The top 77 NBA players of all time: Part 3 25–1

Finally we gotten to end, the top 25 players of all time. If you want see part one it’s here and part two is here

Anyway let’s get on with enjoy!

25. Bob Cousy Points 391 (1950–63,69–70)

6x NBA Champion (1957, 59–63), MVP (1957), 13x Allstar, 1x 1st team, 2x 2nd Team, 8x assists leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 22

Weirdly, David Robinson and Bob Cousy’s careers are similar. Both were All-Stars that could never quite get over the hump in the playoffs until an all-world big man took them over the top. Russell led Cousy to six championships, and Duncan led Robinson to two. Another difference is that Bob Cousy’s best season in 1957 coincided with Russell’s rookie year. It was the only one of the six championships they had together where Cousy was the best player. He won the MVP that year.

Cousy changed the game with his passing, maybe invented fun in the NBA. Could he have played in today’s game? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter for this list. Well, it does, but not enough to keep Cousy out of the top twenty-five.

24. Jerry West Points 401 (1960–74)

NBA Champion (1972), NBA Finals MVP (1969), 14x NBA Allstar, 10x 1st Team, 2x 2nd Team, 4x 1st Defense Team, 1x 2nd Defense,1x Scoring Champion, 1x Assists Leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 23

Jerry West’s playoff woes are well-documented. His best season in 1969 was thwarted by Bill Russell and the Celtics one more time before Russel retired. By the time he finally won a championship in 1972, he was past his prime (but still great), and Wilt was the best player on that Lakers team. West is also a little hurt by defensive awards not being around for 2/3rds of his career. He would have definitely picked up more first teams. Still, this is about as high as you can get and not be MVP or best player on a champion.

23. Dirk Nowitski Points 418 (1998–2019)

NBA champion (2011), MVP (2007), Finals MVP (2011),14x NBA Allstar, 4x NBA 1st Team, 5x NBA 2nd Team

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 20

I have to say I am a little annoyed that D-Wade and Dirk got an extra all-star nod in 2019. I mean, it just messes up my whole system. Sure, it’s one point, but it’s the principle.

Dirk is seventeen points ahead of West and only three points behind number twenty-one. So, in this range, it’s very close. Dirk is great, but he isn’t a little higher because of defense and not having the 1st teams that guys ahead of him do.

22. Artis Gilmore Points 420 (1971–89)

ABA Champion (1975), ABA MVP (1972), ABA Playoff MVP (1975), 11x NBA/ABA All-star, 5x all ABA 1st team, 4x all ABA 1st team defense, 1x NBA 2nd team defense

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 21

I don’t think people realize how good Gilmore was; maybe he was the only player besides Kareem to master the skyhook. 7–2, the A-Train was a walking 22 and 12 guy in his prime. He could play both ends and is an all-time ABA leader in blocks.

After the merger, Artis made the NBA all-star team six times, although he was not the same dominant force after his injury with the Bulls in the 1979–80 season. Like many ABA players, Gilmore was not drafted in the NBA because he came from a junior college. NBA had a type of player they liked in the sixties and seventies, and guys like Gilmore and Moses Malone were not that type. How many great players never got to play before the ABA was founded?

Unlike many of these sixties and seventies players, Gilmore could play in today’s game. He was a highly skilled player and almost stoppable on both sides of the court. The other thing that makes me think he would succeed is the high free throw percentage for a big man. While it’s hard to know what centers would be able to shoot the three in this era (ABA had a three, but big men still didn’t shoot it), I think Gilmore could have.

21. Giannis Antetokounmpo Points 421 (2013-Present)

NBA Champion (2021), 2x MVP (2019, 20), 7x Allstar, 5x 1st Team, 2x 2nd Team, DPOY (2020), 4x 1st team defensive, 1x 2nd team defense, 2x Scoring Champion, 1x Rebound Leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 41

Giannis is only 28 years old and is already the 21st-best player of all time. Let that sink in. He seems destined to pass the next two guys on the list if his career continues without injuries and with championships. Like many players who get awards on both sides of the ball, he will have an advantage over guys who don’t.

After that, it’s all about Championships. This off-season, he is doing the mid-career “I don’t know if I am going to be on the team that drafted me” dance that seems every superstar except Steph Curry has done for the past twenty. The evidence does not matter what you think of that points to players who stay not regretting it, but for players who leave, it’s more 50/50. In other words, Giannis, be careful what you wish for.

20. Bob Pettit 449 Points (1954–65)

NBA Champion (1958), 2x MVP (1956, 59), 11x Allstar, 10x 1st Team, 1x 2nd Team, 2x Scoring Champion, 1x Rebound Leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 19

Pettit’s position on this list remains very high because his career in a vacuum is perfect. Pettit had ten all-NBA first teams in an eleven-year career; the other season (his last), he was second team. He has a very similar job to Dirk, an offensive juggernaut who can lead his team to the championship. He is not higher because of the weak era he played in and his short career, but the two-time MVP will be in the top thirty for a long time.

19. Kevin Garnett Points 498 (1995–2016)

NBA Champion (2008), MVP (2004), 15x Allstar, 4x 1st Team, 3x 2nd Team, DPOY (2008), 9x 1st team defense , 3x 2nd team defense, 4x Rebounding Leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 15

Garnett is the first modern superstar. Coming out of high school allowed him to accomplish fifteen all-star appearances and nine defensive first-teams. The players before him can’t match. Garnett is the benchmark for player longevity of all time. He gets a hundred percent score.

Moses was the first player to come out of high school. Garnett did not have to deal with being in the ABA for his first two years or being mismanaged in the NBA because he was viewed as not “right” for the league. Poor Moses’ career really started in his second year with the Houston Rockets, his fifth year as a professional.

An incredible two-way player, Garnett did languish in Minnesota for twelve years. I always partially blamed him for this because I thought his Timberwolves teams were better than the media narrative claimed. Remember, Dirk won a championship and went to multiple conference championships with only slightly better talent. Garnett only made one conference final with the Timberwolves.

Garnet did get his first championship by moving to Boston in 2008 to form the first modern super team with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. If Garnett played today, he would have moved four times and may have been higher or lower on this list. If he had played fifteen years early, he probably would not have left the Timberwolves and might be ten spots lower.

18. John Havelicik Points 536 (1962–78)

8x NBA Champion (1963–66, 68–69,74,76), Finals MVP (1974), 13x Allstar, 4x 1st Team, 7x 2nd Team, 5x 1st team defense, 3x 2nd team defense

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 17

So Hondo was thirty-five at one point on my list, and I made fun of Bill Simmons for making him fourteenth in his Book of Basketball. Even though fourteen is way too high, I can only make fun of Bill Simmons for thinking Craig Biggo shouldn’t be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

So, why did Hondo have such a huge jump? I decided he was the best player on both the Celtics 68' and 74' championship teams (I already had him as the best player in 69'). 1974 was a duh. I had given it originally to Dave Cowens, but Havlicek was the finals MVP and in the pure prime of his career.

1968 is a little more challenging. It’s a classic young superstar on the upswing (Hondo) and an aging superstar on the downswing (Russell) championship season. The most famous young versus old debate is probably Kareem versus Magic in 1985, but more later. It’s close. Both Russell and Havlicek were second-team all NBA that year. I gave the slight edge to Hondo in ’68 because of his stellar finals performance against the Lakers, where he scored 40 points in the close-out game. Picking the best player on a champion is always the most challenging part of making this list. For now, Hondo gets the ’68 nod.

17. Karl Malone Points 552 (1985–2004)

14x NBA Allstar, 11x NBA First Team, 2x NBA second team,2x MVP (1997–8), 3x 1st defense team, 1x 2nd defense team

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 12

If anyone breaks my system it’s Karl Malone.

Malone’s positives on this list are his career achievements. I’ve talked about Steve Nash’s two suspect MVPs. Malone’s are just as shaky. His first MVP was given to him because people were tired of giving it to Jordan, and he may be the most fraudulent MVP in the history of the NBA. The second was in the 98–99 strike shorten season, which most people argue shouldn’t have had an MVP. You also have to wonder, would Tim Duncan have won that one if he had been a little older?

To be fair to Malone, even if we took both MVPs away, he would only drop two spots on the list. He is just outstanding in every category that’s not the playoffs. He has eleven first team all NBA nods, which you can’t question. Any all-time list will rate him the greatest NBA player never to win a championship.

16. Moses Malone Points 560 (1974–1995)

13x NBA/ABA Allstar, 4x NBA First Team, 4x NBA second team, Finals MVP (1983), 3x MVP (1979,82–83), 1st team defense, 2nd team defense, NBA champion (1983), 6x rebound leaders (1979,1981–85)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 14

Moses had a very high and short peak. He is comparable to Shaq, with fewer championships but more MVPs. Malone was a freakish athlete. Moses would miss shots on purpose because he knew he could rebound them. His two years in the ABA hurt him on my list. Moses played for bad teams in the ABA. He won some rookie awards and an all-star nod but had no playoff success.

Moses is the beginning of the elite part of this list. He checks all the boxes in playoffs and career achievements. Even in his weakest category, advance stats, he gets points. His peak wasn’t as long as some of the folks on the list. Moses will be on most people’s lists forever and be the gatekeeper to the penthouse of NBA greats.

15. Kevin Durant Points 571 2008-Present

2x NBA Champion (2017–18) 2x Finals MVP (2017–18), MVP (2014), 13x Allstar, 6x 1st Team, 4x 2nd Team, 4x Scoring Champion

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 14

That Giannis jumped twenty spots in the last two years and KD has fallen a spot should not lost on the reader. The one-spot drop can be attributed to me making the system more weighted to championships this go-round, but stagnation has everything to do with Durant’s decision to leave the Warriors for the Nets. At this point in the list, you move up because you win championships, and he cost himself at least one by leaving and maybe even two.

While it’s pretty easy to make the case that he should be above Mikan directly ahead of him, it’s hard to say he had a better career than anyone in the top 13. Time and me structuring the list slightly differently will put KD over Mikan soon, but it’s a little hard to seem to be moving higher than that unless Phoenix holds a trophy soon.

14. George Mikan Points: 576 (1946–1954,1956)

4x NBA Allstar, 6x All-BAA/NBA First Team, 3x NBA season champion (1949–51), Rebounding leader (1953), 5x BAA/NBA champion (1949–50, 52–54)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 18

Once you saw Dolph, you probably knew Mikan was coming at some point. Dolph played in the tougher era than Mikan. Mikan gets a zero on the era score. In the first draft, Mikan and Schayes were too high on this list, so I decided not to figure out who was the MVP pre-1951 because the MVP didn’t exist yet. During Mikan’s time in the NBA, the only two individual awards a player could grab were all-star and first-team all-NBA. Even all-star games only started in the middle of his career. The final modern award, DPOY, didn’t exist until 1982. Most modern awards were not in existence until the early seventies. Deciding not to do this acts like an indirect era penalty on players pre-1970. I like this because it takes me out of it a bit. I feel bad for defensive players from the sixties like Russel and West.

So why is Mikan this high with all the deductions? He was the best player in five championships and the best player on a finals team. He was the best player on seven championship teams. Two of those championships were in the defunct NBL. Had Mikan just joined the BAA (which turned into the NBA) two years earlier, he would be four or five spots higher. Why do I count his BAA championships? Well, because the NBA does. When Lakers fans say they are tied with the Celtics, they count those Mikan championships. He is part of the NBA history, like it or not.

He was also the first of the Commissioner of the ABA, which is pretty cool. Mikan could have gotten a college scholarship to play basketball today, which is more than I can say for Dolph.

13. Steph Curry Points 581 (2009-Present)

9x NBA Allstar, 4x 1st team, 4x 2nd team, 2x MVP (2015–16), Finals MVP (2022), 4x NBA champion (2015, 2017–18, 2022), 2x Scoring champion (2016, 2021), Steals leader (2016)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 24

The heights of Steph Curry feel impossible in any other era; on the one hand, that’s because he revolutionized the sport. On the other hand, medical advances and NBA rule changes allowed Curry to carry out said revolution. The former statement carries more weight as the years go on.

Although Steph is probably going to pass the person right above him on the list before he retires, the reason it will be harder to crack the top eleven without another championship is defense. The guys above him, save Magic, have all made multiple all-defensive teams.

Curry has proven he can be the number one banana on a championship team, but he has also proven he can defer to Durant and still get it done. This fact puts him in rare company, along with Havlicek, Kobe, Magic, Russell, Duncan, Dr. J, and Kareem, as someone who has been able to manage that. This is a long way of saying he’s a great teammate. His career, especially at height, is miraculous.

12. Hakeem Olajuwon Points 609 (1984–2002)

12x NBA Allstar, 6x 1st team, 3x 2nd team, MVP (1994), 2x Finals MVP (1994–5), 5x 1st defense team, 4x 2nd defense team, 2x DPOY (1993–4), 2x NBA champion (1994–5), 2x rebound leaders (1989–90), 3x blocks leaders (1990–91,93)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 13

Hakeem had some rough years between the original Twin Tower Era (him and Ralph Sampson) and his two championships. The Rockets made the finals in 1986 with Sampson. By 1988, Sampson’s knees had crumbled. They traded him to the Golden State Warriors.

As the only star in 1989, Olajuwon had a great season but lost in the first round in Seattle. Things went downhill from there. It got so bad that he asked the Rockets for a trade at the end of the 1992 season. He also insulted the owner, Charlie Thomas. This part of his career is why he is lower on the list.

Fun Fact: Quick sidetracked, the rough years were my first as a Rockets fan. The only other good player in those years besides Hakeem was Sleepy Floyd. He got the nickname Sleepy because he looked Sleepy. Anyway, he was fun to watch.

Olajuwon was not traded in 1992 or 93. A lot of fortunate things happened to the Rockets over those two years: the owner sold the team, Rudy Tomjanovich became the head coach, Robert Horry was drafted to play small forward, always a position of weakness for the Rockets, and at the end of 1993, Micheal Jordan retired.

It’s easy to say that the last one is why Olajuwon won his two titles, but that misses the point. The point is that Ewing, Barkley, Karl Malone, Shaq, Robinson, Miller, and Payton didn’t. During those two years, Olajuwon’s Rockets famously vanquished Robinson, Ewing, and Shaq, aka all his center rivals.

11. Kobe Bryant Points 731 (1996–2016)

18x NBA All-star, 11x all NBA 1st team, 2x all NBA 2nd team, NBA MVP (2008), 9x 1st team defense, 3x 2nd team defense, 5x NBA Champions (2000–02,09–10), 2x Finals MVP (2009–10), 2x scoring champion (2006–07)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 10

Since I started doing these in 2016, Kobe has passed into legend before he passed away in 2020. His career gets more impressive as it gets further and further into the rearview. His “Mamba Mentality” is the guiding philosophy for a whole generation of young players. Players respect LeBron. They love Kobe.

Kobe brings us to another section of the list as well. He has over 120 points more than Hakeem right below him. If you gave him that many points, he would be 7th on this list. So, it will be hard for both Curry and Durant to catch him at this point in their careers. If my formula was a little different, it could put Kobe higher. Kobe is where we begin the conversation about who was the greatest of all time.

10. Shaquille O’Neal Points 750 (1992–2011)

15x NBA Allstar, 8x NBA First Team, 2x NBA second team, MVP (2000), 2x scoring champion (1995,2000), 4x NBA Champion (2000–02, 2006), 3x Finals MVP (2000–02), 3x all 2nd team defensive

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 11

In his prime, Shaq was the most unstoppable player I’ve ever watched. In the early 2000s, I tried to play fantasy basketball for a couple of years. It wasn’t fun because whoever had Shaq won.

I never had the first pick, so I never got him. I would look at my league daily and hope he got injured. He was that dominant. Former Commissioner David Stern would tell league owners they were one move away from a championship. What was the move? Acquire Shaq. No one except Jordan was that dominant in my lifetime.

So why isn’t he higher than ten? Well, for one thing, he is close to being in the top ten. Eleven to six are only forty-five points apart. If you told me Shaq was the sixth-best player of all time, I couldn’t argue. He is forty-one points ahead of Karl Malone. So, if Moses and Garnet are at the gates, Hakeem and Karl are at the party, and Shaq is at the beginning of the plateau right before Mount Rushmore.

He loses out to his rivals because his career prime is shorter. He was at the top of the mountain for about eight years. The guys ahead of him have at least ten. Only one person above him has less than two MVPs. He didn’t rebound and was the most injured player in the top 17. He isn’t as defensively dominant as other centers in the top 50. All of this is splitting hairs on a truly great player, but at this point of the list, that is what we have to do.

9. Larry Bird Points 800 (1979–1992)

12x NBA All-star, 9x all NBA 1st team, 1x all 2nd team, 3x MVP (1984–86), 3x NBA Champion (1981,84,86), 2x Finals MVP (1984,86), 3x 2nd team defense

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 9

You can’t have a higher peak than mid-eighties Larry Bird. He was the alpha dog of the 1986 Celtics, a team that most consider one of the two best of all time. He won three MVPs in a row. He never had to fight like Magic did for the best player on his team.

For nine years, he was a top-three player in the NBA. Unfortunately, back injuries made his fall precipitous. A twelve-year career is short for this high on the list. On the bright side, he is in the top ten in Career, Playoffs, and Stats Advance. Career and Playoff give you the most points in my system.

Flashback: I am old enough to remember his late career, which often injured Bird. I vividly remember the Celtics playoff series versus the Indiana Pacers in 1991. The thirty-four Bird would destroy the Pacers; his back would go out, he would go out of the game, and then the Pacers, led by Chuck “The Rifleman” Person, would come storming back. It was like watching Superman being attacked by Kryptonite. By the following year, his last Bird wasn’t even starting in the Playoffs. As Charles Barkley says, “Time is undefeated.”

8. Julius Erving Points 805 (1971–1987)

16x NBA/ABA All-star, 9x all NBA/ABA 1st team, 3x all NBA/ABA 2nd team, 3x NBA/ABA MVP (1974,76,81), ABA all 1st team defensive, 3x NBA/ABA Champion (1974,76,83), 2x ABA Playoffs MVP (1974,76)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 8

When I first made this list primarily because I felt Dr. J is rated low historically. He ranks sixteen in SLAM, fifteen in the Book of Basketball, eighteen in CBS, and eighteen in Sports Illustrated, respectively. How is that possible? Erving is the greatest player in ABA history, a player who reinvented the small forward position, created modern dunking, and was basketball’s first superstar.

He won three titles and MVPS. He was an all-star all sixteen of the years he was a professional. His prime is longer than Magic and Bird’s career.
When analysts compare Dr. J negatively to Bird and Magic, they act like they all came into the NBA simultaneously. Erving came into professional basketball eight years before Magic and Larry. His ABA time is almost completely ignored.

Dr. J is in the top five in both Career and Advance stats. He is also in the top ten in playoff success. Does Dr. J deserve to be higher than Larry Bird? I have taken twenty points away from him because of his time in ABA. He may deserve to be even higher.

7. Wilt Chamberlin Points 819 (1959–1973)

13x NBA All-star, 7x all NBA 1st team, 3x all NBA 2nd team, 4x MVP (1960,66–68), 2x NBA all 1st team defensive, 2x NBA Champion (1967, 1972), Finals MVP (1972), 7x scoring champion (1960–66), 11x rebounding leader (1960–63,66–69,71–73), Assists Leader (1968)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 7

Wilt is legendary. He is number one in my stats category. Of all the pre-1970 players, we know that Wilt could play today. The NBA just drafted a lesser version of Wilt in Deandre Ayton. That is not a swipe at Ayton. Wilt could do everything but shoot threes on the offensive end. We don’t know if he could have shot threes. They did exist during his career. He has thirty-two plus sixty-point games. The second is Kobe, with six.

He was dominating on defense with size and quickness, wreaking havoc on an era with little of either. Unfortunately for Wilt, most defensive stats/awards did not exist during the sixties. Fortunately for Wilt, slow, short centers did.

Besides his era, the big thing that hurts Chamberlain is he only won two championships. All the players above him won more.

6. Magic Johnson 877 (1979–91, 96)

12x NBA All-star, 9x all NBA 1st team, 1x all NBA 2nd team,3x NBA MVP (1987,89–90), 5x NBA Champions (1980,82,85,87–88) 3x Finals MVP (1980,82,87), 4x assists leader (1983–84,86–87), 2x steals leader (1981–82)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 6

Who was the best player on the 1985 Lakers? This to me is pretty important on deciding whether Magic is the 6th best player of all time or the 11th best player of all time. If Magic is not the best player on 1985 Lakers he is just Kobe Bryant with less longevity and more MVPs. In this list, you have to make choices. I think Magic is slightly better than Kareem in 1985. I would say most people I’ve read disagree. Somehow the still put him this high on their list.

Magic has slightly higher PER, VORP, and Win Shares per 48 in both the playoffs and the regular season. Kareem has better usage. The story line of 85 and 86 was that Kareem had not passed the torch yet to Magic yet. The numbers say he already had and the media just hadn’t caught up yet.

I did not experience this in real time again my first real basketball memory is Magic and Kareem’s last championship season in 1987–8.

Magic is the starting point guard on your all-time team.

5. Tim Duncan Points 975 (1997–2016)

15x NBA All-star, 10x all NBA 1st team, 3x all NBA 2nd team, 2x NBA MVP (2002–03), 5x NBA Champions (1999,2003,2005,2007,2014) 3x Finals MVP (1999,2003,2005), 8x 1st defense team, 7x 2nd defense team

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 5

Tim Duncan is 154 points ahead of Magic in my system. He is on a different level than the players below him. He is in the final most elite level of basketball players. As great as they were Magic, Bird, and Wilt, they can’t hold a candle to him. If you disagree, imagine Duncan as a Laker, Celtic, or Knick. People would probably be arguing that he is the GOAT.

Not quite, but he is in the top ten in Career, Longevity, and Stats Advance. He is in the top five in playoff success — number one in Era. Tim Duncan went head to head with ten of the top thirty and usually came out ahead. He was on a rookie or all-NBA team for sixteen out of nineteen years in the league.

An important note is that Duncan lost some points by losing the 2013 title. He was the second-best player on that team behind Tony Parker. By the time 2014 rolled around, he was second-best to Tony Parker in the regular season and second to Kawhii Leonard in the playoffs. Spurs win in 2013 Duncan is way closer to fourth.

Another important note is that Duncan played all four years in college when his peers didn’t. He may have lost some years, but it feels like he was ready to play in the NBA from day one, so that may be a wash.

Tim Duncan is the fifth-best player of all time. I don’t think anyone can deny that.

4. Kareem Abdul Jabbar Points 1173 (1969–1989)

19x NBA All-star, 10x all NBA 1st team, 5x all NBA 2nd team, 6x NBA MVP (1971–72,74,76–77,80), 6x NBA Champion (1971,80,82,85,87–88), 5x 1st defense team, 6x 2nd defense team, 2x Scoring Champion (1971–72), Rebounding Leader (1976), 4x Blocks Leader (1975–76,79–80) 2x Finals MVP (1971,85)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 2

Kareem’s Career is just breathtaking. He has the most all-star appearances of all time; even during his last season (unlike Kobe), he was deserving. He should have been MVP for the first seven years in the league. He won five during that period.

It’s impossible to think he couldn’t in any era, including the alien era. He had a shot of the skyhook that was unblockable. It would work today.

Kareem is the top ten player in every category except era. He is number one in Career. What keeps him from being closer to number one is era. He loses twenty-one points for playing in the ABA era. The ’70s generally weren’t a great time for the league. It also has to be pointed out that Kareem only won a title with a great point guard, first Oscar and then Magic.

He also has the best movie appearance of all time by an NBA player.

3. LeBron James Points: 1269 (2003-Present)

19x NBA All-star, 13x all NBA, 3x 2nd all NBA, 5x 1st all defense team, 1x 2nd defense team, 4x NBA MVP, 4x NBA Finals MVP, 4x NBA Champion, 1x Scoring Champion, 1x Assist leader

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 3

That LeBron is even in this conversation before his career is over is impressive. For most people reading this, he is the best player they have ever seen. According to my system, he isn’t quite there.

People who argue for LeBron usually say, “It shouldn’t all be about championships.” The two players above him have at least two more championships than Lebron. We aren’t arguing over one title. In my system, LeBron will need one MVP or Championship to catch the top spot realistically.

Small things hurt LeBron, too; he has dropped off on the defensive, and it’s hard to see him catching Jordan on that side now. If the 2016 championship is the diamond in his career, then the 2011 finals is the turd in the punch bowl. I have discussed it in the Dirk chapter, so I won’t go into it here. Both players above him don’t have a moment like that. They never shrank when their team needed them most. He did the same thing the year before against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals 2010. That would make me question picking him against the aliens first.

Am I nitpicking? Yes. LeBron is trying to be the GOAT, not in the top fifty. Everything should be scrutinized, in my opinion.

It feels ridiculous to talk about this because it’s fifty/fifty that even with all these issues, he may still be the GOAT by the time he retires. My point is that he isn’t right now. The next three to four years are important to decide if he will be.

2. Bill Russell Points 1279 (1956–1969)

12x NBA All-star, 3x all NBA 1st team, 8x all NBA 2nd team, 5x NBA MVP (1958,61–63,65), 11x NBA Champions (1957,59–66,68–69), 1x 1st defense team

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 4

So many questions. How can you only make three NBA 1st teams and win five MVPs? How can you name the Finals MVP after Russell and give it to Jerry West, who lost to Russell’s Celtics in the 1969 finals? Why didn’t the NBA have a Finals MVP until 1969? Why is it just for the finals and not the playoffs? Why didn’t the NBA count blocks and steals until 1973? Defensive first team till 1969? DPOY till 1983?

The delay in the finals and defensive awards hurt Russell. He lost 39 points, which I feel is fair as an era modifier overall. Russell is the first player you can legitimately make a GOAT argument for. His case is simple: he was the best player on nine championship teams. He is the second-best player on his first championship team and the second or third on his last. He is number one in a playoff by a wide margin. That will never happen again.
The case against Russell is simple, too. He played in the sixties. He was a 6'10 defensive-minded center in an era that didn’t have that many seven-footers. Could Russell play at a high level now? I go back and forth.

Seeing players Ben Wallace and Draymond Green excel made me think Russell would thrive in this era. He was better on offense than both players and smarter (basketball-wise). He wouldn’t be in the top four, but he would have been a star and even a superstar in the league today. He also wouldn’t have kicked LeBron in the balls.

1. Michael Jordan Points: 1327 (1984–93,1995–98,2001–03)

14x NBA All-star, 10x all NBA 1st team, all NBA 2nd team, 5x NBA MVP (1988,91–92,96,98), 6x NBA Champion (1991–93,96–98), 9x 1st defense team, DPOY (1988) 10x Scoring Champion (1987–93,96–98), 3x Steals Leader (1988,90,93), 6x Finals MVP (1991–93,96–98)

My 2021 Top 75 List Ranking: 1

I know it’s anticlimactic. Michael Jordan is the best player of all time. Weirdly, most basketball fans didn’t see Jordan’s prime in real-time.

He was an unstoppable force. Like Kareem LeBron and Russell, MJ lost MVPs because people were tired of giving him MVP. His defense seems underrated now. He was a top-three or four defenders for most of his career. He was the greatest pure scorer of all time. He felt unbeatable in the 90s. It doesn’t feel like I’m describing the same player. It’s too much.

Flashback: The shrug game in the 1992 finals where Jordan eviscerated Drexler and the Blazers so severely he looked up at the camera and shrugged. Jordan could have played God that day.

Jordan is first in all-time stats, second in career and playoffs, and third in advance stats. He is ahead of Kareem by 128 points on this list. This isn’t a conversation or contest. Jordan is still the GOAT.

That’s it. It was bear to put together, but I’m glad I did. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.