1) Kobe Bryant (born 1978)
2) Gianna Bryant (born 2006)

The basketball world was stunned on January 26, 2020, probably more so than it ever had been before, when news broke that Kobe Bryant had been killed in a helicopter crash. Less than four years removed from the end of his playing career, Bryant had transitioned smoothly into civilian life, producing films (and earning an Academy Award), writing books, investing in various businesses, and running his Mamba Sports Academy. He was traveling to a tournament at that facility on January 26 when the helicopter carrying him, his daughter Gianna, and seven other passengers crashed, killing everyone on board. Tributes poured in immediately from all over, from fellow players to coaches to musicians, actors, politicians, and athletes from every other conceivable sport. The remainder of the ’19-’20 NBA season became a de facto tribute to Bryant, and the league renamed the All-Star MVP trophy after the four-time winner. Gianni, who was 13 years old, was a middle school basketball star and had plans of eventually attending UConn. Her memory was honored universally alongside that of her father.

3) Wes Unseld (born 1946)

Born and raised in Louisville, Unseld was a two-time Kentucky state champion in high school and passed up two interesting interstate opportunities soon after. He was offered a chance to be the first Black scholarship athlete at Kentucky but turned it down to play at already integrated Louisville. Then, in 1968, he was drafted (and supposedly offered more money) by his hometown Kentucky Colonels of the ABA but instead opted to sign with the Baltimore Bullets. Unseld turned around the moribund franchise immediately and over his 13-year career spent entirely with them, led them to their first 50-win season in his rookie season, their first NBA Finals appearance in 1971, and their first and only championship in 1978. Along the way, he joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to earn Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season, and just the fourth player to earn both those awards and Finals MVP in his career (six more players have done it since). After retiring as a player, Unseld spent almost two more decades with the franchise in the coaching and executive ranks, with mixed results. His son, Wes, Jr., has also had a lengthy career as a scout and coach. Wes, Sr. passed away in June at age 74 from complications from pneumonia.

4) Curly Neal (born 1942)

One of just eight players to have his jersey number retired by the Harlem Globetrotters, Neal was the centerpiece of the exhibition team for over two decades, starting in 1963. Before he was dazzling fans around the world both live and on television, he was honing his brilliant array of dribbling and passing skills at Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU in North Carolina. For 22 years, Neal was the main ball handler for the Globetrotters, taking over for the legend Marques Haynes. He appeared in over 6,000 games in 97 different countries with the Globetrotters, and made numerous television cameos, including on “Scooby Doo,” “Gilligan’s Island,” and “The Love Boat.” Born Fred Neal in Greensboro, NC, he received the nickname “Curly” due to his signature bald head, similar to the “Three Stooges” character.

5) Lute Olson (born 1934)

Though he starred as a player in three sports at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, coaching was always Olson’s calling, and his career on the sidelines started at the high school level at age 22. His first college coaching gig came with Long Beach City College in 1969, kicking off a legendary career that lasted for 40 consecutive seasons. Most of that came with Arizona, who hired him in 1983 after finishing the prior season with a program worst 4-24 record. Olson led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in just his second season and then in the next 23 years after that. During that stretch, they won 11 Pac-10 titles, reached the Sweet 16 11 times, reached the Final Four five times, and won the national title in 1997. He also developed numerous future NBA stars, including Mike Bibby, Sean Elliott, Richard Jefferson, Jason Terry, and Andre Iguodala. Prior to that, Olson had also led Iowa to a surprise Final Four appearance in 1980. He retired in 2008 under irregular circumstances, stepping down after admitting that he had suffered a stroke which had led to depression and capricious behavior. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002, and Arizona re-named its court after him and his late wife, Bobbi, and then unveiled a statue of him outside in 2018.

6) Mark McNamara (born 1959)

Though he averaged just 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in his NBA career, McNamara accomplished something that so many legends have failed to do: he won a championship. It came in his rookie season, ’82-’83, when he was drafted in the first round by the 76ers out of Cal. McNamara started the season as the third-string center behind Moses Malone and Earl Cureton and eventually got bumped to fourth on the depth chart after the Sixers traded for Clem Johnson mid-season. McNamara did manage to take the floor in the NBA Finals, scoring four points in one minute of garbage time during game three, and earned his championship ring after the Sixers swept the Lakers. He played in the NBA Finals one more time in his career, with the Lakers in 1989 after stops with the Spurs and Kings, a brief return to Philly, and a sojourn with a pro team in Italy. Prior to his pro career, he was one of just four players in Pac-12 history to lead the conference in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage, doing so in ’81-’82. Listed at 6’11”, McNamara put his height to good use off the court as well, landing a gig in 1982 as a stand-in for Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca during the filming of “Return of the Jedi.” He was recently working as a high school coach in Alaska when he passed away at age 60 from heart failure.

7) Dick Garmaker (born 1932)

Similar to so many of the early Lakers stars, Garmaker was a local product from Minnesota. He starred at Hibbing High School, which is about a three hour drive north of the Twin Cities, then at University of Minnesota, where he was an All-American in ’54-’55 (alongside Bill Russell). The Lakers (then based in Minneapolis) selected him as a territorial pick in the 1955 NBA Draft and after a quiet rookie season, he became the team’s starting shooting guard for close to four seasons. Over that stretch, he averaged 14.6 points per game, was named to four All-Star teams, and was 2nd-Team All-NBA in ’56-’57. He also helped the Lakers reach their final NBA Finals of the Minneapolis era, as the third leading scorer on the ’58-’59 team behind Elgin Baylor and Vern Mikkelsen. Garmaker was traded from the Lakers to the Knicks during the ’59-’60 season and then retired at age 28 in 1961 to return to Minnesota to start a real estate business. His jersey #53 was retired by his alma mater in 2011.

8) Eddie Sutton (born 1936)

Though Kobe Bryant was the most notable posthumous inductee into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2020, Sutton also passed away this year, in between the April announcement that he was being inducted and the August ceremony that made it official. In a legendary career that spanned nearly four decades, he became one of just 26 NCAA coaches to total over 800 wins, and the first to take four different teams to the NCAA Tournament. It started with Creighton in 1974, then with Arkansas, whom he led to the Final Four in 1978, then a controversial four seasons with Kentucky before his most notable stint, with Oklahoma State for 16 years. Sutton led Kentucky to the Sweet 16 in 1986 and 1988 but resigned after just four years in the midst of a recruiting scandal that he maintained was a setup. He then essentially put Oklahoma State on the map in the ’90s and ’00s, leading the program to the Final Four in 1995 and 2004 and eventually getting the home court named after him. His son, Sean, was his assistant with the Cowboys for 13 years before taking over when he retired.

9) Mike Storen (born 1935)

Before they moved to Baltimore and became the Bullets, the Chicago Zephyrs were the worst team in the NBA in ’62-’63 and could barely fill their home arena. But out of their ticket selling operation emerged one of the most important executives in basketball history in Storen. He started off selling tickets for the Zephyrs in 1962 after answering a want ad but by the end of the decade he was the general manager of the Indiana Pacers, crafting the team that would soon win three ABA titles in a four year span. Storen then became commissioner of the ABA, guiding the league into its 1976 merger with the NBA. He also spent time as the co-owner of the Kentucky Colonels and of the Memphis Sounds (with Isaac Hayes). After the merger, Storen also logged a few years as general manager of the Hawks and eventually commissioner of the CBA. He passed away at age 84 from cancer and is survived by his daughter, Hannah Storm, a longtime sports broadcaster.

10) Clifford Robinson (born 1966)

A rangy, 6’10” forward who could handle the ball, shoot from long range, and defend three positions, “Uncle Cliffy” was one of the most entertaining and unique players of his era. In addition to being Sixth Man of the Year in ’92-’93, an All-Star in 1994, and a two-time NBA Finals participant with the Blazers in 1990 and 1992, he holds numerous other distinctions. To wit: he was the first player 6’10” or taller to make 1,000+ career three-point field goals, is one of just seven players to total over 1,300 steals and over 1,300 blocks in his career, and he’s the 11th oldest player to score 50+ points in a game, doing so at age 33 for the Suns during the ’99-’00 season. He’s also on a short list of NBA players to remain active at age 40, and credited his longevity in part to his copious marijuana use (for which he was suspended multiple times). After retiring in 2007, Robinson became a cannabis entrepreneur and advocate, a member of Dennis Rodman’s “diplomacy” team in North Korea, and a contestant on the 28th season of “Survivor.” He passed away at age 53 from lymphoma. 

11) Borislav Stanković (born 1925)

When the Dream Team took the court for the 1992 Olympics, changing the game of basketball forever, one of the proudest and most excited spectators was the Serbian Stanković. Born in Yugoslavia in 1925, he played and coached in the country’s pro league that pre-dates the NBA, before joining the Yugoslav Olympic committee and later FIBA in the ’70s. It was in that final capacity, as FIBA Secretary General, that led Stanković to America in the mid ’70s, where he first watched live NBA basketball. Enamored with athleticism and talent on display, he dedicated himself to adapting NBA stars into FIBA competition and finally was victorious in 1989, when the FIBA Congress voted to allow professional players in the 1992 Olympics. He remained FIBA Secretary General until 2003 and was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame for his contributions at every level.

12) John Thompson (born 1941)

Though the Georgetown basketball program is one of the nation’s oldest, dating back to 1907, it wasn’t really much of an entity until Thompson came along in 1972. In 26 years as head coach, stalking the sidelines with his signature white towel draped over his shoulder, he guided the Hoyas to the NCAA Tournament 20 times, the Sweet 16 eight times, the Final Four three times, and a national championship in 1984. Along the way, Thompson developed four future Hall of Fame players in Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Allen Iverson, and Patrick Ewing, who was the centerpiece of that ’83-’84 title team. Thompson became the first Black head coach to win an NCAA title and used his status to speak out on a bevy of issues, including boycotting a 1989 game to protest the institutionally racist Proposition 42 provision. Before his legendary coaching career, he was a star player, leading Providence to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1964 and then earning two NBA championship rings backing up Bill Russell in Boston, where he learned valuable coaching insight from Red Auerbach.

13) K.C. Jones (born 1932)

Like his Celtics teammates Tom Heinsohn, John Thompson, Bill Sharman, and Bill Russell, Jones was inspired by his coach Red Auerbach to enter the coaching ranks himself and to make an impact doing so. After winning eight championships in nine seasons in Boston as a player, Jones became the coach at Brandeis University, a tiny liberal arts college in the Boston suburbs. From there, he was an assistant at Harvard and then under his former teammate Sharman on the Lakers, earning another championship ring in 1972 by coaching some of his longtime rivals, like Jerry West. In his first NBA head coaching job, Jones led the Bullets to the 1975 NBA Finals but was fired a year later following a Conference Semifinals upset loss. He finally landed back with the Celtics in 1978, first as an assistant under Bill Fitch, then as his successor five years later, leading them to titles in 1984 and 1986. He became the second Black head coach to win multiple titles, joining Russell, who had been his teammate not just on the Celtics but prior to that at San Francisco, earning back-to-back NCAA titles together in 1955 and 1956. 

14) Billy Tubbs (born 1935)

Bringing a fast-paced style that would come to be known as “Billy Ball,” Tubbs revitalized the Oklahoma basketball program when he took over as head coach in 1980. In the 30 seasons prior to his arrival, the Sooners had made just one NCAA Tournament appearance. By the end of his first decade at the helm, Tubbs had already led Oklahoma to eight NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 four times and the Final four once, in 1988. He also recruited four players during that time who would eventually be lottery picks in the NBA Draft: Stacey King, Mookie Blaylock, Wayman Tisdale, and Harvey Grant. Before his time at Oklahoma, Tubbs had also led his alma mater Lamar to its only Sweet 16 appearance in program history in 1980. He eventually also spent eight seasons at TCU before returning to Lamar for three years and then retiring in 2006. His 641 career wins are 34th in NCAA history and he’s one of just nine coaches to log 100+ wins with three different schools.

15) Eddie L. Johnson (born 1955)

Nicknamed “Fast Eddie” for his fleet feet, Johnson was one of the premier two-way guards of the early ’80s. He averaged 16+ points and five-plus assists per game for four straight seasons with the Hawks, and was named All-Defensive twice and an All-Star in 1980 and 1981. Following a trade in Cleveland in 1986, his career began to spiral due to injuries and excessive drug use. He admitted to starting his cocaine addiction while at Auburn to deal with his mental health issues and it caused his career to crash completely in 1987, when he was arrested for selling to an undercover police officer. Though he entered a rehab program it was too late for NBA officials, who suspended him for life under their “three strikes and you’re out” provision. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of Johnson’s troubles, as he was arrested almost 100 times over the succeeding two decades, including a charge of sexual battery in 2008 that landed him in jail for the rest of his life.

16) Lou Henson (born 1932)

One of a rare group of coaches that can lay claim as the all-time winningest at two different schools, Henson coached at Illinois for 21 seasons and New Mexico State for 17. Not only did he rack up 779 total wins during that time, he also led both schools to the Final Four. That win total includes his first gig, five seasons with Hardin-Simmons, a small, private school in Texas. As a condition of taking that job in 1962, Henson demanded that the school become racially integrated, which it agreed to do. He took over at New Mexico State, his alma mater, in 1966 and completely turned the program around. After finishing 4-22 in the season prior to his arrival, the Aggies were in the Sweet 16 just two years later under Henson. They reached the Final Four in 1970, the only such appearance in school history, led by Henson’s star recruiting prize Sam Lacey. He took over a struggling Illinois program in 1975 and though the rebuild was a little slower this time, Henson had the Illini back in the NCAA Tournament in 1981 (their first appearance in 18 years) and the Final Four in 1989. Future NBA players that passed through his Illinois program included Nick Anderson (who was the star of that ’88-’89 Final Four team), Derek Harper, Eddie Johnson, and Kendall Gill. Henson retired in 1996 but came back out of it quickly to return to New Mexico State, leading the Aggies to one last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1999 before retiring again.

17) Tom Heinsohn (born 1934)

Drafted by the Celtics in 1956, the same year they selected Bill Russell, Heinsohn became indelibly linked with the franchise for the ensuing 64 years until his death. He started as a player and though he’s often regarded as simply a cog in the Celtics dynasty machine, he was much more talented and crucial than most people realize. A skilled power forward, Heinsohn was the leading scorer and second in rebounds on the 1957, 1960, 1961, and 1963 Celtics championship teams, and second in both categories in the 1962 and 1964 title runs. He was Rookie of the Year in ’56-’57, an All-Star six times, All-NBA four times, and averaged 18+ points and nine-plus rebounds per game for five straight seasons in his prime. Heinsohn was also notoriously lax in his conditioning and dieting, especially compared to the spartan Russell. His playing career lasted just nine seasons but he eventually spent nine years as the Celtics coach and decades as their lead play-by-play man on radio and television broadcasts, handing out “Tommy Points” for hustle plays. For all 17 Celtics championships, Heinsohn was involved, winning nine as a player, two as coach, and then announcing six as a broadcaster. Inspired by his friendship with Russell, he was also a key agitator for racial and labor justice in the NBA, especially in his brief role as president of the Players Association.

18) Jerry Sloan (born 1942)

One of just four coaches in history to take the sidelines for over 2,000 NBA games, Sloan was an institution with the Jazz for 23 seasons. He led them to the only NBA Finals appearances in franchise history, in 1997 and 1998, when they lost to the team for which he starred as a player, the Bulls. In fact, Sloan was nicknamed “The Original Bull” as the team selected him in their 1966 expansion draft and he was the first player in team history to be named an All-Star. He also helped lead the Bulls to their first Conference Finals, in 1974, and was named 1st-Team All-Defensive four times, as he was one of the league’s premier stealers. His coaching career started with Chicago in 1979 (he had previously turned down a job at his alma mater, Evansville, and just a few months later the entire team and coaching staff was killed in a plane crash) before moving on to the Jazz in 1988. They reached the postseason for 15 straight seasons under his tutelage, and Sloan became just as synonymous with Utah basketball as Karl Malone and John Stockton. He finally stepped down in 2011 and soon after had the number “1,223” retired by the Jazz to represent his number of wins with the franchise, an all-time record.

19) Jim Tucker (born 1932)

Though he played just three seasons in the NBA, Tucker etched his names in the history books with a championship. It happened in his rookie season, ’54-’55, with the Syracuse Nationals, who drafted him in the third round out of Duquesne. He played minor minutes off the bench in the postseason but all the same he and teammate Earl Lloyd became the first Black players to win an NBA title. Though he averaged just 4.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per game for his career, Tucker had another unique superlative: he logged the fastest triple-double in NBA history, a record that stood for over 60 years. In a 1955 game against the Knicks, he finished with 12 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds off the bench in just 17 minutes, a mark that was finally bested by Nikola Jokic in 2017. But maybe the greatest feat during his career came off the court on the night of the Nationals winning their championship, when Tucker returned home to find his apartment building on fire, and rushed in to save the life of an infant girl trapped inside. His inspiring career and life were captured in the 2019 documentary film “Let ‘Em Know You’re There,” which is available to watch on Amazon Prime. 

20) David Stern (born 1942)

As commissioner of the NBA from 1984 to 2014, when the league grew exponentially in popularity around the world due in large part to his stewardship, Stern is arguably as important to basketball as any non-player besides maybe James Naismith. Growing up in New Jersey, Stern was never much of a basketball player but he was a huge fan, especially of the Knicks, and eventually turned his law degree from Columbia into a lifetime association with the sport. It started with the landmark Robertson vs NBA lawsuit in 1970, which Stern helped negotiate into a settlement that led to the NBA/ABA merger. He then helped shape the NBA drug testing policy and salary cap in the late ’70s, which many point to as saving the then struggling league. As commissioner, he shepherded the league into international prominence while making the correct decision to highlight individual star players rather than teams. His commissionership was certainly not without controversy, but there was never any doubt that Stern loved the NBA and had dedicated his life to it.