Richie Guerin: Wilt Chamberlain’s Magical Night in 1962

Chamberlain’s 100th point came with 46 seconds remaining when he outleaped two defenders to spare a lob pass from Joe Rucklick and slam it through the net. Then all Hades broke loose. 

Red Holzman: The Plainest Man in the World, 1970

And after, when Red had finished hurling wonderfully descriptive expletives at the officials, when he had talked to the reporters who cluster in ever-increasing numbers these days, he went to Russell’s near the Cadillac Hotel with a few friends. Russell’s is a late-night steak place. 

Bill Cartwright: Is He Mean Enough to Make It Big? 1980 

Veterans do not like being outplayed by rookies, and they will do whatever they can—within the rules or without—to gain an advantage. Cartwright had the additional problem of being labeled, “a very nice guy.”

Brooklyn’s Finest: Bernard and Albert King, 1984

By all accounts, Albert is still the polite, gracious kid he always was. The pros haven’t changed him one iota. The same isn’t true for Bernard. He’s changed dramatically.

Michael Ray Richardson: With Sugar on Top, 1981

“When I first came into the league, I thought everyone was Superman. I was shaky, but during the summer, I began to realize that the players are good and that I belonged here.”

Mike Riordan: Bags on the Run, 1973

For the next year, during the 1968–69 season, Mike’s uniform stayed clean and dry; mostly, he just mastered the art of giving fouls, an art now extinct, killed by a rule change.