The best basketball players There are many great players who had the talent to become professionals and lost it along the way. Probably the two most famous to fail are Lloyd Daniels and Earl Manigult. Both could have been stars, but they let drugs and slum living destroy their chances. It has been said that Earl Manigult's best feat was being able to jump to the top of the board and take a dollar bill and replace it with four quarters. Another rumor said he once dunked a basketball backward thirty-six times in a row to win a sixty-dollar bet. Now, for Lloyd Daniels, who is said to be the best basketball player to ever play in New York, he was recruited and signed by UNLV despite never graduating. His greatest downfall was his drug addiction since he was twelve. Even though he had everything he wanted and UNLV got caught buying drugs and expelled the basketball team and the school. Then, the player who created and continues to shake the world of basketball on the rise. The most famous and well-known basketball player is Michael Jordan. He won four NBA titles and is the most recognized player ever. Despite his pro career, he was once cut from his HS team. Then two years later he was an HS All-American. Two years later, at the University of North Carolina, Michael, as a freshman, hit the game-winning shot to secure legendary coach Dean Smith his first collegiate championship. As a professional, playing for the four-time defending champions, he averaged 32.2 points per game, 5.9 assists per game, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1 block. Michael Jordan is the greatest role model for American youth since Dr.