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Together Forever: Chris Webber and Penny Hardaway, 1994

Chris Webber and Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway might try to juke comparisons to each other much as they would an overmatched defender, but there’s no dribbling around it.

Eddie Jones: The Reluctant Star, 1998

Jones is getting the star treatment, all right. People aren’t just waiting for autographs; they also wait to give him flowers or candy. They take photos, jockey for handshakes, ask for Eddie’s signature on balls and trading cards.

Charles Barkley: Here Comes Trouble, 1989

You don’t challenge Barkley by telling him what to do, but by telling him what he can’t do. Limit him, sell him short, cut him down, and he’ll die proving you wrong.

Ed Ratleff: Easy Does It, 1975

Coach Johnny Egan says Ratleff’s presence in the Rocket lineup “became a great stabilizing factor. He is the complete team basketball player. Offensively, he is totally unselfish. He just does whatever it takes to win.”

Gary Brokaw: Potential for Magic, 1974-78

As a youth, Brokaw tried to pattern his play after Walt Frazier and Dave Bing. Little did he know that several years later, it would be Frazier and Bing that would be his workaday opponents.

Maurice Lucas: Roughing It in the NBA, 1977

Lucas plays aggressively, and critics say he plays dirty. “I play very aggressively. I play with intelligence,” he said. He paused a moment and added a footnote. “I play rough.”

Larry Bird: Bird is Still the Word, 1991

But whether the final curtain on Bird’s show comes down after one, two, or five more years, he’s certain to retire to Indiana duly cast as Larry the Legend.

Bill Walton: In His Own Words, 1994

Your ability to get near perfection makes it so worthwhile, because the more you work at it, the better you get. Not just the two hours you’re on the court, but the 18, 19, 20 hours a day that you’re awake, thinking about the game . . .

The $10 Million Gamble to Save Pro Basketball: Bill Walton and Larry Bird, 1980

The Clippers and Celtics paid a fortune to get them. Now, they and the rest of the league can only hope Walton and Bird get back the fans and make pro basketball “The Sport of the 1980s.”

Allen Iverson: The Question is Answered, 1999

The younger Iverson might have been reluctant to accept that his way might not necessarily be the best one, but the maturing Iverson is starting to see the bigger picture.