Al Thornton (born December 7, 1983, in Perry, Georgia) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Guayama Wizards of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. He had formerly played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards and the Golden State Warriors. Collegiately, he played for Florida State University.

Thornton's outstanding four-year career at Florida State University was capped off by a stellar individual senior year that saw him make the AP Third-Team All-American, a unanimous selection to the First-Team All-ACC team, and was runner up to Boston College's Jared Dudley for the ACC Player of the Year. He led the ACC in scoring and averaged over 7 rebounds per game as well. His season came to a disappointing end as the Seminoles did not qualify for the NCAA tournament for the ninth straight season and were forced to play in the NIT.

On June 28, 2007, Thornton was taken 14th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. Thornton also has the same agent as Yao Ming. On July 9, Thornton played his first summer league game for the Clippers, scoring 24 points and registering 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in a 108–102 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Zaza Pachulia (Georgian: ზაზა ფაჩულია; born Zaur Pachulia February 10, 1984), is a Georgian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA.

Pachulia was a very successful basketball player at a very early age in Georgia. He was approximately 6 feet 8 inches (2.04 meters) at the age of 13. He was scouted and recruited by the Turkish professional team Ülkerspor when he was a teenager. He became a member of the national basketball team of Georgia at a young age and led his team as a center to beat other Eastern European rivals, such as Belarus and Bulgaria.

Once he distinguished himself with Ülkerspor, Pachulia was drafted in the second round by the Orlando Magic during the 2003 NBA Draft. After being selected in the 2004 expansion draft by the Charlotte Bobcats, Zaza was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks where he played the 2004–05 season. While with the Bucks, Pachulia averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench. After he spent one season with the Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks became interested in him.

Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985) is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. He chose to forgo college and entered the 2004 NBA Draft, and was selected first overall by the Magic. A six-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA team selection, five-time All-Defensive member, and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard has been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throw attempts, and has set numerous franchise and league records. He has led the Magic to three division titles and one conference title, and he was the winner of the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. In the 2008 Olympics, he was the starting center for Team USA, which went on to win the gold medal.

Before he was drafted in 2004, Howard said that he wanted to use his NBA career and Christian faith to "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world". In November 2009, he was named one of the 10 finalists for the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, which awards athletes for their charitable work.

Eric Ambrose Gordon, Jr. (born December 25, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA. In high school, he was named "Mr. Basketball" of Indiana during his senior year while playing at North Central High School. He is known, in part, as the subject of a major recruiting battle between the University of Illinois and Indiana University in the spring and summer of 2006; because of Gordon's talent and high level of play that year, his recruitment was the subject of a great deal of media coverage.

Gordon played one season of college basketball at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. He finished his freshman season leading the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 19th in the nation at 21.5 points per game. Gordon entered the 2008 NBA Draft and was selected seventh overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon is represented by agent Rob Pelinka.

Born in Indianapolis, Gordon began playing sports at the YMCA at 4, playing soccer, and then moved quickly on to basketball. He also played football but his true love was basketball. At the age of 7 he began playing competitive basketball at the historical Municipal Gardens. He spent the majority of his time across the street from his home at the Jewish Community Center of Indianapolis (JCC). There Gordon spent many hours playing pick ball, swimming and hanging out with friends. It was at the JCC that Gordon announced his departure from college to enter his name into the NBA Draft.

Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA All-Star, he was drafted as the third pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He went on to play for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers before signing with New York as a free agent in 2011. Davis played college basketball at the UCLA, where he was an All-America honoree before turning professional after his sophomore year. He was a star high school player while at Crossroads School.

Davis was born in Los Angeles. His grandmother and guardian, Lela Nicholson, was instrumental in pushing him to play basketball. With her encouragement, he eventually enrolled at Crossroads School, a prestigious private school in Santa Monica, California.

As a senior at Crossroads, Davis led his team to the Championship of The Beach Ball Classic tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina over perennial prep powerhouse Christ The King Regional High School (Queens, New York), while earning MVP honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team along with future St. John's standout Erick Barkley at that prestigious event. That year, Davis was also named Gatorade National Player of the Year and a Parade All-American. He was also selected to play in the prestigious McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game in Colorado Springs in 1997, playing with future NBA players Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Larry Hughes and Ron Artest, and winning the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest despite being the smallest man in the competition at 6'2."