Manute Bol: Big Man, Big Heart

We remember Manute Bol, one of the tallest and nicest guys to ever play in the NBA.

Chuck Connors, Cowboy

Chuck Connors could have stuck with his pro sports career, but we're glad he switched to acting...

Coach Dez Merriweather's Legacy

Desmond Merriweather was just another middle school basketball coach … one who made national headlines for his work with inner-city children in Memphis, Tennessee.

Harry Gallatin (1927 - 2015)

Harry Gallatin, the Hall of Fame basketball player who was a seven-time All-Star forward for the New York Knicks in the 1950s, died Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. He was 88.

Flip Saunders (1955–2015)

Flip Saunders, the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves who notched more than 1,000 victories over a 35-year coaching career, died Sunday of cancer, according to ESPN. He was 60. He also coached the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards during a 17-season career as an NBA head coach that included 654 wins.

Mel Daniels (1944 - 2015), Indiana Pacers center

Mel Daniels, Hall of Fame center for the Indiana Pacers, died Friday, October 30, 2015 according to The Indianapolis Star. He was 71.

Dolph Schayes (1928 - 2015), 12-time NBA All-Star with the 76ers

NBA Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes died Thursday at the age of 87.

John "Hot Rod" Williams (1962 - 2015)

John Williams, who played as a power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1995, has died, according to his longtime agent, Mark Bartelstein. Williams was 53. Also known as Hot Rod, Williams died Friday of prostate cancer-related complications in a hospital near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said Bartelstein. Williams had been treated for the disease for the last six months.

John Johnson (1947 - 2016), two-time NBA All-Star

John Johnson, a two-time NBA All-Star forward, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 68.

Dwayne Washington (1964 - 2016), former NBA player

Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, a retired professional basketball player who acquired the nickname from his skills on Brooklyn, New York, playgrounds, died April 20. He was 52.

Jim McMillian (1948 - 2016), NBA champ with the Lakers

Jim McMillian, an NBA forward who helped lead the Lakers to the 1972 NBA championship, died May 16, according to The Associated Press. He was 68.

Bryce Dejean-Jones (1992 - 2016), New Orleans Pelicans guard

Bryce Dejean-Jones, a rookie NBA guard with the New Orleans Pelicans, was fatally shot May 28, 2016, in Dallas, Texas, according to multiple news sources. He was 23.

Sean Rooks (1969 - 2016), NBA player and coach

Sean Rooks, a former professional basketball center, died June 7, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to multiple news sources. He was 46.

Brooks Thompson (1970 - 2016), basketball player and coach

Brooks Thompson played with the NBA's Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns before coaching men's college basketball at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Nate Thurmond (1941 - 2016), Hall of Fame NBA center

Nate Thurmond, Hall of Fame NBA center, died after a short battle with leukemia on July 16, 2016, according to multiple news sources. He was 74.

Craig Sager (1951 - 2016), NBA sideline reporter

Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter known for his colorful attire, died Dec. 15, 2016, according to multiple news reports. He was 65.

Charles Shackleford (1966 - 2017), NBA power forward

Charles Shackleford, an NBA player for six seasons who had been a 1980s standout at North Carolina State University, died Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. He was 50.

Fab Melo (1990 - 2017)

Fab Melo, a former Syracuse University basketball star, has died, according to multiple news sources. He was 26. Melo was found dead at his home in Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, military police in Brazil confirmed. Melo went to bed Friday night and was found dead Saturday morning by his mother, authorities there said. Melo had been playing professional basketball in Brazil. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.

Brody Stephens (2008 - 2017), basketball superfan who befriended Stephen Curry

Basketball superfan, 8, befriended Stephen Curry...

George Irvine (1948 - 2017), NBA coach and player

Former pro player coached NBA’s Indiana, Detroit teams…

Jack McCloskey (1925 - 2017), Detroit Pistons general manager

Former GM helped lead Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles...

Gene Conley (1930 - 2017), NBA and MLB athlete

One of only two players to win a championship in two major professional sports.

Bob Wolff (1920–2017), legendary New York sports broadcaster

Legendary New York sports broadcaster.

John Kundla (1916 - 2017), NBA Hall of Famer

Former Lakers head coach was an NBA Hall of Famer...

Thomas "Tommy" Hawkins (1936 - 2017), former Lakers forward

Former NBA forward played for the Lakers during the 1950s, ’60s...

Connie Hawkins (1942–2017), basketball legend from the schoolyard to the Hall of Fame

PHOENIX (AP) — Connie Hawkins, basketball's dazzling New York playground legend who soared and swooped his way to the Hall of Fame, has died at 75.

Dick Enberg (1935 – 2017), “Oh, my!” was sportscaster’s signature call

Dick Enberg, a Hall of Fame broadcaster known as much for his excited calls of “Oh my!” as the big events he covered during a 60-year career, has died. He was 82.

Jo Jo White (1946 – 2018), Boston Celtics legend

Hall of Famer won 2 NBA championships with the Celtics…

Rasual Butler and Leah LaBelle (2018), former NBA player and singer wife

LaBelle appeared on season 3 of “American Idol”…

Zeke Upshaw (1991–2018), played with Grand Rapids in the NBA G League

Zeke Upshaw, a forward with the Grand Rapids Drive in the NBA G League, has died at the age of 26, according to multiple news sources.

Hal Greer (1936 – 2018), Hall of Famer

He was the Philadelphia 76ers all-time leading scorer…

Tex Winter (1922–2018), genius behind the triangle offense

His innovative offense led the Bulls and Lakers to many NBA titles.

John MacLeod (1937–2019), Phoenix Suns all-time winningest head coach

Also coached Notre Dame, the Knicks, and the Mavericks.

Fred McLeod (1952–2019), beloved Cleveland Cavaliers announcer

Longtime Detroit Pistons broadcaster moved to the Cavaliers in 2006.

Andre Emmett (1982–2019), Texas Tech basketball legend

Andre Emmett was a basketball legend at Texas Tech University. Playing under head coach Bobby Knight, Emmett was their second all-time leading scorer and an All-American selection in 2004. He was drafted No. 35 overall by the Seattle SuperSonics and traded to the Memphis Grizzlies but only played in a handful of NBA games. He then played internationally and recently was a star in the BIG3 league, finishing second in scoring last season.

Wat Misaka (1923–2019), first person of color to play in the NBA

Wataru “Wat” Misaka was a Japanese-American basketball player who joined the New York Knicks in 1947, becoming the first non-White player in modern professional basketball. Prior to his professional career, Misaka played for the University of Utah, where his team won two national championships, in 1944 and 1947. He then signed with the Knicks as a guard, officially joining the Basketball Association of America, the NBA’s forerunner whose stats are counted as part of NBA history. Misaka only played three games with the Knicks before being released by the team. He declined an offer to play for the Harlem Globetrotters and returned to his native Utah, where he worked as a mechanical engineer.

David Stern (1942–2020), longtime NBA commissioner

David Stern was the commissioner of the NBA for 30 years, from 1984 to 2014. During that time, he helped transform the league, bringing it out of a slump into a period of greatness. Under Stern’s leadership, NBA stars achieved international stardom as he sent recordings of games to China for broadcast there and championed superstar players like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Charles Barkley. It was Stern who lobbied for professional basketball to be allowed in the 1992 Summer Olympics, creating the unstoppable Dream Team. And during his tenure, the average NBA player salary rose steeply to today’s multimillion-dollar levels. Stern famously supported Magic Johnson after the star player was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, and his highly public support helped change the debate about the then-misunderstood disease.

Kobe Bryant (1978–2020), basketball legend

Kobe Bryant wasone of the greatest players to put on an NBA uniform.Bryant played all 20 of his seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, leading them to five NBA titles.Wearing his familiar number 24, the shooting guard was an 18-time All-Star and a two-time NBA finals MVP.An unstoppable scorer from outside and inside, he averaged 25 points a game in his career. Bryant was the NBA's fourth highest scorer of all time and the league's first guard to play 20 seasons. When he started with the Lakers in 1996, Bryant was the youngest person ever to play in an NBA game mdash he skipped college in favor of going pro, and he was just 17 when he signed with the Lakers and a little over 18 when he played his first game. Bryant won two gold medals for Team USA in the Olympics, in 2008 and 2012.

Calabasas Helicopter Crash Victims (2020)

Nine people were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on the morning of Sunday, January 26, 2020. There were no survivors.

Jerry Sloan (1942–2020), Hall of Fame Utah Jazz head coach

Jerry Sloan was one of the winningest head coaches in NBA history. He coached the Utah Jazz for 23 seasons, from 1988 to 2011 with a roster including future hall-of-famers John Stockton and Karl Malone. His impressive record as a coach included 15 consecutive playoff appearances, highlighted by consecutive NBA Finals against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

Wes Unseld (1946–2020), legendary Washington Bullets center

Wes Unseld was a legendary Hall of Fame center for the Washington Bullets who was one of only two players in NBA history to win rookie of the year and MVP in the same season.

Clifford Robinson (1966–2020), NBA star with the Portland Trail Blazers

Clifford Robinson was a basketball player best known for his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, having helped lead the team to two NBA Finals appearances.

John Thompson (1941–2020), legendary Georgetown basketball coach

John Thompson wasthelegendary former head basketball coach atGeorgetownUniversitywho was the first black head coach to win the NCAA men's basketball championship when he led Georgetown to a win in 1984.

Tom Heinsohn (1934–2020), Boston Celtics legend

Boston Celtics legend Tom Heinsohn won 10 championships with the franchise as a player and head coach.

David Maas (1963–2020), performer in “Quick Change” magic act

David Maas was a stage magician who performed with his wife, Dania Kaseeva, as the celebrated “David and Dania: Quick Change” act.

K.C. Jones (1932–2020), Celtics legend

K.C. Jones was the steady point guard for the Boston Celtics who helped lead the team to eight NBA titles as a player and then two more as the head coach.

Paul Westphal (1950–2021), Basketball Hall of Famer

Paul Westphal was a five-time NBA All-Star who later became a head coach.

Elgin Baylor (1934–2021), Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer

Elgin Baylor was an NBA player and executive who was a superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1950s and ‘60s.

Mark Eaton (1957–2021), Utah Jazz shot-blocking legend

Mark Eaton was a former 7-foot-4 shot-blocking defensive star with the Utah Jazz.