Magic Johnson Among 11 Michigan Basketball Stars To Play For The Harlem Globetrotters

For years, if someone wanted to make it big playing professional basketball, they would go to college and try to make it big in the NBA. The NBA has been the source of basketball entertainment since it launched in 1942, but there are other options to make shooting a basketball fun to watch.

Get our free mobile app

In came the Harlem Globetrotters, who brought the talent of professional basketball and combined it with comedy, showmanship, and iconic uniforms to create a unique version of the game now in its 100th year. The brand has popped up in video games, had its own tv shows, appeared in movies (they even met Scooby-Doo), and has played exhibition matches against real teams.

While the Globetrotters aren't competing for championships, the players are still very talented, and through its 100 years, a good number of Globetrotters are players who honed their skills here in Michigan, including one of the NBA (and Michigan State!)'s best players of all time.

The Harlem Globetrotters: A Brief History

The Globetrotters got their start back in 1926, playing games around the country. Their stardom hit a new high when in back-to-back years the Globetrotters beat the World Champion Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA, "showing that African-American could excell on a professional level." A Globetrotter was the first African-American to sign an NBA contract.

READ MORE: How Michigan State Snapped the Harlem Globetrotters’ 5-Year Win

The 70s and 80s saw the Globetrotters at its best, making them a household name in entertainment, TV, and more. The team experienced a slump after that, until 1993 when former play Mannie Jackson purchased the team and rejuvenated the brand, even getting inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. Today, the team remains very popular.

Since 1926, 750 men and women have played on the team and are currently on "The 100 Year Tour". Lets take a look at some of the players from Michigan who have help make the Globetrotters world famous.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson - G

Magic Johnson, the 3-time NBA MVP who led Michigan State to its first National Championship in 1979, whose name hangs from a banner, and who has a statue outside the Breslin Center played his final televised basketball game in 2003 at the age of 44 when he joined the Harlem Globetrotters to defeat the Spartans at home in an exhibition match, 97-83. He was a one-time team member, but arguably one of the most famous players to join the squad.

Reginal "Rickey" Ayala - G

Michigan State's first African American basketball player went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters for two seasons in the 50s before going on to serve in the US Air Force and having a successful  career as a CEO of two Detroit hospitals.

Ed Burton - F

Another former MSU alum who went on to play two seasons with the Harlem Globetrotters, Ed Burton joined the team in 1958 before going on to join the New York Knicks for two saesons. From there he floated around various semi-pro teams before ending his career in 1971 with the Grand Rapids Tackers. He played with Wilt Chamberlain during one of Wilt's many stints with the Globetrotters.

Dwaine Dillard - F

Dwaine Dillard played basketball at Eastern Michigan before getting drated by the now-defunct Baltimore Bullets in 1972. He never played, and the following years he played for both the Harlem Globetrotters and their rival the Washington Generals before signing with the Utah Stars in 1975-76. He retired from the basketball after that.

Daniel Webster Kirksey - G

Kirksey was a star player at Michigan Normal (now Eastern Michigan) before going on to play for the Globetrotters for a single season and then three with the Globetrotter's travel team the Harlem Satellites.

Anthony "Pig" Miller - F

Pig Miller played at a full basketball career, playing at Michigan State in college before getting drafted by Golden State in 1994 before spending time with the Lakers, Hawks, Rockets, and 76'ers. During this time, he played with the Globetrotters from 1994 to 2001.

Brent "Thunder" Petway - F

After a rough go playing overseas, former Michigan Wolverine Brent Petway returned back to the US and received a surprise call from the Harlem Globetrotters in 2010, according to a MLive article. He joined the team and was given the nickname "Thunder" from 2010-2011 before going back overseas.

Andrew Shepard - F

A Michigan Normal College graduate, Shepard spent a single season with the Globetrotters in 1956 before joining Goose Tatum's All Stars until 1968.

Chris "Smooth" Staples - F

The Eastern Michigan University graduate went from playing not playing sports in college to joining the Globetrotters from 2012 to 2016, quitting the Globetrotters to star in the movie Slamma Jamma.

Harrison Stepter - G

Former Spartan standout Harrison Stepter joined the Globetrotters after two seasons at MSU.

DeAndre "Dragon" Taylor - F

Northern Michigan University graduate DeAndre "Dragon" Taylor played for the Globetrotters from December 2013 to July 2021. His LinkedIn page states he traveled to "over 75 countries, visit 49 states, and promote anti-bullying awareness, brand marketing, and basketball tricks."

These are Michigan's Globetrotters from over the years. It's remarkable how the Globetrotters have maintained its longetivty, and how players came and went.