Larry Johnson

Larry Johnson turned Charlotte into appointment viewing. The No. 1 pick in 1991, he won Rookie of the Year and quickly became "Grandmama," the wig-wearing, backboard-rattling star of a Converse ad campaign that made the young Hornets a cultural moment. On the floor he was a broad-shouldered power forward with guard skills, a two-time All-Star whose 1992-93 season — 22.1 points and 10.5 rebounds a night — earned All-NBA Second Team honors. A back injury sapped his explosiveness after a 1996 trade to New York, so he reinvented himself as a physical, savvy role player. That grit produced his signature moment: the four-point play against Indiana in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals that pushed the eighth-seeded Knicks toward the Finals.