Dwyane Wade Of The Miami Heat

Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. (born January 17, 1982), nicknamed "Flash" or "D-Wade", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wade was named 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Despite the unorthodox spelling, Wade's first name is pronounced as Dwayne. Wade has established himself as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. He had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, as he led the NBA in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA playoffs, until the mid-point of the 2006–07 season.^[2]

After entering the league as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade was named to the All-Rookie team and the All-Star team the following five seasons. In his third season, Wade led the Miami Heat to their first NBA Championship in franchise history. He was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP as he helped lead the Heat to a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States Men's Basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring, as they captured gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA Scoring Title.

Carmelo Anthony Of The Denver Nuggets

Carmelo Kiyan Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets, of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also played with the United States national basketball team. He went to Towson Catholic for high school and decided to go to Syracuse for college. As a freshman in college, Anthony led Syracuse University to a 30–5 record and the school's first NCAA championship in men's basketball in 2003. He was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 2003 NCAA Final Four and MVP of NCAA East Regional. He was also named the consensus national Freshman of the Year and was a unanimous choice as the Big East Conference Freshman of the Year. Anthony was selected as the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and named the 2005 Rookie Challenge MVP.

Kevin Garnett Of The Boston Celtics

Kevin Maurice Garnett (born May 19, 1976) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays at the power forward for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After having a successful high school basketball career at Farragut Career Academy, he decided to forgo college and entered NBA Draft. He was selected with the 5th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and became the first NBA player drafted directly out of high school in 20 years.

Garnett made an immediate impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves leading them to eight-consecutive playoff appearances. In 2004, Garnett led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals and was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2003-04 season. In the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won a Gold medal as a member of the USA men's national basketball team. Since his second season in the league, Garnett hes been named to every All-Star Game, which includes winning the All-Star MVP award in 2003. He was awarded the regular season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the 2007-08 season and has been a nine-time member of the All-NBA Teams selection and a ten-time member of the All-Defensive Teams selection.^[2]

After spending twelve seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics, where he won his first NBA championship and helped them win their seventeenth title. Garnett currently holds several all-time Timberwolves franchise records and is also the all-time leader in NBA seasons played with averages of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

Kobe Bryant Of The L.A Lakers

Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978(1978-08-23)) is an American shooting guard who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career and made instant headlines when he decided to go directly into the NBA upon graduation. He was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille O'Neal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. After O'Neal's departure following the 2003–04 season, Bryant became the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise. He led the NBA in scoring during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.^[2] In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in a single game in NBA history,^[3] second only to Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance. Bryant won his fourth NBA championship in 2009, leading the Lakers to their fifteenth title. He also won his first Finals MVP award.

Bryant was awarded the regular season's Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) in the 2007–08 NBA season and led his team to the 2008 NBA Finals as the first seed in the Western Conference.^[4] In 2008, he won a gold medal as a member of the 2008 Summer Olympics U.S. Men's Basketball Team, occasionally referred to as "The Redeem Team," a play on the name of the first Olympic team that featured NBA players, the Dream Team.^[5] Since his second year in the league, Bryant has started in every NBA All-Star Game that has been hosted, including winning the All-Star MVP award in 2002, 2007, and 2009. In 2009 Bryant had the top selling jersey in the United States, Europe, and China.^[6] Although known by several names throughout his career, Bryant's current nickname is Black Mamba. After having been represented by Arn Tellem, Bryant is now represented by Rob Pelinka.^[7]

In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault at a hotel in Edwards, Colorado by a hotel employee. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser informed them that she was unwilling to testify.^[8] Bryant's accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court.

LeBron James Of The Cleveland Cavaliers

LeBron Raymone James (born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James," he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent–St. Mary High School. At just 18, he was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cavaliers and signed a US$90 million shoe contract with Nike before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008–09, and has been both All-NBA and an All-Star every season since 2005.

The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James has led the team to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2009. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and ultimately to the 2007 NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. James has also been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.