Celebrating 75 years of the NBA with my top 75 players of all time.
I know the NBA will make their list, but I have been making top 50 lists for years, so I thought I would expand out a bit to 75. I just posted most of my list (50 to 16) before the playoffs. So this will just be quick hitters with points (from my system) and a sentence about the player. I may do a little more about current players.
75. Wes Unseld Points 198
Unseld is like many players in the seventies, just a little overrated by the national NBA media, but still, top 75 is pretty good. Just missing the top 75 is Carmelo, Ray Allen, and Sidney Moncrief.
74. Kevin McHale Points 201
McHale was a great second banana for the 80s Celtics team, but he had a pretty short prime like Unseld. So if McHale is in your top fifty, why isn’t Tony Parker?
73. Adrian Dantley Points 202
Just scoring machine in the 70s and 80s was famously traded away from the Pistons Mark Aguirre right before Pistons won two championships.
72. Reggie Miller Points 203
A super-charged playoff performer whose lack of 1st/2nd all NBA teams and a championship keep him lower on the list.
71. Connie Hawkins Points 205
The Hawk is a legend who was held out of the NBA for years on some gambling BS. So it’s nice that even with a shortened career, he is still on the list — one of the twenty most essential players in basketball history.
70. Alex English Points 206
When I was super young, the eight-time All-Star was a dynamic offensive player, one of my favorite players to watch. You don’t know his name because he played for the Nuggets and not the Knicks.
69. Pau Gasol Points 210
Kobe’s number two and one of the most significant international players of all time. Still the best Gasol brother.
67 (tied) Tracy McGrady Points 216
The legend of T-Mac at this point has outstripped the reality a bit, but he was a one-of-kind talent. If injuries and playoff failures hadn’t hampered him, the sky was the limit.
67 (tied) Vince Carter Points 216
It is ironic in my system that the freak athlete cousins are tied. What is a bit more insane is they both played for the same team and would probably be higher if they stuck it out.
65. (tied) Bob McAdoo Points 217
With two ties one spot apart, you are probably getting now that my system is having a bit of trouble judging the 68th player of all time from the 64th. McAdoo is here because his short career peak, including an MVP in 1975, is as high as any player in NBA history.
65. (tied) Dennis Rodman Points 217
The Worm is an excellent example of how my rating system is slightly different from other people’s. I may agree that defense is not as important as offense, but I don’t think it shouldn’t be rated at all.
64. Paul Azrin Points 223
Hey, the NBA has been around for seventy-five years. You can’t avoid 10x Allstars from the fifties know for their line drive jump shots.
63. Dominique Wilkins Points 224
The Human Highlight Reel is one of the only players that even a current basketball fan would have paid money to see.
62. Bill Walton Points 227
Yes, Bill Walton was the best player in the NBA for a year and a half. But he only had six seasons where he played more than fifty games, and three of those were six-man. As high as his peak was, I can’t see how someone can put him in the top fifty.
61. Robert Parrish Points 228
Parrish, on the other hand, played over seventy games twenty times in his twenty-one-year career. Seventeen years as a starter. While he wasn’t an MVP, I would rate that champion and All-Star career slightly higher than Walton’s.
60. Tony Parker Points 229
My man was the second or third best player on four championship teams. A Finals MVP and lost about three all-star appearances playing in the west. The only reason you think he shouldn’t be higher than Kevin McHale is that you listen to too many podcasts.
59. Dan Issell Points 230
Issell is an ABA legend whose game never really translated to the NBA. But, still one of the most significant scoring big men of all time.
58. Dennis Johnson Points 234
DJ dropped a bit (from 43) from last year’s list because I realized he was not the best player on the 1979 Champion Supersonics. Still, while not a top fifty player, he was a key cog on three championship teams and a Finals MVP. Definitely a Hall of Famer.
57. Paul Pierce Points 235
I should count how many Celtics are on this list. They’re a ton. Pierce is widely regarded as the second-best player on the 2008 Celtics championship team, not the first, and that keeps the 10x Allstar just outside the top fifty.
56. Willis Reed Points 237
Know for one of the most famous moments in sports history. Reed could be higher if you think he is the best player on ’73 champions. I give that nod to Clyde.
52. (Tied) David Cowens Points 254
Yes, four people are tied at 52. No one said my system was perfect. Cowens has to be the only player in history to win the MVP and never be first team All NBA.
52. (Tied) Chauncey Billups Points 254
Chauncey’s stats or career accolades don’t put him this high, but if you think he is the best player on the 2004 Pistons, he is, and I do.
52 (Tie) Ben Wallace Points 254
On the other hand, Big Ben does have the accolades to be in the top fifty, but I think Billups edges him on the Piston’s championship team, so they end up tied.
52 (Tied) Patrick Ewing Points 254
This four-way tie has had it all in terms of people who are oh so close but not in the top fifty. Ewing rounds it out by being a Dream Teamer that never quite won a championship.
51. Dikembe Mutombo Points 259
If you start to counting defense at all, Mutombo ranks very high. So when folks say that he and Ben Wallace should not be in the Hall of Fame, it’s crazy to me.
50. Clyde Drexler Points 260
Clyde The Glide (a very creative nickname) does not get as much credit as he should for being a pioneer of jumping to his hometown team to win a Championship. These dudes from LA did not invent that.
49. George Gervin Points 274
Just like Patrick Ewing, The Ice Man did everything except win the championship. He gets the nod over the famous Knick in part because of his multiple scoring titles.
48. Russell Westbrook Points 275
Westbrook is the first active player on the list, a bit of an anomaly, I think. Carmelo would have been 76 and probably will inch into the top 75 before he retires. Russ gets here because of his impressive stats and advanced stats. One of the top twenty advance stats guys in NBA history.
47. Allen Iverson Points 278
People got outraged when I first made this list that Iverson was in the 40s and not higher. But when you look at his career compared to Russell Westbrook’s, it’s hard to spot much of a difference at this point. AI was fantastic to watch, but he doesn’t rate against some of the players ahead of him.
46. Mel Daniels Points 286
I discovered the Indiana Pacers ABA mini-dynasty that won three championships in four years when researching this list. Daniels was there in the ABA. The center that won two MVPs in the league. Pretty good.
45. George McGinnis Points 287
I don’t know why teammates on championship teams keep ending up next to each other on the list, but the Pacer’s power forward was ABA MVP in 1975. Sadly, I think both Daniels and McGinnis will be left off the NBA 75 (Narrator: they were)
44. Elvin Hayes Points 291
The Big E reputation paid a hefty price fouling out in Game 7th of the 1978 finals. The east coast media never forgave him. But the bottom line is they won, and he was their best player.
43. Walt Frazier Points 292
Frazier is one of the most popular players of all time, a playground legend, and more importantly, for the list a two-time champion.
42. Elgin Baylor Points 306
Like AI, I got a real hard time for Elgin Baylor’s place on the list. He is still one of the most beloved basketball players. Young basketball fans know who Elgin Baylor is, which is astounding for a player who to retire fifty years ago. His career, though, is short compared to other legends even in his era, and more importantly, he never won a title. As great as he was, the folks above him on the list just had better careers.
41. Giannis Antetokounmpo Points 312
The reigning world champion already has a career that makes him a first-ballot Hall of Famer. 2x MVPs, Finals MVP, 5x 1st/2nd Teams, and DPOY at 26 years old, the sky is the limit.
39. (Tied) Dolph Schayes Points 316
The Dolpher is the second-highest white dude who could never play now of all time, and that’s something, I guess.
39. (Tied) Kawhi Leonard Points 316
After his Toronto championship, it looked like Kawhi could maybe sneak into the top twenty at the end of his career, but the last two years have stalled him on this list. He doesn’t play enough in the regular season to win individual awards. Whether he is injured or not in the playoffs the Clippers have fallen short. He is out next year and the climb from here is steep.
37. (Tied) John Stockton Points 320
John Stockton got me thinking about the highest person on the list that never won the MVP. We aren’t there yet, but this all-time assist leader never won one partially because he wasn’t even MVP of his team.
37. (Tied) James Harden Points 320
Last year Harden ended a six-year run that is unparalleled individual success. With what he’s sacrificed stats-wise, the Beard’s move to the Nets is not only championship or bust on the court but on the all-time list.
36. Dwight Howard Points 322
People hate that Dwight is this high, but he was the best player on a finals team and was a top three in the league for half a decade. Now he isn’t gaining on the list, but he will be in the top fifty for a long time.
34. (Tied) Gary Payton Points 325
There are many ties in the 30s, partly because I need to tweak my system a bit and partly because these players are very close. Payton gets this primarily high because he is one of the two or three greatest defensive point guards in NBA history.
34. (Tied) Scottie Pippin Points 325
Much like the Glove but at a different position, Pippin is this high because he is one of the two or three great small forwards of all time at the defensive end. But, of course, the six championships don’t hurt either.
33. Steve Nash Points 327
A fourth of my system is based on regular-season awards. MVP is second only to the best player in the championship to get points. So if Nash wins one, he’s at 45; if he wins none, he’s at 50.
32. Rick Barry Points 330
One of the big things I updated for this list is I half the penalty for a player who played in the ABA/NBA era. Rick Barry has the most significant penalty on the list because he played in both leagues and even missed a season in the transition. With the change, he moved up seven stops which makes more sense for the best player on a championship and greatest offensive basketball small forward besides Bird and Durant.
31. Isiah Thomas Points 336
Man, this list is interesting because the next two guys are so similar. Thomas was the best player on two NBA Champions during one of the most competitive times in NBA history. Yet, he is not higher because of a shortish career and a lack of high-level individual honors.
30. Dwayne Wade Points 342
D-Wade was the best player on one championship team and the second-best player on two more. So why is he not higher? See 31.
29. Jason Kidd Points 346
The new coach of the Dallas Mavericks once was the greatest passer in the league. Kidd’s stats stick out and put him slightly higher than the folks in the thirties behind him.
28. Chris Paul Points 367
Chris Paul got a ton of points for the 2020–21 season, but he could have had more. If the Suns would have won the finals, he would probably be four or five spots higher.
27. Charles Barkley Points 370
The Round Mound of Rebound is still one of the famous basketball players in the world, thanks to Inside The NBA. As for when he did play, think about a more ferocious Zion Williamson, and you get about 80% there.
26. David Robinson Points 377
As the Spurs go through a rebuilding phase, it is nice to look back at the Admiral, who in many ways restarted the franchise post-ABA years. Like Chuck, he did everything but win a title as the best player. But, unlike Chuck, Robinson got to play with Tim Duncan and be on two champions late in his career.
25. Oscar Robinson Points 389
Big O is one of my more controversial placements; people think one of the only two players to average a triple-double in a year should be higher. But much like the two players below him on the list, the Big O could never win a championship as the best player. Playing during the beginning of the ABA era also hurts him slightly.
24. Steph Curry Points 404
Curry had a bit of a bounceback season after some injury concerns. He is also the first remember of the 400 point club, which means number sixteen is still in his reach if things break right.
23. Jerry West Points 406
West played on ten finals teams and only won the championship once. That stat is always nuts to me. Four of those he lost 4 to 3, win half of those, and he’s nine spots higher.
22. Bob Cousy Points 415
Cousy invented the modern point guard and won six championships. I mean, what more do you want?
21. Artis Gilmore Points 426
The second greatest player in ABA history was not even in NBA 50. Hopefully, with the NBA 75, the league can remedy that. (They didn’t)
20. Dirk Nowitzki Points 440
Greatest international of all time? Not quite, but he did reinvent the power forward position, especially on the offense side.
19. Bob Pettit Points 449
At first blush, Pettit seems like a guy who couldn’t have played in the NBA today, but he mirrors Dirk’s in a weird way. Of course, he also is the only star that beat Russel Celtics in the finals, so that has to count for something.
18. George Mikan Points 458
Mikan could not play in today’s NBA, but “Mr. Basketball” dominate its first decade. In the end, a championship is a champion, and Mikan had five NBA ones.
17. John Havlicek Points 469
Havlicek is one of the more challenging players to rank. He is the highest player not to win the MVP by seven spots. But, at the end of the day, I think he was the best player on the 68', 69', and 74' titles, and that puts him in some pretty rarified air.
16. Kevin Durant Points 488
Durant has been stuck at 16 for a few years, although last season put him the closest he has ever been to the undisputed best player in the world. Unfortunately, he did not play enough games to win any regular season awards, and his big toe prevented him from getting past the second round. The fifteen players higher than him are true transcendent superstars. He will need championships and accolades that he has not seen in a while to move past them on the list.
15. Kevin Garnett Points 509
It’s hard to match KG as two way player, few players have the career Garnett had on the offensive side of the ball. Even fewer were as good as KG on defense. The reason KG was able to pass some of the players below him is defense nine time defensive 1st teams is nothing to sneeze at. He spent the first twelve years of his career with a mostly bad Minnesota team the loyalty is amazing especially considering today’s NBA but you have to think it might of cost him a few spots on this list.
14. Moses Malone Points 545
It is funny when I see lists with Moses falling to current or recent players that don’t stack up with him. The 3x MVP is not as easily passed as contemporary listmakers makers would have you believe. His late seventies and early eighties run put him in the true pantheon of NBA legends.
13. Hakeem Olajuwon Points 581
Olajuwon is my favorite player of all time, truly a special player who really kicked of the NBA international movement. If we were rating two way player he would be top ten all time. You might also notice that we are starting to jump in points. There were nine players in the 400s. There are only four in 500s. There will be only three in 600s. The air is getting thin at the top of the mountain.
12. Karl Malone Points 588
Malone is always the most complicated person to rank on these types of lists. I give sixty points in my system for being the best championship player more than any other category. Twenty points higher than winning the MVP. Maybe I should give more, but it wouldn’t just affect Malone. The truth is Malone is one of the three to four best regular-season performers of all time. You may think his playoff performance is subpar (I do), but you can only drop him so far.
11. Shaquille O’Neal Points 671
Shaq was the most dominant player I have ever seen. His three year run at the beginning of the century was only ever matched by Wilt. The reason he is not higher is he is the most injured player among the top eleven. He only played 70+ games seven of his twenty seasons, and three of those were the first three. That fact puts just outside the top ten.
10. Kobe Bryant Points 672
It is amazing how similar and different by at the end of day close Kobe and Shaq’s careers are. One point apart on the list, this high up is near impossible. Shaq and Karl Malone are 84 points apart. Kobe suffers somewhat on the list because of the lack of MVPs. We are just splitting hairs. Kobe and Shaq could make a good case for the top five players of all time. On this list, they don’t quite make it.
9. Larry Bird Points 677
Larry Legend had almost a perfect career with three MVPs (in a row) and three championships. The only real blemish as compared to the top eleven is longevity. You have to feel with modern medicine and training. Bird’s back would not have gone out when it did. As it stands, he is still a top ten player of all time. Pretty good.
8. Julius Erving Points 708
Dr. J is the most underrated NBA player of all time, primarily because he played the first half of his career in the ABA. 3x time Champion, 3x time MVP, 2x playoff MVP, and 10x first-team are the kind achievements that put you in the argument with Larry and Magic, not Robinson and Barkley. It’s not other lists discount Dr J’s ABA time (I discount it) they don’t seem to count it at all.
7. Wilt Chamberlain Points 716
Wilt makes it impossible to say that none of the sixties players could play in the NBA today. Chamberlain was a top-five freak athlete to play basketball all time. Add to that expert finishing at the rim and high-level defense, and you have a number one pick in the 2022 draft. He might not have scored 100, but I bet he would have scored 50.
6. Magic Johnson Points 719
Magic is only 48 points above Shaq, who is five spots below him in eleventh. To put it in some perspective, Karl Malone in twelfth is 83 points below Shaq. What that means is eleven to six is very close on this list to point you could make an argument that any of these five guys are six, and I would not call you crazy. Magic edges out his peers because of his five titles and four-time assist leader. Magic sort has the best traits of Kobe and Larry’s career, but like Bird, lack of longevity keeps him going even higher.
5. Tim Duncan Points 844
Almost everyone has Tim Duncan 7–11 safely behind players like Bird and Magic. If Duncan were a Celtic or a Laker, this would not be an argument. I don’t have many truths in the game of basketball, but I do know one thing. Tim Duncan is the fifth-best player ever to play. He is over a hundred points above Magic and over a hundred points behind number four. He is in a league of his own. You can argue with me about first to seventy-five, and I will listen except for the Big Fundamental’s place on this list.
4. Bill Russell Points 948
Russell is the first player on the list to make a legitimate argument about being number one. He won nine titles, of which seven or eight of them he was the best player. That probably will never be matched. Even if you pull down Russell a bit for playing in the 1960s era that can’t compare to today, you still have to recognize the impact of his career on the game. Without Russell, we don’t have the NBA we know and love today.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Points 1014
The width and breath of Kareem’s career achievements are unmatched and that he isn’t talked about with LeBron, and Jordan has more to do with recency bias than any data or eye test. Abdul-Jabbar was impossible to stop on offense and was one of the best defensive centers of all time in his prime (which was very long). He is firmly on the Mount Rushmore of basketball and probably will be for our lifetimes.
2. LeBron James Points 1044
LeBron vs. MJ debate has sort of eaten people’s brains. When I started making a list based on a formula I came up with and not my opinion a few years ago. I realized that LeBron was still behind MJ, and it would take an MVP and a title to pass him. Two years ago, he got the title. LeBron is now only twenty-seven points behind Jordan. I give forty points for an MVP. The bottom line is with all his achievements LeBron would be able to pass Jordan right now with a one championship deficit, just not two.
1 Michael Jordan Points 1071
75 years on Michael Jordan is still the greatest player in basketball. That might change in a couple years but even if he is no one can touch his 90s run of dominance. Simply put when Jordan was in the playoffs you never thought he would lose. Many great players are five or ten spots lower on this list because they had misfortune of playing against him. The excitement watching him is like nothing I’ve experience in life in any sport. Brady, Both Ronaldos, Messi, LeBron, Bonds, Lemieux and Gretzky as great as they were/are nothing was quite as electric as seeing Jordan play in his prime. MJ the GOAT.