Answer: Mychal Thompson Mychal Thompson, hailing from the Bahamas, was the first foreign-born player to be selected number-one in the NBA Draft, with this occurring in 1978.
Answer: Muggsy Bogues The 5'3" (1.6 m) Muggsy Bogues actually went on to have a solid NBA career, the highlight of which arguably was his appearance in the 1996 film "Space Jam" alongside Michael Jordan.
Answer: Derrick Rose Derrick Rose suffered an ACL injury the following season and though remaining a viable player never regained the MVP form of the earlier days of his career, when he set a record at age 22 for youngest MVP ever.
Answer: Spain In addition to being stars in the NBA during the early part of the 21st century, the Gasol brothers are also mainstays of the Spanish national basketball team.
Answer: Seattle SuperSonics Vin Baker and Gary Payton, both players on the Seattle SuperSonics at the time, were also members of the 2000 US Olympic basketball team.
Answer: Houston Rockets Scottie Pippen was traded to the Houston Rockets in 1999 for the relatively-obscure player Roy Rogers and a worthless second-round pick, but by that time the Bulls had firmly decided that the highly-successful Jordan years, which Pippen helped define, were over.
Answer: Andrew Bogut Though he may never get proper credit for it, Australian center Andrew Bogut was one of the players who helped transform the Golden State Warriors into championship contenders in 2014-15, the first season they won a championship since 1975.
Answer: Bill Russell Bill Russell has been called 'the winningest player in the history of professional sports' due to winning 11 NBA Championships as a member of the Boston Celtics. And what makes Russell's achievement even more outstanding is that he won all 11 championships within his 13-year professional playing career, with the first win happening in his rookie year. Russell spent his entire professional playing career with the Boston Celtics.
Answer: 1984 The "Air Jordan" brand is still going strong decades after its debut in 1984, with Michael Jordan reportedly making more money decades after his retirement than any active NBA players of that era.