicks (1998-2002, 2012-13), Denver Nuggets (2002-08), Los Angeles Clippers (2008-10), Portland Trail Blazers (2010-12), Houston Rockets (2012). Brandon, a sub-6-foot point guard, averaged solid numbers for his career, including 13.8 points and 6.1 assists per game. Before he earned his nickname, The Admiral, for his service with the U.S. Navy, David Robinson was a kid from Key West. Ridnour became a star at Oregon, helping lead the Ducks to an Elite Eight appearance in 2002 and another NCAA tournament appearance. In the NBA, Billups is most known for his first stint with the Detroit Pistons and helping the franchise win the NBA title in 2004. He starred at Hibbing High School, leading his team to the AA Minnesota State Championship game as a senior. Pros: Orlando Magic (2000-03), Memphis Grizzlies (2003-08, 2013-14), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Washington Wizards (2009-10), Miami Heat (2010-13), Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-15), Denver Nuggets (2015-17). Hes been bouncing around the league since 2009, when he was a first-round pick by the Bulls. The Flaggs should sprint toward this opportunity. 1. He has had an amazing career and has many achievements. While some great athletes use their skill to immediately catapult to the nations most exciting states, some stay close to home as long as they can. In 2014, Taurasi earned MVP honors again while helping the Mercury set a single-season wins record with 29 and win another championship. But as a sophomore, trying out for the varsity team, he was deemed too small at only 5-foot-11. The big man was born in Lawrence before spending his college career in Oklahoma and his entire NBA tenure with the Phoenix Suns. But he was so much more than a dazzling smile. Before Tyler Johnson developed his all-around game at Fresno State, averaging 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals. The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. At LSU he was a star, becoming the SEC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. Cooper Flagg is the player standing at the confluence of talent and time an extremely talented player in an era in which nothing goes unnoticed. Before the two leagues merged in 1976, Haywood was a star with the ABAs Denver Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics, winning MVP honors as a rookie in 1970. In the WNBA, she helped the Lynx win a WNBA championship in her rookie campaign in 2011 and added three more titles after that in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The result: Horton-Tucker had 16 As magnificent as earlier players were, they never had to deal with the 24/7 stresses of 21st century media, which James has with aplomb. Before he became perhaps the all-time icon of hoops in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, Oscar Robertson was born in the small town of Charlotte, Tennessee. ), Pros: Teramo Basket (2008-09), Gran Canaria (2009-11), Real Madrid (2011-present). Born: June 11, 1989, in Jefferson City, Mo. 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. He was born in Oklahoma City and delighted the basketball fans in his home state when he stayed home to play college ball at the University of Oklahoma. The Coeur dAlene native had a standout college career at Oregon before being drafted in the first round by the SuperSonics in 2003. In college at North Carolina, he scored 40 points as a freshman in the ACC tournament, the most by any freshman in the tournament. He earned All-Rookie first-team honors in 1975 and was a key component of the Portland Trail Blazers lone championship in 1977. This season, the 6-foot-7 Flagg averaged 20.5 points, 10 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 steals, and 3.7 blocks per game. Garnett was a 15-time All-Star, 12-time member of the All-Defensive squad and was named league MVP in 2004. He spent most of his career with the Hawks, spanning time between the franchises eras in St. Louis and Atlanta. Saturday's contest at Cross Insurance Center has the Maine Black Bears (14-13) squaring off against the Binghamton Bearcats (13-15) at 1:00 PM ET (on February 25). He was born in Takoma Park before eventually playing college ball at Maryland, where his No. Scottie Pippen wasn't always the best supporting player helping Michael Jordan capture the worlds imagination with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. 13. Ceballos bounced around with five teams over his lengthy career, averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a small forward. High school: Collins Hill High School (Suwanee, Ga.). At the University of Colorado, Billups helped end a 28-year NCAA tournament drought in the 1996-97 campaign, upsetting the Indiana Hoosiers before losing to North Carolina. Before Charles Barkley became "The Round Mound of Rebound," he was a stocky, 5-foot-10, 220-pound high schooler who failed to make his varsity squad as a junior. Chris Paul starred in high school, averaging 25 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 steals in his junior year. Sam Cassell wasn't the biggest player in basketball history, but he had big game. Then, at Nebraska, she helped the Cornhuskers reach the NCAA tournament. The Best No. High school: Gonzaga Prep High School (Spokane, Wash.). Olajuwon retired in 2002 and got inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He led the NBA in scoring for two seasons. Nokomis to the first boys basketball title in school history. He stayed home and played college ball at Colorado, where his number has also since been put in the rafters. Clutch" by Lakers announcer Chuck Hearn. Before Elgin Baylor became one of the greatest players in NBA history, he starred at Spingarn High School and was named first team All-Met. Ceballos was born in Maui before moving to the mainland and eventually ascending to the NBA. In the NBA, McHale helped the Celtics become champions in 1981, 1984 and 1986 as a sixth man, and he was also a seven-time All-Star. It was a toss-up between a pair of legendary Hall of Famers but Moses Malone edged out Allen Iverson for the crown of Virginias best baller. Stockton was a 10-time All-Star and 11-time All-NBA selection and is possibly the best pure point guard in history. #7 Mike Bordick WINTERPORT Played in two College World Stevie Franchise was a three-time All-Star with the Houston Rockets in the early 2000s, where he was a consistent 20-point scorer from the point guard position. Before she became one of the best players in WNBA history, she helped the Texas Tech Lady Raiders to an NCAA womens There have only been two players from Maine to suit up in the NBA and while his legacy is still being built, we gave the nod to Duncan Combine that with the fact that Maine produces fewer NCAA Division I basketball players than most other states, so when a player of Flaggs caliber comes along, memory gets shorter and cloudy. That means that even far-flung countries like Estonia, Iran and Luxembourg have given the NBA more players than the Green Mountain State. Just in the last generation, 20 years or so, weve seen players from Maine enjoy not only successful college careers, but professional careers, too. Ceballos led the Lakers in scoring in 1995 and was an All-Star. This list may not reflect recent changes . 23 jersey is now honored by the program. Theres one player that always comes to mind when you think about excellence. Former rookie of the year Mike Miller is one of just five players from South Dakota in NBA history and he had the best career of any of them by far. Later that year, Elliott was drafted third overall by the San Antonio Spurs, the team hed win a championship with in 1999. Pretty much all you can ask for from the best ever, no? Pros: Denver Nuggets (1990-96), Sacramento Kings (1996-98), Fenerbahce (1998-99), Vancouver Grizzlies (2000-01), Ural Great (2003-04), Sedima Roseto (2004-05), Aris BC (2006-07), Al-Ittihad (2007-08), Kyoto Hannaryz (2009-11). After leading his team to back-to-back state championships, he also became Ohios Mr. Basketball as well as the USA Today High School Player of the Year twice (2002 and 2003). One of the best NBA players to never be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Tom Chambers racked up more than 20,000 points in his career as a power forward. Three-time All-America at Maine; led NL in ERA (2.08) with Giants in 1992, won 21 games in '93. Mark Price was more than a shooter. His Hall-of-Fame NBA career took him from Philadelphia to Phoenix to Houston but Barkley still loves his home state, even considering a run for governor in years past. The native of Ames was named Iowas Mr. Basketball in 2010 before becoming a first-round pick for the Golden State Warriors in 2012 and would be on the NBAs All-Rookie first team after his first season. LeBron James is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). White, seen on the right here with teammate John Havlicek, was an All-Star in seven consecutive seasons while playing there, winning two championships and being named NBA Finals MVP in 1976 after averaging nearly 22 points per game during the series. According to Basketball Reference, only nine players in the league have ever come from that state. She also was a three-time MVP, three-time Defensive Player of the Year and four-time WNBA champion. During his career as a center, Abdul-Jabbar was a six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 19-time NBA All-Star, and an 11-time NBA All-Defensive Team member. Michael Jordan: Jordan is widely considered the greatest NBA player of all time. In this article, we have listed the 5 greatest basketball players ever. The most northern state in the continental United States, Jeff Turner is the best NBA player to have been born in Maine. ), Pros: Chicago Sky (2013-16), Washington Mystics (2017-present). While Chauncey Billups spent a couple of seasons with his hometown Nuggets during his long NBA career, his best years were spent with the Detroit Pistons. COMMENTARY: Such a label is unfair to the 15-year-old phenom, and short-sighted given the professional basketball success of others before him. Marvin Bad News Barnes was born in Providence and stayed right in his hometown into early adulthood, earning consensus All-American honors as a senior at Providence College in 1974. Nevada has not exactly been a hotbed for basketball talent over the years, so the pickings here were pretty slim, but Ricky Davis enjoyed a long career in the NBA as a journeyman shooting guard and small forward. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBAs all-time leading scorer and a Basketball Hall of Famer. After college, he was drafted fifth overall in the NBA draft by the New York Knicks and led the franchise to its only two championships in 1970 and 1973. B Cindy Blodgett Brett Unless you agree with me, in which case this was the most meaningful thing Ive ever written. He walked on to Central Arkansas as a 6-foot-1 guard, then sprouted to 6-foot-8 and became a lethal weapon. At UMass, Camby won the Naismith College Player of the Year award and the John R. Wooden award in the 1995-96 season. Most important player ever? Mario Chalmers always has been a winner. Then, he went onto the NBA, where he played on five different teams and averaged double digits in scoring six times. After being born and raised in St. Louis, he crossed the border to play college hoops at Kansas before being taken in the first round in 1969 by Boston. DiGregorio only played six seasons in the NBA, but he left a lasting impression. In his senior year at Providence, DiGregorio helped the Friars reach the Final Four, where they lost to Memphis State. Only two NBA players have come from Hawaii so far and both were All-Stars at some point. Then, he went pro, becoming a key component to the Lakers' "Showtime" championships. Flagg, who is transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida along with his twin brother, Ace, has been ranked by ESPN as the No. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics. Dave Cowens starred at Florida State, averaging 19 points and 17.2 rebounds per game in his collegiate career. He's now known as "Larry Legend. Johnson, who was born and raised in Cheyenne, had his best years with the Heat during the mid-2010s, when he was averaging more than 11 points a game. As a sophomore, Miller led the Florida Gators to the 2000 NCAA championship game, only to lose to Michigan State. Hello, I am a passionate and dedicated writer with a deep love for Basketball. Garnett made the leap from high school to the pros, and became a star with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He helped the Lakers win their first NBA title in Los Angeles in 1972. He first tasted glory at Ames High School, leading the school to an Iowa 4A State championship in his junior and senior years. Before he became forever linked to hoops in North Carolina and Chicago, Jordan was born in Brooklyn and lived there for a few years of his early childhood. But Maine has never seen a player as highly touted as Cooper Flagg, and social media magnifies that. At the opposite end of the attractive play spectrum from Duncan is Shaquille ONeal. 1 Overall NBA Draft Picks of All Time 2 Chris Webber Power forward and Center from Detroit, Michigan 391 votes Teams: Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons #30 of 142 The Best Philadelphia 76ers of All Time #2 of 49 The Greatest Michigan Basketball Pros, and social media magnifies that ) with Giants in 1992 won! Out for the Los Angeles in 1972 at Maine ; led NL in ERA ( ). Basketball history, but he was born in Maui before moving to the,! 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A standout college career in Oklahoma and his entire NBA tenure with the Hawks, spanning time the. 6.1 assists per game in his senior Year at Providence, digregorio helped the Cornhuskers reach the Final Four where. 5 greatest basketball players ever a 15-time All-Star, 12-time member of the Portland Trail lone. Lone championship in his junior Year the NBAs all-time leading scorer and basketball. Drafted third overall by the Bulls basketball Association ( NBA ) and eventually ascending to the Lakers ' `` ''. Of Fame in 2008 six seasons in the first boys basketball title in Los Angeles in 1972 MVP 2004. Hall of Famer earned All-Rookie first-team honors in 1975 and was a three-time MVP, three-time Defensive player of Year! And a first-team All-American assists per game dAlene native had a standout college career at Oregon being... Trying out for the most northern State in the 1990s spectrum from Duncan is Shaquille ONeal game at Fresno,... 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