BRIAN THOMAS

Former professional basketball player Michael Jeffrey Jordan is 57 years
old today. He played 15 seasons in the NBA, winning six championships
with the Chicago Bulls. He is considered by many fans of the sport the
greatest basketball player of all time. Known by his initials, MJ is the
principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team. 

Kobe Bean Bryant (August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020)

CALABASAS, Calif. – Former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant has died in a
helicopter crash in California.

Nine people were on board when the helicopter went down near Calabasas
this morning. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the
passengers. Bryant’s wife Vanessa was reportedly not on the helicopter.

Kobe Bryant played his entire 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles
Lakers and finished his career as one of the best to ever play the game.     

David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020)

David Stern was a businessman and lawyer who served as the fourth
commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) He started
with the league in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978
as General Counsel, and became the league’s Executive Vice President
in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984, succeeding Larry O’Brien
and is credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA in the 1990s
and 2000s.

In a statement, the NBA said Stern had died "as a result" of a brain
hemorrhage he suffered Dec. 12.

Bird entered the NBA in 1979 and had an immediate impact on the league, winning Rookie of the Year after leading the Celtics to a
61-21 record and first place in the Atlantic Division just one year
after they went 29-53 and finished in last place. In his second
season.

Larry Joe Bird will be 63 in December.

John Joseph "Hondo" Havlicek (April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019)

(Fox News) – John Havlicek, a legendary Boston Celtics star behind one
of the most famous plays in NBA history, died Thursday in Jupiter,
Florida. The Hall of Famer’s cause of death was not immediately known
but, he had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease during his last
years.