The All-Time Face of the Franchise for Every NBA Team

Each NBA team has one man with whom they can't help but associate. It may be a player, a coach, a fan or even an owner, but that one man sticks out above all the rest until he's known as the all-time face of the franchise. 

How do you become the all-time face of a franchise? Well, you have to have made so many contributions to that team's history that you can never be forgotten. 

These 30 men have done that for their respective teams. 

Read on to find out who they are.

Atlanta Hawks: Dominique Wilkins

Dominique Wilkins may not have been the best player in Atlanta Hawks history, but he is still the most famous. For the curious ones out there, I consider Bob Pettit the greatest member of the Hawks franchise. 

The Human Highlight Reel put on an offensive show every night while he wore red, yellow and white with the Hawks. A Hall of Famer, he spent the first 11 seasons of his storied career with Atlanta despite being drafted by the financially troubled Utah Jazz. 

Wilkins was a nine-time All-Star, a scoring champion, a two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion and remains associated with the Hawks to this day, working now as a color analyst for Atlanta alongside Bob Rathbun. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Bob Pettit and Pete Maravich

Boston Celtics: Red Auerbach

Red Auerbach became the head coach of the Boston Celtics way back in 1950 and immediately made an impact by drafting none other than Bob Cousy with his first pick in the 1950 NBA draft. 

He would pace the sidelines of the Boston Garden until 1967, when he retired from his coaching duties after smoking countless victory cigars, breaking down numerous color barriers, getting ejected from many games, accumulating more wins (938) than any other coach in NBA history at the time of his retirement and winning an astounding nine NBA Championships. 

But Auerbach wasn't finished making a gigantic impact on the Celtics franchise quite yet. He served as the general manager from 1966 through 1984 and then president and vice chairman until 2006, with a few gaps interspersed throughout. When the coaching legend was finished, he had amassed 16 NBA titles.

Other faces worth mentioning: Larry Bird and Bill Russell 

Charlotte Bobcats: Emeka Okafor

Seeing as the Charlotte Bobcats have only been around since 2004, it's pretty difficult to come up with a legendary face of the franchise. 

Emeka Okafor stands out above the rest, but he may be the least famous resident of this slideshow. The center was the first ever draft pick of the expansion team during the 2004 NBA draft and stayed with the Bobcats until 2009 when he bolted for the New Orleans Hornets. 

During his heyday, Okafor was a shot-blocking machine fully capable of throwing up a double-double each and every night.

Other faces worth mentioning: Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace

Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan

Has there ever been more of a sure thing? 

Michael Jordan is not just the face of the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is synonymous with Chicago Bulls. 

In fact, I'll take this one step further. 

Michael Jordan is also both synonymous with and the face of the entire NBA. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson

Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James

It's sure to be torturous to Cleveland Cavaliers fans, but LeBron James still remains the all-time face of the franchise here. 

He was the No. 1 pick and the supposed savior of a franchise that had been in the pits for quite some time. James carried the team, not literally of course, but as near as anyone came to that, to the NBA Finals once and the playoffs quite a few more times. 

He was an MVP, a scoring champion, an All-Star and so much more with the Cavs. Even the way he left burnt his name into the minds of Cleveland fans everywhere. 

Until a second King arrives, James will remain the face of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Mark Price and Brad Daugherty

Dallas Mavericks: Mark Cuban

The most charismatic, out-spoken and over-the-top owner in all of the NBA has to be Mark Cuban. He has single-handedly willed himself towards becoming the all-time face of the Dallas Mavericks. 

Cuban bought a majority stake in the team in 2000 and immediately changed the course of the franchise. Before the billionaire entered the picture, the Mavericks had won just 40 percent of the games in their two-decade history. But since then, Dallas has been victorious 69 percent of the time, been a part of the playoffs every single year and even taken home a title. 

Because he doesn't know how to keep his trap shut, Cuban has been the lynchpin of a lot of controversy, but for the sake of this article, that's only helped his face become even more well-known. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd

Denver Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony

Even though the Denver Nuggets recently traded him away to the New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony earns the title of all-time face of this franchise. 

Ever since Melo was drafted during the stacked 2003 NBA draft, he has been a scoring phenom. A four-time All-Star, Anthony is averaging nearly 25 points per game over the course of his still-young NBA career and places third on the Denver scoring charts. 

The two men he trails, Dan Issel and Alex English, are the two that you'll find at the bottom of this slide in the honorable mention portion. I'm not saying that Anthony is a better player than either, just that he's more of a face of the franchise. After all, both Issel and English are historically underrated. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Alex English and Dan Issel

Detroit Pistons: Isiah Thomas

Isiah Thomas is arguably the greatest player to ever lace up for the Detroit Pistons, a franchise with a very successful history. He is also one of the best to ever play his position of point guard in the history of the NBA. 

Zeke truly embodied the Bad Boys identity of the late 1980s Pistons and helped engineer two championship runs. Fortunately for him though, his debacle with the New York Knicks is not being included here. 

Thomas ran the show in Detroit with toughness, tenacity and an unrelenting drive to win. He was everything you could ask for in a point guard and will always be one of the first names to pop into your head when you hear "Detroit Pistons" no matter how long it has been since he retired. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer

Golden State Warriors: Rick Barry

I recently wrote the following about Rick Barry: 

"

"One of the biggest jerks in the history of the NBA, Rick Barry not only instigated opponents, but also his own teammates. Notoriously racist, Barry was the epitome of perfection in his own mind and wasn't afraid to hold everyone else to that same unreachable standard. 

During his tenure in the Association, the man who wore a wig throughout the 1976 season managed to rub nearly everyone involved with basketball the wrong way. If you search for quotes about this incredible passing forward who managed to average over 30 points a game multiple times, you'll be overwhelmed by the amount of negative feedback you see.

Barry's teammates disliked him to the extent that they didn't even fight on his behalf during his famous brawl with Ricky Sobers in Game 7 of the 1976 Western Conference finals. As a response, Barry refused to shoot in the second half and then blamed Clifford Ray for the loss years later.

He may have been a great player, but his mouth and mind combined to form an even greater instigator."

"

While the above passage is worth bringing up again because it's impossible to emphasize enough how much of a jerk Barry was, there's more to his story. What I failed to mention about Barry is that he was a truly incredible player. With his underhanded free-throw shooting and all-around solid play, Barry became a Hall of Famer and set quite a few records during his time in the NBA.

Other faces worth mentioning: Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain

Houston Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon

This is another one of those teams where I would be willing to bet you knew who would show up before clicking onto the slide. 

Hakeem Olajuwon was a truly fantastic player and made his legend with the Houston Rockets for all but the final season of his legendary career. 

Retiring as the all-time leader in blocked shots, The Dream and his Shake will always be remembered because of the uniqueness with which he played. An incredible defensive presence, Olajuwon also possessed the second-most deadly set of low post moves in NBA history, second only to Kevin McHale. 

Because of his time with both the Houston Cougars and the Houston Rockets, Hakeem will never be forgotten in the city he became famous in. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Calvin Murphy and Yao Ming

Indiana Pacers: Reggie Miller

The all-time leader in three-pointers made until Ray Allen recently broke the record, Reggie Miller will go down as the most memorable player in Indiana Pacers history. 

Miller, drafted out of UCLA in 1987, spent his entire career, which ranged from 1987 until 2005, with the Pacers and left an indelible impression on the fan base. Constantly throwing elbows and nailing three-point shots in the clutch, Miller drastically improved the team's chances of winning any game. 

He'll always be remembered for his scoring spurts and his feud with Spike Lee and the New York Knicks. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Mel Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal

Los Angeles Clippers: Bob McAdoo

Seeing as the Los Angeles Clippers have been around since 1970 (although they were the Buffalo Braves back then), it's hard to believe that the franchise has enjoyed just six winning seasons in that time. Only two of those six came after the move to LA in 1984. 

As a result, there aren't too many long-time Clipper legends to pick from here. In the end, I had to go with Bob McAdoo as a placeholder for Blake Griffin. I'm kidding about Griffin, but only kind of. 

McAdoo spent only four years with the Buffalo Braves, but they were very memorable ones. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1973 and then followed that campaign up by becoming the last player in NBA history to average over 30 points and 15 rebounds for a season. 

The 6'9" forward/center won an MVP Award during his time with the team and then left for the New York Knicks in 1976. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Blake Griffin and Elton Brand

Los Angeles Lakers: Magic Johnson

When one city has boasted so many legendary names, how do you choose just one? The process of selecting one face out of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal, Gail Goodrich, George Mikan and Chick Hearn is one that I had to take very seriously. 

In the end, three names remained: Hearn, Johnson and Bryant. 

But of those three, Magic stands out above the rest. He is one of the absolute legends in NBA history and remains active in the Lakers community. Maybe Kobe will take over one day, but I doubt it. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Kobe Bryant and Chick Hearn

Memphis Grizzlies: Pau Gasol

The Memphis Grizzlies have only been around since 1995 and they really haven't enjoyed too much success during that span. 

Pau Gasol stands out above the rest as the best player to ever put on a Vancouver/Memphis jersey for an extended period of time. Before he was stolen away by the Los Angeles Lakers, Gasol was a standout for the much less-established team. 

To this day, the ostrich lookalike remains the franchise leader in games played, minutes played, field goals attempted, field goals made, free throws made, free throws attempted, points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocked shots. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Bryant Reeves and Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade

Since Dwyane Wade was drafted in 2003, he's been one of the league's most dominant players. Right now, I think that Flash trails only LeBron James in the player rankings of the NBA. 

Wade carried his team to a title in 2006, the only one in the franchise's short history. 

That alone is enough to give him this spot. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Alonzo Mourning and Pat Riley

Milwaukee Bucks: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

This was a pretty tough decision, coming down to a dynamic duo of NBA legends: Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Even though Robertson is an incredible player historically, Abdul-Jabbar made more of an impact with the Milwaukee Bucks. 

After all, while he and the Big O both helped bring home a title in 1971, it was Kareem and not Robertson who won three MVPs with the team.

Other faces worth mentioning: Oscar Robertson and Ray Allen

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett

The Minnesota Timberwolves have simply never had another player quite this dominant. 

While he was with the team in his pre-Boston glory days, Garnett toiled away without much hope of winning a championship while establishing himself as not only one of the best modern power forwards, but also one of the best players of all time regardless of position. 

The Wolves have only been a part of the league since 1989 and Garnett was a part of their history from 1995-2007. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Kevin Love and Christian Laettner

New Jersey Nets: Jason Kidd

A dynamic triple-double threat from the point guard position, Jason Kidd enjoyed some of his best years with the New Jersey Nets. 

The longtime NBA baller spent 2001 through 2008 in New Jersey and made six All-Star teams while there. He probably should have won the MVP Award over Tim Duncan in 2002, but there's nothing that can be done about that now. 

Because of his services to the Nets, Kidd will always be remembered fondly in New Jersey. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Bernard King and Julius Erving

New Orleans Hornets: Chris Paul

Only around since 1988, the New Orleans Hornets haven't had too many star players during their existence. They have one right now in Chris Paul, but that likely won't last for much longer. 

However, CP3 has left an unerasable mark in Hornets history though while establishing himself as one of the greatest pure point guards to ever play in the NBA. When he retires, he may lay claim to the GOAT title in that regard.

Paul has made four-straight All-Star teams and will never be forgotten by Hornets fans.

Other faces worth mentioning: Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson

New York Knicks: Walt Frazier

A trio of names emerged as front-runners for this spot, but the stylish Walt "Clyde" Frazier was victorious. 

Still involved with the New York Knicks as a color commentator on the MSG Network, Frazier's greatest legacy will consist of his contributions as a point guard. 

Frazier is one of the more unique talents to ever play in the Association as he was a great defender, scorer and playmaker all rolled up into one body. 

But most importantly, Frazier is the man who led the Knicks to the franchise's only two NBA Championships, one in 1970 and the other in 1973. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Patrick Ewing and Spike Lee

Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant

Usually in historical slideshows, I choose to include the Seattle SuperSonics in with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but I'm not going to do so here. 

After all, they really are two entirely separate entities even if they are always going to be technically connected for all of time. After all, Gary Payton (my unofficial choice for the SuperSonics) has absolutely no standing in the hearts of most Thunder fans. 

Because of that, the choice here is Kevin Durant. To argue otherwise would be insane. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Scott Brooks and Russell Westbrook

Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard

The fact that a franchise founded in 1989 has had a player as dominant as Dwight Howard for as long as he's been in the league is pretty astounding. 

Ever since he was drafted in 2004, Howard has been one of the better players in the league. Now a five-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Howard is unquestionably the best center in the league. 

Digging even deeper, his jovial personality and impassioned play make him quite fun to watch and a player that sticks out in the forefront of most people's minds. While the Magic have had talented players in the past (Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway), none have been quite as good for quite as long. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway

Philadelphia 76ers: Allen Iverson

The Philadelphia 76ers have had their fair share of great players in the storied history of their franchise, but Allen Iverson wasn't just a great player. Because of his appealing style of play and controversial personality, he was a cult figure and a guy you simply had to watch. 

He also spent quite a bit of time in Philly, the city in which he was named MVP and led the league in scoring on four separate occasions. 

Iverson may not be the best player to ever dribble around in Philadelphia, but he is the all-time face of the franchise. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving 

Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash

Steve Nash is the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Suns run through Steve Nash. 

There's a reason why they would never trade him unless he explicitly demanded a trade. There's also a reason that he would never publicly demand a trade. 

Although he spent a good bit of time in Dallas, Nash will always be a Sun. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson

Portland Trail Blazers: Clyde Drexler

One of the game's premier high-flyers during the 1980s and 1990s, Clyde Drexler earned the nickname Clyde the Glide for a reason. 

Drexler was a scoring stud for the Portland Trail Blazers until he requested a trade to his hometown Houston Rockets in order to play for a contender during his final few seasons in the NBA. Drexler made eight All-Star teams in a Portland uniform and, most importantly, wasn't a Jail Blazer.

Other faces worth mentioning: Bill Walton and Arvydas Sabonis 

Sacramento Kings: Jerry Lucas

Other than The Big O, Jerry Lucas, Vlade Divac, Nate Archibald and Chris Webber were the four names that were up for consideration here. 

Lucas comes out on top because he made the All-Star squad in each of his six seasons with the Royals. The Hall of Famer is an NBA legend and his talent on the court can't be matched by the other three. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Nate Archibald and Chris Webber

San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan

Is there even any doubt when it comes to this selection? If there is, there shouldn't be. 

Despite his quiet and unassuming personality, Tim Duncan is the runaway favorite here. 

Other faces worth mentioning: George Gervin and Gregg Popovich

Toronto Raptors: Vince Carter

When you think of the Toronto Raptors, two images most likely come to mind.

One is the so-ugly-it-may-be-considered-endearing purple jersey with the cartoon velociraptor presented on the front in its full glory. 

The other is Vince Carter soaring through the air for a rim-rattling dunk. 

To be fair, it is possible that the images are combined into one in your mind, giving you the picture of Vince Carter soaring through the air for a rim-rattling dunk in a so-ugly-it-may-be-considered-endearing purple jersey with the cartoon velociraptor presented on the front in its full glory. 

Other faces worth mentioning: Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh

Utah Jazz: Jerry Sloan

Most of you were probably expecting to see either Karl Malone or John Stockton staring back at you on this slide, so here's a nice little curveball. After all, Stockton and Malone were completely inseparable in most discussions, so why separate them now? 

Jerry Sloan paced the sidelines in Salt Lake City for quite some time. He is the only coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 wins with just one team and ranks third on the all-time leaderboard when it comes to wins by a coach. Additionally, the legendary coach yelled at his players from the bench for longer than any other man in history did with one team. 

Sloan led the Utah Jazz to the playoffs in 15 consecutive seasons, allowing him to join Pat Riley and Phil Jackson as the only men to do so.

Other faces worth mentioning: Karl Malone and John Stockton 

Washington Wizards: Elvin Hayes

While it's possible that John Wall may become the all-time face of the franchise one day, that day has not yet arrived. For anyone that's read most of my articles, the previous statement shouldn't come as a shock at all.

Right now though, the title belongs to Elvin Hayes.

The Hall of Famer spent eight seasons with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets and established himself as one of the all-time greats in the process. Hayes was selected to the All-Star team in all but his final season with the Bullets while winning one title during that same timeframe. 

Hayes is an NBA legend for good reason and will always be remembered as the second-best player in this franchise's lengthy history. As for the first, that would be Wes Unseld, but for some reason Unseld is usually thought of less often than The Big E is.   

Other faces worth mentioning: Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe

* * *

Adam Fromal is a syndicated writer and Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.

Brian Wilson vs. James Harden: The Battle of the Beards

Comparing NBA Stars to their Animal Equivalents 

100 Most Exciting NBA Stars Ever

Top 25 NBA Stars' Historical Counterparts

Each and Every NBA Team's All-Time 12-Man Lineup