Ranking the NBA's All-Time Best Defenders, Shooters and More, According to Fans

Deciding on the NBA's best of all time across several major categories is no easy task.

Recently, the B/R staff tried our hand at it by naming the 99 best defenders, 99 best shooters, 50 best dunkers and 50 best trash-talkers ever.

But those are just our opinions.

Next, it was time to find out what our community of ball-knowers thought, so we put those very topics in front of you, dear reader.

Some questions brought resounding agreement, while others were more contentious.

Here's a full breakdown of the results.

---

Editor's note: Portions of the below text were repurposed from B/R's NBA GOAT week series. Also see: The Definitive NBA GOAT of Every Decade.

GOAT Trash-Talker: Larry Bird

Poll Results

1. Larry Bird: 49% (B/R Rank: 1)
2. Michael Jordan: 25% (3)
3. Kevin Garnett: 22% (2)
4. Other: 4%

Votes: 28,346

---

The Case for Bird

Larry Bird is not known as "Larry Legend" only because of his basketball chops. He had serious trash-talking skills. 

The three-time champ's gift for gab skewed literal. Somehow, it was still biting. 

The way he detailed in 1986 to fellow smack-talker Xavier McDaniel exactly how and when he was going to score a game-winner still stings to this day. On another occasion, Bird waxed McDaniel so hard that McDaniel's mom apparently called him to say, "Boy, they said Larry Bird lit your ass up!"  

Aside from being prophetic, Bird was also calculated. If there is a Hall of Famer who was more likely to do recon on opponents just so he'd have intimate and specific material to hurl at them, it would come as breaking news to most of us.

Bird's dynamic with Michael Jordan says it all. His Airness went out of his way to avoid giving Larry Legend any material to use against him. Jordan went as far as forbidding his teammates to engage with the Hall of Famer.  

There were no boundaries to when Bird's trash talk would begin, either. Before the game, after the game, in interviews—he was down to troll wherever and whenever. 

It didn't even matter if the stakes were next to nil. Bird walked into the locker room before the 1988 All-Star Weekend Three-Point Contest just to ask the participants at large, "Which one of you guys is playing for second?" Bird, of course, would go on to earn his third straight victory in the three-point competition.

Trash-talking extremes are always entertaining. They take on new meaning when they're employed by an active legend, without filters or favors. Bird is a big name who needled other marquee talents, but he had no boundaries and didn't recognize status. He was an equal-opportunity troll, whose results backed up his smack talk.

Put another way: Larry Legend, indeed. 

The Case for Jordan

Can we take a moment to stop and appreciate how cool it is that one of the two greatest players ever also ranks as a top-three trash-talker no matter who you ask? Jordan's consideration at this level proves that spewing slights is more than a gimmick used by non-megastars in an attempt to create advantages or paper over holes in their own game.

It is woven into the fabric of #hooping.

MJ's trash talk isn't for everyone. Well, actually, it technically is for everyone. He waged psychological warfare on opponents and teammates. And front office executives. But the extent to which he verbally disemboweled the targets of his ire could skew controversial. 

To Jordan's credit, many of his greatest hits aren't all that personal. They follow the "I'm better than you, I know it, and I'm going to tell you as much" blueprint. He was just as likely to dedicate a closed-eyes free throw to Dikembe Mutombo as he was to punch a teammate during practice scrimmages. 

To be brutally honest, we probably don't have the most accurate portrait of MJ, The Trash-Talking Legend. Access and content dissemination were so different during his era. The anecdotes we don't know about could probably fill a library. 

Still, if you are looking for the gist of his smack-talking persona, consider watching his Hall of Fame acceptance speech. He used the enshrinement as a way to settle scores and continue trolling—sometimes playfully, but often bitingly. 

Off-the-charts pettiness? Or evidence of Jordan's obsessive competitiveness? We'll let you decide. But the scope and scale at which Jordan engaged in trash talk are inarguable.

The Case for Garnett

Nobody throughout NBA history has hurt more feelings and bruised more egos than Kevin Garnett. His trash talk was so profoundly surgical, it impacted opponent behavior.

Steven Adams pretending not to speak English just so he could avoid a Garnett tongue-lashing speaks for itself. KG reduced players to tears. He told the late, great Craig Sager of TNT to burn his suit. He may have altered the trajectory of Joakim Noah's on-court persona by berating him as a youngster.

Garnett cussed. Profusely. And unapologetically. Still does, to be honest. 

The KG Certified podcast is a goldmine of clips. Garnett's trash-talking accolades have made for great viral anecdotes. The man is a talented storyteller, period. He knows just how to set the scene, giving the type of background information that makes you understand and appreciate what made him such an effective trash-talker.

Garnett's reputation is steeped in so many burns that people are inclined to believe anything he's credited with saying. He denies calling Charlie Villanueva a "cancer patient," for instance. But the fact that an anecdote like that felt believable in the moment speaks to the risks of Garnett's high-volume, transgressive trash talking.

Or on second thoughts, maybe that's the point—an intended feature, rather than an inadvertent bug. Like Garnett told GQ in 2021: "I'm a dragon. I'm out here [breathes fire]."

—Dan Favale

GOAT Dunker: Vince Carter

Poll Results

1. Vince Carter: 71% (B/R Rank: 1)
2. Michael Jordan: 20% (2)
3. Blake Griffin: 4% (5)
4. Other: 5%

Votes: 20,529

---

The Case for Carter

Vince Carter only appeared in the Slam Dunk Contest once—in 2000—but the legacy he left there may never be topped. Almost everything he did that night in Oakland was something that had never been seen before, and the combination of that performance, his elite athleticism, and his in-game showmanship turned him into the greatest dunker of all time.

While Carter's career included numerous acrobatic in-game dunks and posters—he famously jumped over Tim Duncan and crammed in the grill of Alonzo Mourning—Carter's best-known slam came a few months after that Slam Dunk Contest victory in the Summer Olympics.

That's when he pulled off the "Dunk of Death," where he made a steal and then elevated up and over 7'2" French center Frédéric Weis for a monster slam that still stands as arguably the greatest in-game dunk ever thrown down.

In sum, Carter had everything as a dunker. He had the power to rock the rim, the bounce to fly over any defender from any distance, the acrobatics to twist, turn and adjust midair, and the swagger to make everyone—even other NBA players—want to emulate him.

The Case for Jordan

Many would argue that Air Jordan is second to none, and that's a perfectly reasonable take.

A phenomenal athlete and in-game dunker who displayed daring, versatility, creativity, ferocity and incredible leaping ability—just ask Patrick Ewing—Jordan rose to the height of stardom in the mid-'80s and early '90s. In addition to his scoring and defensive prowess, not to mention his superior branding, his popularity was partly buoyed by his performances in the 1987 and 1988 Slam Dunk Contests. In turn, the Slam Dunk Contest rose in popularity because of Jordan.

In 1987, MJ broke out the free-throw-line dunk for the first time, running away with his first dunk title.

The next year brought Jordan's legendary battle with Dominique Wilkins, and the two men undoubtedly elevated the contest to a new level. Jordan brought out the free-throw-line dunk again in the semifinals, and he wowed the crowd with a one-handed reverse where his head nearly scraped the bottom of the rim.

A double-clutch reverse, and another double-clutch put Jordan in position to earn the win with a score of 49 in front of his home crowd, and we all know what happened next, as his iconic free-throw-line dunk sealed the win and allowed him to defend his crown.

At that point, Jordan was the undeniable king of dunking, and he remained that way until the turn of the century when someone known as Half Man, Half Amazing came along to steal the crown.

The Case for Erving

There's a pretty good chance that, no matter who your favorite dunker is, their favorite dunker is Julius Erving. A dunking pioneer in the ABA and NBA, Dr. J played a major role in revolutionizing and popularizing above-the-rim play in the 1970s and '80s.

Though the NBA's first Slam Dunk Contest wasn't until 1984, the ABA debuted the contest first in 1976. Erving was the headliner of a star-studded cast, and he didn't disappoint when it was his turn to take the floor at Denver's McNichols Arena.

His array of dunks, which included pulling himself up on the rim with his left hand and throwing down with his right as well as a two-ball dunk, culminated in an iconic free-throw line slam that secured his victory.

That was far from the only legendary dunk thrown down by The Doctor. He soared and held the ball high for powerful, one-handed jams. He adjusted in midair for fantastic flushes, and he threw down stylish reverses on the break. When faced with the giants of his day, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, he jammed in their faces.

His most iconic dunk, though—and it ranks among the greatest in-game dunks of all time—came on a fast break against the Lakers during the 1982-83. There, he pulled off the memorable "Rock the Baby" move by cupping the ball in his right hand and rocking it from side to side as he made his approach and assault of the rim. All Michael Cooper could do by way of defense was to leap, briefly put his hand up, and then duck out of the way.

—Matt Velazquez

GOAT Defender: Hakeem Olajuwon

Poll Results

1. Hakeem Olajuwon: 34% (B/R Rank: 4)
2. Bill Russell: 33% (1)
3. Tim Duncan: 17% (2)
4. Other: 16%

Votes: 12,370

---

The Case for Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon is one of three players to have won MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same campaign, which likely helped push the Dream to the top spot in the fans' eyes. Olajuwon pulled off that feat in 1993-94, when he averaged 9.1 defensive rebounds and 3.7 blocks.

And then, during that postseason, he put up 8.7 defensive rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.7 steals on the way to his first of two Finals MVPs.

Hakeem was truly a force around the rim on defense, whether defending post players one-on-one or coming over as a help defender to wipe out a shot attempt.

And he did all of that with remarkable consistency. Over the first 13 years of his career, the Houston Rockets were third in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions and Olajuwon averaged 3.4 blocks and 1.9 steals per game.

The Case for Russell

Despite playing his entire career before the league started counting blocks and steals, before it ever handed out a Defensive Player of the Year, and just about before All-Defensive teams came along (the first one of those was for his final campaign), Bill Russell felt like the easy choice for this honor to the B/R staff.

In each of Russell's 13 seasons, Boston's defensive rating was dramatically better than the league average. In 1963-64 alone, it was an eye-popping 10.8 points better than average. And that elite defense anchored by Russell led to 11 championships in 13 years.

In many ways, he's the perfect answer to this question, because defense is about so much more than numbers. They can never truly measure communication, rotations and all the things an offense can't do because of it.

Even if they'd existed, Russell would've transcended the numbers and accolades anyway.

The Case for Duncan

Tim Duncan never winning a Defensive Player of the Year feels like maybe the biggest miss in the history of individual NBA awards.

Defensive box plus/minus is admittedly flawed (because box scores have always struggled to fully capture defensive impact), but Duncan is the all-time leader in seasons with a 2.0-plus defensive box plus/minus at 14 (Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ben Wallace being next on that list is actually a decent endorsement of the stat).

Duncan's also third in total seasons with at least two blocks per game and first in total seasons with at least seven defensive rebounds per game.

TD being so good for so long, above all else, is why the San Antonio Spurs had the dynasty they did in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Gregg Popovich, David Robinson, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard all played their parts, but Duncan was the foundation for nearly two decades.

And because of his nearly flawless combination of defensive awareness, instincts, length and leadership, San Antonio's defensive rating during his 19 seasons was more than a full two points better than the next best.

—Andy Bailey

GOAT Shooter: Stephen Curry

Poll Results

1. Stephen Curry: 82% (B/R Rank: 1)
2. Ray Allen (8%)
3. Reggie Miller (7%)
4. Other (3%)

Votes: 36,408

---

The Case for Curry

Stephen Curry received 100 percent of the first-place votes from the B/R staff, and he wasn't far off in the fan vote. At this point, it's truly indisputable that he's the best shooter of all time.

And the case goes far beyond the raw three-point total (where he's obviously first) and his well-above-40 three-point percentage.

Curry has hit hundreds of seemingly impossible jump shots with defenders draped all over him. And many of those makes have come on the heels of Kyrie-like dribbling sequences.

Whether as a pull-up or catch-and-shoot threat, Curry has long commanded defensive attention out to 10 feet beyond the three-point line. And stretching a defense that far almost always compromises it.

Beyond the numbers and strategy driven by Curry's shooting, there's also just something magical about those moments between his release and the splash of the ball through the net. Whether watching him live or on TV, as a fan or as an analyst, there's an anticipation generated by his long bombs that no one else has or can.

Without even having to think about the answer, Curry has long been the obvious response to "Who's the best shooter of all time?"

The Case for Allen

Ray Allen was more than just a shooter. His slashing, passing and ball-handling were all underrated aspects of his game.

But that's obviously not why we're here.

Allen represents one of the game's best marriages between three-point specialism and an alpha mentality.

Allen averaged at least 20 points in each of eight consecutive seasons from 1999-00 through 2006-07. And in the same stretch, he shot 40.2 percent from deep.

His role was a little smaller before and after that run, but he was still stacking up threes at a rate no one else of his era was.

By the time he retired in 2013-14, Allen was the all-time leader in threes made. And Curry didn't break his record till 2021-22.

The Case for Miller

Reggie Miller was Allen before Allen, though he may have been even more focused on outside shooting and scoring.

When he retired after the 2004-05 campaign, Miller was the all-time leader in threes made and 2.0-threes-per-game seasons. He also led the league in free-throw percentage for four different campaigns.

And he did it all with a form that almost certainly wouldn't be taught anywhere today (or then). As he released the ball, Miller's shooting hand and guide hand would nearly cross on every attempt. And he had a higher launch angle than most shooters too.

To this day, he's perhaps the ultimate example that there may be nothing more important than repetition for a shooter.

—Andy Bailey