They Made the League Great While the sports pages laud young talents like Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Allen Iverson, and Vince Carter, Encarta's editors have decided to recognize those players who built the league into a global empire.
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1.Charles Barkley consistently out-muscled bigger men for points and rebounds, winning the hearts of fans with his hard-nosed play and ready wit. Now that he's retired, Sir Charles works in television as a halftime analyst.
2.Larry Bird may have lacked the pure athleticism of his peers, but he excelled because he understood the game. Bird's passing and shooting skills--combined with his legendary rivalry with Magic Johnson--were key to the NBA's revival. When his playing days were over Bird joined the coaching ranks, taking the Indiana Pacers to the 2000 NBA Finals.
3.Patrick Ewing*has been one of the league's top centers from the first day he stepped onto the court at Madison Square Garden. Ewing's play in the paint resurrected the New York Knicks, one of the NBA's proudest franchises.
4.Magic Johnson broke the mold. A big man who played point guard, Magic could knife through traffic, wow the crowd with a no-look pass, and score from any position on the floor. With his playing days behind him, Johnson has become a successful businessman and a spokesman for AIDS awareness. His winning smile can still light up an NBA arena.
5.Michael Jordan is considered by many to be the best basketball player in history. An unstoppable scorer, stingy defender, and all-around team leader, Jordan electrified the league with his acrobatic play and popularized the NBA around the world. After his second retirement, Jordan became president of basketball operations for the Washington Wizards, and in 2001 made a comeback as a player in a Wizards uniform. He retired for a third time at the end of the 2002-2003 season with the highest scoring average (30.1 points per game) in NBA history.
6.Karl Malone* is the definition of consistency. Year in, year out, the Mailman has delivered. Malone is a man mountain who plays inside and out, and in December 2000 Malone passed Wilt Chamberlain to become the second leading scorer in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. By the end of the 2000-01 season Malone had amassed more than 32,000 points.
7.Hakeem Olajuwon's "dream shake" footwork and seemingly limitless variety of offensive moves have made him one of the most exciting centers in league history. In the 1990s Olajuwon's Houston Rockets won back-to-back NBA titles.
8.Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan built the Chicago Bulls into one of the NBA's all-time dynasties. Now playing for the Portland Trailblazers, Pippen does whatever it takes to help his team win--defend, rebound, pass, or score.
9.Isiah Thomas was a rare talent--a (relatively) small man (6 ft 1 in) who could dominate an NBA game. Popular and charismatic, Thomas's bright smile belied his intensely competitive spirit. In the 2000-01 season Thomas took the reins of the Indiana Pacers, replacing fellow legend Larry Bird, who had retired as head coach.
10.John Stockton is one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. The NBA's all-time assists leader, Stockton and teammate Karl Malone are among the greatest tandems in league history.
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