Wednesday, August 02, 2006

50 Greatest NBA Players Ever

This is an idea I was sorta toying with for a while now... I feel like I don't know enough about NBA History, especially about a lot of the old NBA greats. So I did a little research, looked at some previous lists from others, and came up with my list of the 50 greatest NBA players ever.

So here's my list... this won't be the end of it, because I plan on writing up a post about each of the top 50 at some point, and I'll probably go through all of these guys and write things about them in random order, but I thought it'd be best to give the list first and write the posts later.

1. Michael Jordan
2. Larry Bird
3. Magic Johnson
4. Wilt Chamberlain
5. Bill Russell
6. Oscar Robertson
7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
8. Shaquille O'Neal*
9. Julius Erving
10. Rick Barry
11. John Havlicek
12. Jerry West
13. Karl Malone
14. Elgin Baylor
15. Isiah Thomas
16. Hakeem Olajuwon
17. Bob Cousy
18. Moses Malone
19. Bob Pettit
20. John Stockton
21. Charles Barkley
22. Dave Cowens
23. Walt Frazier
24. Elvin Hayes
25. Scottie Pippen
26. George Gervin
27. Kobe Bryant*
28. Kevin McHale
29. Patrick Ewing
30. George Mikan
31. Willis Reed
32. Dominique Wilkins
33. Wes Unseld
34. Earl Monroe
35. David Robinson
36. Walt Bellamy
37. Tim Duncan*
38. Nate Thurmond
39. Pete Maravich
40. Dolph Schayes
41. Alex English
42. Billy Cunningham
43. Paul Arizin
44. Dave DeBusschere
45. Gary Payton*
46. Bob McAdoo
47. Clyde Drexler
48. Adrian Dantley
49. Kevin Garnett *
50. Jason Kidd*

* active

Good? Bad? Ugly? What are your thoughts?

49 comments:

SAMO said...

Good list overall. I think Tim Duncan should be higher, especially higher than Dominique Wilkins. I don't think Payton belongs on that list, neither does Garnett. Garnett never won anything in the playoffs, and will eventually be knocked off of this list by guys like D-Wade and Lebron. Overall, I like it! Nice List!

Anonymous said...

Karl Malone is higher than Olajuwon?? Appalling...

The Big Picture said...

well thought out. but i'd drop isiah 5 spots, based soley on his weak-ass GM skills.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting list. I was ready to write a comment defending Dominique and agreeing that Malone was too high on the list and then I checked their stats and saw that Malone does probably deserve to be that high and Dominique wasn't quite as good as I remembered. Funny how our minds do things like that. I look forward to reading the rest of the player posts.

Carry on.

Anonymous said...

Excellent list and write ups so far dude. Keep it up. Looking forward to read em all.

Anonymous said...

I like the list too. I'm surprised nobody questioned Larry Bird as 2nd above Magic or even Wilt. Magic afterall, led his team to 5 championships to Bird's 3, in fact holding a 2 - 1 edge in head to head finals against Bird. If you go by stats, then Wilt should be above Bird as well.

Also, remember back in the early/mid 90's when Barkley was nearly the greatest power forward ever and certainly better than Karl Malone? It's funny how the last 5-7 years of career really shapes your legacy.

Anonymous said...

You didn't include Sam Jones, easily one of the best NBA players of all time. Besides being a great Celtic when they won 10 of 12 championships between the late 50's and late 60's, he was also one of the few that were patriotic enough to serve in the military for the U.S.A. He was Mr Smooth before Dr J came along, please research it to you know he's deserving of any top 50 list of NBA players.

Anonymous said...

garnett should be on this list win the statistics he puts up he has no supporting cast to get him past the first round of the playoffs

CCD said...

as stated on the Hakeem article, Olajuwon should be much higher. Higher than Karl Malone, at the very least! I'd have Dream at the 8 spot.

Unknown said...

what about Allen Iverson?

Anonymous said...

i was a lil shocked about larry bird but at least you fit everyone that deserved to be in the top ten in there and i dont like garnett or kidd bein in there at all

Anonymous said...

2 times MVP, 3 times final MVP Tim Duncan should be in top 10

Anonymous said...

On www.rankopedia.com, Jordan is number one and Chamberlain number two.

Anonymous said...

One good argument for why Bird is ahead of Magic even tho magic won more titles is because magic kareem on his freaking, another top ten player of all-time. he had james worthy too...i mean mchale and parish were nice, but not as good. bird was also more clutch than magic. magic was actually kind of known for choking a bit at the end of games until he hit that baby hook shot to beat the celtics (and bird) in the 1985 (i think, maybe 87) finals.

WIZolman said...

Nice list but Bill Russell belongs at #1. Russell revolutionized NBA defensive concepts. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star, he amassed 21,620 career rebounds, an average of 22.5 rebounds per game and led the league in rebounding four times. He had 51 boards in one game, 49 in two others and a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. I saw Russell play in person about 40-50 times. Nobody dominated like Russell.

For those who are too young and didn't have the opportunity to see Bill Russell, you missed the Tiger Woods of basketball. He was a winner at every level. His face-to-face battles with Wilt are legendary. Wilt was 7'1" and 300 lbs. Bill was 6'9" and 225 lbs. However, Bill Russell was a sprinter in college, running the 440 and he high jumped 7'. His speed on the court was amazing for a center, and he had the longest arms in captivity. Russell was so intimidating on defense that players would drive the lane and drive back out. His favorite trick in warmups before games at USF was to pick a coin off the top of the backboard that some student on a ladder would place there before warmups.

Here is what Don Nelson said when comparing Russell and Wilt: ""There are two types of superstars. One makes himself look good at the expense of the other guys on the floor. But there's another type who makes the players around him look better than they are, and that's the type Russell was."

The best thing about Russell was his emphasis on the team. He could really care less about individual records. As Russell later wrote: "To me, one of the most beautiful things to see is a group of men coordinating their efforts toward a common goal, alternately subordinating and asserting themselves to achieve real teamwork in action. I tried to do that, we all tried to do that, on the Celtics. I think we succeeded." In 1980, he was voted Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America.

twins15 said...

Thanks for the great comment Gary. Obviously I slightly disagree with the ranking but I certainly think there's a compelling argument to be made (which you did) about the validity of Russell being higher up. I might make a list of the best defensive big men ever, a list where Russell certainly will be #1 there... just a great player, and the ultimate team guy.

Anonymous said...

If you are going to start a list you have to start with the big three russell,chamberlain,and jabbar.No one could out rebound them.They all played superb defense.They were great passers,and jabbar and chamberlain were the most prolific scorers in history.Jordan would be next,then bird because they did it all.Their games had no weaknesses.Havlicek and jerry west were also players who could do everything,and havlicek would give jordan alot of problems if they ever matched up.Magic johnson and julius erving sometimes had shooting problems,but no one could run afast break like johnson or bob cousy.And dr. j played above the rim like elgin baylor did.Add oscar robertson and bob pettit and no one team would ever beat these 13 guys.Dolph shayes,kevin mchale,kobe bryant,karl malone,rick barry,shaquille o neal in my eyes were so dominant.These are the best 19 players,but their order of greatness is debatable.

Anonymous said...

Jordan is by far the greatest that ever lived. He took the NBA to a level it never reached before. You got to also remember Jordan's two temporary retirements which took off a few years of more amazing stats and championships. I think that if Jordan hadn't retired after the 93 season the bulls would had won the two years the rockets won. When jordan came back after almost two years it took him a while to get shake the rust and went on to lead his team to three more championships the year after. Also when he retired the second time he was still by far the best in the game.

With all this said, Olajuwon still should be ranked higher. He actually carried the NBA for the while Jordan was in retirement. And he was the best big man I ever saw. Shaq has the stats but not the skills. Olajuwon should be in the top 10 and ahead of Shaq if you ask me.

Anonymous said...

Olajuwon not being top 10 invalidates this list

Anonymous said...

what about my man, Lebron James! He is 1 nuts guy!
also wouldn't you like to put steve nash, instead of jason kidd? dirk also needs to get in there somehow, 2. i think Shaq needs to drop a few rankings. Another guy is Dikembe Mutombo, he used to be a crazy guy! i think this top 50 list needs to change a little.

Anonymous said...

im surprised that steve nash didnt make it on to your list and i think tracy mcgrady has more right to be there than KG

Anonymous said...

Nash only came on in the last 5 years or so. Kidd has been at all-pro level for at least 10 years. Kidd > Nash as far as careers go. I will say Malone is too high, no way Olajuwon should be lower than him. Duncan is too low, before his career is done he should be in the top 15 at least. And as far as Garnett I'd say he's too low (maybe biased he is my favorite player), the NBA has never seen anyone who could play all 5 positions since Magic. He's on a crappy team that has done nothing to help him over his career, the fact that he's still loyal to them should bump him up another spot. Talk about him not having rings all you want, he has the same amount as Stockton, Malone, and Ewing.

Anonymous said...

Lebron james is a great talent,but the san antonio series exposed his weaknesses.For starters he needs alot of work on his jump shot.

Anonymous said...

How many of todays players could match up well with john havlicek?Not many!He was perpetual motion,and h did everything well.He would even give the great michael jordan afew problems!

Anonymous said...

Magic is the BEST!

xebulba said...

where is reggie miller? 51 i imagine ;p

Anonymous said...

no jumpin joe he deserves some credit. he was the first big star of the nba and shold be somewhere 40-50

Anonymous said...

If you're talking about college ball, Patrick Ewing belongs. If you're talking the pros, he barely makes the "50 greatest centers" list.

Anonymous said...

Where is steve nash. one of the best gaurds of all time and he's not in your list. you got jason kidd but he's not even close to nash. rewrite the whole list! you dont even have lebron.

Anonymous said...

where is spudd webb. he was 5'4 give er' take and won a dunkin contest

Anonymous said...

how do you have kobe and tim duncan but no Reggie Miller!! the best 3 point shooter ever to step on an NBA floor

Anonymous said...

john stockton needs to be higher. all-time assists and steals leader. if it wasnt for jordan he would have two rings. guy was a rock. also what is gary payton doing on this list. what ever you do keep dikembe mutombo off.

Anonymous said...

I agree that Hakeem..should be higher...And I still can't understand
everyone's fascination with Jason Kidd...He's barely a fourty percent shooter for his career..

Anonymous said...

how is scottie pippen high then kobe, I've never seen him score 81 points in one game. And the glove needs to be off that list.

Anonymous said...

kobe bryant is the best he shld be higher

Anonymous said...

omg woh ever is argueing nash over kid is an ingnerent fool who needs to learn the game. the nets drafted kmart number 1 en the very next year with no changes but 2 rookies en they went to the nba finals!NASH NEEDS TO BE IN THE RITE SYSTEM TO BE SUCSSESFUL en kidd dominates anywhere. lets be real theres a diiference between magic oscar kidd stockton gp walt pistol iziah cousy en pgs like nash dj kj en mark jackson. fool please! en did someone say dirk. o yea lebrons been playin for five years u morons if thats the case then weres walton hill en dc? wow u guys r fools. o en gary ur the man. i still think wilts the greates but thanks for shedding light on the greatest head to head matchup of all time to these fools.

Anonymous said...

Kobe Bryant being 27 and not in the top 3 makes this list laughable. Other than that though it's pretty good except shaq (8?!) should drop a vast amount and reggie miller should be there.

Anonymous said...

I like the list but i think Bill Russell should be above wilt or magic he led the celtics to 11 championchips out of 13 years, the biggest proffesional sports dynasty ever. also I think Ray Allen and reggie Miller should be in it 2 the best 3 point shooters of all time. and wher's Steve Nash one of the best point gaurds ever.

Anonymous said...

Where's Lebron? Pistol should be higher, too. Payton?

Unknown said...

Shaq shouldn't be on that list. If he were a few feet shorter, he wouldn't be in the nba. He can't even make a jump shot being 5 feet from the hoop. Tim deserves to be higher because he could steal, make some 3's but still not very accurate and he save the spurs against the suns with a buzzer 3 and went into double over time and won. And he knows how to be a team player. I also heard that tim could pass like a point guard cause he used to be that position in college until he sprouted like a weed. He didn't even pick up a ball until he went to high school yet he's a super star. He should be at least 7 or 8. At least the top ten.

Anonymous said...

yeah mewtwo sweet comment kid.

first of all let me say, i am not a suns fan, heat fan, lakers fan, or a fan of any team that shaq's been on.

moving on...

yeah your right that if shaq was two feet shorter he still wouldn't be able to shoot, except for the fact that he ISN'T 5'3" he's 7'3" and he dominated in his prime and won three championships alongside kobe and one with d-wade. plus he has career averages of 25 points and 11 rebounds a game.

plus, if you put duncan against shaq both in their primes and duncan would get owned.

you're just being stupid.

stop riding duncan's dick.

Anonymous said...

Adrian Dantley and Alex English should be higher, and Elvin Hayes is in NO WAY better than Scottie Pippen, George Mikan or David Robinson

Anonymous said...

Your Top-10 is just about perfect, although it's obviously a little outdated. I am not a Kobe fan at all though I will admit that at this point in his career he deserves to be number 9 right between Shaq and Dr. J. Kobe fans will be outraged, "How can you put Kobe behind Shaq? He's the greatest ever!" The fact is that he is not. Shaq was the most dominant force (I say force because I am not just speaking of scoring ability like Kobe fans often do) in the NBA for almost a decade. He also won a ring without Kobe and even in his "old age" remains a force to be reckoned with. Kobe still has time in his career to convince, but cracking the top three is almost unthinkable.

I'll be picky here and say that Mr. Russell needs to flip flop with Wilt given his head-to-head success and his championship pedigree.

This list does need to be updated as there are a few changes and additions that should be made. Reggie Miller deserves to be on this list - anyone that has faced a cold blooded shooter knows that they're one of the toughest offensive weapons to stop. Kevin Garnett needs to move up after his first (one and counting...) ring with the Celtics. Tim Duncan, again not a fan, deserves to be recognized at least in the top 15, and potentially in the top 10 though I'm not sure who you'd knock out.

Finally the biggest addition necessary is LeBron James. If this list were Top-50 NBA Athletes of all time he would easily be number 1. He is a Michael/Magic hybrid of athleticism and there is nothing that this guy can't do. Yes he is only in the midst of his 6th season but he's done more in 5+ seasons than many GREAT players did in their career. Not only was he the most hyped player entering the league in history, but he has far exceeded expectations at every turn. At 24 he should just be entering his prime, though it seems like he's been in his prime since his rookie year. If he can win a championship or two by the end of his career, NBA historians will have to rename the Top 3 (Michael, Magic, and Larry) to the Top 4, Michael, Magic, Larry, and LeBron.

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Unknown said...

I think Kobe shouldn't be that low. I hate the man but he's one of the top 10-15 and will be in the top 5 before he retires. I also think Pippen was a little overrated. Top 50 yes, but towards the bottom of the list. Clyde Drexler should move up about 10 spots. Jason Kidd should be over Gary Payton. I'm a big glove fan but i dont know if he should even be on the list. John Stockton is one of the best PG of all time yet he sits at 20? questionable. I'd put magic at two, wilt at three and Bird at about 7-8 behind Kareem, Oscar and Shaq.. I dont know...good list. I've seen some stupid thing on lists like this before, but even though i tore it up it is really good, and my opinion is just an opinion. You seem knowledgeable on what your talking about.

Anonymous said...

yea jason kidd and gary payton over bill walton?just shows how stupid this list is

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Unknown said...

MJ, Air Jordan..
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