Photo: Chris Webber as a member of the University of Michigan. Photo credit: Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Webber was a 2022 inductee. Cover photo: Chris Webber dunks against the Chicago Bulls. Photo credit: Getty Images. One of the best power forwards in NBA history celebrates a birthday on Sunday, March 1 as Chris Webber turns 53. A native of Detroit, Mich. who starred at Detroit Country Day School, Webber led his school to three state championships and was National Player

Photo: Michael Jordan dunks against the Philadelphia 76ers in 1996. Photo credit: Nathaniel S. Butler, NBAE. Over time, the debate of "the greatest of all-time" has become overdone and tiresome. Everyone has an opinion and viewpoint. Eventually, circles are run over and over, and the same blather gets repeated. GOAT athlete this, Mount Rushmore that. Beyond his time in the game and on the court, Michael Jordan, who turns 63 years old today, Feb. 17, has had an impact on profe

Photo: Houston Rockets’ center Hakeem Olajuwon shoots over New York Knicks’ center Patrick Ewing. Photo credit: Getty Images, Focus on Sport. Cover photo: Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets dunks against the Chicago Bulls. Photo credit: Sunny Gill. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Jan. 21 as 12-time all-star and Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon turns 63.  Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olajuwon did not start playing basketball until the age of 15. Prior to that, he part

Photo: Dominique Wilkins during the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk contest in Chicago. Photo credit: Charles Cherney, Associated Press. Cover photo: Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks dunks against the Boston Celtics. Photo credit: Associated Press. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Jan. 12 as 9-time all-star and Hall of Fame forward Dominique Wilkins turns 66.  Born in Paris, France, Wilkins starred at North Carolina’s Washington High School (Washington, N.C.). There, he led th

Photo: The aftermath of the shattered backboard, courtesy of a dunk from Philadelphia 76er Darryl Dawkins in a Nov. 13, 1979 game against the Kansas City Kings. Photo credit: Associated Press. Cover photo: Darryl Dawkins of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks against the Atlanta Hawks on April 15, 1980. Photo credit: Portland Press Herald. An NBA legend was born on this date 69 years ago.  Before he became, in 1975, the first NBA player to go directly from high school to the NBA, Or

Photo: Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Bobby Jones goes to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kurt Rambis. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images. Cover photo: Philadelphia 76ers’ forward Bobby Jones drives against the Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird during Game 5 of the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals at the Boston Garden in Boston, Mass. Photo credit: Dick Raphael, NBAE, Getty Images. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Dec. 18 as 5-time NBA All

Cover photo: Charlie Scott at the University of North Carolina. Photo credit: Getty Images. Photo: Phoenix Suns’ guard Charlie Scott lays the ball up at the Baltimore Civic Center in Baltimore, Md., against the Washington Bullets in the 1970s. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Dec. 15 as Hall of Fame guard Charlie Scott turns 77.  Born in New York City, Scott attended Stuyvesant High School and later the Laurinburg Institute in

Photo: Anthony Mason as a member of the Miami Heat. In his only season in Miami (2000-01), Mason was an All-Star. Photo credit: Palm Beach Post. Cover photo: Anthony Mason of the New York Knicks pushing the ball up the floor. Photo credit: Getty Images An NBA legend was born 59 years ago today, Dec. 14. Anthony Mason, a powerfully-built forward with ball handling and guard-like skills atypical of a player his size, was born in Miami but attended Queens’ Springfield Gardens Hi

Photo: Bob Pettit shooting a free-throw against the Boston Celtics. Photo credit: Getty Images. Cover photo: Bob Pettit against the Cincinnati Royals. Photo courtesy: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Dec. 12 as Hall of Fame forward Bob Pettit turns 93.  Pettit, a Baton Rouge, La. native, stayed local for college, playing at Louisiana State University, where he was a 3-time All-SEC player and 2-time consensus All-American. Pettit led the SEC

Cover photo: Mark Aguirre with the Dallas Mavericks. Photo credit: Getty Images. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Dec. 10 as 3-time all-star and 2-time NBA champion Mark Aguirre turns 66.  One of the best players to ever come out of Chicago, Ill., Aguirre starred at Westinghouse Prep alongside future NBA Sixth Man of the Year Eddie Johnson. In 1978, Westinghouse won the Chicago Public League title. Aguirre averaged 33 points and 16 rebounds per game and was All-City, Al

Two NBA legends celebrate birthdays on Dec. 9, as one-time all-star World B. Free turns 72, and four-time all-star Otis Birdsong turns 70. Born Lloyd Free, World B. changed his name to World B. Free in 1981. It was a nickname that he had gotten in junior high, an allusion to his “All-World” talent. Free was born in Atlanta, Ga., but grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.  Photo: World B. Free as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Photo credit: NBA Entertainment. A 1997 inductee i

Photo: Larry Bird shoots against the Washington Bullets in 1986. Photo credit: Porter Binks, USA Today. Cover photo: Larry Bird shooting the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images. One of the greatest players in NBA history celebrates a birthday as 12-time all-star, 3-time NBA champion, and 3-time MVP Larry Bird turns 69 on Dec. 7. Born in West Baden, Ind., Bird went to high school at Springs Valley in French Lick, which provided the g

Cover photo: Paul Westphal of the Phoenix Suns dribbles the ball against the Boston Celtics in 1976. Photo credit: Dick Raphael, NBAE and Getty Images. Photo: Paul Westphal coaching the Phoenix Suns. Photo credit: NBA Entertainment. A Hall of Fame NBA legend would have been 75 years old today, Nov. 30.  Paul Westphal was born on Nov. 30, 1950 in Torrance, Calif. He attended Aviation High School in Redondo Beach before a collegiate career at the University of Southern Californ

Cover photo: Oscar Robertson as a University of Cincinnati Bearcat. Photo credit: The University of Cincinnati. Photo: Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals driving against the Boston Celtics. Photo credit: Andy Hemmer, Voice America. One of the best players in NBA history celebrates a birthday on Nov. 24 as Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson turns 87.  Before he became the first NBA player to ever average a triple-double for an entire season, the Indianapolis, Ind. native

Cover photo: Boston Celtics’ forward Reggie Lewis against the Detroit Pistons in the 1991 NBA playoffs. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images. The 1981-82 and 1982-83 Dunbar High School boys basketball teams are considered some of the best, if not the best, high school teams that there has ever been. In 81-82, the program went undefeated, while in 82-83 they were ranked first in the nation with a 31-0 regular season record. Gary Graham, David Wingate, Tyrone “Muggsy” Bog

Photo: Louie Dampier, with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs in 1978, pushes the ball up the floor against the Kansas City Kings’ Otis Birdsong. Photo credit: Getty Images. Cover photo: Louie Dampier of the Kentucky Colonels drives the ball against the Carolina Cougars’ Tom Owen on Nov. 14, 1973. Photo credit: Michael Coers, The Courier-Journal. An ABA legend celebrates a birthday on Nov. 20 as Hall of Fame guard Louie Dampier turns 81.  Dampier, born in Indianapolis, Ind., was a g

Photo: Elvin Hayes goes up for a shot in 1973 as a member of the Washington Bullets. Photo credit: Jerry Wachter, Sporting News Archives. Cover photo: Elvin Hayes during his Houston Rockets’ jersey retirement on Nov. 18, 2022. Photo credit: David J. Phillip, Associated Press. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Nov. 17 as Hall of Fame big man Elvin Hayes turns 80.  A native of Rayville, La., “Big E” attended high school at local Eula D. Britton. Hayes averaged 35 points pe

Cover photo: Bob Dandridge of the Washington Bullets pushing the ball against the Houston Rockets. Photo credit: Norfolk State University. An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on Nov. 15 as Hall of Fame forward Bob Dandridge turns 78.  Born in Richmond, Va., Dandridge attended local Maggie Walker High School before attending Norfolk State University. As a junior at Norfolk, Dandridge averaged 26.1 points per game and led his team to the CIAA title. As a senior in 1968-69, Dand

Photo: Jack Sikma of the Seattle SuperSonics shoots the ball over the Portland Trail Blazers’ Mychal Thompson. Photo credit: NBAE, Getty Images. Cover photo: Jack Sikma of the Seattle SuperSonics shoots the ball over the Phoenix Suns’ Alvan Adams. Photo credit: Seattle Times One of the under-appreciated centers of the late 1970s and 80s celebrates a birthday on Nov. 14 as Hall of Fame big man Jack Sikma turns 70.  Born in Kankakee, Ill., Sikma as a 6 foot, 10 inch senior at S

Photo: New Jersey Nets’ guard “Super John” Williamson goes up for a left-handed layup in a game against the Washington Bullets in 1978. Photo credit: Focus on Sport, Getty Images Cover photo: John Williamson over the New York Nets drives the ball in an ABA game against the Spririts of St. Louis. Photo credit: Getty Images. Birthed in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans playing out of the Teaneck Armory, and then as the New York Nets playing out of the Nassau Coliseum before goin