Isaacs, John 'Boy Wonder'

Impact on the world

Played for the New York Rens, Harlem Globetrotters, Grumman Flyers, and Washington Bears, and is credited with introducing the pick-and-roll, a fundamental basketball play still used at every level of the sport today; he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Life & background

Signing with the Rens directly out of high school for $150 a month plus meal money, Isaacs played for the team from 1936 to 1940 and is credited with bringing the pick-and-roll play to professional basketball, a tactic still fundamental to the modern game. He later played for the Harlem Globetrotters, the Grumman Flyers, and the Washington Bears, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. He also notably walked out on a game after a restaurant owner attempted to segregate the Rens from other diners using a screen.

Sources

1. Black Fives Foundation; Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame