B/R's Top 100 NBA Players of All Time, Ranked
They started out as basketball players, hoopers, dreamers, mortals.
Eventually, they became elite, indispensable, a team’s best hope for transcendence. The best became franchise cornerstones, perennial all-stars, household names, MVPs.
And then there were the true rarities. The greats. Of an era. At their craft. Of all time.
The greatest.
As fans, as critics, even peers, the question begs asking and answering over and over and over: Who are the best?
And after that, who you got? Is Bird still top-five? Is Kobe ever top-10? Is Luka already top-50? How long until Wemby is top-100?
We had to know. We asked our legion of B/R NBA experts, writers and editors to take a list of the best 500 current and former NBA stars and whittle it down to their top 100, ranked. It’s an impossible task, especially when confronted with the reality of comparing players from different eras. Stats help, but calculators won’t ever figure all this out.
Still, we stand by it: a comprehensive Top 100 NBA Players Ever ranking, taking into account the totality of each player’s NBA career, cumulative and average stats, awards, playoffs, championships, cultural impact and overall greatness.
Stay tuned all week for the B/R NBA Top 100 series, where we’ll answer all the toughest questions that came from this absolutely brutal game.
100. Artis Gilmore
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Top Accolades: 1x ABA Champion, 1x ABA MVP, ABA Rookie of the Year, 4x ABA Rebounding Champion, 11x All-Star (5x ABA, 6x NBA), 5x All-ABA First Team, 4x ABA All-Defense First Team, 1x NBA All-Defense Second Team
Key Stats: 18.8 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.4 BPG, 58.2 FG%
Total Seasons: 18 (5 ABA, 13 NBA)
Artis Gilmore’s spot at No. 100 reflects a career that’s long been underrated. A towering 7'2" center with elite efficiency and durability, Gilmore was a dominant presence across both the ABA and NBA.
He once played in 670 straight games, and he's still No. 8 all-time in NBA field-goal percentage—not to mention No. 2 in the ABA record books.
In the ABA, Gilmore was an instant superstar winning both MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1972. He went on to earn five All-Star selections in the ABA, before eventually making six All-Star Games in the NBA.
At No. 100, Gilmore represents a bridge between two leagues. His NBA run began in 1976, and after stints with the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics, he was named to the Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor in 2024.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 84
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
99. Dave Bing
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Top Accolades: NBA Rookie of the Year, 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA, 1x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 20.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 SPG
Total Seasons: 12
Dave Bing’s legacy may be quieter than some, but his game spoke volumes. A smooth scorer and crafty playmaker, the guard averaged 20.3 points and 6.0 assists across a Hall of Fame career, despite playing much of it with limited team success.
Bing was a star from Day 1, earning Rookie of the Year in 1967 and becoming an All-Star in his second season.
Though he never won a title, Bing’s impact extended beyond basketball, later serving as mayor of Detroit, where he played the first nine years of his 12-year career.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 69
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
98. Klay Thompson
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 2x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, 1x All-Defense
Key Stats: 19.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 45.1 FG%, 41.1 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 12
Klay Thompson was an integral component on four championship teams with the Warriors, as his elite three-point shooting and point-of-attack defense made him an ideal complement to Stephen Curry.
Despite over two full years lost to ACL and Achilles injuries, Thompson averaged 20.4 points for the 2021-22 Warriors team that surged to a title. He then led the NBA in triples in 2022-23.
Thompson scored 37 points in a quarter in 2015, made a record 14 threes in a game, needed just four dribbles in a 43-point game in 2019, used 11 dribbles en route to 60 points in 2016 and racked up several legendary playoff performances (especially in Game 6s).
He is one of the greatest pure shooters to ever live. Full stop.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 72
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
97. Bernard King
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Top Accolades: 4x All-Star, 4x All-NBA, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 22.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 51.8 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
At 6'7", Bernard King was a walking bucket, dropping 50 burgers before it was somewhat commonplace.
To this day, he is one of 16 players to score 50 at least eight times, and two of those detonations came in back-to-back performances during the early portion of 1984.
Best known for his half-decade stint with the New York Knicks, King also spent time with the New Jersey Nets, Utah Jazz and Washington Bullets. Though he never enjoyed much playoff success, he came a heartbeat away from joining the 20,000-point club. At the peak of his powers, in the early 1980s, he was a routine inclusion on MVP ballots and snared two All-NBA first-team selections.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 53
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
96. Joe Dumars
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 3x All-NBA, 6x All-Star, 5x All-Defense
Key Stats: 16.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 46.0 FG%, 38.2 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 14
The indispensable backcourt counterpart to Isiah Thomas on some bruising, title-winning Pistons teams, Dumars was a rugged defender and secondary scorer who could also take on a playmaking role when necessary.
Four of Dumars’ All-Defense nods were of the first-team variety, and he finished among the top six in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice—no small feat for a backcourt player.
Ahead of his time offensively, Dumars was a relatively early adopter of the three-point shot and attempted at least 4.0 per game six different times, leading the league at 5.9 attempts per game in 1997-98.
His career highlight was easily the 1989 Finals, when he averaged 27.3 points and 6.0 assists on 57.6 percent shooting in a four-game sweep of the Lakers, a performance that netted Dumars a Finals MVP.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 38
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
95. Dave DeBusschere
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 8x All-Star, 1x All-NBA, 6x All-Defense
Key Stats: 16.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 43.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 12
Dave DeBusschere is best known for the two championships he won as a dirty-work extraordinaire with the New York Knicks. But he was a gritty-as-hell standout long before he came to The Big Apple.
DeBusschere nabbed three All-Star appearances with his hometown Detroit Pistons before swapping teams.
While he was an underrated scorer at times, the career forward was light-years ahead of the undersized revolution. At 6’6”, he spent a lion’s share of his time operating from the 4 spot, and he’s one of just seven players to average more than 10 rebounds per game while standing shorter than 6’7”.
Also of note: DeBusschere finished in the top 11 of MVP voting during each of his final three seasons—no small feat for someone in his early 30s with a decade of rumbling and tumbling against much bigger players in his rear view.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 54
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
94. Bill Sharman
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 7x All-NBA, 8x All-Star
Key Stats: 17.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 42.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 11
Though it wouldn’t come close to marking someone as a sharpshooter by today’s standards, Sharman’s career hit rate of 42.6 percent from the field was excellent for a guard in the 1950s, when few players were cracking the 40.0 percent mark.
Sharman teamed with Bob Cousy in Boston’s backcourt, helping lead the Celtics to four titles, including three straight from 1958-59 to 1960-61. Teamed with Bill Russell, Frank Ramsey and Tommy Heinsohn in the late 50s and early 60s, Sharman was often the leading scorer on one of the most dominant teams in the history of the league.
A career free-throw percentage of 88.3 validates Sharman’s era-leading accuracy, and he topped the league in free-throw percentage seven times.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 51
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
93. Jayson Tatum
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA
Key Stats: 23.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 45.9 FG%, 37.0 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 8
Jayson Tatum’s inclusion may be seen as a rush to coronation. He isn’t even halfway through his career.
Then again, that’s kind of the point. He has been a positive-impact player on both sides of the ball since entering the league, mostly for a title contender, and already was the best player on a championship team. That is all before turning 28.
Speaking of which: Tatum just nabbed his fifth All-NBA selection. Here’s every active player to do the same through their age-27 season: LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul. We wouldn’t think twice about including any of those names. Maybe we shouldn’t overthink whether Tatum’s appearance jumps the shark, either.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 55
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
92. Lenny Wilkens
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Top Accolades: 9x All-Star, 1x Assist Champion
Key Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 43.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Wilkens was one of the top playmaking point guards of his day, and he earned nine All-Star nods for three different teams—the St. Louis Hawks, the Seattle SuperSonics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wilkens logged 1,077 appearances during 15 years as a player but might be getting a rankings boost due to a coaching career that included nearly twice that many games. He became the all-time winningest head coach, surpassing Celtics legend Red Auerbach, in 1995 and also became the first coach with 1,000 career victories in 1996.
His only career championship came as the head coach of the 1979 SuperSonics.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 43
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
91. Chauncey Billups
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA, 2x All-Defense
Key Stats: 15.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 41.5 FG%, 38.7 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 17
Long before Chauncey Billups was head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, he was a championship-winning point guard who played like someone his contemporaries would vote as “Most Likely to be a Head Coach One Day.”
Never the tallest, fastest or most efficient player, Mr. Big Shot had a reputation for tough-nosed defense, novel-for-the-era outside touch and expert game management. He was the face of that 2003-04 Detroit Pistons title team, which many believed lacked a true star. Billups didn’t receive a regular-season honor that year, but he was certainly a star in his own right.
Somewhat weirdly, each of his three All-NBA selections came after his 29th birthday. His highest-scoring season, meanwhile, came at the age of 33 in 2009-10, as a member of the Denver Nuggets. That performance, in hindsight, was a masterclass in scalability and longevity. Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Larry Bird are the only other players to have seasons at that age or older in which they cleared 19 points and five assists while downing 38-plus percent of their threes and over 90 percent of their free throws.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 67
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
90. Chris Webber
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Top Accolades: 5x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, Rookie of the Year, 1x Rebound Champion
Key Stats: 20.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 47.9 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
The top overall pick in 1993 and part of the famed Michigan Fab Five, Webber averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists en route to a Rookie of the Year win with the Golden State Warriors. A contract dispute and falling out with head coach Don Nelson resulted in an offseason trade that sent Webber to the Washington Bullets.
Webber’s best years came with the Sacramento Kings in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a stretch during which he finished as high as fourth in MVP voting and led the team on several deep playoff runs.
Webber's excellent hands and passing made him a top frontcourt facilitator, and he might have been a bigger focal point in a later era.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 69
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
89. Earl Monroe
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1968 Rookie of the Year, 4x All-Star, 1x All-NBA
Key Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 46.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Earl Monroe is celebrated predominantly for his deep scoring arsenal, glitzy ball-handling and championship ring as a member of the 1973 New York Knicks. Those are indeed attributes and accomplishments that fueled his entry into the Hall of Fame and onto this list.
Still, Earl The Pearl should generate more fanfare for his adaptability. He left a super-starring role with the Washington Bullets at the start of his fifth year for a not-as-prominent spot on the Knicks.
Make no mistake, Monroe wasn’t just another cog in New York. But he saw his overall field-goal attempts and scoring winnow down as part of a deeper team. Maintaining the essence of his game while thriving as part of a larger ecosystem is not something just anyone could have done. Then again, Monroe was far from just anyone.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 63
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
88. Draymond Green
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 2x All-NBA, 4x All-Star, 9x All-Defense, 1x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 8.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 44.9 FG%, 32.0 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 13
The greatest defensive player of the modern era, Green’s ability to cover any perimeter position while also manning the center spot made him an integral force on a Warriors team that won four titles and reached six Finals. In addition to his length and versatility, Green played with a unique combination of calculating, anticipatory genius and reckless physicality.
The latter got him suspended in the 2016 Finals and cost Golden State the cherry on top of a 73-win campaign that might have marked it as the single greatest season in NBA history.
Green’s synergy with Stephen Curry is part of his legacy, even if it’s reasonable to say he wouldn’t have enjoyed the same level of success without the greatest shooter of all time as a running mate. Green deserves credit for his offensive facilitation and singular mind-meld with Steph.
Controversial, outspoken, notorious for punching teammate Jordan Poole and undeniably a key factor in the Warriors’ dynasty, Green is beloved in Golden State and begrudgingly respected by the litany of opposing fanbases whose hopes he dashed year after year.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 43
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
87. Alonzo Mourning
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 7x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, 2x All-Defense, 2x Block Champion
Key Stats: 17.1 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.8 BPG, 52.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Alonzo Mourning overcame a vast many obstacles just to reach the NBA. Then, while smack dab in the middle of his professional career, he battled a kidney disease that eventually required a transplant. That he wound up returning to the floor is beyond impressive. And that he ended up contributing to a championship-winning Miami Heat squad in 2006 reads like a script out of Hollywood.
Remembered most fondly for his time in Miami, Mourning was also a dominant force upon entering the NBA out of Georgetown and landing with the Charlotte Hornets. His numbers through the first eight seasons of his career, split between Buzz City and South Beach, are eye-popping even now: 21.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks on 52.6 percent shooting.
Just three other players have ever cleared the 20/10/3/50 benchmarks during their first eight years: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 61
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
86. Tony Parker
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 4x All-NBA, 6x All-Star, 1x Finals MVP
Key Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 49.1 FG%, 32.4 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 18
At just 20 years old and in his second season, Parker started 82 regular-season games and another 24 in the playoffs for the 2003 San Antonio team that won the championship. That was his first of four rings with the dynastic Spurs.
Defined by his lightning quickness and savvy, Parker developed one of the game’s best floaters as he progressed under hard-driving head coach Gregg Popovich, ultimately making six All-Star Games and finishing among the top 10 in MVP voting four times.
Though listed at a generous 6’2” and 185 pounds, Parker was among the game’s top scorers in the paint during his prime. Leveraging his elite downhill burst, Parker would get defenders on their heels as he drove, only to stop short and flick a teardrop toward the rim before he reached the peak of his jump. His 11.5 points in the paint per game during the 2008-09 season ranked sixth in the league, tied with LeBron James and ahead of teammate Tim Duncan.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 61
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
85. Sam Jones
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Top Accolades: 10x Champion, 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA
Key Stats: 17.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 45.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 12
Look, if you have the second-most championships of all time on your resume, you’re just about guaranteed entry into the top-100 club. Of course, it helps Sam Jones’ case that he wasn’t just along for the dynastic Boston Celtics’ ride. He was a key cog in the vast majority of their 10 title pushes with him on the roster.
The 6’4” shooting guard could score. Like, really score. He led the Celtics in points per game five times, and cleared that same threshold during seven separate postseasons, six of which were championship runs.
Truthfully, Jones is one of the way-back-when players who might’ve fared even better in today’s game. There would be no replicating the championship volume (probably), but the combination of the three-point line and his infamous clutch gene would almost assuredly make for some eyes-glazed-over stat lines.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 43
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
84. Adrian Dantley
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Top Accolades: 2x All-NBA, 6x All-Star, NBA Rookie of the Year, 2 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 24.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 54.0 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Dantley would have been a scoring darling in the modern era, where efficiency is prized more heavily than ever.
One of the most prolific scorers of his day, the undersized small forward posted a career 54.0 field-goal percentage that ranks first among all players 6’5” or shorter (minimum 10,000 career attempts), and he still holds the record for fewest field-goal attempts per game (18.2 in 1983-84) by a 30-point scorer.
Excellent foul-drawing craft, finesse and shooting touch made Dantley one of the top wing threats of the 1980s. His best seasons came with the Utah Jazz, where he averaged 29.6 points on 56.2 percent shooting across seven seasons.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 47
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
83. Jimmy Butler
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Top Accolades: 2015 Most Improved Player, 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 5x All-Defense, 1x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 18.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.6 SPG, 47.2 FG%, 32.8 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Though the endings of the Jimmy Butler experience can be grating—just ask the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat—the beginnings and middle are mostly awesome. At the height of his powers, he is a two-way force who serves as a singular bridge between fringe title contention and borderline irrelevance.
This was most evident during his time in Miami, where his ability to flip a postseason switch went mostly unrivaled. He dragged rosters that had no business making deep playoff pushes to three Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals in four years.
The best version of Butler is anomalous in its completeness. He has long left much to be desired as a jump-shooter, but he can play the part of your top scorer, foul-drawer, passer and defender.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard are the only active players to have more seasons averaging at least 20 points while also making an All-Defense squad.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 61
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
82. Bob Lanier
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Top Accolades: 8x All-Star
Key Stats: 20.1 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 51.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Bob Lanier’s accolades pale in comparison to so many others on this list. He doesn’t have a championship to his name. Nor did he ever make an All-NBA team. Across nine separate postseason campaigns, his Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks squads only made it past the first round three times.
Don’t let his modest playoff and all-league recognitions taint your view of his inclusion. Lanier reliably filled up the box score for almost a decade-and-half.
Averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for nearly 1,000 games is no joke. In fact, Wilt Chamberlain, Charles Barkley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone are the only others who maintained those benchmarks in at least as many career appearances. Lanier also turned in six top-10 MVP finishes, including two top-five cameos, making the absence of an All-NBA cameo that much more startling.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 52
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
81. Dikembe Mutombo
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Top Accolades: 4x DPOY, 3x All-NBA, 8x All-Star, 6x All-Defense, 3x Block Champion, 2x Rebound Champion
Key Stats: 9.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.8 BPG, 51.8 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 18
One of only three players to collect four career DPOY awards, Mutombo dominated the interior during the late 1990s with the Nuggets and Hawks. And he was a key member of the early-2000s Philadelphia 76ers that made the NBA Finals.
Though not much of an offensive threat, Mutombo was the premier shot-blocker of his day and left the lasting legacy of the finger-wag celebration after particularly rude swats.
In a career strewn with iconic moments, the image of Mutombo laying on the floor, clutching the ball in exultation after his Nuggets beat the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round of the 1994 playoffs, stands out. That Game 7 win made Denver the first No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1. It was also just the first of nine postseason series Mutombo would win in his career.
He ranks second behind Olajuwon on the all-time blocks list and checks in at No. 20 in career rebounds.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 63
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
80. Nate 'Tiny' Archibald
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 1 Scoring Title, 1x Assist Champion
Key Stats: 18.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 46.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Nate “Tiny” Archibald is in so many ways an anomaly. At 6’1”, he should have lived on the perimeter. But his poise and vision on the ball enabled him to operate within the heart of defenses, and he had a reputation for not giving any flying-you-know-whats about facing bigger, taller, stronger bodies. Archibald won both the scoring and assist titles in 1972-73, with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, averaging 34.0 points and 11.4 dimes.
Archibald joins Oscar Robertson (who did it five times) and Russell Westbrook as the only players to join the 30-point and 10-assist clubs in the same season. His lone championship came as a member of the 1981 Boston Celtics, with whom he averaged 15.6 points and 6.3 assists through that postseason.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 52
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
79. Grant Hill
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Top Accolades: 5x All-NBA, 7x All-Star, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 16.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 48.3 FG%, 31.4 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 18
Grant Hill exploded onto the scene as an All-Star and Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 with the Detroit Pistons, and he put together a half-decade opening run to his career that stands up against anyone’s from the modern era.
A 6’8” forward with a point guard’s mindset and exceptionally quick off-the-dribble moves, Hill made All-NBA teams and finished ninth or better in MVP voting every year from his second season to his sixth.
Ankle injuries derailed everything in 2000, and while Hill managed to remake himself as a defensive-minded role player who even addressed his biggest weakness by becoming a capable three-point shooter, he was never a star again.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 54
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
78. Paul George
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Top Accolades: 6x All-NBA, 9x All-Star, 4x All-Defense, 1x Steal Champion, Most Improved Player
Key Stats: 20.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 44.0 FG%, 38.3 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 15
During a stretch from 2014 to around 2019, your nerdiest NBA friend might have made the case that George was one of the five best players in the league. That claim wasn’t far off, as PG overcame a gruesome broken leg in the summer of 2014 to earn four All-NBA nods in the next five years while regularly getting top-five DPOY consideration.
Though George’s best MVP finish (third) came with the Thunder in 2019, he’ll be best remembered for being the top threat on some excellent Pacers teams that reached the conference finals twice and for teaming with Kawhi Leonard on some very good but unlucky Clippers squads.
A jack of all trades who could run the offense, spot up for threes, defend the opponent’s top scoring threat and wreak havoc in the passing lanes, George was a fully scalable superstar during his prime.
George is the first player on this list to not be "Unranked" in his lowest Top 100 ranking.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 60
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 95
77. Pete Maravich
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Top Accolades: 4x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 24.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 44.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 10
A career scoring average of 24.2 points is nothing to overlook, but Maravich’s great contribution to the game is all about the way he turned sports into entertainment. Pistol Pete didn’t invent behind-the-back passes or slick dribble moves, but he popularized them on the biggest stage.
The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer after four years at LSU, Maravich arrived in the NBA as a creative trailblazer, playing with a level of style and, sometimes, recklessness that made organized games feel like pickup runs.
His best year came in 1976-77 with the New Orleans Jazz, which included a scoring title and a No. 3 finish in MVP voting. Toward the end of his career, he landed with the Boston Celtics for a season and overlapped with a rookie named Larry Bird. After a career spent bombing away without the benefit of a three-point line, Maravich shot 10-of-15 from deep in that final season with the Celtics.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 67
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 95
76. Alex English
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Top Accolades: 3x All-NBA, 8x All-Star, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 21.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.6 APG, 50.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
The 1980s were not short on scoring talent, which is why it’s so impressive that English scored about 2,500 more total points in the decade than anyone else.
Part of that feat owes to durability (English never missed more than two games of any ‘80s season), and part owed to Michael Jordan showing up only halfway through the decade. But English’s scoring owes mostly to his supreme individual talent blossoming just as the uptempo Denver Nuggets got ahold of him.
A “bucket” before the term even existed, English was a slithery wing who posted eight straight seasons with at least 2,000 points and retired as a top-10 scorer of all time.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 62
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 97
75. Manu Ginóbili
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 1x Sixth Man of the Year, 2x All-Star, 2x All-NBA
Key Stats: 13.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 44.7 FG%, 36.9 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Manu Ginobili played basketball as if he sought to give “audacity” a bodily form. He attempted passes and shots that no doubt made then-San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich want to trade him. But he was worth whatever fleeting headaches he incited, many times over, because he played with the best of intentions.
Ginobili attacked with eclectic handles, and he had the vision of a floor general with the inhibitions of a playground legend.
So much of his legacy is tied to sacrifice and winning, which are then inextricably linked together. He sacrificed starting and status so that the Spurs could win. And win they did. They certainly would have won a lot less without him, too.
This is also someone with multiple All-NBA appearances on his resume, and one of the top-75 three-year peaks in league history. Boiling down his credentials to the Spurs Way sells him short. He is an all-time great in a vacuum.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 42
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
74. Dave Cowens
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 3x All-NBA, 8x All-Star, 3x All-Defense, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 17.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 46.0 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 11
Cowens was the Rookie of the Year in 1970-71. He then finished seventh in MVP voting, earning the first of eight All-Star nods, in his second campaign. His upward trajectory continued when he won league MVP honors in 1972-73 and subsequently led the Celtics to a title in 1974.
A rugged defender and rebounder, Cowens’ workmanlike game made him a fascinating foil for starry contemporaries like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. His effort level was unmatched, and he needed it to outduel Kareem in the 1974 Finals.
Cowens put up 28 points and 14 boards in Game 7, giving Boston its first championship of the post-Russell era.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 53
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
73. Hal Greer
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 10x All-Star, 7x All-NBA
Key Stats: 19.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 45.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Consistency was a hallmark of Hal Greer’s pro career. Almost everything about him was a constant, right down to the team that repeatedly bounced his Syracuse Nationals and Philadelphia 76ers squads from the playoffs (the dynastic Boston Celtics).
Greer averaged between 18 and 24 points for 11 consecutive seasons, from 1960-61 through 1970-71, during which time he tallied all 10 of his All-Star appearances. The form on his jumper was renowned for its replicability. And its dependability anchored his entry to the 20,000-point club.
Standing 6’2”, Greer was also a feisty rebounder for his size, routinely clearing five boards per game. Along with Chris Paul and Jerry West, he is the only other player 6’3” or shorter to join both the 20,000-point and 5,000-rebound clubs.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 46
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
72. Paul Arizin
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 4x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 2 Scoring Titles, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 22.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 42.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 10
The jump shot is so fundamental to NBA basketball that it’s hard to imagine the sport without it. Arizin was among the first to ditch the two-hand set shots that now only appear in grainy black-and-white footage, replacing it with something close to the shooting form that persists today.
In addition to a jumper, Arizin brought a new level of athleticism and skill to the wing spot. It took the league a while to catch up to his revolutionary style, as evidenced by his ROY win in 1951, scoring title in 1952 and frequent presence among the top 10 in MVP voting through the decade.
Don’t discount the two years Arizin lost to military service during what would have been his age-24 and -25 seasons. He retired as an unquestioned pantheon-level superstar in 1962, but his numbers should have been even better.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 32
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
71. Chris Bosh
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 11x All-Star, 1x All-NBA
Key Stats: 19.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 BPG, 49.4 FG%, 33.5 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Blood clots forced Chris Bosh to retire in what should have been the heart of his prime. His rank within this exercise would be fascinating to see if he were permitted to continue playing.
Thirteen years was nonetheless enough for him to leave his imprint. He in many ways typified the modern big man. Where Dirk Nowitzki laid the groundwork for perimeter-oriented bigs, Bosh was among those to take more positionless defense mainstream. It wasn’t just that he could guard the 4 or 5, but that he could switch and navigate the perimeter with relative ease, all without ever entirely departing from the core tenets of traditional big-mandom.
Bosh likewise reinforced the value of scalability among stars. Though he was often portrayed as along for the ride during the Miami Heat’s Big Three era, nothing could be further from the truth. He scaled down and reworked his offensive usage, which is no small feat in general, but an especially impressive accomplishment when you’re in your mid-20s and good enough to be the polestar around which everyone else orbits.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 37
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
70. Wes Unseld
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, NBA Rookie of the Year, 1 Rebounding Title
Key Stats: 10.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 50.9 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
One of only two rookies to win MVP (Wilt Chamberlain was the other), Wes Unseld debuted with a bang for the 1968-69 Baltimore Bullets. His tenacious rebounding was never better than in that initial season when he gobbled up 18.2 boards per contest, but that skill persisted throughout a career spent entirely with the Bullets.
Unseld was known for his physical strength, which allowed him to dominate as a rebounder, screen setter and intimidating presence despite playing center at just 6’7”. The best outlet passer of his generation, Unseld had a dramatic effect on his team’s offense without ever averaging more than 16.2 points per game.
The best player on Bullets teams that appeared in four Finals during the 1970s, Unseld finally broke through to win his only career championship in 1978, taking down the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games and earning Finals MVP.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 56
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
69. Kyrie Irving
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 2012 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Star, 3x All-NBA
Key Stats: 23.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 47.4 FG%, 39.4 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Flash and substance have never collaborated so effectively as when they teamed up with Kyrie Irving. Stephen Curry is perhaps the lone exception.
Kyrie plays with the demeanor of someone who never left the playground but delivers results when on the court that make you wonder how he only has three All-NBA appearances. (The answer: Injuries…mostly) His circus handles are so elusive, his touch around the basket so out of this galaxy, he definitely plays games within the game, challenging himself to add layers of complexity to otherwise routine possessions.
Scoring takes center stage in all Kyrie discussions. He deserves more credit for his passing. He proved (briefly) on both the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets that he could drive an entire system. He deserves even more credit for regularly playing alongside other ball-dominant players.
From LeBron James to intermittent stints with Kevin Durant and James Harden to his most recent partnership with Luka Doncic, Kyrie’s offensive scalability has seldom been in question. And as if he needed any more “Holy crap!” points, he made one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history to help the Cleveland Cavaliers complete their historical comeback from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 36
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 85
68. Robert Parish
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 9x All-Star, 2x All-NBA
Key Stats: 14.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.5 BPG, 53.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 21
Robert Parish’s longevity is inspirational. Only five other players have more than 20 seasons under their belt: Vince Carter (22 seasons), LeBron James (21), Dirk Nowitzki (21), Kevin Garnett (21) and Kevin Willis (21). Though Parish saw his minutes decline toward the end, he wasn’t really an afterthought player until his final year.
Pure counting stats were not the Boston Celtics legend’s thing. He never averaged 20 points per game, but he reliably stayed between 17 and 20 for the better part of a decade.
Playing so long also lends itself to pretty wild career totals. You can futz with the numbers to make this group more exclusive, but overall, Parish is one of eight players to clear at least 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 2,000 blocks for his career. His company: Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 41
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 100
67. Dennis Rodman
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Top Accolades: 5x Champion, 2x DPOY, 2 All-NBA Selections, 2x All-Star, 8x All-Defense, 7 Rebounding Titles
Key Stats: 7.3 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 52.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
A uniquely mobile and physically forceful athlete, Rodman essentially created the concept of a five-position defender as a member of the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. He earned back-to-back DPOY honors in 1989-90 and 1990-91 and was an integral figure in Detroit’s consecutive championship wins in ‘89 and ‘90.
Always a great rebounder, Rodman took things to another level after turning 30. He hauled down an unthinkable 18.7 boards per game with the Pistons in 1991-92 and averaged at least 14.9 rebounds in each of his next six seasons split between the Pistons, Spurs and Bulls.
The last chapter of his career came in Chicago, where his off-court antics became tabloid fodder but his production on the floor contributed to three more titles.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 32
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
66. Joel Embiid
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Top Accolades: 1x MVP, 5x All-NBA, 7x All-Star, 3x All-Defense, 2x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 27.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.6 BPG, 50.1 FG%, 33.9 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 9
It’s starting to seem like Embiid’s career will be best remembered for having injury-ravaged bookends on either side of a brief, dominant prime. After losing the first two-and-a-half seasons of his career to injury, Embiid averaged 20.2 points as a “rookie” in 2016-17, seemingly validating the Sixers’ infamous “Process.”
The best stretch of Embiid’s career came from 2020-21 to 2022-23, when he finished second, second and first in MVP voting and was the clear top challenger to Nikola Jokić's incredible run during that same span.
Embiid had loads of physical advantages when healthy, including balletic footwork, shooting touch and pure strength. But he also developed serious craft and led the league in made free throws three times and is the current all-time leader in career free-throw makes per game at 8.3.
With games played totals of 39 in 2023-24 and just 19 this past season, Embiid is struggling to stay on the floor more than ever. He’s a Hall of Famer if he never plays another game.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 37
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
65. Vince Carter
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Top Accolades: 1999 Rookie of the Year, 8x All-Star, 2x All-NBA
Key Stats: 16.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 43.5 FG%, 37.1 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 22
Injuries derailed what looked like a potential top-25-to-40 career from Vince Carter. He offset that fall from superstardom with complementary-role adaptations, which drove unheard-of longevity. Until this past season, Carter was the only NBA player to make it through 22 seasons.
Worshipped predominantly for his aerial exploits—including the rebirth of the Slam Dunk Contest—the 6’6” wing displayed a ton of playmaking and off-the-dribble pizzazz during his pinnacle. And if his second act was adjusting to less-prominent usage, his third act was sponging up more reps as an undersized 4 later on in his career.
Carter is most associated with the Raptors, but also spearheaded an era of championship contention for the New Jersey Nets, a maddening what-if period for the Orlando Magic, and contributed meaningful stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. In his twilight, he served as valuable mentor and role player on the Atlanta Hawks.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 51
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 87
64. Damian Lillard
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Top Accolades: 2013 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Star, 7x All-NBA
Key Stats: 25.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 7.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 43.9 FG%, 37.1 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
If Stephen Curry is the one who reinvented the league’s offensive tenets, Damian Lillard is the one who normalized them.
Logo threes are less of an event because Lillard made them such an event.
He will be dinged in certain corners for his struggle to win at the highest level, and for perhaps taking so long to read the room while with the Portland Trail Blazers.
But he’s also one of the most clutch players ever.
Lillard has two series-winning buckets, both of which thrust the organizations on the receiving ends—Houston and Oklahoma City—into alternate timelines. Couple his legend living up to his reality with a sustained 25-point, seven-assist line for nearly 15 years, and his inclusion is a no-brainer.
Whether he has enough runway to keep climbing is a separate matter. He is in his mid-30s and slated to lose most, if not all, of the 2025-26 campaign to an Achilles injury. There is little telling what he’ll look like upon return. Regardless, he’s already done enough to be here.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 53
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 88
63. James Worthy
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Top Accolades: 3x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 2x All-NBA, 7x All-Star
Key Stats: 17.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 52.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 12
“Big Game James” made a habit of leveling up for the Los Angeles Lakers’ most important postseason contests, and his career playoff scoring average of 21.1 points per game is well clear of the 17.6 points he managed across 926 regular-season games.
Worthy was never the best player on the dynastic Lakers of the ‘80s, but he made seven All-Star teams, averaged over 20.0 points four times and shot over 53.0 percent from the field in each of his first eight seasons.
In 1980, former Cleveland Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien swung a deal that made the 1982 Lakers the only defending champion to select first in the following season's draft. They picked Worthy, who finished third in Rookie of the Year voting. That move inspired the rule preventing NBA teams from trading first-round picks in consecutive years.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 28
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
62. Pau Gasol
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 2002 Rookie of the Year, 6x All-Star, 4x All-NBA
Key Stats: 17.0 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.6 BPG, 50.7 FG%, 36.8 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 18
Players who spend the bulk of their prime on the Los Angeles Lakers seldom go underappreciated. Pau Gasol looms as an exception.
Kobe Bryant’s megawatt stardom oft-overshadowed just how important the Meal Ticket was to a pair of title runs. His ability to play beside another big or as the sole 5 was critical, and he is one of the most skilled passers at either of the frontcourt slots.
Gasol qualified as a floor-spacer for his era. The touch on his long twos was feathery yet lethal out of pick-and-pops. As the game evolved, Gasol expanded his range beyond the arc to operable success—self-improvement that rendered him even more plug-and-play and contributed to his having an impact during twilight runs with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 42
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 83
61. Bob McAdoo
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 1973 Rookie of the Year, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, 3x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 22.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 50.3 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Players standing 6’9” who could score on the inside and outside while operating with the ball-handling chops of a setup man weren’t very common through the 1970s and 1980s. Bob McAdoo pretty much stood alone in that department, effectively overturning preconceived notions of how certain archetypes must operate.
Stopping him wasn’t an option until the end of his career. Even then, he entered the Sixth Man of the Year running while with the Los Angeles Lakers.
McAdoo’s career arc is fascinating—in a way that almost dims his all-time star. He played for seven teams, which isn’t exactly the journeyman route you’d expect from a three-time scoring champ. And by the time he won his two career championships, with the Lakers, his heyday was behind him.
Still, his absolute peak was dominant. He cleared 30 points and 10 rebounds per game in three consecutive seasons with the Buffalo Braves. Elgin Baylor (three), Joel Embiid (three), Giannis Antetokounmpo (three), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (four) and Wilt Chamberlain (seven) are the only other players to hit those benchmarks as many times.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 53
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
60. Carmelo Anthony
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Top Accolades: 6x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 22.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.0 SPG, 44.7 FG%, 35.5 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 19
Carmelo Anthony averaged at least 20.0 points per game in each of his first 14 seasons, peaking at 28.9 points per game in 2006-07, as a member of the vaunted 2003 draft class that also produced LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
An isolation force whose jab-step and one-dribble pull-up attack yielded mid-range buckets and plenty of free-throw attempts, Melo also developed into a stellar three-point shooter as the game moved away from his pet shots.
Anthony’s best years came with the New York Knicks from 2011 to 2017, but he was also the leading scorer on some excellent Denver Nuggets teams early in his career, the best of which made the Western Conference Finals in 2009.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 46
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 87
59. Tracy McGrady
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Top Accolades: 2001 Most Improved Player, 7x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 2x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 19.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 43.5 FG%, 33.8 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Tracy McGrady is yet another legend who could place way higher if not for injuries. He battled knee, back, ankle and shoulder issues, among other maladies, over the course of his career. That he cobbled together a 16-year resume is pretty much a miracle.
Some point to T-Mac as something of an empty-calories superstar. His stats jump off the page, but none of his playoff teams ever made it out of the first round.
This lack of postseason success, though, says more about his injuries and/or the supporting casts around him. McGrady was a certified baller—one of the most complete offensive talents the league has ever seen. And at his absolute zenith, he could be a disruptive defensive force. For the first half-decade or so of his career, it looked like he’d go down as one of the best shot-blocking guards of all time.
Even with his resume feeling incomplete, McGrady’s credentials are head-turning. He was basically a 25-point, five-rebound, five-assist, 1.5-steal, one-block guy for seven consecutive years, during which time he won two scoring titles and routinely finished in the top four to eight of MVP voting. And who can forget his most notorious feat: dropping 13 points in 30 seconds to lead the Houston Rockets to an improbable victory over the San Antonio Spurs back in December 2004.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 34
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 91
58. Willis Reed
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 1965 Rookie of the Year, 7x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 1x All-Defense
Key Stats: 18.7 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 47.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 10
Knee injuries ultimately forced Willis Reed into retirement before he exited his early 30s. His standing in this exercise if he’s able to play past 1974 is a mega what-if.
Reed spent all 10 of his seasons on the New York Knicks, playing a starring role in the franchise’s only two championships. His Game 7 performance in the 1970 Finals stands as perhaps his crowning achievement. He labored through a muscle tear in his right thigh, and though his stat line didn’t pop during the half that he played, his decision and ability to play at all was considered a galvanizing force.
“I’m wearing two championship rings now,” Walt Clyde Frazier, Reed’s former teammate and fellow Knicks great, told The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry. “I would be wearing more if Willis Reed could have remained healthy. There would be no doubt about who’s the greatest Knick of all time.”
Praise doesn’t get much higher than that.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 43
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 92
57. Luka Dončić
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Top Accolades: 5x All-NBA, 5x All-Star, Rookie of the Year, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 28.6 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 8.2 APG, 1.2 SPG, 46.8 FG%, 35.0 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 7
It remains to be seen where he’ll go from here, but Luka Dončić started his career about as well as anyone ever has. After winning Rookie of the Year, Dončić was an All-NBA first-teamer every year from his second to his sixth season. That run left Dončić all alone as the only player with five All-NBA first-team nods by his age-24 season.
An elite scorer whose downhill patience and step-back skills mirror Harden’s, Dončić is also among the canniest passers in the league. Few can make reads as quickly or deliver the ball to shooters as creatively as he can.
Persistent injuries and concerns about Dončić’s defense and conditioning led to his controversial trade from the Mavericks to the Lakers. If that moves serves as a wake-up call, and if Dončić can secure an MVP or a title with Los Angeles, he has a shot to rocket up this list.
He’s off to a historically strong start but has plenty of unchecked boxes on his resumé.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 39
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 75
56. Dolph Schayes
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 12x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, 1 Rebounding Title
Key Stats: 18.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 38.0 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 15
The career 38.0 field-goal percentage may not make it seem like the case, but Schayes was regarded as one of the top perimeter shooting threats of his era. That skill was particularly rare for big men, and Schayes’ outside touch gave him dimensions shared by no other players his size.
He shot 84.9 percent from the foul line for his career, leading the league in makes during the 1956-57 season.
A contemporary of George Mikan’s, Schayes was only able to lead his Syracuse Nationals to a single championship. But he appeared in the Finals two other times and was a perennial top-five MVP vote-getter for roughly a decade.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 35
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 90
55. Bill Walton
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 2x All-NBA, 2x All-Star, 2x All-Defense, 1 Rebounding Title, 1 Blocks Title, Sixth Man of the Year
Key Stats: 13.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.2 BPG, 52.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 10
Walton won his first title with the Portland Trail Blazers in his age-24 season, securing Finals MVP. The following year, he was the league’s MVP despite breaking his foot in February. So began the series of injuries that would go on to derail what might have been a top-15 career.
That brief, early peak offers some sense of what Walton might have been able to accomplish if he’d stayed healthy. One of the best defensive bigs in the league (league-leading 3.2 blocks per game in 1976-77), Walton was also the top passer at his position by a mile.
After playing just 14 games over a four-season span, Walton managed to get back on the floor for the San Diego Clippers in 1982-83. His swan song came with the Boston Celtics, when he appeared in 80 games for the dominant 1985-86 squad, winning Sixth Man of the Year and a championship.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 34
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 82
54. Reggie Miller
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Top Accolades: 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA
Key Stats: 18.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 47.1 FG%, 39.5 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 18
Before Stephen Curry seized the greatest-shooter-of-all-time throne, Reggie Miller sat upon it without any real challengers.
His knack for blending volume and efficiency was largely unprecedented for the time—though, he only led the league in total three-point makes twice—and remains noteworthy even by today’s standards.
The rise of outside marksmen has knocked the NBA’s former all-time leader in made triples down a few rungs on the ladder. Yet, Miller still ranks No. 6 overall, and he will stick inside the top 10 for quite a while longer. He also led the league in free-throw percentage on four occasions, and much like Curry earlier in his career, Miller never quite received his due for being more than a deep-ball specialist.
Focus will invariably shift to the absence of a championship ring, which is to some extent fair. But Miller headlined a handful of truly great, and gritty, Indiana Pacers teams. More than anything, he deserves a round of applause for his longevity. His career lasted nearly two full decades, and while he wasn’t quite the same over his final three seasons or so, he was a lethal threat from beyond the arc until the very end.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 44
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 76
53. Gary Payton
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 9x All-NBA, 9x All-Star, 9 All-Defense, 1 Steals Title
Key Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 46.6 FG%, 31.7 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 17
The Glove was the best defensive guard of his era, capable of smothering any matchup not named Michael Jordan at the 1 or the 2. Though he racked up steals early in his career, averaging at least 2.2 per game each season from 1992-93 to 1998-99, Payton’s suffocating D was more about elite lateral quickness and anticipation than gambling for thefts.
Great hands and incredible processing speed would have made Payton enough of a nightmare to play against, but he supplemented those skills with some of the most persistent and cold-blooded trash talk of his era.
Payton’s Seattle SuperSonics were a playoff staple in the ‘90s, and he logged seven consecutive top-10 finishes in MVP voting while leading those teams. That run peaked with a Finals trip in 1996, but Payton would also go on to reach that stage with the Lakers in 2004 and the Heat in 2006, collecting his only ring before retiring after the following season.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 42
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 83
52. Dwight Howard
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 3x Defensive Player of the Year, 8x All-Star, 8x All-NBA, 5x All-Defense, 5x Rebound Champion, 2x Block Champion
Key Stats: 15.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.8 BPG, 58.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 18
Dwight Howard’s overarching dominance and appeal continue to be weathered by the march of time. The game moved away from bigs with his exact offensive skill set, particularly when they show a resistance to screen-and-roll volume. Back issues, among other problems, also began to dull his impact before he turned 30, as well.
All of that in mind, he still has the resume of someone who can contend for top-50 placement. People remember him most for his generational defense. Rightfully so, too. There was a time, though, when he was among the two or three most sought-after building blocks in the entire league.
Only Rudy Gobert (four), Dikembe Mutombo (four) and Ben Wallace (four) have won more Defensive Player of the Year awards, and he ranks fifth all-time in first-team All-NBA selections among centers, trailing only Hakeem Olajuwon (six), Wilt Chamberlain (seven), Shaquille O’Neal (eight) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10).
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 44
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 64
51. Ray Allen
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x All-NBA, 10x All-Star
Key Stats: 18.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 45.2 FG%, 40.0 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 18
One of the greatest sharpshooters the game has ever seen, Allen is often incorrectly recalled as a specialist.
Sure, he shot an even 40.0 percent from beyond the arc for his career and was the sport’s all-time leader in long-range makes for a decade until Stephen Curry broke his record in 2021. But Allen was also a complete offensive star who could score inside the arc, distribute the ball and defend capably on the perimeter for the first half of his career.
As a Milwaukee Bucks rookie in 1997, Allen had a solid showing in the Dunk Contest. He accumulated more than his share of poster dunks before settling into life as a high-volume (for the era) outside shooter.
In five peak seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics, Allen averaged 24.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals, getting to the foul line 5.1 times per game.
We also have to add Allen’s championship run with the Boston Celtics and iconic game-tying triple for the Miami Heat in the 2013 Finals.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 40
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 63
50. Dominique Wilkins
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Top Accolades: 7x All-NBA, 9x All-Star, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 24.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 46.1 FG%, 31.9 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Like many stars of the era, Wilkins had the misfortune of running up against Michael Jordan and/or the Boston Celtics a little too often. Between runner-up Dunk Contest finishes, postseason ousters and a second-place finish in MVP voting to Larry Bird in 1985-86, ‘Nique’s career could have been regarded as far more successful than it was.
Still, Wilkins established his own legacy with a scoring title and one of the better career dunk reels of all time. He wasn’t nicknamed the Human Highlight Film for nothing.
Wilkins’ Atlanta Hawks made the postseason seven times from 1982-83 to 1990-91 but never reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Not to be forgotten, Wilkins had one of the most successful returns from a torn Achilles in league history. He missed just 10 months after suffering the injury in January of 1991, averaged 28.1 points per game the subsequent season and finished fifth in MVP voting in 1992-93.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 34
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 86
49. Paul Pierce
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 4x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, All-Rookie First Team
Key Stats: 19.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.3 SPG
Total Seasons Played: 19
Few forwards throughout NBA history blended footwork, strength and clutch shotmaking like Paul Pierce. He didn’t blow by defenders or soar over them; he outsmarted them with timing, touch and toughness. Getting tough buckets was his thing.
For a decade between 1998 and 2008, Pierce was the face of the Celtics, but it was in '08 that he finally broke through. The title over Kobe Bryant’s Lakers, paired with his Finals MVP, locked in Pierce's legacy as one of the league’s most dependable stars.
Overall, Pierce’s legend came alive in the postseason. There was the 41-point Game 7 to take down LeBron. The iconic “wheelchair game” where he came back from a sprained MC, sank back-to-back threes, and helped lead Boston to a Game 1 win over L.A. Even late in his career, Pierce gave us one last signature moment with “I called game!” after a walk-off bank shot to beat the Hawks in the East Semis.
With over 26,000 career points (No. 18 all-time) and a clutch highlight reel that spans nearly two decades, Pierce didn’t just score, he showed up when it mattered most.
That's the truth. And when it was all said and done, he'd built himself a top-50 all-time resume.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 45
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 71
48. Russell Westbrook
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Top Accolades: 1x MVP, 9x All-Star, 9x All-NBA, 3x Assist Champion, 2x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 21.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 8.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 43.9 FG%, 30.5 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Russell Westbrook has always played with a fire and fury that is at once perceived as endearing and aggravating. He is, in many ways, a walking conundrum.
In recent years, this has applied more to his attempts to scale down on teams in which he isn’t the focal point. But his apex was hardly immune from division.
This is the league MVP who made us numb to triple-doubles, and who is deemed at least somewhat responsible for Kevin Durant leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder. His unbridled athleticism both endured longer than most other explosive talents and lent itself to mass errancy in forays to the basket.
There is a fine line between greatness and arrogance. Westbrook has straddled it, blurred it, even swallowed it whole. Whatever your thoughts on his style and demeanor, there is no refuting the MVP, nine All-NBA appearances, three assist titles and two scoring titles he has amassed with his force-of-nature approach.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 34
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 65
47. Elvin Hayes
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 12x All-Star, 6x All-NBA, 2x All-Defense, 2x Rebound Champion, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 21.0 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 45.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Elvin Hayes has jerseys retired with both the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards, franchises on which he played before they adopted their current namesake. (He returned to close out his career in Houston after they became the Rockets, though.)
Over the course of his career, he did a little bit of everything, but he did a lot of scoring and rebounding, to go along with plenty of shot-blocking. The progression of time has knocked him down the all-time NBA scoring ladder, and yet, he’s still No. 13, ahead of names like Hakeem Olajuwon, Oscar Robertson and Tim Duncan.
Meanwhile, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the lone players who grabbed more career boards. Similarly impressive, Hayes is 26th all-time in total blocks—even though the stat wasn’t tracked for the first half-decade of his career.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 38
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 79
46. Kevin McHale
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Top Accolades: 3x Champion, 7x All-Star, 1x All-NBA, 2x Sixth Man of the Year, 6x All-Defense
Key Stats: 17.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.7 BPG, 55.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Kevin McHale is a good reminder that traditional bigs started off the Sixth Man of the Year era (in 1983) by more frequently contending for it. He has two super-sub awards on his CV, because size has always mattered.
The 6’10” power forward lends merit to the “Defense wins championship” trope. Indeed, he had the benefit of playing on some ridiculous Boston Celtics teams.The fact McHale came off the bench for a majority of his career is actually bonkers. But he helped spearhead generational squads with his defensive maniacism and overall malleability, as well as his interior touch.
Despite a relatively affable-looking demeanor, McHale was an obsessive competitor to boot. He played, at times, with a physicality that qualified as a mean streak. And frankly, the results speak for themselves.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 29
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 71
45. Anthony Davis
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 5x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 5 All-Defense, 3 Blocks Titles
Key Stats: 24.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG, 2.3 BPG, 52.2 FG%, 29.6 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Though he’s never won an MVP or Defensive Player of the Year award, Davis has finished among the top 10 vote-getters four times in the former and six times in the latter.
Only he and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have averaged at least 24.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks for their careers (minimum 750 games), and while that stat might look different if the league had tracked blocks prior to 1973, it still established Davis as arguably the most productive two-way big man of the modern era.
Incredible dexterity born of a youth career playing mostly the guard position helps Davis glide to the rim with skill, making him one of the best pick-and-roll finishers the game has ever seen. Though perhaps not an ideal first scoring option, AD is absolutely a top-tier defensive anchor, boasting length and quickness that few have ever matched.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 36
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 58
44. George Mikan
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Top Accolades: 5x Champion, 6x All-BAA/NBA Selections, 4x All-Star, 3 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 23.1 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 40.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 7
Almost any kid who’s ever picked up a basketball has done the Mikan drill, a set of alternating right- and left-handed standstill layups performed under the basket. That the sport’s first superstar created and popularized a practice technique that persists three-quarters of a century later speaks to Mikan’s impact.
Though best known for dominating with the Minneapolis Lakers of the early NBA, with whom he won five championships, Mikan actually won seven titles across eight professional seasons if you include his 1947 win with the Chicago American Gears and Lakers of the NBL.
Many of the basic rules of the modern NBA were instituted to rein in the 6’10” Mikan’s interior dominance. The league widened the lane in 1951 to force him farther from the basket, and the shot clock came into existence largely because opponents would stall when they had the ball so Mikan couldn’t get it.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 10
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 81
43. Walt Frazier
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Top Accolade: 2x Champion, 6x All-NBA, 7x All-Star, 7x All-Defense, All-Rookie First Team
Key Stats: 18.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 49.0 FG%
Total Seasons: 13
Walt “Clyde” Frazier wasn’t just cool—he was cold.
With his silky handle, smooth mid-range jumper and suffocating defense, Frazier set the two-way guard standard before that was even a thing.
Frazier led the Knicks to their only two titles, and he was the engine driving one of the most beloved teams in Knicks franchise history. When Willis Reed hobbled out of the tunnel in Game 7 of the 1970 Finals, the Garden erupted—but it was Frazier who carried the night, finishing with 36 points, 19 assists, seven rebounds and five steals in one of the greatest Finals performances ever.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 23
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 77
42. George Gervin
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Top Accolades: 7x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, 4 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 25.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 50.4 FG%, 27.1 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 14
One of the smoothest scorers of 1970s and ‘80s, George Gervin averaged at least 27.0 points per game every year from 1977-78 to 1981-82, collecting five straight All-NBA first-team honors during that run. He finished no worse than sixth in MVP voting across that half-decade surge.
Known for his finger roll, the Ice Man wasn’t just an empty scorer. If you combine his work in the ABA and NBA, the vast majority of which came with the San Antonio Spurs, he averaged at least 1.0 block and 1.0 steal in every season from 1973-74 to 1979-80.
Add to that one of the coldest posters of all time and a Nike commercial that made him look devastatingly smooth almost a decade after his retirement, and Gervin earns one of the bigger cultural cachet bumps of anyone here.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 28
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 85
41. Rick Barry
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 6x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, NBA Rookie of the Year, 2 Scoring Titles (1x NBA, 1x ABA), 1 Steals Title
Key Stats: 24.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.9 APG, 2.0 SPG, 45.6 FG%, 29.7 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 14
One of the best offensive players the league has ever seen, Barry topped 30.0 points per game in four different seasons and retired ranked No. 6 on the all-time NBA/ABA scoring list with 25,279 points.
He’s best remembered as the driving force behind the Golden State Warriors’ only pre-Stephen Curry championship, which the team won in 1974-75. Barry averaged 29.5 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game in a sweep of the Washington Bullets, easily earning Finals MVP.
At 36.3 points per game across his 10 career contests, Barry still has the highest Finals scoring average of all time.
Throw in the iconic underhand free-throw technique that led to a career conversion rate of 90.0 percent and a notoriously prickly personality, and you’ve got some bonus quirks to bolster Barry’s case.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 28
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 76
40. Patrick Ewing
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Top Accolades: Rookie of the Year, 11x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 3x All-Defense
Key Stats: 21.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 2.0 BPG, 50.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 17
Patrick Ewing’s resume is full of holes. He does not have a ring or Defensive Player of the Year hardware.
None of this is cause to stick him any lower. His ring count is what happens when Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls exist, and when your most impactful defensive seasons intersect with the primes of David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo.
Ewing is among the previous-era bigs you can easily envision leaving a dent in today's NBA. He had an outside-in floor game and artisanal finesse to pair with traditional low-post chops, and his jumper form, along with his foul-line touch, suggest he could scale to the three-point line.
Knee injuries prematurely shortened a mesmerizing prime. More recently, “The Ewing Theory,” popularized by Bill Simmons while at ESPN, has fomented discussion about whether many of his New York Knicks teams were better off without him. There may be merit there, when looking specifically at later seasons. But Prime Ewing was nothing if not a generational-adjacent force.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 30
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 80
39. Clyde Drexler
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 10x All-Star, 5x All-NBA
Key Stats: 20.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.6 APG, 2.0 SPG, 47.2 FG%, 31.8 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 15
“Underrated” is a term that is thrown around a lot throughout all-time conversations, which can dilute its overall impact.
Unless you’re talking about Clyde Drexler.
His career averages are flat-out mind-boggling. Michael Jordan is the only other player to put up 20 points, five assists and two steals per game through at least 15 seasons of action. Drexler also owns one of the 20 highest three-year peaks in league history, which is the kind of thing you must read and then let marinate before its gravity fully sinks in.
Maybe the relative lack of all-time fanfare can be traced back to so many of his Portland Trail Blazers teams experiencing modest playoff success. Or perhaps it has to do with his time on the Houston Rockets coming in the shadow of Hakeem Olajuwon.
Whatever the reason, it isn’t good enough. Drexler deserves more shine for sustaining outlier production across almost the entirety of his 15-year career.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 27
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 59
38. Bob Pettit
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 2x MVP, 11x All-NBA, 11x All-Star, Rookie of the Year, 2 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 26.4 PPG, 16.2 RPG, 3.0 APG, 43.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 11
Perhaps best remembered for scoring 50 points in the clinching game of the 1958 Finals, Pettit was one of the greatest players of the NBA’s formative years.
An All-Star in each of his 11 seasons with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks, the 6’9” big man was the first to eclipse 20,000 career points and was the league’s all-time scoring leader when he retired.
That lasted a little over two years until Chamberlain overtook him in 1966.
Pettit retired at age 32, which hurts the volume component of his case in these rankings. Then again, the early exit also prevented any late-career slippage from hurting his averages. Pettit never put up fewer than 20.0 points or 10.0 rebounds per game in any season, and he was a no-brainer Hall of Fame selection in 1970.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 26
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: Unranked
37. Bob Cousy
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Top Accolades: 6x Champion, 1x MVP, 13x All-Star, 12x All-NBA, 8 Assist Titles
Key Stats: 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5 APG, 37.5 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Bob Cousy’s place in these all-time exercises has come under scrutiny when digging more into his efficiency. A 37.5 percent clip from the floor piques attention for all the wrong reasons.
Still, he was a key cog on a half-dozen Boston Celtics championship teams. And while the league wasn’t even half the size it is now during his salad days, compiling 12 All-NBA selections is nothing at which to sneeze.
Sure, Cousy’s theoretical place in today’s Association is beyond debatable. But the derring-do dribbles and off-handed finishes for which he was known can be appreciated within any era. The same goes for his eight assist titles. Plus, more than 50 years since he last played, Cousy continues to stick inside the top 25 all-time of total dimes thrown.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 22
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 85
36. Allen Iverson
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Top Accolades: 1x MVP, Rookie of the Year, 11x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 4x Scoring Champion, 3x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 26.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.2 APG, 2.2 SPG, 42.5 FG%, 31.3 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Allen Iverson’s place in the pantheon of all-time greats is subject to relitigation as people assign more value to efficiency and the ability to work outside heliocentric offenses. But AI isn’t frequently billed as the “pound-for-pound GOAT” strictly because of vibes.
Granted, his cultural impact on the game and those who consumed it ferries great meaning. He was defiant and eccentric, both on and off the court, and played like someone who had everything to prove and wanted no help in seeking his validation or accolades.
Carrying the 2000-01 Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals looms as his greatest accomplishment. That team’s second-best player was 34-year-old Dikembe Mutombo. Although Philly was trucked upon meeting the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals, making the championship round at all was a testament to Iverson’s singularity.
So, too, is the statistical company The Answer keeps. Michael Jordan and Jerry West are the only others to average at least 25 points, five assists and two seals for their careers.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 21
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 78
35. Steve Nash
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Top Accolades: 2x MVP, 7x All-NBA, 8x All-Star, 5 Assist Titles
Key Stats: 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 49.0 FG%, 42.8 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 18
After leading some of the top era-adjusted offenses of all time with the Dallas Mavericks in 2002 and 2003, Nash landed in Phoenix and enjoyed one of the great late-bloomer primes in league history.
He captained the “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns to elite scoring marks, winning back-to-back MVPs in his age-30 and age-31 campaigns.
It’s hard to say whether Nash arrived at just the right time to take advantage of the pace-and-space era, or if he was a hair late. A career 42.8 percent three-point shooter (11th all-time), Nash attempted just 3.2 triples per game during his career. That’s less than a third of the 11.3 attempts Stephen Curry averaged in 2024-25.
Upon retirement, Nash acknowledged he probably should have shot the ball more.
What he sacrificed in volume, he made up for in efficiency. Nash’s four 50/40/90 seasons are the most in NBA history. Not bad for a guy who also ranks fifth in total assists.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 18
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 73
34. James Harden
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Top Accolades: 1x MVP, 8x All-NBA, 11x All-Star, 3x Scoring Champion, 2x Assist Champion, Sixth Man of the Year
Key Stats: 24.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 43.9 FG%, 36.3 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Harden’s best years came with the Houston Rockets, where he led the league in scoring three straight times from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and concluded a run during which he also led the NBA in free-throw attempts per game in seven of eight seasons.
One of the most devastating pick-and-roll forces the game has ever seen, Harden also developed into an unstoppable isolation threat. Elite quickness, strength and craft made it impossible to stay in front of Harden, and then he perfected a step-back three-pointer so deadly that opponents actually preferred to play defense behind him.
An extremely heliocentric star who has led the league in usage rate twice, never consistently defended and couldn’t lead his team to a title, Harden has more than his share of detractors.
But he was also among the best offensive players in the game for a decade. That matters.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 24
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 89
33. Jason Kidd
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 6x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 9x All-Defense, Rookie of the Year, 5 Assist Titles
Key Stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, 40.0 FG%, 34.9 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 19
Kidd snagged his lone championship as a role-playing 37-year-old with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, almost a decade after he led the New Jersey Nets to back-to-back Finals appearances.
One of the most dominant transition threats to ever play the point guard spot, Kidd used his combination of elite size, speed and vision to facilitate at high velocity.
A pass-first (and second and third) player, Kidd entered the league with an outside shot so unreliable that it earned him the “Ason” nickname (as in, no J). In a testament to his work ethic, Kidd retired in 2013 with the league’s third-highest career total of made three-point shots.
Kidd’s high basketball IQ made him a genius-level passer, but he also leveraged it defensively, averaging at least 2.0 steals per game in nine different seasons. He finished among the top 10 in MVP voting five times.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 27
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 44
32. Kawhi Leonard
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 6x All-Star, 6x All-NBA, 7x All-Defense, 1x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 20.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.7 SPG, 49.9 FG%, 39.2 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Two-time Finals MVPs are seldom defined by what-ifs. Kawhi Leonard is the mother of all exceptions.
Injuries have stunted or entirely derailed his seasons for the better part of a decade. His fragility, though no fault of his own, is maddening because we understand the gravity of its collateral damage.
This is not someone capitalizing on a theoretical pinnacle or short-burst brilliance, like a Zion Williamson. Kawhi is transcendent, the rare superstar who could—and sometimes still does—take over entire games and playoff series at both ends of the floor.
“Where would he rank in the top 100 if…” is a cliche game to play. Caveats can apply to so many on this list. In Kawhi’s, though, it carries more weight—and pain. Because if not for injuries, we’re talking about a championship-contention lifeline with a top-25-ever trajectory.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 28
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 67
31. John Havlicek
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Top Accolades: 8x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 13x All-Star, 11x All-NBA, 8x All-Defense
Key Stats: 20.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 43.9 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 16
John Havlicek has one of the beefier resumes that seems to fly under the radar. He remains the Boston Celtics’ all-time leading scorer and is No. 19 on the NBA’s total-points list, all despite cutting his teeth for a good portion of his career on the Boston Celtics as a sixth man. (The SMOY trophy isn’t named after him for no reason, folks.)
What’s more, Havlicek’s 11 All-NBA appearances and eight All-Defense teams each rank among the 20 most in league history.
During his time in the Association, he became particularly renowned for his endless hustle, which contributed to his development as a scorer, even though he was not billed as one at the start of his career. “John would run 100 miles per hour at the beginning of practice,” former Celtics center Hank Finkel told The Athletic’s Jay King. “And he was still running 100 miles per hour at the end of practice. And he very seldom broke a sweat. His body wasn’t normal.”
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 15
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 91
30. Chris Paul
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Top Accolades: 11x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, 9x All-Defense, Rookie of the Year, 5 Assist Titles, 6 Steals Titles
Key Stats: 17.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, 47.0 FG%, 37.0 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 20
Second on the all-time assists and steals list, Paul is still playing productive basketball nearly a full decade after his prime years. In 2024-25, he became the first player in his 20th season or later to start in all 82 of his team’s games.
A top-10 finisher in MVP voting as recently as 2021-22, CP3 loudly announced his arrival with a ROY win in 2006, followed by back-to-back seasons with averages of at least 21.0 points, 11.0 assists (led the league both times) and 2.5 steals in 2007-08 and 2008-09. That was arguably his personal apex, but Paul is best known for being the catalyst on the Lob City Clippers in the mid-2010s. He racked up five top-10 MVP finishes during that run, making first-team All-Defense six straight times.
Though unlikely to catch Stockton in career assists or steals, Paul’s body of work (to which he’s still adding) makes him a pretty clear top-five point guard of all time.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 18
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 73
29. John Stockton
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Top Accolades: 10x All-Star, 11x All-NBA, 5x All-Defense, 9x Assist Champion, 2x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 13.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 51.5 FG%, 38.4 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 19
John Stockton owns one of the NBA’s least breakable records. And “least breakable” may be putting it charitably.
In a hair under two decades, Stockton amassed 15,806 total assists. The next closest player to him is Chris Paul…with 12,499. That 3,307-dime difference is at least three seasons’ worth of in-your-prime playmaking. Given that CP3 will be entering Year 20 in 2025-26, Stockton’s record figures to be safe for a while—or forever.
And look, regardless of the era you’re playing in, bagging five All-Defense nominations while standing 6’1” is unfathomable. Mookie Blaylock (six), Norm Van Lier (eight) and CP3 himself (nine) are the only players 6’3” or shorter with more such selections.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 18
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 76
28. Scottie Pippen
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Top Accolades: 6x Champion, 7x All-NBA, 7x All-Star, 10x All-Defense, 1 Steals Title
Key Stats: 16.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 47.3 FG%, 32.6 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 17
Perhaps the greatest superstar sidekick of the modern era, Pippen is best remembered as Robin to Michael Jordan’s Batman during the Chicago Bulls’ dynastic run. The rangy 6’8” forward had legitimate point guard skills as a passer and on-court thinker, but he was also the most ferocious on and off-ball perimeter defender of his era.
Everyone of a certain age knows the iconic footage of Pippen putting the full-court clamps on Magic Johnson in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals.
When MJ took two years off, Pippen showed he could lead a team on his own, averaging a combined 21.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists while finishing third in the NBA in Box Plus/Minus during that two-year stretch.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 18
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 51
27. Isiah Thomas
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 1x Assist Champion
Key Stats: 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 45.2 FG%, 29.0 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Isiah Thomas is the player most often considered the overlooked greatest-of-all-time point guard. At a time when the conversation is cannibalized by Stephen Curry and Magic Johnson, there are those who insist you remember the one known as Zeke.
The statistical resume is part of that enthusiasm. But there is an air of “You had to be there, or you had to watch it, in order to understand.”
Thomas was the face of the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons, the nucleus of players who actually served as a Michael Jordan foil. That carries weight. And if the vindictive lore ascribed to him and his best Pistons teams don’t do it for you, the statistical CV is ready to pick up the slack. Magic Johnson is the only other player to average at least 18 points, 9.0 assists and 1.5 steals for his career.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 20
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 38
26. Elgin Baylor
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Top Accolades: 10x All-NBA, 11x All-Star, NBA Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 27.4 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 43.1 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Baylor got the same 1960s pace-inflated stat bumps his contemporaries did, but a scan of his finishes in MVP voting proves he was much more than gaudy scoring and rebounding totals. Baylor logged one second-place nod, finished third three times, fourth once and fifth twice.
When you share an era with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, not to mention teammate Jerry West, that’s about as much as any mortal can expect to accomplish.
Baylor made seven NBA Finals but never broke through to win a title and is arguably the best player without a championship. His Lakers finally went all the way in 1972, but a torn Achilles kept him from enjoying that breakthrough. Par for the course for a dominant talent who had the misfortune of competing with Russell’s Celtics and whose own scoring excellence paled in comparison to Chamberlain’s.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 20
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 42
25. Charles Barkley
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Top Accolades: 1x MVP, 11x All-Star, 11x All-NBA, 1x Rebound Champion
Key Stats: 22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 54.1 FG%, 26.6 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Charles Barkley’s resume feels incomplete without a title. Over time, it feels like the absence of one has eroded his standing in these all-time discussions.
And yet, you don’t win an MVP award during Michael Jordan’s prime (1992-93) by some fluke. Barkley was a superstar, with one of the most well-rounded games to ever grace the hardwood.
The range of his skill set is reflected in the list of contemporary players for whom he’s used as a comparison. Blake Griffin, Zion Williamson, Draymond Green, Julius Randle—they have all been considered, to some degree, facsimiles of Barkley.
Heck, even The Chuckster’s intangibles are versatile. His Basketball-Reference page is inundated with what might be a record number of nicknames, and he can be first and foremost associated with any of the franchises he suited up for: the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 18
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 74
24. Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 2x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 1x DPOY, 8x All-NBA, 9x All-Star, 5x All-Defense, Most Improved Player
Key Stats: 23.9 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 55.1 FG%, 28.4 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 12
The most physically overpowering force in the league since Shaquille O’Neal, Antetokounmpo already has a surefire Hall of Fame resumé having just completed his age-30 season.
A downhill weapon whose off-the-dribble attacks forced defenses to build walls and abandon surrounding shooters, Giannis’ transition attacks and interior finishing produced back-to-back MVPs, a championship and an offensive track record no one has ever matched.
We’ve seen six seasons in NBA history in which a player averaged at least 30.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists while making at least 50.0 percent of his shots. Antetokounmpo has three of them—including 2023-24 and 2024-25, in which he made over 60.0 percent of his field-goal attempts. He’s the only player to do that even once.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 17
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 45
23. Dwyane Wade
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Top Accolades: 3x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 8x All-NBA, 13x All-Star, 3 All-Defense, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 22.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 48.0 FG%, 29.3 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 16
Wade may be best remembered as LeBron James’ second option on a couple of title teams with the Miami Heat, but that perception obscures his dominant work during a 2006 title run after which he won Finals MVP.
Seven top-10 finishes for MVP, a scoring title in 2009 and some of the best shot-blocking numbers for a guard in league history still somehow fail to capture how impactful Wade’s athleticism, foul-drawing craft and length made him during a peak stretch that spanned from 2005 to 2013. Wade had the third-highest Box Plus/Minus in the NBA during that run, behind James and Chris Paul but ahead of Duncan, Bryant, Nowitzki and Garnett.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 13
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 39
22. Karl Malone
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Top Accolades: 2x MVP, 14x All-Star, 14x All-NBA, 4x All-Defense
Key Stats: 25.0 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 51.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 19
If you’re having a conversation about the best NBA players to never win a ring, Karl Malone is certainly garnering at least a mention. The statistical resume he compiled is rooted in his ridiculous longevity.
He is third all-time in scoring and No. 7 in total career rebounds.
Malone’s on-court connection with John Stockton infested the NBA’s highlight reel during his heyday. Most critically, his Utah Jazz teams served as the only potential foil for the second of the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan-era three-peats.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 14
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 72
21. Moses Malone
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 3x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 8x All-NBA, 13x All-Star, 2 All-Defense, 6 Rebounding Titles
Key Stats: 20.3 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 49.5 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 21
The all-time leader in offensive rebounds (both total and per game), Malone dominated the glass throughout his career.
Though not particularly skilled as a finisher or passer, all those boards produced plenty of second-chance opportunities and free throws, and Malone led the league in attempts from the foul line five times.
His first two MVP awards came with the Houston Rockets in 1978-79 and 1981-82, and he followed that up with a third for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1982-83, earning the distinction of being the only player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVPs for two different teams. In addition to those wins, Malone boarded his way to seven other top-10 finishes.
His “fo’, fo’, fo’” prediction in 1983 didn’t quite come to fruition, as the Sixers swept just two of their three playoff series en route to a 12-1 postseason record that culminated in a championship.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 17
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 31
20. Julius Erving
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Top Accolades: 1x NBA champion, 2x ABA champion, 4x MVP (1x NBA, 3x ABA), 16x All-Star, 7x All-NBA, 5x All-ABA, 1x All-Defense
Key Stats: 24.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 50.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 16
The Julius Erving resume looks ridiculous when combining his body of work in the ABA and NBA. He is one of nine players to clear 30,000 points, and one of just six players with at least four MVP awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Bill Russell—a veritable who’s who of top-10-all-time candidates.
Decades upon decades later, Dr. J highlights still pop. The one-handed finishes are crafty and seemingly feature infinite hang time. His game was equal parts smooth and flashy but teeming with MVP-caliber substance.
If you can’t bring yourself to combine his two resumes, you should at least appreciate that he was the face of two separate leagues, accomplishing enough in each of them to earn a Hall of Fame nod even if he hadn’t played in the other.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 17
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 27
19. David Robinson
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 1x DPOY, 10x All-NBA, 10x All-Star, 8x All-Defense, 1 Scoring Title, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 21.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.4 SPG, 3.0 BPG, 51.8 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Robinson’s military service kept him from the NBA until he was 24, which cost him some counting stats that would have bolstered his Hall of Fame career a bit but also led to him arriving as a fully formed superstar.
Rookie averages of 24.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.9 blocks earned him All-Star, All-NBA and All-Defense nods to go with an easy ROY win and a sixth-place finish in MVP. From there, Robinson sustained an incredibly high peak through 1995-96 before getting injured. He lost all but six games of the 1996-97 season, which led to the lottery position that netted Tim Duncan. So you could argue the greatest season in Robinson’s career was the one he barely played.
A breathtaking athlete in the open floor, the Admiral outran, out-jumped and overpowered everything in his way for most of a decade. He and Michael Jordan are the only players to win DPOY and a scoring title during their careers.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 14
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 35
18. Dirk Nowitzki
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 14x All-Star, 12x All-NBA
Key Stats: 20.7 PPG, 7.5 RPB, 2.4 APG, 47.1 FG%, 38.0 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 21
Larry Bird was the vintage stretch big. Dirk Nowitzki, on the other hand, was the stretch big who made it cool to be a stretch big.
There is something about watching one of the first 7-footers drill threes and bury one-legged fadeaways out of the mid-post and beyond that can’t be described. It is spectacle. It is anomalous. It can even be a spiritual experience.
Nowitzki’s offensive armory and agency laid the groundwork for the more modern forms of stretch bigs we see today. It is no longer hyper-valuable to just make triples. You must dribble and create and just generally decision-make to be considered a standout.
Spending his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks adds to his legend, as does his lone title coming against the superteam Miami Heat in 2011. His most impressive feat, though, might just be his overall longevity. Vince Carter, Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James are the only other players to make it through more than 20 seasons, and Nowitzki is among the superstars who figured out how to scale down his game as he aged and the circumstances around him shifted.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 15
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 27
17. Nikola Jokić
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 3x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 7x All-Star, 6x All-NBA
Key Stats: 21.8 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 56.0 FG%, 36.0 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 10
Nikola Jokić spent the first few years of his prime making many wonder whether he was the best passing big man of all time.
That debate has since ended.
Figuring out where his court-mapping brilliance ranks among the best passers, period, is now the more instructive exercise. Even the inexact answer is beyond flattering: He’s among the best table-setters the NBA has seen and will ever see, regardless of size or position.
Few players throughout history uplift the talent around them to such visual and visceral extremes. Jokić’s processing speed is beyond measure and mostly unflappable. The unselfishness with which he plays inspires even the most veteran teammates to operate differently—to run harder and faster, to optimize timing and spacing, to increase their own deference by association.
Known mostly for his passing, Jokić has developed a lethal higher-volume scoring arsenal, the kind capable of anchoring a championship team, as he’s already done with the Denver Nuggets. James Harden, Trae Young, Oscar Robertson, Luka Dončić and LeBron James are the only players with more seasons of averaging at least 24 points and seven assists.
Among every player with a career usage rate of at least 25, Jokić has the highest two-point conversion rate of all, at 61.1 percent—a wild notion given that he spends so much time operating away from the basket and trafficking in ultra-difficult, heavily contested jumpers, floaters and, of course, Sombor Shuffles.
His position on this list should rise throughout his career. But for now, he barely misses top-15 status among the all-time greats.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 12
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 28
16. Kevin Garnett
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x MVP, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, 9x All-NBA, 15x All-Star, 12x All-Defense, 4 Rebounding Titles
Key Stats: 17.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.4 BPG, 49.7 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 21
Defined by his relentless intensity and alpha-level defensive versatility, Garnett entered the league as the first high school player drafted since 1974. By his fourth season, he was a perennial MVP candidate and widely regarded as one of the top defensive players in the league.
Though he slogged through over a decade of mostly rough years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, it was always clear that KG’s game was built to be featured on a winner. When he landed with the Boston Celtics for the 2007-08 season, he proved as much by securing his DPOY and championship ring.
He led the league in rebounding four straight times from 2003-04 to 2006-07, and he remains the all-time leader in total defensive boards.
Garnett and Olajuwon are the only players with at least 2,000 blocks and 1,800 steals for their careers, and KG is tied for the all-time lead with nine All-Defense first-team honors.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 13
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 24
15. Jerry West
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 14x All-Star, 12x All-NBA, 5x All-Defense, 1 Scoring Title
Key Stats: 27.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.7 APG, 2.6 SPG, 47.4 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Jerry West put together a Hall of Fame career with the Los Angeles Lakers as both a player and front-office executive. The former is the only focus here, but the dual-iconicism bears mentioning.
The Logo has some of the most underappreciated counting stats in existence. Among everyone who joined the 25,000-point club, only six players dished out more assists.
People didn’t call him Mr. Clutch for no reason, either. He remains in the top 10 all-time of playoff scoring, and his 10 first-team All-NBA selections have been matched by just nine other players. And while his one championship total (one) pales in comparison to others, it’s not indicative of playoff success. Just three players have appeared in more Finals games.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 12
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 20
14. Oscar Robertson
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Top Accolades: 1x Champion, 1x MVP, 11x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, NBA Rookie of the Year, 7x Assist Champion
Key Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 48.5 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Oscar Robertson’s best work came in 10 years with the Cincinnati Royals during an era when blocks and steals weren’t tracked and three-point shots didn’t exist. That he still rates as one of the main players associated with the term “versatility” speak to his trailblazing game and statistical impact.
A major figure in the discourse when Russell Westbrook was on the road to averaging a triple-double nearly a decade ago, Robertson pulled the feat off in his second year, posting averages of 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists in 1961-62.
Sure, most of his stats get era-based inflation due to a much higher pace and casual defense. But Robertson clearly stood out among his peers, finishing no worse than fifth in MVP voting every year from 1960-61 to 1967-68.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 11
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 23
13. Kevin Durant
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 11x All-NBA, 15x All-Star, 4x Scoring Champion, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 27.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 50.2 FG%, 39.0 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 17
Durant has a case as the greatest pure scorer in league history. Listed at 6’11”, KD operates with a smooth perimeter game that most guards would envy. Capable of killing opponents from deep and at the rim but uniquely gifted as a mid-range shooter, Durant is the only player to average at least 27.0 points for his career while making at least 50.0 percent of his shots overall and 39.0 percent of his threes.
Durant’s itinerant career and failure to lead a team to a championship as a true alpha hurts his legacy—as does sharing an era with James, Curry and Jokić. It’s possible that KD could have taken the Thunder to the promised land if he’d stayed put, and he probably left another championship or two on the table by departing Golden State when he did.
None of that detracts from one of the most effective and efficient offensive careers the league has ever seen. And KD, who averaged 26.6 points on a 52.7/43.0/83.9 shooting split as a 36-year-old last season, is nowhere near finished.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 11
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 20
12. Hakeem Olajuwon
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 1x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 12x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, 9x All-Defense
Key Stats: 21.8 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.7 SPG, 3.1 BPG, 51.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 18
Any number of other superstars could have stepped into the void created by Michael Jordan’s baseball sabbatical, but Olajuwon was the one who strode forward most forcefully.
Though already into his 30s and not quite the all-time defensive disruptor he was earlier in his career, Olajuwon secured MVP and DPOY honors in 1993-94, completing the set with his first championship.
The following year, he guided the sixth-seeded Rockets to a second straight title, after which head coach Rudy Tomjanovich gave us the iconic “Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion” speech.
Olajuwon averaged over 4.0 blocks twice, led the league in rebounds two other times and rates as one of the half-dozen best defensive players the league has ever seen.
His combination of agility, footwork and size also made him a devastatingly skilled scorer. Everyone remembers the Dream Shake.
Highest Top 100 Vote: 10
Lowest Top 100 Vote: 16
11. Kobe Bryant
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Top Accolades: 5x Champion, 1x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 18x All-Star, 15x All-NBA, 12x All-Defense, 2x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 25.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 44.7 FG%, 32.9 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 20
Kobe Bryant’s stats and superlatives speak for themselves.
The five titles during his Los Angeles Lakers-only career are clearly impressive, but the longevity with which he maintained stardom deserves just as much praise.
He is tied with Tim Duncan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the second-most All-NBA selections all-time, trailing only LeBron James’ 21.
There’s a case to be made that Kobe is actually the most influential to ever set foot on the NBA’s hardwood. His prime bisected with two different periods: the era in which mythology reigns supreme, and the social media age, which broadened his exposure and brand and, by extension, his legend.
Older heads continue to worship at the altar of his maniacal work ethic. Contemporaries still cite him as a source of stylistic inspiration.
From a basketball-reputation perspective, no one’s impact on the game has actively spanned more generations.
Kobe's top-10 status remains one of basketball's most heated debates here in 2025.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 4
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 18
10. Stephen Curry
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 2x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 11x All-Star, 11x All-NBA, 2x Scoring Champion, 1x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 24.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 47.1. FG%, 42.3 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 16
No active—or recently active—player has reshaped the game more than Stephen Curry. That includes greatest-of-all-time candidate LeBron James.
Billed for so long as the best shooter in league history, Curry has proved to be so much more. He isn’t the first NBA player with the gravity to suck in entire defenses, but he is the first to leverage that pull in so many different, exhaustive ways. His teams are better by virtue of him existing.
The accolades speak for themselves. The circumstances under which they’ve come are less vociferous. The Golden State Warriors have been fortunate enough to field numerous generational iterations, but none of them peak or even exist without Steph. His ability to play alongside anyone is scalability beyond measure. Qualitatively and stylistically, he is one-of-one.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 4
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 13
9. Wilt Chamberlain
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Top Accolades: 2x Champion, 4x MVP, 1x Finals MVP, 10x All-NBA, 13x All-Star, 7 Scoring Titles, 2 All-Defense, NBA Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 30.1 PPG, 22.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 54.0 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 14
Chamberlain began his career by averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60, winning Rookie of the Year and MVP. Two seasons later, he averaged 48.5 minutes and put up 50.4 points per game.
He scored 100 points on March 2, 1962. He grabbed 55 rebounds on Nov. 24, 1960. He played 63 minutes in a game twice, on Dec. 8, 1961 and Feb. 2, 1969. Nobody has more baffling single-game or full-season numbers than Wilt.
In 1967-68, he made a conscious effort to lead the league in assists—like, just because. His 702 total dimes were more than anyone else handed out.
The unfathomable stats speak to Chamberlain’s physical dominance. He was simply on an athletic level no one had ever reached—a combination of size, strength and dexterity that a fledgling NBA couldn’t contain.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 4
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 11
8. Larry Bird
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Top Accolades: 3x Champion, 3x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, NBA Rookie of the Year, 12x All-Star, 10x All-NBA, 3x All-Defense
Key Stats: 24.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, 1.7 SPG, 49.6 FG%, 37.6 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
Other legends have cobbled together longer careers. Larry Bird’s 13-year tenure is nevertheless among the most influential.
He was the stretch playmaking big before there were stretch playmaking bigs. His exploits from three-point range were revolutionary, and they would have fit like a glove inside today’s NBA.
Never the most explosive on the floor, Bird always knew how to leverage his size on the defensive end. His capacity to fill the stat sheet from so many different angles remains largely unprecedented. LeBron James and Scottie Pippen are the only other members of the 5,000-assist club who have also made as many threes and racked up as many blocks as Bird did for his career.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 5
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 12
7. Tim Duncan
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Top Accolades: 5x Champion, 2x MVP, 3x Finals MVP, 15x All-NBA, 15x All-Star, 15 All-Defense
Key Stats: 19.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.2 BPG, 50.6 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 19
The best defensive player since Russell, Duncan anchored a prolonged dynastic run for the San Antonio Spurs that spanned nearly two decades.
No. 2 in career defensive win shares, Duncan’s 15 All-Defense nods are a record we may never see fall. The Spurs fielded a top-five defense in 16 of Duncan’s 19 seasons with the franchise, which makes it completely unacceptable that he was never named Defensive Player of the Year.
San Antonio grew and shifted around Duncan over the years. From a plodding, double-big look including David Robinson, the Spurs morphed into early adopters of the three-point revolution. Duncan was in the middle of all of it, hitting bank shots and driving championship runs as the supporting cast evolved.
One team, 19 years, no fuss, tons of wins. Duncan’s legacy as the best big man of his era is as solid as it gets.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 5
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 11
6. Shaquille O'Neal
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 1x MVP, 3x Finals MVP, 1993 Rookie of the Year, 15x All-Star, 14x All-NBA, 3x All-Defense, 2x Scoring Champion
Key Stats: 23.7 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.3 BPG, 58.2 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 19
What happens when the unstoppable force is the immovable object?
That would be Shaquille O’Neal.
There has perhaps never been a more imposing possession-by-possession force. Early-era Shaq is probably the closest comp we have to a Peak Zion Williamson Who Plays Defense. Even in later years, as his conditioning came under fire, he remained unguardable on the block and when going downhill. To call him overpowering would be a disservice. So many of his offensive touches felt completely hopeless for the defense.
Many believe Shaq’s all-time standing would be higher if he maintained a more maniacal approach to preparation throughout his prime. Perhaps that is true. Whatever you think of his work ethic, lasting in the NBA for nearly two decades qualifies as overwhelming longevity.
And it says a great deal about his immovable unstoppability that his 58.3 percent clip on twos to this day ranks as the highest among everyone to tally at least 25,000 career points.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 5
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 9
5. Bill Russell
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Top Accolades: 11x Champion, 5x MVP, 11x All-NBA, 12x All-Star, 4 Rebounding Titles
Key Stats: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 44.0 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 13
All you can do is dominate the players in front of you, and nobody did that more thoroughly than Russell.
The greatest defensive player of all time, Russell carried the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in his 13 seasons. Yes, the league was different back then. But Boston’s success still counts, and every bit of it owes to Russell’s presence.
The Celtics were terrible on offense during his career, posting offensive ratings below the league average in all but one of his 13 seasons. The two times they ranked dead last in offense, they still won rings. A dozen times, Boston’s defense was the best in the league. Its worst finish was No. 2 in 1967-68.
Blocks and steals weren’t recorded during Russell’s career, but the championships speak for themselves.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 4
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 10
4. Magic Johnson
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Top Accolades: 5x Champion, 3x MVP, 3x Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x All-NBA, 4x Assist Champion, 2x Steal Champion
Key Stats: 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 52.0 FG%, 30.3 3P%
Total Seasons Played: 13
The GOAT point guard debate has largely winnowed itself down to two players: Magic Johnson or Stephen Curry. Most will likely lean toward the former, because he better typifies the conventional definition of point guard.
It doesn’t really matter which side of the fence you land on. Magic is closer to a consensus top-five player of all time than top 10. And it’s not hard to see why. He checks all the necessary boxes: perennial winner, box-score stuffer, anomalous-for-the-era positionless, the whole nine.
Even now, decades removed from his playing career, “passes like Magic” is the default for any transcendent facilitator. Fittingly enough, he is the only player to average at least 11 assists per game for his entire career.
Oh, and let’s not forget, he is one of just three players to ever win three league MVPs and three Finals MVPs, along with Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 3
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 6
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
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Top Accolades: 6x Champion, 6x MVP, 2x Finals MVP, 15x All-NBA, 19x All-Star, 11x All-Defense, NBA Rookie of the Year, 2 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 24.6 PPG, 11.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.6 BPG, 55.9 FG%
Total Seasons Played: 20
The all-time leader in scoring until LeBron James surpassed him in 2024, Abdul-Jabbar paired excessive counting stats and longevity with an extended prime that produced an unmatched six MVP awards.
Including a No. 3 finish following his rookie year with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1969-70, Abdul-Jabbar ranked no lower than fifth in MVP voting in each of his first dozen NBA campaigns. He paired the trio of MVPs he won in Milwaukee with three more as a Los Angeles Laker.
Kareem’s 15,837 field goals are still tops on the all-time list.
Don’t forget the sky hook, a signature shot no one has managed to replicate for half a century. The goggles, the social consciousness and the willingness to accept a secondary role to Magic Johnson late in his career are just a few parts of a career-long story that almost no one else can touch.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 1
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 4
2. LeBron James
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Top Accolades: 4x Champion, 4x MVP, 4x Finals MVP, 21x All-NBA, 21x All-Star, 6x All-Defense, 1 Scoring Title, 1x Assist Champion, Rookie of the Year
Key Stats: 27.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 50.6 FG%, 34.9 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 22
There’s no question you’d have two Hall of Famers if you split James’ career in half, and we’re reaching the point now where we might almost be able to say the same thing if you chopped it up into thirds.
The league’s all-time leader in points and minutes, James has made a total of 10 trips to the Finals with three different teams. He’s one of four players with at least four championship rings and four MVP awards (joining Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and James is the only player who can say he came out victorious in the Finals against both the dynastic Spurs and Warriors teams of the late 2010s.
A genius-level passer, a dominating scorer, a flaw-free defender at his apex and the new model for durability in the NBA, James has the sheer volume, elite peak and cultural impact of a GOAT.
If he’s your No.1 of all time, you won’t find much pushback here. It’s that close between him and MJ.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 1
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 3
1. Michael Jordan
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Top Accolades: 6x Champion, 5x MVP, 6x Finals MVP, 11x All-NBA, 14x All-Star, 9x All-Defense, 1x Defensive Player of the Year, NBA Rookie of the Year, 10 Scoring Titles
Key Stats: 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG, 2.3 SPG, 49.7 FG%, 32.7 3PT%
Total Seasons Played: 15
Michael Jordan is generally accepted as the GOAT, owning the highest career scoring average in NBA history and a perfect 6-of-6 performance in the Finals.
But his legacy goes beyond the stats, and even the awards.
From a cultural standpoint, nobody ever meant more to basketball than MJ. From his signature shoe, to becoming the sport's most elite competitor, Jordan established a blueprint for the NBA superstars who followed him.
Virtually every alpha in the modern era pulled something from Jordan. Kobe Bryant cribbed MJ's work ethic and on-court demeanor. LeBron James borrowed the image cultivation and marketing savvy.
As for B/R's No. 1 all-time spot, there’s an argument for James and his superior scoring efficiency, passing and longevity. After all, LeBron nearly grabbed the top spot in our rankings.
But MJ never lost on the biggest stage, and he felt pretty close to god-like in his prime.
Highest Top 100 Ranking: 1
Lowest Top 100 Ranking: 2
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