His hybrid play, like Magic Johnsons, was way ahead of its time. Nikola Joki (born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays the center position. One of the greatest What Ifs in NBA history revolves around Birds back that he infamously injured while paving his mothers driveway during the summer of 1985. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, three-time All-Defensive team, three-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 1979-80 Rookie of the Year, 1982 All-Star MVP, three-time NBA champion. There isnt an NBA player that has the same skillset as Durant. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, widely regarded as one of the most important centers and players of all time, stands out among the NBA's all-time greats. Steven Jackson: Dark Horse Commercial of the Year Candidate, Brian Wilson vs. James Harden: The Battle of the Beards, Comparing NBA Stars to their Animal Equivalents. Oscar Robertson 12. Despite going to nine NBA Finals with the Lakers, West won only one title in 1972. Whatever.) 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. Hes still in the top five in assists (he averaged 13.9 apg in 85) and still gets under MJs skin. A member of the leagues 75th anniversary team, Curry is easily one of the most influential players to lace em up. The captain of the Showtime Lakersshould firmly be included on anyones NBA top 5 list. Only eight players in NBA history have won three or more MVP awards and Malone doesnt get anywhere near the love that Larry Bird and Magic Johnsonthe other two players to win three MVPsreceive. The gigantic Romanian professional basketball player is the all-time tallest player in the NBA at 7 feet, 7.5 inches. Through the publication of this list, James has averaged a Robertson-esque 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 steals per game andunlike the Big Ohe was doing so against teams stocked with elite athletes and not players who smoked cigarettes at halftime. ONeal was physically and statistically unlike any center the NBA has seen. 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. After four years at Wake Forest, he morphed into a generational talent that every horrible team during the 1996-97 season hoped it would land so he could single-handedly reverse their fortunes. His career will undoubtedly always be tied to the failures to win a ring, but the production was always there for Malone. NBA wheel of PLAYERS (All Time) Random wheel. He is followed by Zion Williamson in second place, while Jaylen Brown is third. Magic's 12.3 assists ranks first all-time in the playoffs. Some just stand out more than others. Who cares? 23 min ago. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Oh, and the 12-time All-Star also helped initiate true free agency into the NBA through a landmark antitrust suit, an accomplishment just as impressive as his jaw-dropping on-court exploits. Stats: 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.2 APG in 17 season with Chicago Bulls (1987-88 to 1997-98; 2003-04), Houston Rockets (1998-99) and Portland Trail Blazers (1999-00 to 2002-03). But other than potentially Leonard, Duncan will shine brighter than all the other great players who have ever played for the Spursand just about every other power forward in NBA historybecause of how rock steady solid he was. Barkley started J-ing people up and shooting threes, forcing opponents to guard from all over the court and not just on the block. Dr. J is the godfather of the modern NBA. LeBron James just does things that shouldnt be humanly possible. When you think of LeBron James, youthink of greatness. Dominant seems like the only adjective to describe Shaqs career. Tim Duncan (1997-2016) Points: 931 15x NBA All-star, 10x all NBA 1st team, 3x all NBA 2nd team, 2x NBA MVP (2002-03),. The NBA has fined the Dallas Mavericks $750,000, saying the team engaged in "conduct detrimental to the league" by sitting out most of its key players against the Chicago Bulls on April 7 despite still having a chance to reach the postseason. NBA 75 honoree, five-time champion, three-timeFinals MVP, two-time regular-season MVP, 15-time All-Star,15-time All-NBA and All-Defensive team selection later, Duncan played all 19 seasons inSan Antonio and consistently put up numbers like he was a robotwith the personality, as portrayed by the media,to match. All you really need to know is that Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest center and its not even a debate. Pretty much all you can ask for from the best ever, no? Oh, and while this has nothing to do with his ranking on this list, its still incredibly awesome and noteworthy that he has successfully fought off HIV for over two decades, helped de-stigmatize AIDS through his high-profile advocacy, and launched a second career as an entrepreneur who opens businesses predominantly in poverty-stricken areas in efforts to spur urban revitalization. NBA/ABA Table; Rank Player PTS; 1. Stats: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG in 20 seasons with Milwaukee Bucks (1969-70 to 1974-75) and Los Angeles Lakers (1975-76 to 1988-89); NBA's career leader in total points. 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. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, five-time MVP, 1963 All-Star MVP, four-time rebounding champ, 11-time NBA champion. And who do you give the nod to betweenthree legendary point guardsChris Paul, Steve Nash, and Jason Kiddwhen theres only room for one? To this day that is still one of the most amazing individual performances on a basketball court that Ive ever seen. Stats: 26.4 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 3.0 APG in 11 seasons with Milwaukee/St. Famously, he played center in place of the injured Abdul-Jabbar in the title-clinching game six of the 1980 NBA finals as a 20-year-old rookie. Accomplishments: 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 12-time All-Star, 2007-08 Rookie of the Year, 2013-14 MVP, two-time Finals MVP, two-time NBA Champion. But Malones accolades compare quite favorably. Sometimes I watch his reverse layup during the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the 1980 Finals against the Lakers andtry to figure out how the hell he was able to stay in the air that long. The Admiral was able to do it all and then some. By the dream, we mean Houston Rockets legend, Hakeem Olajuwon. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Stats: 17.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.8 APG in 11 seasons with Boston Celtics (1970-71 to 1979-80) and Milwaukee Bucks (1982-83). The uber-confident Bird had arguably the quickest release of anyone to ever play basketball and hed often let his defender know that the shot was going in soon after it left his hands. Thats flat out impressive. Duncan also made it hard to hate the man with how he approached the sport. This article will cover my top 10 players who I believe are the greatest to ever play. Regardless of whether you consider Baylor a champion or not, know that another immortal on this list thinks Baylor deserves way more props than he receives. KD has only averaged under 25 points per game ONCE in his 12 seasons and that came in his rookie campaign. Birds been supplanted by someone else on that mythical list, but the Hick from French Lick is forever aLegend. The arena on Biscayne will always reside in Wade County. Accomplishments: Six-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA, 2012-13 Rookie of the Year. Healmost averaged a triple-double his rookie season before his iconic campaign during the 1961-62 season when he was good for 30.8 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and 11.4 APG a night. Oscar Robertson once asked. We can talk about the way Kobe impacted the game and the culture of basketball but that shouldnt even be a measurement. For you guys, know theres still never been a player quite like him. The 10 Most Athletic NBA Players of All Time - YouTube 10:30 The 10 Most Athletic NBA Players of All Time Austin Sweatt 450K subscribers Subscribe 9.7K Share Save 355K views 2. Were cool with what we came up with knowing the next time we update it Kevin Durant couldsneakinto the top 10. He was amazing, but he had a lot of help, at least more than the last guy on this list. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, 1986-87 All-NBA, six-time All-Defensive team, two-time Sixth Man of the Year, three-time NBA champion. This section of the list includes a lot of legendary big men from NBA history, but Dirk ultimately lands at No. He has also documented in the Netflix series The Last Dance. As he told us in arecent interview, you cant talk basketball without mentioning the king of Miami-Dade County. And lets be honest, youre being naive if you dont think he has a chance to take the No. Theres a specific game against the Clippers that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar attended, and Shaq was playing poorly, and the Lakers were losing, but then he saw Abdul-Jabbar. (12 reps is the combine average for big men.) Of course Michael Jordan is No. Seriously, they made rules to try and limit his dominance since he owns records no player now or in the future will ever come close to eclipsing. AC, As someone who has LeBron James as No. Kobe Bryant 9. Among the top 10 tallest basketball players, the tallest NBA player in history is Gheorghe Muresan with 7 feet 7 inches. Anthony Marshon Davis Jr., who was born on March 11, 1993, is a 6'10" NBA player. Timeline of the American Civil Rights Movement, 12 Novels Considered the Greatest Book Ever Written, https://www.britannica.com/list/the-10-greatest-basketball-players-of-all-time. Accomplishments: 14-time All-Star, 14-time All-NBA, four-time All-Defensive team, two-time MVP, two-time All-Star MVP. NBA MVP. Stats: 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.3 BPG in 19 seasons with Orlando Magic (1992-93 to 1995-96), Los Angeles Lakers (1996-97 to 2003-04), Miami Heat (2004-05 to 2007-08), Phoenix Suns (2007-08 to 2008-09), Cleveland Cavaliers (2009-10) and Boston Celtics (2010-11). The Mound Round of Rebound was a beast on the boards, averaging 11.7 for his career even withhis down years in Houston. Shaquille O'Neal. Not only does he routinely pull off feats that Ive never before seen, he has consistently evolved his game to fix the relative weak spots he was previously criticized for. Accomplishments: Seven-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA, 10-time All-Defensive team, 1994 All-Star MVP, 1994-95 steals champ, six-time NBA champion. Olajuwon was the best center in the 1990s and is the only player in NBA history with an MVP, DPOY, and Finals MVP in the same season. by Darthgachadonutyt. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA, 2012-13 scoring champ. Where Timmy would work his way around an opponent in the post with his superb footwork, Shaq would often use his extraordinary bulk (71 and 315 pounds) to bully his way to the basket. Accomplishments: 11-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, 1958-59 Rookie of the Year, 1959 All-Star MVP. Related: did you know that the 2013 Seattle Seahawks had the best defense in NFL history? Accomplishments: Eight-time All-Star, three-time All-NBA, three-time All-Defensive team, 1972-73 MVP, 1973 All-Star MVP, 1970-71 Rookie of the Year, two-time NBA champion. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, five-time All-Defensive team, nine-time assists champ, two-time steals champ, 1993 All-Star MVP. View player profile, bio, stats, news and video highlights. Theres a reason why theFinals MVP awardis named after him. I wasnt sure if he was paying attentionfinally I realize he understood everything I was saying. From the first dribble he took in an NBA game up until now, hes done nothing but live up to the massive hype that was placed on his shoulders coming out of high school in Akron, Ohio. Robinson averaged a 21.1 PPGand 10.6 RPG double-double for his career while racking up 3.0 BPGin the process. Spin wheel Random wheel. 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. (Read James Naismith's 1929 Britannica essay on his invention of basketball.). Both times played for the Miami Heat team in 2012 and 2013. Some will love the rankings, others will loathe them. Stats: 24.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG in nine seasons with Portland Trail Blazers (2012-13 to 2020-21)*. Bill Russell is grossly disrespected when talking about the greats. 10. Stats: 7.3 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 1.8 APG in 14 seasons with Detroit Pistons (1986-87 to 1992-93), San Antonio Spurs (1993-94 to 1994-95), Chicago Bulls (1995-96 to 1997-98), Los Angeles Lakers (1998-99) and Dallas Mavericks (1999-2000). Just think about how incredible it is that in his first season in the league, Magic started Game 6of the NBA Finals at center and dropped 42 points. Accomplishments: 13-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Defensive team, 1974 Finals MVP, eight-time NBA champion. Were not technically a sports website, but this editor (hi!) In my book, thats the single greatest achievement in NBA history and will be hard to top. Accomplishments: 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA, 12-time All-Defensive team, 2007-08 MVP, two-time Finals MVP, four-time All-Star MVP, two-time scoring champ, five-time NBA champion. Earvin Magic Johnson is still (and might remain) the only player in NBA history to win Finals MVP as a rookie. Kobe Bryant 9. And though this isnt all that important, Dirk was able to do it with the same franchise for his entire career. Even more impressive for the context of Olajuwonscareer is that he did all of this while big men ran the NBA (outside of Michael Jordan). ZF, While we can argue all day and night about the value of the triple-double in todays position-less game, when Oscar Robertson became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double over a season it was nothing short of monumental. Stats: 25.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.6 APG in 19 seasons with Utah Jazz (1985-86 to 2002-03) and Los Angeles Lakers (2003-04). The four highest all-time NBA single-season scoring averages all belong to Chamberlainin his first four professional seasons. All-Time Points Leaders. Magic simply changed the game of basketball when he burst onto the NBA scene out of Michigan State in 1979. Three-time firstteam All-NBA. There should be no shock that Dwyane Wade lands on this list. Kobe Bryant* 33643: 5. A Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 2001, Julius Erving introduced his former teammate before Malones enshrinement speech and Dr. J joked with the audience that evening, Just think about the sound of that name. 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