If you’re talking about the most popular players of their generation, if you’re talking about people who were prophets spreading the word of basketball before the era of Magic/Bird, then you are talking about Meadowlark Lemon.
The showman who spent decades with the Harlem Globetrotters passed away at the age of 83. This video via the NBA is a tribute to him and his legacy.
RIP Meadowlark.