O'Neal was born on March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey, to Lucille O'Neal and Joseph Toney, an All-State guard in high school who was offered a basketball scholarship to play at Seton Hall. Toney struggled with drug addiction and was imprisoned for drug possession when O'Neal was an infant. Upon his release, he did not resume a place in O'Neal's life and instead agreed to relinquish his parental rights to O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison, a career Army Reserve sergeant.^[5][6] O'Neal remains estranged from his biological father; he and Toney have never spoken, and O'Neal has expressed no interest in establishing a relationship.^[6] On his 1994 rap album, Shaq Fu: The Return, O'Neal voiced his feelings of disdain for Toney in the song "Biological Didn't Bother", dismissing him with the line "Phil is my father."

O'Neal credits the Boys and Girls Club of America in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey, with giving him a safe place to play and keeping him off the streets. "It gave me something to do," he said. "I'd just go there to shoot. I didn't even play on a team."^[7] He led his Robert G. Cole High School team, from San Antonio, Texas, to a 68–1 record during his two years there and helped the team win the state championship during his senior year.^[8] His 791 rebounds during the 1989 season remains a state record for a player in any classification.^[9]

On January 31, 2012, O’Neal was honored as one of the 35 Greatest McDonald's All-Americans.^[10]O'Neal became a free agent after the 1995–96 NBA season. In the summer of 1996, O'Neal was named to the United States Olympic basketball team, and was later part of the gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. While the Olympic basketball team was training in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel published a poll that asked whether the Magic should fire Hill if that were one of O'Neal's conditions for returning.^[20][21] 82% answered "no".^[20] O'Neal had a power struggle while playing under Hill.^[22][23] He said the team "just didn't respect [Hill]."^[24] Another question in the poll asked, "Is Shaq worth $115 million?" in reference to the amount of the Magic's offer. 91.3% of the response was "no".^[21][22] O'Neal's Olympic teammates rode him hard over the poll.^[21][23] He was also upset that the Orlando media implied O'Neal was not a good role model for having a child with his longtime girlfriend with no immediate plans to marry.^[20] O'Neal compared his lack of privacy in Orlando to "feeling like a big fish in a dried-up pond."^[25] O'Neal also learned that Hardaway considered himself the leader of the Magic and did not want O'Neal making more money than him.^[26] On the team's first full day at the Olympics in Atlanta, it was announced that O'Neal would join the Los Angeles Lakers on a seven-year, $121 million contract.^[27][28] He insisted he did not choose Los Angeles for the money. "I'm tired of hearing about money, money, money, money, money," O'Neal said after the signing. "I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok," he added, referring to a couple of his product endorsements.^[29][30] The Lakers won 56 games during the 1996–97 season. O'Neal averaged 26.2 points and 12.5 rebounds in his first season with Los Angeles; however, he again missed over 30 games due to injury. The Lakers made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the second round by the Utah Jazz in five games.^[31] In his first playoff game for the Lakers, O'Neal scored 46 points against the Portland Trail Blazers, the most for the Lakers in a playoff game since Jerry West had 53 in1969. On December 17, 1996, O'Neal shoved Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls; Rodman's teammates Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan restrained Rodman and prevented further conflict. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that O'Neal was willing to be suspended for fighting Rodman, and O'Neal said: "It's one thing to talk tough and one thing to be tough."^[32]

The following season, O'Neal averaged 28.3 points and 11.4 rebounds (1997-1998). He led the league with a 58.4 field goal percentage, the first of five consecutive seasons in which he did so. The Lakers finished the season 61–21, first in the Pacific Division, and were the second seed in the western conference during the 1998 NBA Playoffs. After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics in the first two rounds, the Lakers again fell to the Jazz, this time in a 4–0 sweep.^[33]

With the tandem of O'Neal and teenage superstar Kobe Bryant, expectations for the Lakers increased. However, personnel changes were a source of instability during the 1998–99 season. Long-time Laker point guard Nick Van Exelwas traded to the Denver Nuggets; his former backcourt partner Eddie Jones was packaged with back-up center Elden Campbell for Glen Rice to satisfy a demand by O'Neal for a shooter. Coach Del Harris was fired, and former Lakers forward Kurt Rambis finished the season as head coach. The Lakers finished with a 31–19 record during the lockout-shortened season. Although they made the playoffs, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Spurs would go on to win their first NBA title in 1999.

Curry was born in Akron, Ohio but grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina where his father Dell played for the Charlotte Hornets. Curry's father often took him and his younger brother Seth to his games, where they would sometimes shoot around with his team during warm-ups. As a child, he attended a Montessori school that had been started by his mother, Sonya.^[12]

From 2001 to 2002, Curry lived in Toronto during his father's tenure with the Toronto Raptors, attending middle school as an eighth grade student at Queensway Christian College in Etobicoke, Ontario. There, he was a member of the grades 7 and 8 boys basketball team, leading them to an undefeated season.^[13][14]

Curry went to high school at Charlotte Christian where he was named all-state, all-conference, and led his team to three conference titles and three state playoff appearances. The then 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 160-pound senior did not receive any scholarship offers from major-conference schools. Since his father played for Virginia Tech and is in their Hall of Fame, Curry wanted to play for the Hokies, but they only offered him a place as a walk-on player.^[15] After receiving scholarship offers from Davidson, VCU, and Winthrop,^[16] he chose Davidson, a school that had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 1969.Wardell Stephen Curry II (born March 14, 1988),^[1] often referred to as Steph, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history.^[2][3][4] The 2015 NBA Most Valuable Player and a two-time NBA All-Star. He is the son of former NBA player Dell Curry, and the older brother of current NBA player Seth Curry.

Curry played college basketball for Davidson. There, he was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and set the all-time scoring record for both Davidson and the Southern Conference. During his sophomore year, Curry also set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made.^[5]

Curry was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors.^[6] During the 2012–13 season, he set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 272. The next season, Curry and teammate Klay Thompson set the NBA record for combined threes in a season with 484^[7] as the pair were given the nickname the "Splash Brothers".^[8][9] In 2014–15, Curry eclipsed his own record by knocking down his 273rd three-pointer on April 9, 2015,^[10] finishing the regular season with 286 three-pointers and was named MVP after leading the Warriors to a franchise-record and NBA-best 67 wins on the season.^[11] In 2015 Curry led the Warriors to their first NBA championship since 1975.

Stephen Curry

Curry with the Warriors in 2015
No. 30 – Golden State Warriors
Position	Point guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	March 14, 1988 (age 27) Akron, Ohio
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	190 lb (86 kg)

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from high school, and has played for the Lakers his entire career, winning five NBA championships. Bryant is a 17-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team. He has led the league in scoring twice, and he ranks third on both the league's all-time regular season scoring and all-time postseason scoring lists.

The son of former NBA player Joe Bryant, Kobe Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania, where he was recognized as the top high school basketball player in the country. He declared 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.

In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault after having sex with a hotel employee in Edwards, Colorado. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser refused to testify, though a civil suit was later settled out of court.

Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. A feud between the duo and a loss in the 2004 NBA Finals resulted in O'Neal's trade from the Lakers to theMiami Heat. Following O'Neal's departure, Bryant became the cornerstone of the 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.

At 34 years and 104 days of age, Bryant became the youngest player in league history to reach 30,000 career points. He is also the all-time leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. Since his second year in the league, Bryant has been selected to start every All-Star Game. He has won the All-Star MVP Award four times (2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011), tying him for the most All Star MVP Awards in NBA history. At the 2008and 2012 Summer Olympics, he won gold medals as a member of the U.S. national team. Sporting News and TNT named Bryant the top NBA player of the 2000s.

Kobe Bryant

Bryant in 2014
No. 24 – Los Angeles Lakers
Position	Shooting guard
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	August 23, 1978 (age 37) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[a]
Listed weight	212 lb (96 kg

James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio, to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria Marie James, who raised him on her own.^[1][2]:22 Growing up, life was often a struggle for the family, as they moved from apartment to apartment in the seedier neighborhoods of Akron while James' mother struggled to find steady work.^[3] Realizing he would be better off with a more stable family environment, Gloria allowed James to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach, who introduced him to basketball when he was nine years old.^[2]:23

As a youth, James played Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball for the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars.^[3] The team enjoyed success on a local and national level, led by James and his friends Sian Cotton, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee.^[2]:24 Inseparable, they dubbed themselves the "Fab Four" and promised each other they would attend high school together.^[2]:27 In a move that stirred local controversy, they chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, a largely white private Catholic school.^[4][5]LeBron Raymone James (/ləˈbrɒn/; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has started at the small forward and power forward positions. James has won two NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, two NBA Finals MVP Awards, two Olympic gold medals, an NBA scoring title, and the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He has also been selected to 11 NBA All-Star teams, 11 All-NBA teams, and six All-Defensive teams, and is the Cavaliers' all-time leading scorer.

James played high school basketball at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, where he was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar. After graduating, he was selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft by the Cavaliers. James led Cleveland to the franchise's first Finals appearance in 2007, losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2010, he left the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat in a highly publicized ESPN special titled The Decision. James played four seasons for the Heat, reaching the Finals all four years and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, he led Miami on a 27-game winning streak, the second longest in league history. Following his final season with the Heat, James opted out of his contract and re-joined the Cavaliers. Behind his leadership, Cleveland advanced to the Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors.

Off the court, James has accumulated considerable wealth and fame as a result of numerous endorsement deals. His public life has been the subject of much scrutiny and he has been ranked as one of America's most influential and popular athletes. He has been featured in books, documentaries, and television commercials, and has hosted the ESPY Awards and Saturday Night Live.

LeBron James

James with the Cavaliers in November 2014
No. 23 – Cleveland Cavaliers
Position	Small forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	December 30, 1984 (age 30) Akron, Ohio
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight	250 lb (113 kg)

Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (American Spanish: [ˈlwis ˈswaɾes]; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Uruguay national team as a striker.

In July 2014, Suárez moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for a fee reported by the English press in the region of £75 million (€94 million), while Barcelona claim a fee of £65 million (€81 million), making him the third most expensive player in football history.^[2][3] The transfer took place after he had won the European Golden Shoe in the previous season with Liverpool.^[4] Suárez is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world.^[5][6][7]

Suárez began his career as a youth player for Nacional in 2003. He signed for Groningen in the Eredivisie in 2006 and transferred to Ajax in 2007. In 2008–09 he was named Ajax Player of the Year. The following year, he was made the club captain, helping Ajax win the KNVB Cup while becoming the league's top scorer with 35 goals in 33 games. He was also named Dutch Footballer of the Year and scored 49 goals in all competitions. In the 2010–11 season, he scored his 100th Ajax goal, joining a group of players including Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp in doing so.

In January 2011, Suárez transferred to English Premier League club Liverpool for €26.5 million (£22.8 million). In February 2012, Suárez won the Football League Cup with the club. In April 2014, he won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, becoming the first non-European to win the award,^[8] and the FWA Footballer of the Year. As the Premier League's top scorer with 31 goals he won the Premier League Golden Boot, and shared the European Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo. In his first season at Barcelona he helped the club win the continental treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

Suárez represented Uruguay in the 2007 U-20 World Cup. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa he played an important role in Uruguay's fourth-place finish, scoring three goals, and also blocked an extra time goalbound header with his hands during the quarter finals against Ghana. At the 2011 Copa América, Suárez scored four goals for Uruguay as they won a record fifteenth Copa América, and he was named Player of the Tournament.^[9] On 23 June 2013, he became Uruguay's all-time record goalscorer with 35 goals. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Suárez scored his 40th international goal.

Suárez has been the source of much controversy throughout his career.^[10][11][12] As well as his 2010 World Cup goal-line handball, he has also bitten three opponents, the latest being Italian defender Giorgio Chielliniat the 2014 World Cup,^{[13][14][15][16]} has been accused of and admitted to diving,^[17][18] and the English Football Association found him guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra,^[19] a decision Suárez disputes.^[20]On 11 July 2014, FC Barcelona announced that the club and Suárez had agreed on a five-year contract for a fee reported by the English press in the region of £75 million (€94 million), making him one of the most expensive players in world football history.^{[2][137][138]} On 19 August, Barcelona reported the fee as €81 million.^[3] The club confirmed that Suárez would wear the number 9 shirt for the 2014–15 season.^[139][140]

Suárez missed the first part of the season after being found guilty of biting Italian player Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.^[141][142] As part of the suspension, he was banned from all "football-related activities," including training for Barcelona, for four months (until 26 October). He was also banned from setting foot in any stadium, even as a spectator, during the same period.^[141][142]

On 24 July, Suárez and his lawyers filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) located in Lausanne, Switzerland, and requested that the sanctions be reduced or the suspension to be lifted.^[143] The parties were heard at a hearing which took place at the CAS offices on 8 August.^[144] Six days later, the CAS confirmed the ban imposed by FIFA against Suárez, who remained suspended from football for four months, as well as a nine-match ban in internationals, the first of which was served in the Uruguay's round of 16 match against Colombia in the 2014 World Cup. However, the CAS removed the player's "football-related activities" ban, and was allowed to train with Barcelona. As a result of this ban, Suárez was banned from participating in the 2015 Copa América. Suárez also played in friendly matches with the reserve team of Barcelona: he was given permission to play for Barcelona B and scored twice in a game against Indonesia U19.^[145]

The CAS permitted Suárez to play in friendly matches, and he made his Barcelona debut on 18 August against Club León of Mexico at the Camp Nou, replacing Rafinha for the final 14 minutes of an eventual 6–0 win in theGamper Trophy. Fellow attackers Lionel Messi and Neymar had already been substituted by the time Suárez took to the pitch.^[146]