Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a 6 ft 11 in / 265 lb. center.

Dampier played competitively at Lawrence County High School in Monticello, Mississippi, where he led the rural county to two state championships. Dampier played college basketball at Mississippi State University. While there he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. He was an early entry to the 1996 NBA draft after his junior season, in which he led MSU to the 1996 Southeastern Conference tournament championship, and the NCAA Final Four before being drafted as the tenth pick in the first round by the Indiana Pacers.

He played 72 games in his rookie year with the Pacers, starting 21 of them and finishing with averages of 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. On August 12, 1997 he and Duane Ferrell were traded to the Golden State Warriors for Chris Mullin.

He spent the next seven years, primarily as the starting center, for the Warriors, hitting his peak production in 2003–04 with averages of 12.3 points, 12 rebounds and 1.85 blocks per game. However, some critics claimed that he stepped up his production because he was in a contract year, and indeed he was considered a top free-agent commodity in the 2004 off-season.

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He decided to declare his eligibility for the NBA Draft upon graduation, and was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie, Bryant earned himself a reputation as a high-flyer and a fan favorite by winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. A heated feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals was followed by O'Neal's trade from the Lakers after the 2003–04 season. Following O'Neal's departure Bryant became the cornerstone of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, setting numerous scoring records in the process. In 2006, Bryant scored a career-high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second most points scored in a single game in NBA history, second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962. He was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in 2008. After losing in the 2008 NBA Finals, Bryant led the Lakers to two consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, earning the NBA Finals MVP Award on both occasions.

LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. He was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2009, 2010, and 2012 and has been both an All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James signing with the Miami Heat.

James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2011, James and the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.

Bobby Simmons (born June 2, 1980) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2007.

Simmons played three years of college basketball for DePaul University. During his three seasons at DePaul, Simmons averaged 13.6 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game and 2.2 assists per game.

Simmons was selected in the second round (41st pick overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. Simmons's draft rights were traded to the Washington Wizards for Predrag Drobnjak on June 27, 2001.

Simmons was traded by the Wizards on September 11, 2002, shortly before the start of the 2002–03 NBA season, to the Detroit Pistons with Hubert Davis and Richard Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse, Brian Cardinal, and Ratko Varda. He was released by the Pistons on September 24 and, less than two weeks later, signed with the Wizards again on October 10. Later, Simmons signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Clippers on September 26, 2003.

Dahntay Lavall Jones (born December 27, 1980 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player, currently playing for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.

Originally a student at Rutgers University, Jones transferred to Duke University. He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the first round (20th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft, and his rights were later traded, along with the rights to Troy Bell, to the Grizzlies for the rights to Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks. Jones played his first four professional seasons for the Grizzlies, averaging 5.0 points per game.

Jones grew up in Hamilton Square, New Jersey. and starred in Steinert High School in Hamilton Township, Mercer County from 1995-1998. He averaged 24 points and 9 rebounds as a senior and was named as a McDonald's All-America honorable mention.

Even though Jones enjoyed a career season in 2007, no team signed him until on September 26, 2007, Jones signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Boston Celtics, but was later waived by the team on October 25, 2007.