Career Average: 24.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.2 APG. Before Dirk, rarely did you ever see a 7-footer in the NBA launching from deep. Then head over and vote on the best NBA players of the 2010s. Stats: 22.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 3.9 APG in 11 NBA seasons with Philadelphia 76ers (1976-77 to 1986-87); also played five ABA seasons with Virginia Squires (1971-72 to 1972-73) and New York Nets (1973-74 to 1975-76). He is, without a doubt, thegreatest shooter of all timeafter becomingthe careerleader in made 3-pointers. When people knocked him for not winning championships early in his career, they overlooked that he almost single-handedly took an overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers squad to the 2007 NBA finals at just 22 years old. Oscar Robertson 12. Sure, his game has holes, and Bucks haters will say their run to the title wasnt the hardest. And though this isnt all that important, Dirk was able to do it with the same franchise for his entire career. Not only is he the greatest winner in all of American sports, Russell is also both the smartest and best defensive player to ever pick up a basketball. The most notable of his scoring feats came on March 2, 1962, when he put up an astounding 100 points in a game, an NBA record that will likely never be broken. Position: Center Teams: San Antonio Spurs (1989-2003) Honours: Rookie of the Year (1989-90), MVP (1994-95), Defensive Player of the Year (1991-92), 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection, 8-time All-Defensive Team, Hall of Fame Championships: 2 (1999, 2003) Career stats: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG, .518 FG% Nickname: The Admiral David Robinson was the only player outside of Hakeem . Accomplishments: 17-time All-Star, 17-time All-NBA, six-time All-Defensive team, four-time MVP, four-time Finals MVP, three-time All-Star MVP, 2003-04 Rookie of the Year, 2007-08 scoring champ, 2019-20 assists champ, four-time NBA champion. 13. Accomplishments: 11-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, 2000-01 MVP, two-time All-Star MVP, 1996-97 Rookie of the Year, four-time scoring champ, three-time steals champ. Accomplishments: Nine-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, four-time NBA champion. Kobe Bryant 9. Accomplishments: Nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA, nine-time All-Defensive team, 1995-96 Defensive Player of the Year, 1995-96 steals champ, 2006 NBA champion. And, frankly, its sort of fun tweaking all the Chicagoans who are surprisingly defensive about their sporting accomplishments. Top 10 Best NBA Players of All Time. Stats: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG in 14 seasons with San Antonio Spurs (1989-90 to 2002-03). Years Played: 2006-current. Stats: 23.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 8.5 APG in 13 seasons with Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-09 to 2018-19), Houston Rockets (2019-20) and Washington Wizards (2020-21)*. and fought Bruce Lee in Game of Death, so his cool quotient is easily the highest of anyone on this list. I have a confession to make: even though Im a lifelong devotee to all Seattle sports team, I had a fan-fling with the San Antonio Spurs teams of the late 90s and early 2000s. 1. Old heads might cringe at putting a 26-year-old, after only eight seasons, up here over a number of worthy legends, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is a two-time regular-season MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year, and just earned his first Finals MVP honors after authoring arguably the greatest performance in a close-out game weve ever seen. FREDERICK: My official NBA Playoffs predictions. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA, 1966-67 Rookie of the Year, 1976 All-Star MVP, 1967-68 scoring champ. The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. Ever. Theres absolutely nothing left for Steph to accomplish and thats why he ranks in our top 10 list. Accomplishments: Five-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, 2020 All-Star MVP, 2014-15 steals champ, two-time NBA champion. The toughest debates may not be the obvious ones. He is currently a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he plays both power forward and center alongside LeBron James. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA, two-time All-Defensive team, 1968-69 scoring champ, two-time rebounding champ, 1978 NBA champion. Maybe, just maybe LeBron James surpasses him in another four or five seasons, but its going take a herculean effort on The Kings part to supplant the greatest center ever whose longevity is practically unrivaled. For myself, Ill never forget Game 1 of the 2001 NBA Finals. Abdul-Jabbar was also an 11-time All-Star and a member of six championship teams. Stats: 13.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.4 APG in 10 seasons with Portland Trail Blazers (1974-75 to 1977-78), San Diego/LA Clippers (1979-80 to 1984-85) and Boston Celtics (1985-86 to 1986-87). BODY. The beauty of Shaqs dominance is that youcould know after two dribbles that hewas about to hit you with a dropstep in the post, but you just werent going to stop it even if you knew it was coming. Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest player that the NBA has seen and won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. Most obsessively competitive to the detriment of ever having normal human relations with anybody? JJ went on to the NBA, where The Magic drafted him 11th in the 1st round. During his early years in the NBA, Kevin Garnett was undoubtedly one of the nicest players in the league. His season with the Raptors catapulted him up the all time ranks, if were being transparent. The Mound Round of Rebound was a beast on the boards, averaging 11.7 for his career even withhis down years in Houston. sports Basketball. The league's investigation took less than a week. Achievements: 5 Championships, 1 MVP, 2 Finals MVP, 18 times All-Star, 2 Olympic gold medals. AD, To me, Kevin Durant is the most skilled offensive player ever to play the game. He is followed by Zion Williamson in second place, while Jaylen Brown is third. Stats: 17.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.7 BPG in 13 seasons with Boston Celtics (1980-81 to 1992-93). Adam Augustyn is Managing Editor, Reference Content at Encyclopdia Britannica. 5. by Trentonl2025. Birds been supplanted by someone else on that mythical list, but the Hick from French Lick is forever aLegend. Louis Hawks (1954-55 to 1964-65). Tim Duncan 10. The 69 Johnson (making him the NBAs tallest point guard) not only posted the best assists-per-game mark in league history (11.2) but had a tremendous all-around game, as well. ZO, Call it an overreaction if you foolishly insist, but with all the accolades and the company he now keeps after that epic run through the 2021 NBA Finals, Greek Freak absolutely belongs on thislist. Jordan never took a game off, he was a maniac for better or worse. Ervings career numbers are just as impressive as his plays. Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG in 15 seasons with Chicago Bulls (1984-85 to 1992-93; 1994-95 to 1997-98) and Washington Wizards (2001-02 to 2002-03); NBA's career leader in points per game. But how much more credit do you give Bryant for winning more rings and drawing legit comparisons to Michael Jordan? Cody Frederick. Hes made five All-NBA squads, four times hes been named to one of the NBAs All-Defense teams, hes an All-Star MVP,was the Most Improved Player of the Year in 2017, and was named to the leagues 75thanniversary squad. Or write about sports? He never did anything as good as Jordanexcept, that is, defend. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, 1950-51 Rookie of the Year, 1952 All-Star MVP, two-time scoring champ, 1956 NBA champion. Malone is a 14-time All-Star player with 11 NBA First Team selections. But one of the greatest guards ever made the All-Star team each of his 14 seasons in Los Angeles, made 12 All-NBA squads,was a five-time All-Defense selection, and a no-brainer to make the NBAs 75th anniversary team. Thats a league MVP award, but I dont think we should knock him for that if thats missing from his rsum when he ultimately retires. 1 scorer in NBA history. Accomplishments: Eight-time NBA All-Star, six-time All-NBA, 1975 Finals MVP, 1965-66 Rookie of the Year, 1966-67 scoring champ, 1974-75 steals champ, 1975 NBA champion. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Shouldnt that tell you something? The four highest all-time NBA single-season scoring averages all belong to Chamberlainin his first four professional seasons. * Indicates member of the Hall of Fame. While Kareem put up a whopping 38,387 points during his playing days, I cant look past the fact that he spent a good chunk of his career receiving passes from Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, the two greatest point guards of all time. Youre not supposed to win NBA Finals MVP awards 14 years apart, but Abdul-Jabbar did. He wasnt as athletic as the other big men, but till the end of his career, he made a major impact on both ends of the floor, including in his last NBA Finals win in 2014. And lets be honest, youre being naive if you dont think he has a chance to take the No. Accomplishments: Four-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, 1967 NBA champion. There was a point in ONeals career where no one could stop him. Magic and Shaq crowned Kobe as the greatest Laker everafter he retired. Despite having . At the opposite end of the attractive play spectrum from Duncan is Shaquille ONeal. Theres virtually no formula to stop him. Theres a reason why theFinals MVP awardis named after him. A guy this young isnt supposed to have so many accolades on his, , especially after he entered the league as such a project. 23 min ago. Almost up until deadline, we debated whether Shaquille ONeal, inarguably one of the best big men in NBA history and a true disruptor on the court, deserved to be ranked higher than the late, great Kobe Bryant. Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG in 14 seasons with Cincinnati Royals (1960-61 to 1969-70) and Milwaukee Bucks (1970-71 to 1973-74). In this article, we will look at players' statistics in the professional league and their accomplishments to determine the best basketball players of all time. Maybe we have Robinson too low, but when you get to this point, and youre comparing ultra great players to ultra great players, its basicallylike splitting hairs. K G1 G2 G3 G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 G9 G10 G11 G12 Vocational/Technical Education University Special Ed P.E. ZF, The rare legend that bounced around the NBA during his days in the league, know that Malone playing for seven different franchises in the Association shouldnt distract from the fact he is easily one of the best centers of all time. ESPNs The Last Dance tried its best to encapsulate MJs stranglehold on the basketball world and still didnt do it justice. His signature play of tapping the ball to a teammate helped him invent the fast break. Stats: 23.1 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.8 APG in seven seasons with Minneapolis Lakers (1948-49 to 1955-56). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Did you really watch Kobe Bryantmember of the NBAs 75thanniversary teamfor 20 years and say to yourself, Well hes not that efficient so I dont think hes great as hes portrayed? You could go on and on with former and current NBA stars talking about why Iverson was so great and means so much to them. I wasnt sure if he was paying attentionfinally I realize he understood everything I was saying. Where else do you find so many people nearly seven-feet tall gathered together in one place? He was truly a one of a kind and easily one of the most entertaining playerson and off-the-courtthat the NBA has ever seen. The captain of the Showtime Lakersshould firmly be included on anyones NBA top 5 list. 10. Once there, he would finish with an emphatic dunk, a foolproof strategy that helped ONeal lead the NBA in field-goal percentage 10 times in his career. Welcome to the ultimate database of every NBA player. And I didnt even mention how magical he was during the 2011 NBA Finals when his Mavs upset LeBron James and theHeat. We see the multitude of accomplishments like NBA MVP, 5-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, 18-time All-Star, nine All-Defensive First Team selections, the now fourth leading scorer, and so on. Anybody else going to averaged 22.9 RPG during their career like Wilt did? When youre ranking the best shooting guards of all time, just make sure you have Wade after MJ and Kobe. Four-Time NBA champion averages all belong to Chamberlainin his first four professional seasons 14 seasons Boston. 11-Time All-Star and a member of six championship teams during the 2011 NBA Finals his. Steph to accomplish and thats why he ranks in our top 10 list the NBA, where the drafted... Of fun tweaking all the Chicagoans who are surprisingly defensive about their sporting accomplishments, scoring! 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Chance to take the No 10.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG in 14 with. Winning more rings and drawing legit comparisons to Michael jordan, while Jaylen Brown is third 1978! While Jaylen Brown is third teammate helped him invent the fast break: 24.2 PPG 13.4. Helped him invent the fast break Dance tried its best to encapsulate MJs stranglehold on Basketball! Widely considered to be the obvious ones like Wilt did Lakers ( 1948-49 to 1955-56 ) 1968-69 scoring champ two-time! & # x27 ; s investigation took less than a week: Nine-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA 1966-67... Seasons with San Antonio Spurs ( 1989-90 to 2002-03 ) is easily the highest of anyone on list.
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