Top 10 Most Influential Basketball Players Over the Past Decade

Scribe Written on October 05, 2008

(Page 6 of 6)

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2. LeBron James

LeBron James is the Tiger Woods of basketball. He could probably sell water to a well. At such a tender age, he's drawing comparisons to former NBA greats like Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, and his idol, Michael Jordan. LeBron even carried his team to the NBA Finals in 2006-2007, only to be swept by the Spurs.

While his team isn't quite as talented as the other elite rosters in the league, just having LeBron means the sky is the limit for the Cavaliers. If his plan to ditch Cleveland and head to Brooklyn when the Nets move to the Big Apple materializes, the King will become the most marketable athlete in sports, not just the NBA.

With his Nike contract, Sprite deal, and current maximum contract, James made over $40 million this past year. He almost makes more money in 12 hours than the average American does in one year. Yeah, he's loaded.

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1. Yao Ming

He's the most popular basketball player in the world today. If you want an idea of just how big of a deal this guy is, he nearly got Shane Battier voted into the All-Star game, just because he played on the same team as him. Tracy McGrady has enjoyed the votes and jersey sales in the Asian market thanks to Yao Ming as well. He's one of the most talented players to play in the NBA, and if he can stay healthy, he might actually win something.

Since being drafted first overall in 2002, he's led the league in All-Star votes regularly. He sells out arenas all over North America as his fans line up to catch a glimpse of the 7'6 giant. Ming is a living example of an athlete who's following is so large, he's bigger than the very league in which he plays.

300,000,000 people in China play basketball today. That is nearly the entire population of the United States. Yao's journey to the NBA is likely to be followed by many players from China. Yi Jianlian made his journey in 2006-2007 and Sun Yue made the trip to the NBA this past off-season. Somewhere, you have to think David Stern is smiling.

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