Akeem
Olajuwon (Houston)
Michael Jordan (UNC)
Sam
Perkins (UNC)Sam Perkins had an outstanding college career at Carolina before being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks. Sam was an outstanding player for the Mavs, recording the only 30 point, 20 rebound game in franchise history (12/12/86). He also scored 45 points in a game (against GS 4/12/90). His Maverick teams usually made the playoffs with a roster which include Rolando Blackmon, Derek Harper and James Donaldson. He was a unanimous first team All-American in 1984, a consensus first team All-American in 1983 and a consensus second team All-American in 1982. He signed a free agent deal in 1990 to play with Magic in Los Angeles before heading north to Seattle (traded 2/22/93 for Benoit Benjamin and Doug Christie). With the Sonics he is the team's co-captain and under contract through the 1998 season. At 6-9, 255 pounds, Sam can play either the center or power forward position, but does best on the perimeter where he can knock down the threes. He is a lifetime .337 three-point shooter. He finished 20th in 3-point FG% with .395 in 1997. In 1997 he was invited to participate in the three-point shootout during all-star weekend. Sam is a durable player, playing in all of Seattle's games from 1994-1996. He's made two trips to the NBA Finals, first with the Lakers in 1991 and again with the Sonics in 1996. He lost both series to Jordan's Bulls. Sam signed a 2 year deal worth 3.75 million dollars to play in Indiana on January 21, 1999. He re-signed for the 2000-2001 season for 2.5 million dollars.
Perkin's Stats
| PPG | RPG | APG | |
| College | 15.9 | 8.6 | 1.2 |
| Rookie | 11.0 | 7.4 | 1.7 |
| 1985-86 | 15.4 | 8.6 | 1.9 |
| 1986-87 | 14.8 | 7.7 | 1.8 |
| 1987-88 | 14.2 | 8.0 | 1.6 |
| 1988-89 | 15.0 | 8.8 | 1.6 |
| 1989-90 | 15.9 | 7.5 | 2.3 |
| 1990-91 | 13.5 | 7.4 | 1.5 |
| 1991-92 | 16.5 | 8.8 | 2.2 |
| 1992-93 | 13.1 | 6.6 | 2.0 |
| 1993-94 | 12.3 | 4.5 | 1.4 |
| 1994-95 | 12.7 | 4.9 | 1.6 |
| 1995-96 | 11.8 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| 1996-97 | 11.0 | 3.7 | 1.3 |
| 1997-98 | 7.2 | 3.1 | 1.4 |
| 1998-99 | 5.0 | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| 1999-00 | 6.6 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
| 2000-01 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 0.6 |
| Career (thru 2001) | 11.1 | 5.6 | 1.5 |
Charles Barkley (Auburn)
Alvin Robertson (Arkansas)Alvin Robertson played for many years in San Antonio, then came to Milwaukee to join a crowded back court. He was picked up in the expansion draft by the Toronto Raptors. Alvin is a terrific perimeter shooter and one of the premier pickpockets in the game. He became the third player to reach 2,000 career steals on December 15, 1995. In 1984 he was named to the All-American Second Team (UPI).
Robertson's Stats: PPG RPG APG StlPG College 12.5 4.3 3.9 2.5 Rookie 9.2 3.4 3.5 1.6 Career (thru '96) 14.0 5.2 5.0 2.7
Otis Thorpe (Providence)Otis Thorpe originally played for the Kansas City Kings, after being drafted out of Providence at number 9 where he led the Big East in rebounding his last 2 years. As a senior he was an Honorable Mention All-American, and on the All-Big East First Team. He narrowly missed being named to the All-Rookie Team, finishing sixth. In 1988 he was traded to Houston for Rodney McCray and Jim Petersen. He was an all-star in Houston in 1992 where he also won an NBA Title, in 1994. He went to Portland in the Drexler deal. He was soon traded to the Pistons for a draft pick (Randoloph Childress) in 1995. He is tall (6'10'') and lean (240 lbs), but a ferocious rebounder, cleaning the glass at every oportunity. He is a lifetime .555% field goal shooter. Otis is a true workhorse, playing in every game in 9 of his 12 NBA seasons, missing only 25 games over his career. This was the ninth longest consecutive games streak at 542. IN 1997, Thorpe had problems with coach Collins. Detroit traded Otis Thorpe to Vancouver for a conditional 1st round pick from 1998-2005. On February 18, 1998, Otis changed teams again being traded along with Chris Robinson to the Kings for Bobby Hurley and Michael Smith.
Thorpe's Stats: PPG RPG College 14.4 8.0 Rookie 12.8 6.8 1985-86 9.9 5.6 1986-87 18.9 10.0 1987-88 20.8 10.2 1988-89 16.7 9.6 1989-90 17.1 9.0 1990-91 17.5 10.3 1991-92 17.3 10.5 1992-93 12.8 8.2 1993-94 14.0 10.6 1994-95 13.4 8.0 1995-96 14.2 8.4 1996-97 13.1 7.9 1997-98 10.1 7.3 1998-99 11.3 6.8 1999-00 5.5 3.3 2000-01 2.8 3.0 Career (thru 2000) 14.5 8.5
Kevin
Willis (Michigan State)
Kevin Willis has played for Atlanta, Miami and Golden State and has done the same thing for all of them...rebound and score in the low post. He has a quick hook and a wide array of inside moves to beat you to the basket. He is starting to lose a step, though. Kevin achieved all-star status alongside longtime Hawks teammate Dominique Wilkins, appearing once in the game (1992). In 1991-1992 he averaged an amazing 15.5 rebounds per game in that All-Star year. The Rockets signed Willis as a free agent in 1996 adding him to a depleted team due to the Barkley trade. It figures that Willis will see a lot of minutes in the low post with the Rockets. As his stats show, Kevin is one of the league's worst passers, but best rebounders. Just before the 1998 NBA Draft, Willis was traded to Toronto for 2 of their first round draft picks (#16 and #18) and Roy Rogers. On October 22, 2001 Denver traded Willis and Aleksandar Radojevic to Milwaukee for Scott Williams and a future 1st round draft pick then Milwaukee immediately traded Willis to Houston for a 2002 2nd round draft pick. Willis latched on with the San Antonio Spurs in 2002, to play 71 games for them and win his first NBA Championship. San Antonio re-signed Willis for the 2003-2004 season. Atlanta signed Willis to a veteran minimum contract for the 2004-2005 season in a sort of homecoming.
Willis' Stats: PPG RPG College 10.1 7.1 Rookie 9.3 6.4 1985-86 12.3 8.6 1986-87 16.1 10.5 1987-88 11.6 7.3 1989-90 12.4 8.0 1990-91 13.1 8.8 1991-92 18.3 15.5 1992-93 17.9 12.9 1993-94 19.1 12.0 1994-95 17.2 10.9 1995-96 10.6 8.5 1996-97 11.2 7.5 1997-98 16.1 8.4 1998-99 12.0 8.3 1999-00 7.6 6.1 2000-01 9.2 6.8 2001-02 6.1 5.8 2002-03 4.2 3.2 2003-04 3.4 2.0 Career (thru 2004) 12.3 8.5
Michael Cage (San Diego State)Michael Cage was a 1984 consensus second team All-American before being drafted by the Clippers. He has played for a lot of teams during his career, most notably Seattle. He is known for his rebounding, but can score when called upon. He led the league in rebounding in 1988 after grabbing a career high 30 on 4/24/88 against Seattle. He came over to the Cavs for a while and led their team in rebounding in 1995-1996. He signed a free agent deal with the Sixers for 1996-97. He was then traded to New Jersey along with Lucious Harris, Don MacLean and the draft rights to Keith Van Horn for Jim Jackson, Eric Montross and the draft rights to Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker on 6/27/97. He played in 736 consecutive games, the fourth longest streak in NBA history, ending on 4/19/98 when he was placed on the IR due to a strained hamstring. Cage was traded to Seattle along with Don MacLean for Jim McIlvaine on January 21, 1999.
Cage's Stats
| PPG | RPG | |
| College | 16.6 | 11.9 |
| Rookie | 7.1 | 5.2 |
| 1985-86 | 6.7 | 5.3 |
| 1986-87 | 15.7 | 11.5 |
| 1987-88 | 14.5 | 13.0 |
| 1988-89 | 10.3 | 9.6 |
| 1989-90 | 9.7 | 10.0 |
| 1990-91 | 6.4 | 6.8 |
| 1991-92 | 8.8 | 8.9 |
| 1992-93 | 6.1 | 8.0 |
| 1993-94 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| 1994-95 | 5.0 | 6.9 |
| 1995-96 | 6.0 | 8.9 |
| 1996-97 | 1.8 | 3.9 |
| 1997-98 | 1.3 | 3.9 |
| 1999-00 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
| Career (thru 2000) | 7.3 | 4.8 |
John
Stockton (Gonzaga)
Jerome Kersey (Longwood College)Jerome Kersey was a late second round pick out of Longwood College, a NCAA Division II team. Kersey led the NCAA Division 2 league with a 14.2 RPG average as a senior. He was an integral part of Portland's two NBA Western Conference Champion teams. As a consistent scorer and rebounder, Kersey thrived in Portland's running offense. He was quick and strong at 6'7'' 220 pounds. Jerome was replaced by Clifford Robinson in the starting lineup. He then came off the bench in Portland for a couple years before heading to Golden State where he started 58 games for former Blazer coach Rick Adelman, but was usually regarded as a reserve. He enjoyed his best pro year in 1987-1988 with a career high in scoring and led the team in rebounding. He signed a non-lucrative contact with the Lakers for the 1996-97 season in hoping to return to the Big Show with a revitalized Showtime. He then played in Seattle for the 1997-98 season. On January 23, 1999 he signed a one year, one million dollar contrct to join the San Antonio Spurs.
Kersey's Stats
| PPG | RPG | APG | StlPG | BlkPG | |
| College | 17.0 | 11.3 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.5 |
| Rookie | 6.1 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| 1985-86 | 8.5 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| 1986-87 | 12.3 | 6.0 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| 1987-88 | 19.2 | 8.3 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| 1988-89 | 17.5 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| 1989-90 | 16.0 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| 1990-91 | 14.8 | 6.6 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| 1991-92 | 12.6 | 8.2 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| 1992-93 | 10.6 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| 1993-94 | 6.5 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| 1994-95 | 8.1 | 4.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| 1995-96 | 6.7 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.6 |
| 1996-97 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| 1997-98 | 6.3 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 |
| 1998-99 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| 1999-00 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| 2000-01 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Career (thru 2001) | 10.4 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.7 |