Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "Pitchin' Paul," was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He retired with the third highest career point total (16,266) in NBA history, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History upon its 50th anniversary in 1996. He was a high-scoring forward at Villanova University before being drafted by the Warriors of the fledgling NBA.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Arizin did not play basketball at La Salle College High School, failing to make the team in his only tryout as a senior. Arizin graduated just a year before another NBA hall of famer, Tom Gola, entered La Salle College High School as a freshman.

During his freshmen year at Villanova, Arizin played CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) basketball in Philadelphia. Late in that season, Al Severance, the then Villanova varsity basketball coach, attended one of Arizin's CYO games. Afterwards, Severance approached Arizin and asked, "How would you like to go to Villanova?" His answer: "I go to Villanova."

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Ernest Maurice "Kiki" Vandeweghe III (born August 1, 1958 in Wiesbaden, West Germany) is a retired American professional basketball player and was the previous general manager and head coach of the New Jersey Nets of the NBA.

Vandeweghe is the son of former NBA player Ernie Vandeweghe and Colleen Kay Hutchins, the winner of the 1952 Miss America pageant. He is also the nephew of another NBA player, four-time All-Star Mel Hutchins. He has a niece Coco Vandeweghe who is a tennis player on the junior circuit. Kiki and his wife Peggy have one son, Ernest Maurice Vandeweghe IV, who was born in 2002.

As a player, Vandeweghe was regarded as an excellent scorer and outside shooter, averaging 20 points for seven consecutive seasons. His offensive repertoire was essentially limited to a single move, the jab step, but he was so proficient at this lone move that it was often referred to as the "Kiki Move" toward the end of his career. Vandeweghe's teams qualified for the NBA Playoffs in 12 of his 13 seasons in the league, although none of his teams ever won the NBA Championship.

Ronald "Ron" Harper (born January 20, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player whose career spanned from 1986 to 2001 with four teams in the NBA. At 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), his position was shooting guard/point guard.

Harper starred at Miami University in Ohio, where his high flying playing style drew rousing comparisons to Julius Erving. Harper averaged 24.3 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, 3.2 steals per game, and 2.4 blocked shots per game.

After Harper's collegiate basketball career he was selected 8th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1986 NBA Draft. He averaged 22.9 points per game in his rookie season, placing second in Rookie of the Year balloting, finishing behind Chuck Person of the Indiana Pacers. After initially spending 3 seasons with the Cavaliers, Harper was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danny Ferry.

While with the Clippers, Harper sustained a knee injury which robbed him of much of his speed and jumping ability, though he averaged just under 2 steals per game which still remains a team record.

Rik Smits (born August 23, 1966 in Eindhoven, Netherlands) is a retired Dutch professional basketball player who spent his entire professional career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association. The 7'4" (2.24 m) center was drafted by the Pacers out of Marist College with the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA Draft. The Dutch-born player was nicknamed "The Dunkin' Dutchman".

Smits originally backed up Steve Stipanovich, but when Stipanovich suffered a terrible injury that ended his career, Smits ended up starting 71 games in his rookie year, averaging 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and earning All-Rookie First Team honors. Smits continued to average double-digit point totals in every year of his career, but it wasn't until 1993-1994 that Smits really came into his own as a team leader.

Throughout the Pacers' playoff runs in the mid- and late-1990s, Smits was considered the number two player, behind Reggie Miller, on the deeply talented Pacers team. Smits' highest point-per-game average was in 1995–96 when he averaged 18.5 points per game, relatively modest by NBA "superstar" standards, but the Dutchman endeared himself to Pacers fans with outstanding playoff performances.