Top 50 greatest nba players

The G. T of the NBA is often debated, but who are the 50 greatest basketball players of all time?

View the full list. It began on Nov. David Aldridge: Explaining the criteria behind our selection process. This ranking is not in dispute. The sky is blue. The earth is round.

Top 50 greatest nba players

A total of 4, players have appeared in at least one NBA game. How can anyone whittle that number down to the top 50? Attempting to create that list is an excruciating endeavor. The number of painful omissions may be about as large as the list itself. Individual debates like Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James or Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird pop up all over the place. The NBA has showcased a wealth of talent over the course of plus years. And even though a definitive top 50 is likely impossible to uncover, that won't prevent us from digging. You've already seen the top 10s for each of the five primary positions: point guard , shooting guard , small forward , power forward and center.

In a video for Thinking Basketball, Ben Taylor adjusted for pace and efficiency across all eras to level the playing field between players like Harden and Wilt Chamberlain. Karl Malone is the only other player in NBA history with 17 such seasons.

The NBA recently announced the top 75 players in league history for the league's year anniversary. While there were plenty of controversial selections and omissions — such as Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson and Lakers' Dwight Howard — but we're here to make some even tougher cuts as we've ranked the 50 best NBA players ever. There have been many great players in the history of the NBA who have made significant contributions to the game and achieved a high level of success. Some of the players who are often considered among the greatest of all time include:. Of course, everyone wants to know if LeBron James has surpassed Michael Jordan, but those aren't the only tough decisions we had to make. Is Lakers legend Kobe Bryant a top player ever? Where do the current greats like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant rank?

It was the third anniversary team in the league. In addition, the top ten head coaches and top ten single-season teams in NBA history were selected by media members as part of the celebration. The announcement marked the beginning of a season -long celebration of the league's anniversary. O'Neal was the last to be active in the NBA, retiring at the end of the —11 season. At the time of the list, only Pete Maravich was deceased.

Top 50 greatest nba players

The NBA is a league whose history is best understood through its players. More so than in any other team sport, the very best in basketball account for the majority of its championships and MVPs. Last October, the league announced its 75th Anniversary Team. The players were not ranked, however, and the entire 50th Anniversary Team made the cut, along with 25 players from the past 25 seasons. John Havlicek? Still a bit too old.

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Philadelphia 76ers — Phoenix Suns — Houston Rockets — Then finally, 15 of 22 went with the Miami Heat in the Finals. Peter Vecsey. He's so clutch that his performance in the final stretches of games has garnered its own nickname: Dame Time. Hal Greer. Over the last three seasons, the Oklahoma City Thunder averaged The Athletic Ink. With the 6-foot-3 point guard around, no part of the court is a safe zone for defenders because he can make a shot from virtually every area of the court. Here's where the NBA's very best check in on our list, running from No. He's also fifth all-time in steals 2, and could pass Michael Jordan for third place 2, next season. He also averaged at least All of our content is created by informed writers with backgrounds in their subject area and reviewed for omissions or mistakes. Even as an undersized shooting guard, Dwyane Wade played big, especially in the biggest stages. There's certainly much more to the Chairman of the Boards than what he did on the glass, but it was the foundation of his greatness.

Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. Ranking the best NBA players ever.

He was arguably even more dominant as a defender, twice winning Defensive Player of the Year and setting a record for blocks in a career that might never be challenged. Win Shares per 48 Minutes:. Johnson retired from the game prematurely in at 32 years old after contracting HIV. Slowly working through each year of his career, Antetokounmpo broke down things to give insight into how he has gotten to this point in his career. He is the only NBA player ever to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for 9 consecutive seasons. Remove those three-point attempts from Barkley's stat sheet, and his true shooting percentage would jump to Paul is a throwback to a time when point guards sought to create for others first before they looked to score. When the Anthony family moved from Brooklyn to Baltimore when he was 8 years old, he fell in love with basketball. It's 30 every night. The sky is blue. Hawks' Young finger to miss at least 4 weeks. Shaq put up career averages of Jack McCallum. A Caruso," Barry's former coach, Lou Carnesecca, said.