Which Stark County basketball players suited up in an NBA Finals? And who won one?

Canton South's Dick Cunningham became the first Stark County hoopster to play for the winning team in the NBA Finals while appearing in the league's championship series. He retains that distinction 52 years later.

Cunningham is one of 13 former Stark County high school players to compete in the NBA, including four who made stops with the Cavaliers. With the 2023 postseason underway and the NBA Finals a month away, here is a look at the furthest postseason advances of the 13.

Dick Cunningham, Canton South

The 6-foot-10 center appeared in all four games of the 1971 NBA finals, in which his Milwaukee Bucks swept a Washington Bullets squad featuring Wes Unseld and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.

Cunningham went to the playoffs in three different years with the Bucks, who were 19-8 in games in which he appeared. Look for a separate article on Cunningham, based on a recent interview with him.

Dick Snyder, Hoover

Snyder won a championship ring for his 1979 work with the Seattle Supersonics, but he did not play in the finals. He was 35 years old and in his 13th and final pro campaign.

While he did not play in the '79 finals, he did appear in five games of the Western Conference finals.

Snyder's claim to fame in 31 postseason appearances came with the Cavaliers is the 1976 "Miracle in Richfield" series against the Bullets. In Game 7, he scored with four seconds left to provide an 87-85 over the Washington Bullets. He led the Cavs with 23 points.

Eric Snow, McKinley

Snow was Stark County's busiest playoff regular, with a 51-52 record in 103 career appearances. He went to the finals with three different teams.

In the 2001 finals, with a Philadelphia team starring Allen Iverson, he scored in double figures in all five games, but the 76ers fell to the Lakers four games to one. That regular season, Snow led the 76ers in assists and ranked third in minutes played.

As a second-year pro with the Seattle Supersonics, he played nine total minutes in the 1996 NBA finals, which the Chicago Bulls took 4-2.

Late in his career with the Cavaliers, he did backup duty in the 2007 finals, won by the Spurs in a four-game sweep.

In one memorable playoff game, against Washington in 2006, Snow scored six of his 18 points in overtime of a 121-120 win that gave the Cavs a 3-2 lead.

Nick Weatherspoon, McKinley

Weatherspoon, a 6-7 forward, played in all four games of the 1975 NBA finals. His Washington Bullets were swept by a Golden State Warriors team led by Rick Barry.

"Spoon" was money in the '75 Eastern Conference finals against John Havlicek and the defending-champion Boston Celtics, scoring 18 points in Game 1 and shooting 8-of-10 from the field in Game 4.

The last of his 31 postseason games was a Game 7 loss at Cleveland in the 1976 "Miracle in Richfield" series.

Howard Jolliff, Canton South

The 6-foot-7 power forward was in the Los Angeles Lakers' eight-man rotation through most of the 1962 NBA finals against Boston. He played nine minutes in the deciding Game 7, a 110-107 overtime loss that gave the Celtics their fourth straight championship.

C.J. McCollum, GlenOak

The 6-3 sharpshooter has averaged 20.2 points in 63 postseason battles, but his New Orleans Pelicans missed the playoffs this season. They were eliminated in the play-in tournament.

In 2019, McCollum scored 41 points while playing 60 minutes for the Trailblazers in a quadruple-overtime win over the Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals before scoring 37 in a Game 7 win on the road. The Blazers, though, were swept by Golden State in the conference finals.

Kosta Koufos, GlenOak

The 7-0 center spread 37 playoff games across three teams — the Jazz, Nuggets and Grizzlies. His postseason record was 16-21. Koufos helped the 2010 Jazz and 2015 Grizzlies win opening-round series.

Phil Hubbard, McKinley

The 6-8 forward played 10 NBA seasons, eight with the Cavaliers, with whom he logged all eight of his career postseason games. The Cavs lost a 1985 series to the Celtics, but Hubbard played Larry Bird tough and scored 23 points in a narrow loss that could have evened it at two games apiece.

Gary Grant, McKinley

"The General" played guard in the postseason in 1992 and 1993 with the Clippers, 1996 with the Knicks, and 1998 and 2000 with the Trailblazers. His teams went 7-10 when he played. Grant appeared in one game in the 2000 Western Conference finals against the Shaq-and-Kobe Lakers.

Luke Witte, Marlington

"Luke the Seven-Foot Duke" made all seven of his postseason appearances with the Cavaliers in 1976. Witte worked 11 minutes in relief of Nate Thurmond as the Cavaliers evened the Eastern Conference championship series against Boston at two games apiece.

Mike Barr, Lehman

Barr played guard in 20 American Basketball Association postseason games, first with the Virginia Squires in 1973 and 1974, then with the St. Louis Spirits in 1975.

Barr scored 20 points against Julius Erving and the New York Nets in a 108-107 win that clinched a 1975 opening-round win for the Spirits.

He also had a stint in the NBA, but did not appear in a postseason.

Michael Hawkins, McKinley

Hawkins played guard for the Sacramento Kings in two 1999 playoff games against Utah.

Keith McLeod, McKinley

McLeod played in 200 NBA games from 2004-07, but did not see postseason action.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: NBA playoff highlights for Stark County high school basketball alumni