Walt "Clyde" Frazier was one of the first to become a cultural icon off the court. Players like Pete Maravich and Calvin Murphy continued that trend, but their popularity stemmed from their play on the court.

The ABA and NBA merge in 1976 with the St. Louis Spirit owners taking a smaller buyout but a portion of the NBA's TV rights in perpetuity.

Lenny Wilkens is the consummate underdog. Despite a childhood of poverty, racism and the untimely death of his father, Wilkens fought his way to the top of professional basketball, eventually coaching the Seattle Supersonics to their first and only title.

Former NBA commissioner David Stern is profiled, and the Stern era - considered to be the time in which the NBA's popularity exploded - is explored. One thing that helped: the star-studded "NBA: It's Fantastic" advertisement campaign.

A look at how the game of basketball became international, starting with coach John McLendon and later a wave of stars. In light of the emerging international talent, the US is unexpectedly beaten at the 1988 Olympics, finishing with the bronze medal.

Michael Jordan takes over the NBA: the building of a player, brand, and a pop culture icon.

Magic Johnson becomes the most well-known person in the world to be diagnosed with HIV after announcing his retirement at the age of 32. His announcement gave the HIV/AIDS movement a public figure to rally behind.

After a disappointing performance at the 1988 Olympics, USA Basketball negotiates to get NBA players into the Olympic Games. The Dream Team went on to blow out all of their opponents, win the gold, and help raise the sport's profile even further.

Following the impressive gold-medal showing from the 1996 USA Women's Basketball Olympic team, NBA commissioner David Stern launches the WNBA in 1997 to make professional basketball more inclusive for women.

From his time as a high school prodigy in Akron, Ohio, to being selected first overall in 2003 by his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James seemed destined to become one of the game's all-time greats.

Seen as one of the most ill-conceived public relations events in sports history, LeBron James ends his first free agency by choosing his new team live on ESPN in "The Decision."

The role of analytics in the contemporary game.

A celebration of both the fully immersive experience of modern basketball ‒ complete with daily games across the globe, social media interaction, and new technologies ‒ as well as the core tenets of the game that have made basketball great for years.

The ball, the common denominator, the object of a shared feeling is held, passed to and from, caressed, embraced, twirled, hugged, whispered to, and even kissed as the final act of an expression of shared emotion.