George Mikan

George Lawrence Mikan Jr. was born in Joliet, Illinois, into a Croatian-American family. Wearing thick, round tortoiseshell spectacles due to severe nearsightedness, Mikan was initially cut from his high school team for being too clumsy. Entering DePaul University under Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer, Meyer recognized Mikan's potential and instituted an intense training regimen of rope skipping, dancing, and rhythmic ambidextrous hook-shooting that came to be known as the 'Mikan Drill'—now practiced by every post player in the world.

Mikan led DePaul to the 1945 NIT championship at Madison Square Garden, scoring 53 points against Rhode Island. In 1947, he signed with the Minneapolis Lakers, then playing in the NBL. Mikan was unstoppable: standing 6 feet 10 inches and weighing 245 pounds, his sweeping hook shots with either hand over defenders rendered opposing teams helpless.

Mikan carried the Lakers to five championships in six seasons across the BAA and NBA between 1949 and 1954, winning three scoring titles. His dominance was so overwhelming that when the Lakers played at Madison Square Garden in 1949, the marquee simply read: 'GEO MIKAN VS KNICKS.' The league widened the free-throw lane from 6 feet to 12 feet specifically to limit him ('The Mikan Rule') and created the 24-second shot clock in 1954 after Fort Wayne held the ball for an entire game to beat the Lakers 19-18. Later serving as the inaugural commissioner of the ABA, Mikan introduced the iconic red, white, and blue ball and the three-point shot.