Isiah Thomas: Is He the Pistons’ Savior? 1982

“He has charisma, an ability to inspire confidence in his teammates that only a few players have like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, or Julius Erving,” says Rod Thorn, the Chicago Bulls’ general manager.

Jabbar, Jerry West, and the New Look Lakers, 1978

“Jerry West is one clever dude,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “He was responsible for making us a unified group. And that was the big difference in this team.”