Player you idolized.

[IronMexican]

I was too, but I still tried to play like Tim Duncan later on. Funny how his moves still worked

Yeah, me running people over worked.

[pauls931]

Kj

[DAF86]

MJ-Elliott-Iverson-Manu

[Technique]

Ginobili and Tony Parker. TP was my favorite player before he was recognized as a top PG in the league.

[kamikazi_player]

MJ for sure, reason why i watched basketball. Used to like D-Rob alot. Tim Duncan was the reason why i love the spurs. I also like Eddie Jones, Shaq, Nick Anderson, and T-Mac back in the day.

[lil_penny]

Anfernee hardaway, clyde drexler, mj.

[Jeremy]

Definitely Charles Barkley, and also Michael Jordan. And to some degree Kevin Johnson and Elliott "Socks" Perry (have to misspell his first name ). Growing up, I remember imitating Barkley's post move where he caught the ball with his right hand up high, like he was just talking about on TNT last week.

[himat]

I am a young guy (18) so my players are more recent.

Iverson: He plays so hard. His priorities (always scoring) really screwed him over as a winner though.

Rip Hamilton: His best part of his game was running off the ball. That takes effort and commitment, not talent. Some of the things NBA players do you just can't put in your game because their talent level is through the roof. Running off the ball is not one of those.

Ben Wallace: Loved the tenacity. Shows how an underdog can rise in such a talented game.

Derrick Rose: I love how he takes it the basket 24/7. He drives by you when the defender knows he's going to drive.

[Chieflion]

Allen Iverson. He gave little guys some hope that they can be great basketball players.

[Allanon]

Iverson, Manu and Duncan.

[JamStone]

I loved the way Jimmy Jackson played. All through his college and NBA days, he, along with Grandmama, Barkley, Mario Ellie, and Dan Majerle where my favorite non Spur players growing up.

I have to admit that I got on the Grandmama bandwagon when those commercials came out, at least for a little bit. Sometimes, iness makes you hate a player. Other times, it makes you like the player more. That was me with LJ. And, after he'd hit a three pointer and do the "LJ" with his left fist to his right elbow, I thought that was great.

[Killakobe81]

Not idolized but admired most:
Magic - first game i watched was his performance in the NBA FINALS his rookie year
Karem - The sky hook
Nique - The human highlight film
Worthy - Big game James!!! Wore his number in HS ...
hakeem - best big man of my generation (Kareem was at tail end when i started
GP - The Glove!!! the man i modeled my defensive game after ...
Kemp - The reign man ..what i would give to dunk like him ...
DFish - though he gets a lot of hate loved his class leadership and toughness
Tim - best bigman since Hakeem
Kobe - best since MJ (Until Lebron takes it ...)
Horry - Class and clutchnes
Reggie - not much class but brash and clutch
Dwill - I see great leadership and fire and size to his game ...
Durant - Great potential
Howard - if his offense ever catches up to his defense ...
and until recently KG- ALL fire and heart

[Killakobe81]

this does NOT MEAN the guys i left off I don't respect Bird, MJ, Barkley c3p, Dirk, stockton etc. but the guys I listed were the ones I enjoyed watching the most

Some i didnt like do to them being rivals of my teams (Bird, Stockton Malone) others were great players but for whatever reason something about their personality demanor or games rubbed me the wrong way (C3P)or they failed in the clutch (Malone) and although great just seem to lack their extra oomph.

Also I tend to not root for the universaly media loved guy as the best player ... going with the other guy for example:
When Jerry Rice was the best i preferred Sharpe
When MJ was the best I preferred Hakeem
People loved Jeter I went with arod
People loved montana I preferred Marino

I do not think ANY of the guys I chose is greater in the last group I just hate to jump on the media bandwagon in some cases ...and les always meant most to me

I m a cowboys and laker fan so i cant always be the front-runner ...

and i agree with Jamstone some guys you dont mind the y

Didnt like Mj's iness (but respect his game) but loved Reggie and the choke with e Lee... and I didnt mind GP's or Kobe's either

I just dont like when the media says a player is far and away the best ...i just prefer to play devil's advocate sometimes ...(like with MJ)

[Killakobe81]

Oh and i enjoy LBJ as well ...dont like the dancing ...but I think he can be the GOAT when he starts winning les ...
havent completely made up my mind on him yet as far as rooting i was a witness 3 years ago when he made the finals ...but jumped off after the past 2 years ...as the media has piled on ...we will see how things go ...

[birdy219]

I'm kinda old so here it goes....

As a young girl, Willis Reed

As a teenager, Dr. J

As a young woman, Barkley

As a woman, Jordan

As a current seasoned diva, Tim Duncan

[ChrisRichards]

Ive always enjoyed the Knicks and Bulls roster in the 90's, Jordan, Xavier McDaniel, Starks, Oakley, Ewing against Jordan, Pippen and Horace Grant. Same thing with the Alonzo Mourning led heat. KG in Boston.

[The Gemini Method]

I idolized Shawn Kemp on the court and off the court as well...suffice to say, I don't have as many illegitimate children as the Reign Man...


I used to believe that I could play like Magic. The 80's were my youngest years and just getting to meet Magic, Kareem, and Worthy solidified who my faves were. I modeled most of my game after a combination of all three--however, it never was that successful as I turned to football as a teen.

[LakerHater]

Michael Jordan but, Drazen Petrovic was someone I like to watch & try n play like!

[PublicOption]

Charles Barkley

[Lars]

Hakeem
Hill
Battier

[timtonymanu]

Spurs: Tim, Admiral, Bowen, Manu, TP, Horry, Elliott

Other players: Reggie Miller, Grant Hill, Sheed

[Fpoonsie]

It seems cliche' as a Spurs fan, but...Dave. He's the reason I became a fan of the game. And since he seemed like such a respectable guy OFF the court to boot, I figured he was the perfect role model to jump on board with.

[hitmanyr2k]

I've always been partial to energy/defensive players and players that became stars with no hype, marketing, or fan-fare.

When I first got into basketball the Sixers were my team and as much as I loved Doc's flair and Andrew Toney's great shooting my favorite player on the team was always Bobby Jones. He was the first player that made me love to watch defense and appreciate that aspect of the game. He was relentless and it's a shame when people list the best defenders of all-time he's never brought up.

Growing up everyone was always Michael Jordan this and Michael Jordan that. I didn't really care for Jordan. Pippen was the one who got me into the Bulls. I saw him as the next Dr. J. He was one of those underdog types that I liked to root for so I followed his career and he became my favorite player of all-time. I figured he would become the next Dr. J but I didn't know he'd become the next Bobby Jones as well which was a bonus for me since I loved defense so much.

I still remember to this day seeing Manu Ginobili in the 2003 playoffs and I was telling my friends that dude is gonna be a star. Of course no one took me seriously. It seemed like everytime he came into a game he made something good happen on both ends of the floor. His unorthodox style made me take notice and a couple of years later when he was killing teams in the 2005 playoffs I was telling people "I told you so"

[TheManFromAcme]

Magic. Totally adored and idolized him.

...followed by..

- Dr. J
- George Gervin

[Double-Up]

Hakeem the Dream, Clyde, and Francis while he was here.