10 Best Street Ball / Basketball Legends from New York City
5. Earl Manigault. Kareem Abdul Jabaar called him the Goat – “Greatest of All-Time” and said he was the best player he ever went up against. Earl Manigault was born in South Carolina but grew up in Harlem, New York. At 6’1″ he was known for his ups and invented the double dunk. The double dunk is where you slam the ball in with one hand, catch it from under the rim with the other and slam the ball in again before landing. He was also deadly accurate from long range. Drugs were his downfall and he eventually became addicted to heroin.
4. Michael Jordan. Jordan was born in Brooklyn, NYC and raised mostly in North Carolina. He is known as the greatest basketball player of all time with his record scoring games and amazing defense. Jordan is famous for his Chicago Bulls career in 1984-1993 and 1995-1998. After a three year retirement, he played two seasons with the Washington Wizards. Jordan scored a total of 32,292 points in his basketball career with 6 NBA Championships, 6 NBA Finals MVP, 5 MVP awards, 14 NBA All-Star Team selections, and more. Jordan earned the nickname “Air Jordan” due to his skyrocketing slam dunks, especially his legendary foul line dunk during the 1988 NBA Slam Dunk Contest when he beat “the Human Highlight Film” Dominique Wilkins. Michael Jordan is an entrepreneur in many arenas including his own shoe line and high end steakhouses. See: NYC’s 10 Best Celebrity Owned Restaurants, Clubs & Bars
3. Carmelo “Melo” Anthony. The youngest on our list, Anthony grew up in Brooklyn and Baltimore. He led Syracuse University to its first NCAA Championship in 2003 where he was immediately drafted by the Denver Nuggets. A three time All-NBA and All-Star, Anthony also received a bronze Olympic medal in 2004 and a gold in 2008.
2. Rafer Alston. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Alston is said to be one of the best street-ball basketball players of all time. Known as the bad boy with plenty of suspensions in his NBA careers since he was drafted in 2000. Also nicknamed “Skip to My Lou.”
1. Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At 7-foot-2, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke many basketball records, including most points ever scored in the NBA at 38,387. Known for his signature moves like the sky hook, Kareem played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years from 1969 to 1989. He won 6 NBA Championships, 6 MVP Awards, and was a 19 time NBA All-Star. A basketball Hall of Famer, Kareem Adul-Jabbar also won 3 NCAA Championships with UCLA, among other awards throughout his basketball career. Born and raised in New York City, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the top NYC basketball legend.
NYC’s 10 Best NBA & Street Ball Basketball Legends (10 to 6)
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DC : elgin baylor, dave bing, kermit washington, austin carr, adrian dantley, curtis perry, allen Iverson(since your claiming mello and jordan) what happen to Doc are you nuts. Strong Island don’t count?
No, only players born in New York City were considered.
A GSW fan that went to many games, and I’ve watched every game every year on TV since the 70′s, and there were many. So I saw Bernard King and Mully play many many times and if asked who I thought was more FUN to watch., not who was better; just more entertaining, I’d have to reply Mullins. Because King was a scorer and he played hyper speed and played down low; Mully was the best pure shooter and the out side shot is a beautiful thing to watch. + he’d go in the key and slip shots by the trees and passed the ball through the eye of a needle. Bernard made amazing shots but it all happened with in 10′ of the hoop and he was so quick a lot of times it was like all you saw was the ball going in the net. With Mully whether a pass or shot or some kind of dipsy doodle spin it off the glass while players were leaping 12′ trying to slap the shot away he’d knock it down you knew and saw that it was his slickness that fooled every one . King was just as or more amazing but in a different way. For what it’s worth this is my observation
Bernard King not being elected to the HOF is absurd. Just ask Bird, and if that’s not enough his stats speak for him. or ask Zeeke or ask any man in the NBA when King was playing if he is HOF worthy