http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/JL III/2008/06/10/The_Top_Ten_NBA_Players_Of_All_Time There has been much debate recently as to whether or not Kobe Bryant is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan. While researching for this list, I came to the decision that I would not stir up that hornets' nest.This list is based on a number of things: amount of time in the league, point production and other statistics, impact on their era, and NBA titles. To prevent the outbursts that will come if I don’t explain myself, both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are not on this list because neither has been in the league for more than twelve years. Without further ado, let's dive in: 10. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs Born in the Virgin Islands, Duncan was drafted first overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 1997. Duncan has been the leader of the Spurs for years now and is known above all for his great consistency. He is also widely known for his defensive ability, and for being a very clutch player in the Playoffs. He has brought championship trophies to San Antonio in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. He leads a team that is generally known as a "boring" team to watch and Duncan is known to complain to the referees. NBA experts label him as one of the best power forwards of all time. He is still an active NBA player, and has career averages of 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. 9. Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors Son of a cement mixer from Nigeria, Olajuwon went to college in Houston, Texas. He had a standout career there, and was drafted first overall by the Houston Rockets in the 1984 NBA Draft—ahead of Michael Jordan. Olajuwon was known for his skills on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. He is remembered for being very clutch, especially in the Playoffs. He was also known for his footwork and skill around the basket. He had a career average of 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. He also led the Houston Rockets to two championships in 1994 and 1995. 8. Shaquille O'Neal, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns Shaquille O'Neal was drafted first overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1992 NBA Draft. O'Neal won the 1993 NBA Rookie of the Year award while with the Magic. O'Neal has been known to miss some of the NBA season due to injuries. Despite that, he was obviously the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers, as his demands for a shooter landed him Glen Rice. Paired with teenage star Kobe Bryant, O'Neal and the Lakers won back-to-back-to-back titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002. O'Neal later won another title in 2006 with the Miami Heat. He is active in the NBA today.While his poor free-throw shooting ability has been subject to much debate, O'Neal is known firstly for his physical appearance. Standing at 7'1'' and wearing a shoe sized 23, O'Neal dominates the low post wherever he plays. He is not a great defender, but because of his size is pronounced capable. He has career averages of 25.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. 7. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals, Milwaukee Bucks Robertson was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960 NBA Draft. Robertson is regarded as the first “big” guard in the NBA. He is one of the best all-around players in the league, and is often the standard “all-around” players are compared to. Robertson is also considered one of the most versatile players of all time. He won an NBA Championship in 1971 with the Milwaukee Bucks. Robertson had career averages of 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game. 6. Bill Russell, St. Louis Hawks, Boston Celtics Russell was drafted by the Hawks in 1956, but was traded to the Boston Celtics. Russell is considered one of the best rebounders of all time. He was not considered a great offensive player, but was very accurate. He had a decade-long rivalry with Wilt Chamberlain. Russell took over for Red Auerbach as a player-coach for the ’66-’67 season. He was involved in eleven NBA Championships. His career averages are 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. 5. Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson was drafted by the Lakers in the 1979 NBA Draft, and remained a Laker for his entire 13-year career. Johnson was listed at 6’9’’, making him the tallest guard in the history of the NBA at that point in time. He is given credit for the term “triple-double” because of his awesome statistics. While he was known for his astounding passing, his love of the game was also very fun to watch. He always seemed to have a smile on his face.Magic was involved in five NBA Championships; 1980, ’82, ’85, ’87, and ’88. He averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists per game during his career. 4. Larry Bird, Boston Celtics Bird was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 1978 NBA Draft. Bird may be one of the only players who truly defines consistency. He will always be remembered for his deadly shooting, accurate passing, great defense, and remarkable hustle. Bird was known for jumping over scorers' tables for loose balls. While Bird only has three Championships (1981, ’84, ’86), he has great career averages. He averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game for his career. 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers Abdul-Jabbar was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1969 NBA Draft. As the all-time highest scorer in NBA history, Abdul-Jabaar wasn’t embraced by the country until the midpoint in his career. He tended to stay away from the media, but his accomplishments are still great. He is known for his extreme physical fitness, which was way before its time in the NBA. He was also extremely quick and agile for a player who was listed as 7’2’’. Abdul-Jabaar has six NBA Championships. He averaged 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game throughout his career. 2. Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers Chamberlain was drafted by the Warriors in the 1959 NBA Draft. Not only was Chamberlain the first player in NBA history to score 4,000 points in a season, he was also a great passer and rebounder. He consistently led the NBA in scoring, assists, and rebounds. He is most known, however, for his dynamic scoring. Chamberlain only has two Championships (1967, ’72) but has great career averages. He averaged 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game throughout his career. 1. Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 1984 NBA Draft. Jordan redefined the term “superstar” in the NBA. He totally dominated his era, and went beyond stardom to mythic during his career. Even Magic Johnson admits, “there’s Michael Jordan, then there’s the rest of us.” Jordan shattered NBA records during his career. Yet throughout his storied success, he was known for being extremely humble. His play brought the Bulls six championships as he averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game during his legendary career. Did I mess up, where did I go wrong? How would you rank the top ten NBA players of all time?
What a great list, but I'd have trouble not putting Kobe on there. Even if his resume was boosted by Shaq's dominance and his leadership qualities are questionable. If he doesn't win another title, he's still an incredible competitor and has to be considered on any of these lists. How many players actually come out and say I want to be the best ever?
Yeah, I definitely skipped that and went straight for the list. Good call. Still, in Kobe's case it's not entirely like putting Grant Hill on the list in the late 90's.
the list is not credible to me if Shaq is ahead of Hakeem, I don't care if he has more rings, Hakeem was the better than him, no questions asked.
hey if the great micheal jordan tainted his career with the wizards, i'm sure its not too bad for dream. still, if only...
first, what is really the point of having a top-10 ranking list? secondly, any list that has shaq ahead of hakeem is not credible.
I dunno, these guys are leaving Dr. J off the list? There used to be all these debates as to who was better in their prime. Dr. J or His Airness. I watched enough film of Dr. J to say I still think that the Doctor was the all time best.
I watched him plenty (live) and enjoyed it, all the way back to the Virginia Squires of the ABA. Dr. J was awesome but he isn't all-time top 10. He wasn't better than any of the guys on that list.
Centers IMO are impossible to gauge. No way Chamberlain averages 50+ in this era. No way any center was better than Olajuwon at either end when he was in his prime. No way could any opposing center keep Shaq out of the paint during his prime. No way any center could play as long as Kareem. Its just not possible to judge them without parameters. Olajuwon was clearly the best when he was at his peak. But that peak was short lived.
yeah i can't really argue with the players. and the top 3 can all easily be argued to be in the top 3. but i don't see bird ahead of magic or bird or robertson ahead of hakeem and shaq. hakeem and shaq need to be higher. and i could knock duncan out of the top 10 but it's not horrible that he's in there and i'm not sure who i'd put in ahead of him. he did knock russell down to 6 so i can support that. however, 3 comments did kinda make me laugh. he called duncan clutch in the playoffs, which is definitely not the case. i guess if clutch is stepping up and putting up big numbers then i would agree, but if we're talking performance in the last minutes of the 4th quarter as clutch, then definitely not. he said bill russell was very accurate. not really. he wasn't wilt or shaq at the line but he wasn't great and he shot well below wilt's fg% despite being similarly dominant compared to other players at the time (as shown in rebounds and purported blocked shot numbers). and then the really funny one. that michael jordan was known for being humble. extremely humble. that's about as far from the truth as you can get. no one had a bigger ego. of course he had good reason to be arrogant and could back pretty much everything up, but lets not get crazy and say he was humble.
Olajuwon maybe the best defensive center ever, the only center I could imagine giving him a run at that tiltle would be russell, who basically invented defensive basketball. and of course, I never saw russell play. but offensively, dude I love olajuwon, but even discounting wilt because of his lack of competition, kareem was an offensive force for most of his career and shaq's dominance in this era of great athletes at center, I would put him behind those two, even at his peak, but especially if you compare peaks.
