Michael Jordan: The Real No. 1 Draft Choice, 1984

Like Van Cliburn coming to Carnegie Hall for the first time or Beverly Sills to the Met, Michael Jordan came to Madison Square Garden as a professional.

Bill Willoughby: Playing One-on-None, 1990

Trouble with agents, trouble with coaches, trouble with people to whom he gave his trust has accompanied Willoughby throughout his basketball career like a persistent little sister.

Charlie Criss: Guts and Elbows Basketball, 1977

Criss became known as “The Mosquito,” and it was not a phony alliterative or geographical title invented by a P.R. man. It was a high sign to Criss that even though there were guys on the playground nobody ever heard of, many of them could hold their own with the best in the NBA.