The best in the game share why they love basketball, and speak about the players they grew up emulating, late nights practicing in the driveway, and how basketball provided a refuge from the realities of life.

Walt "Clyde" Frazier was one of the first to become a cultural icon off the court. Players like Pete Maravich and Calvin Murphy continued that trend, but their popularity stemmed from their play on the court.

A look at the first NBA Draft Lottery in 1984, made all the more interesting by the prize awaiting the first winner: Patrick Ewing. When Ewing went to the New York Knicks, rampant conspiracy theories began to emerge.

A look at the strangest free throw shooting techniques in the sport's history, followed by a breakdown of the pick and roll, and the art of flopping.

Michael Jordan takes over the NBA: the building of a player, brand, and a pop culture icon.

The success stories of Jim Valvano at NC State, Rollie Massimino at Villanova, and Denny Crum at Louisville opened the door for other unique styles of coaching that supplanted the success and star power of their predecessors.

With the NCAA an ever-growing, billion-dollar industry, the debate continues about whether the players deserve to be compensated financially for their roles in helping to bring in millions to their schools.

The Master takes on his next challenge: trading in MJ, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman for the glitz and glamour of LA and his next pair of superstars: Shaq and Kobe. The results are a dynasty arguably as great as the one he constructed with the Bulls.

A celebration of the greatest big men to play the game: from international players such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, and Dirk Nowitzki to the United States' Shaquille O'Neal and Anthony Davis.

From his time as a high school prodigy in Akron, Ohio, to being selected first overall in 2003 by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James seemed destined to become one of the game's all-time greats.

When LBJ took his talents to South Beach, some thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Miami Heat would easily walk away with a championship. "The Big 3" quickly learned that each championship would need to be battled and earned on the court.

The ball, the common denominator, the object of a shared feeling is held, passed to and from, caressed, embraced, twirled, hugged, whispered to, and even kissed as the final act of an expression of shared emotion.