He is also considered by many to be the greatest winner in team sports. He won eleven championships in this thirteen-year career and led his team to the Finals in every season he played in except for one.
He led the Celtics to a record eight consecutive championships in the 1960s, with most of those Finals wins coming against the great Lakers teams of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.
3. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon
Hakeem was one of the most-skilled big men of all time at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, shooting 51.2 percent from the field and a solid 71.2 percent from the free-throw line. Defensively, he was amazing, with career averages of 3.1 blocks and 1.7 steals.
He won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in both 1993 and in 1994 and he was selected to the All-NBA defensive team nine times, with five of the selections as a member of the first team. He was also selected to the All-Star team twelve times and to the All-NBA team twelve times, with six of those selections as a member of the first team.
He also won his only MVP award in the 1993-1994 season. He won two rebounding titles in his career along with three blocked-shot titles. He also ranks first all-time in career blocked shots with a total of 3830, and he somehow is eighth all time in total steals with 2162.
Hakeem led the Rockets to back-to-back championships in the mid '90s, winning the Finals MVP award each time.
2. Wilt Chamberlain, "The Big Dipper"
Wilt was, without a doubt, the most dominant player of all time. In his 14-year career, he had averages of 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game, while shooting a fantastic 54 percent from the field and a terrible 51.1 percent from the line. He won seven scoring titles and an unheard-of eleven rebounding titles in his career. He also would've been at the top of the blocked shots list, but they weren't recorded in his era.
He was also selected to the All-Star team thirteen times, winning the All Star game MVP in 1960. He was also selected to the All-NBA team ten times, with seven of the selections as a member of the first team. He was also selected to the All-NBA defensive twice, with both of the selections as a member of the first team. (All NBA Defensive teams started in his last two seasons.) He also ranks fourth all-time in total points, with 31,419 in his career.
He also won four MVP Awards, including three consecutive from the 1965-66 to the 1967-68 seasons. He also had the greatest statistical season of all time by far, as he averaged an unfathomable 50.4 points, 25.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in the 1961-62 season.
Wilt won two championships, and the Finals MVP in the 1972 Finals as a member of the legendary Lakers team that won 69 games (a record at the time) and 33 straight—still a record in all of sports.
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In terms of accomplishments, Kareem is the greatest player of all time, and without a doubt the greatest center of all time. He is first all-time in total points with 38,387, third all-time in total rebounds with 17,440, third all-time in total blocked shots with 3,189 and even 33rd all-time in total assists with 5,660.
In a dominant twenty-year career, he had averages of 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game. He also shot an amazing 55.9 percent from the field and 72.1 percent from the free-throw line.
He was selected to a record nineteen All-Star teams and to the All-NBA team 15 times, with ten of the selections as a member of the first team. He was also a very good defensive center, as he was selected to the All NBA defensive team ten times, with five of the selections as a member of the first team.
Kareem was also one of the game's biggest winners, as he led his teams to six championships, five of the them with the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s. He also led his team to the Finals a total of ten times, winning the Finals MVP twice, in the 1971 and 1985 Finals.
Kareem also won the 1970 Rookie of the Year Award, and a record six MVP Awards in his career.
On a side note, Kareem was also the greatest college basketball player of all time, as he led the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA championships, a total record of 88-2 and was the winner of two NCAA College Player of the Year Awards.
Within the next few days, I will write an article of the 25 greatest NBA players of all time.
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