Greatest Basketball Players Of All Time

duh...

when anyone else has 6 nba championship rings in 8 years come back and tell me that MJ aint the best

Overrated. Played no one!!! Wrong M.J a top the list. Magic Johnson is the greatest

Micheal Jordan is the bomb

Kaddak aahe...

the best 6 championships and had one great player for a teammate and the rest mediocre

what I meant on that last comment was, go to you tube, search for " michael jordan overhyped & overrated"

thank you, clearly Michael Jordan is the best and everything else is way off on this list

He is the best because he always wants to win ballgames and off course the title.

I heard Scottie Pippin himself this morning on Mike & Mike say that MJ wasn't the best basketball player ever. He thought he was the best scorer ever, and I don't think even that, but not best basketball player ever. Here's my list of best basketball PLAYERS ever. Could do everything. Magic, The Big "O", then, believe it or not, Wilt. Chew on that, blind followers.

best player ever

The timing comment is on point. The greater players of the 80s were winding down their careers just in time for Jordan---but he still had to wait 1/2 dozen years+ until they were REALLY done. Then enter David Stern who is very much a promoter for his league------he made sure Michael Jordan was advertised as the GOAT. He cleared the path for Shaq to get away with offensive fouls when Shaq became the annointed torch bearer for the league once MJ retired the 1st time. Jordan only started beating Bird's teams after Bird was shot (1989-1992) and he beat a Lakers team in the Finals that was barely a .500 team without the HIV inflicted Magic Johnson in 1991 (which also lost Scott & Worthy during that series). The Bulls were 51-21 with Pippen in 1994 after Jordan retired the 1st time---which is a better record than they had in 1993 WITH Jordan (57-25).

Michael Jordan's truest claim to fame is his timing. He was there when the league needed someone to take the place of Magic and Bird and rode the over-hyping.

Like "guest" said 8 days ago, go to "Top 20" on the next page to get closer to the truth. Although they've got Jordan too low, he isn't the best all around player I've ever seen. And he isn't the most dominate player ever. Those two different titles go to two different players, Magic and Wilt.

"There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." –Earvin 'Magic' Johnson

The people voting on The Top 20 Of All Time on the next page have more sense. Although they have Jordan too low. Anywhere from 3rd to 5th is realistic.

The Bulls couldn't win without Jordan? They won 55 games without him in 1994 when he retired the 1st time. If anything, they proved they COULD win without him. When he retired the 2nd time, Pippen was gone, Phil Jackson was gone and probably others. Pippen played for winners without Jordan in Chicago and elsewhere. Jordan NEVER played on a winning team without Pippen.

Remember this, among a long list of reasons he was overhyped, they made a rule change and a change physically in court markings to HELP his game. Bringing the three point line into his wheelhouse. They had to make rule changes to STOP, or help stop Wilt. Changing the size of the key.

I love kobe but I still think Mike is the best.

whoever says Michael Jordan isint the best basketball player ever you are nuts.this guy dominated the game.he is the king.basketball is mikes game no one would beat him.whoever says kareem is the best or even wilt you have serious issues.yeah kareem is good but no one is better than michael jordan.michael jordan is number 1.mike is the best ever.

hes the best player off all time how this site is riduclous to have him wnywhere but number one come on 28?

Although he should really be in the top 10. Maybe amongst the top 5. But not #1.

Finally! People seem to have gotten over the hype and favoritism!

Michael Jordan and the bulls hold the best record without him they couldn't win he proved that when he retired. He is also undefeated in the Finals.

Best player of all time... how can he be at number 8?

michael jordan is the #1 best bball player of all time no doubt

BTW, Magic received endorsements as the greatest player ever from Bill Russell and Larry Bird (who held a H2H advantage over Jordan's career). That's praise from the greatest champion ever (I mean when there were 8-12 teams and the Celtics BENCH was stacked with HOFers) and the guy who said "I've seen Jordan do amazing things, but Magic is the greatest player ever". Jordan receives endorsements from the commercialized league and a humble Johnson in '93 during the Suns final. What else was Magic going to say? Enough with the Kareem arguments, for most of his career w/Magic he wasn't even as impacting as Pau Gasol (by possessions per game), while Jordan won 1-out-of-10 games (including 2 sweeps on teams that had Charles Oakley, Paxon, Daily who averaged 16ppg, Woolridge who avg. 21ppg, George "Iceman" Gervin, and HOFer Artis Gilmore) before Scottie Pippen came and raised Chicago out of the 1st round. Like Kobe and unlike Magic, Jordan didn't make his teammates better in what is a team game until halfway through his career.

HOLD UP Rizzo and others! I like some of your arguments but let's set the record straight. Lakers were swept twice and lost to the Bulls in 1991 in 5 games because they had multiple injuries. Worthy-Nixon-Mac all out in '83, Magic and Scott out in '89 (after sweeping the West), and Worthy-Scott out in '91. We may not even be talking about Jordan had teams been leveled. Magic fought hard with Tony Smith and Elden Campbell in the starting line-up in game 5 and nearly had a 2-1 lead up 13 in game 3 only to lose in OT after Worthy and Scott's injuries caught up with them. And Isaiah? Unlike Magic, he played in games 6 and 7 with a sprained ankle, tough Mofo, but still had a great impact and his numbers were unaffected. MAGIC'S DEFENSE? He was a really good, maybe not great defender. Fastbreak showtime didn't call for full coverage every play down, it was a streaking game that Magic ran other players off the court but don't forget, Magic won 2 steals titles, drew multiple offensive fouls and controlled the game with his pace and tempo. He was a good team defender too leading LA to the 2nd best defense in 1991 without Coop! Jordan? Well, as great as he was a defender for the 1st half of his career, Pippen and Harper often did his dirty work during the 2nd 3-peat, and took the tougher d-assignments. Jordan's 9 or 10 d-teams are simply a product of media bias, coach and league preferential voting and treatment. I've never seen a player so inflated with awards he didn't deserve. One-on-one as I recall, Magic owned Jordan in the post, but it wasn't wise getting into a shooting battle with Jordan. If they played in '92 or '93 w/o injuries, I think Magic would have lead LA to victory but it's just conjecture.

The best all-around player was the Big O. he was stronger than Jordan or Magic. A better dribbler than Jordan or Magic. it's very close but i say he was more fundamently sound than Jordan, Magic or Bird. A better rebounder than Jordan or Magic. A better one on one player than Magic or Bird. A better defensive player than Magic or Bird. And to top it off he had better stamina than Jordan, Bird or Magic. In the history of the league he ranks 3rd all time in minutes played per game behind Wilt and Russell. So he was a point guard with the strength of a power forward and the stamina of a center. That is why he had all thos triple doubles. And that is why pound for pound he is the best player ever.

The point that Jordan would beat Magic 1 on 1 only illustrates the problem with thinking Jordan was greater than Magic. Jordan, HIMSELF, thought the NBA was about 1 on 1-----it's no wonder his teammates played better in 1994 with him retired. Magic made teams BETTER because he incorporated the other 4 guys on the floor with him. Jordan just wanted them to get out of his way and fetch his misses and guard the toughest opponents for him.

NBA basketball isn't one-on-one. Jordan played on some teams that didn't even win half their games. That would NEVER happen to Russell or Magic or Bird. No Pippen on the team= no winning record for the team. Check it out.

look magic is good but not better than jordan.if they played one on one jordan would beat him 10 out of 10 times.magic is in the top 20 but definitely not the best.kareem is not better or wilt or kobe.you are all nuts to think magic is the best.i have seen them all play and jordan would beat all of them easily.if it was kobe and lebron versus jordan.jordan would beat them at the same time.2 on 1 jordan takes it guarntee it.i would bet you money jordan would take both of them.

wery good. but not better then michael jordan

Magic Da Best!!!!

The Lakers also lost Scott and Worthy in Game #4 of that series for the rest of the series.

The 1991 Lakers without Kareem were NOT a great team. That same group in 1992 with Sedale Threatt instead of Magic was a 43-39 team. We know what the Bulls were without Jordan in 1994.

he won an mvp defensive mvp and scoring tittles against the "varsity" then he beat the 2 time champs and beat magics lakers to win a ring, or i guess magic in a year after he won back to back mvps couldnt could win withought kareem? so your either saying that jordan didnt beat a "varsity" or your saying magic couldnt win without kareem, which one is it? who are you rooting for anyways, if jordan isnt the GOAT your knocking down one of his biggest competitors

Jordan didn't do it against the Varsity.

good point, most are never able to sacrifice there individual numbers for the team, or win championships, something jordan did. also how many scoring champions won the tittle because he led the league every year he won the tittle. most players fall into the steriotype there given, a scoring champ that cant win, a white guy cant compete against black players ex. but the greats can overcome those, and once they do are no longer bunched in the group of statistics the others that failed to do are confined too. jordans best numbers were in the 80s, it doesnt mean its because of the same reasons others have enjoyed better numbers on worse teams(although jordan had his best numbers on his upper 50 win teams, not bad teams at all just not his championship teams). nice try though

Players enjoying their best numbers on their least relevant teams is a constant in basketball.

problem is most of his team shouldnt have even made freshmen

Those people aren't wrong.

i was laughing at the spelling and grammer comment, and for the most part I agree the elite teams of the 80s were better then the elite teams of the 80s, i just think the best bulls team could best the best 80s team and i believe MJ is the GOAT right above larry and magic. not disagreeing. funny thing is jordans best numbers came from the era when the varsity was playing

Ehhh... I WASN'T saying those people were wrong, either...

haha, word

Oh, I can read fine. Though, admittedly, your spelling and grammar test the limits.

The problem is that there are folks who you will NEVER convince that the 90s bear any resemblance to the 80s as far as great teams are concerned, so to them, talking about Jordan's dominance in the Finals in the 90s is like waving C.Y.O. trophies in their faces and saying 'look at THESE' .... Instead, they wanna know where he was when the VARSITY was playing the previous 6 seasons.

my point of jordans will to win was in context of once his teams could compete on the level birds and magics did at there prime his late will to win would trump theres, I mostly meant his late game heroics but i think it would work in a game by game sense as well. larry lost 2 finals magic lost 3 and was SWEPT 2wice, jordan would have never allowed a team to sweep his at that level, in fact never LOST a finals series. and he acually beat the pistons to make them done they wernt done on there own acount. bulls beat them in the eastern finals in 91, after they won back to back tittle and 3 straight trips to the finals. jordan would have had to have had the same team in those years he didnt make it to the finals to have "waited". the pistons were an all time great team in those 3 finals apearances shoulda gone 3-0 if thomas doesnt get injured and they lose in 7 to LA. jordan had the will to win from day 1 as well as evident in why he scored so much and had so many game winning shots, even in the playoffs. he didnt get drafted to a team with a 5 time and riegning league mvp on it. or too a quality franchise dedicated to winning for the last 5 decades. but ya bird and magic had a will to win as well as all the tools needed to acually do so. this had nothing to do with russle but ya read my post on russles section yall dont know how to read i think

You know who ELSE'S 'will to win' was no match for Jordan's? Bill Russell's. That guy STOLE a paycheck. Practically SLEPT through most of his career. Why if he had JORDAN'S 'will to win', he may have won 11 championships in 13 seasons as the most valuable player of his own team.

I think RUSSELL'S Celtics have to be the greatest NBA dynasty----the the 80s Lakers. But Jordan DID wait like a good, patient little boy for the Lakers to get done and the Celtics to get done and the Pistons to get done, didn't he?

Ahhh... Jordan's 'will to win'... Naturally, Magic had no 'will to win', right? Jordan's 'will to win' was especially great LATER in his career, hmmm? Well, Magic had a 'will to win' from Day ONE.

michaels will to win expecially later on in his career would be the thing that puts his bulls teams over the other teams in the 80s if you drop him in the 80s. once he adapted his game to beat the pistons his teams were almost unstopable. he personaly tore up those great 80s teams IN the 80s, once he elevated his game his team would have been able to compete and beat those teams. its kind of wierd because he learned how to conduct a great team by watching and learning from those teams i believe because it took him a few years to "get it" but when he did he "did it" better then has ever been done. when he was young he was the best individual player in the league, virtually unstoppable. once he started to mature as a player he became the best winner in the game as well as the best player. thats one thing thats great about him, no matter what kind of success he had , it was his failures that drove him to greater hights. i feel birds stock declined after 86, his 6th year in the league and magic improved a little and stayed basically the same untill he was forced to retire(which came at a good time i think, he didnt wanna see jordan in the finals after 91) but jordan, although personally at the top of the league continued to get better and greater.

"The extremes that Michael dominated in..." You know, I believe that if you move those Bulls back ten years they're extremely lucky if they win one Championship. the competition was way better and harder in the eighties and any accomplishment in that decade is worth tenfold in the 90's. Magic's Lakers are the best Dynasty there ever was and the Celtics of the same decade are the second best ever. Michael had to wait for their decline to even get on the map.

i agree on magic being the most complete player , my arguement simply is that the extremes that jordan dominated in are enouph in number and importance that he is a greater player then magic. magic is number 2 in my mind, and if you only are counting acomplishments id give it to magic because he won high school champ and led his team to a ncaa champ, while jordan won the ncaa champ for his team he was not the leader in 82, and they are so close with nba tittles id have to give it to magic as far as team acomplishments. and if jordan wasnt on champ teams hisnumbers wouldnt count for as much but he did and they do. ive also watched both of them play, watching the whole game and being able to analyse what was going on while i was watching and ive got to say ive never seen any other player dominate how jordan did, expecially in the big games

caldwell jones was the backup center on the eastern conf. champions, behind dawkins. Now please tell me one point guard or even a shooting guard (Jordan) who could match up against the third string center of the worst team in the league and get those kind of numbers. You just don't get it. And another thing, one of the hardest skills to master in the game is to dribble all the way up the court, at full speed, under control, with your head up and seeing the whole court. No knock on some of the greatest players ever but I've seen Dr. J and Jordan dribble the ball of their feet on a number of times. Not saying Magic was the only player able to do that so well but all of the others who could, couldn't get 12, 15 rebounds a game. Couldn't post up a power forward down low for a hoop. And look at the triple doubles. All aspects, skills, and responsibilities of the game considered, no one was ever as good as he was. Or has been since.

as far as finals competition michael beat magic and beat the 2 time champ pistons to get there, thats a strong team he lead in 91. the blazers made it to the finals 2 times, the suns with barkley were beast that year, the sonics had payton and kemp, and the lazz had the alltime assist and 2nd point leader and an all time coach went to the finals 2 times, the bulls didnt play bad teams by any means although i admit they wernt as good as the 80s teams, but, maybe its because of jordan! look at how many hall of famers and future hall of famers he kept from getting a tittle? the nicks were pretty dam good those years they lost in the finals in 94 but what if theres no bulls they go to the finals a couple of those years maybe beat rockets in 94 does that make them a better team, maybe not but there look as so by history at that point. the bulls played teams on the level of the teams of the 80's, just none of them were as consistant and were defeated by the bulls. hell, maybe besides the 4-5 teams of the 80s everyone else just wasnt that good, and it made them look even better. maybe jordan played against teams that in that season were almost to just as good as any of those 80s teams and the league just had better overall competition so different teams would make it to the finals every year. every stat and every tittle he aquired count as much as anyone elses, so by what measure do you think bird or magic are better. magic played multple positions and birds team without him did do as good, wow, they are miles above jordan how could i have missed it

another food for thought magic was swept 2 times in the finals. if a team is dominating another expecially if both teams have made it to the finals or confrense finals its a match up problem because most teams must be good if they make it that far. dont you think they would have game planed to use magics abilitys to try to win if that may have been the case against the sixers or pistons when they got swept? also if thomas doesnt get injured in game 6 in 88 and sits for game 7 lakers dont win that series. likewize if magic doesnt flake out in the 84 series against boston maybe they win that game 7 and bird only has 2 tittles both against the rockets. if bulls win game 7 agianst pistons in 90 there in the finals against the blazzers who they beat 2 years later, maybe 7 rings for jordan. i play ball used to play competitive and i always tryd to play like magic watched him in the finals 4 times in my life huge fan, but i have to say jordans better and there are so many more reasons for it then for anyone else. when you start making one thing more important then the other or disqualify a particular arguement for whatever reason, you usually do it to give your side the advantage. i dont disqualify any arguement for magic or bird but some are worth less then some of you...or maybe its just one of you...want to make them out to be.

who ever posted the link good stuff i like some of the stuff in it. when it comes to magic and his defense acually he was a liability to smaller point gaurds he was really only considered decent when playing post d agianst gaurds but not by any means a shut down defender, a huge difference from someone who made all defensive 1st team 10 times. this gap in defensive skill should cover the spread on the multiple positions advantage magic has wouldnt you say? defense is half the game right? and i do remember daryle dawkins but not as a defense big man, good stuff though i forgot he played for them. he had a great game but that doesnt mean he can do that consistanly or for a season or even on call for a random game like that again, fortunity it happened to be in a game 7 adding to his "magic". and my horse may have legs because nobody cares how jordan would score against a bad team the whole arguement is how did he do against the good teams or the good defenders or his playoff sucess early, so matching up against regular ass players or teams isnt the measure its playing against the top guys, i dont think caldwell jones is a great center, so in games with solid teams how effective would he be, like i said you didnt see him play big man against the sixers when they were down 3-0, you think if he could be that great at any position wouldnt they have at least tryd him out when they bought to get swept? maybe its because he didnt play that before game 7 and the sixers didnt know how to game plan around him, maybe they waited to long to do anything about it, but theres prolly a reason why that skill of his was never utilized and he stuck to point, that reason might be because all though it sounds great, its would have worked out the way you can fantasize it would

by the way rizzo, the 76'ers centers were daryl dawkins and caldwell jones, both better and much better than your average centers. magic played all 5 positions in that game. his ability to not only play all 5 positions but play them at an all-star level is a fact that i've never heard anyone but bird and jordan fans deny. and while not a dominating defensive player, sportscasters and players who've played against him always rated him as better than average. your argument is, how shall i say it? that horse has no legs.

he was not a great defensive player much less a good defensive against big men, put him at center against a good to great center there is a serious matchup problem as well as rebounding advantage, he would not be as effective by any means playing center. he was very versitile i agree but to what extent? does it really give him that many points in a competition of whos the greatest player ever, i feel there are advantages which jordan has that outwiegh magics advantage of being able to "play" multiple positions, not dominate. i think my point was missed but let me put it this way, find out who phillys center was in that series and if you ever heard of him. maybe magic shoulda played center against the sixers when they had moses malone and SWEPT the lakers in the finals

Sorry to get so petty Rizzo, but I think you're quite wrong about Magic's abilities. And there's never been anyone else before or since close to that.

magic was an AMAZING player , i can amagine a world without larry bird where magics lakers win 8 championships in the 80s, and if he never left like he did they could have made it the finals more then once in the jordan era maybe even been able to deal jordan his first L in the finals. an innovater of the game and one of the best and most successfull players ever, a hard combo to find. one thing that seperates great players who had great success and legends in sports is a little touch of....well, magic. the dramatics of the game give rare oppertunities to players be create moments that will never be forgotten and magic rose to those hieghts many times in his carreer. his rivalry with bird and the celtics was the greatest ticket basketball has ever seen i believe, no other 2 match ups including lakers celtics of the 60s can stack up, magic was the leader on those 5 champ teams. to those that think hes number 1 because he can play all positions he played center in game 7 right he didnt play center against moses or parish it worked for that game, again a great moment, but dont act like he could play centerfor a season.

In 1994 when the Bulls won 55 games WITHOUT Jordan (as opposed to 57 WITH him the year before), the starting lineup was, except for Scottie Pippen, ALL CHANGED by the year they won 72. It wasn't 'Jordan coming back'.... it was 80% turnover in the starting lineup INCLUDING Jordan. And let's not forget that Jordan DID return in 1995 for the last 20-25% of the regular season plus playoffs---and that the Bulls didn't even get to the Finals.

dude, in 94 the Bulls won won like 55 games, when MJ came back they won 72 games, and the championship. Thats definitley an impact. Plus Kareem and Magic combined to win 5 series, MJ won 6.

The year was 1991 when Magic took the Lakers to the Finals without Kareem---but everything else is accurate.

You find out a lot about the value of a player when he ISN'T there... the 47-win Lakers add him and soar to 60 wins and the NBA championship (and Kareem, who WAS having an MVP series, didn't play Game 6 in Philly)... then Magic takes a Kareem-less Laker team to the Finals in 1993, retires----and the Lakers with Sedale Threatt and everybody else back in 1994, fall from 58-24 and the Finals to 43-39. Michael Jordan never made any such impact.

One of 2 players in NBA history (Bird) who's team won 60+ games for every 82 he played in... Played in 8 Finals in the 80's alone... Could play all 5 positions at All-Star level for a playoff series... The Lakers team he took to the Finals that went 58-24 went 43-39 the next year without him...

who is this haskel person. he/she is really dumb

I dont know much bout B-ball but my moneys on him.

And another thing..You could ask him to score 30, 40, or more and he could. You could ask him to get you 20 rebounds in a big game and he would. You could ask him to get 15 assists in a playoff game and it was done. He could play all 5 positions and well enough in all five to start for most teams and well enough to make the all stars if he did. He was the best.

For some reason this list won't let me rank him at no. 1, but for all-around greatness at every aspect and position in the game, I've never seen better. Including Jordan.

for some reason this list won't let me rank him no.1, but for all-around greatness at every aspect and position in the game, I've never seen better. Including Jordan.

y is number 3?...kobe is # 3..he doesn't have a championship ring and he is not a team player compared with kobe..

Kobe has 5 rings man. Bron had his chance to get one this year. he and bosh aint **** alone, and just about aint **** together. Kobe bryant is the number 2 great of all time. now ask urself who can stop mike.... now who can stop kobe. now who can stop bron... shawn marion

Lebron is ****ing **** and hasnt won a chmpionship so **** off

sooooo terrrrible!!!!!! magic should be number two!!!!!

Can we please STOP the LeBron VS Bird stuff at least for the time being? LeBron shrunk from the moment in the Finals. It's CLEARLY ridiculous to be mentioning him with Larry Bird.

I agree that LeBron hasn't accomplished enough to be in the discussion for GOAT yet, but there is NO denying that his IMPACT on a Cavalier team that cannot win a game anymore was remarkable. They were winning 61 & 66 games with little else different outside of LeBron (Shaq's modest contributions notwithstanding) different from that team today. Michael Jordan NEVER impacted a team like that. He didn't make a bad team that much better and he wasn't missed greatly by a good team when he left. LeBron does more to involve teammates than Jordan ever did----and I think that's the key. There's a reason why Larry and Magic are the only 2 players in NBA History to win 60+ games for every 82 they played------they facilitated the games of their teammates. LeBron gets it. I don't like him personality wise-------but he understands what it takes to win and he goes to a different school than Kobe or Jordan did.

If you haven't. Won a championship you don't deserve to be on the list at all

right know. he will kill kobe

lebron is a very good player, with a couple flaws that need to be worked on but still overall a great player will do great things in his carrer, but why is he on this list he hasnt acomplished anything except winnin 2 mvps, im pretty sure steve nash did that why is he not in the top 10? lebrons biggest problem is not even him its yall, tryna crown him with **** before hes even done it, wait till its his time to be on a list like this before you put him there. right now hes alex english, let him decide his career and create his own legacy stop tryna create it for him. i hope he wins 3 or 4 rings before his time is up but bron bron, please, work on the J it looks so horrible sometimes lol

LeBron should be ashamed at 6'8" and 260 with his athletic ability that he averages under 6 boards per game and farts around outside shooting long jumpers when Miami is starving for a post game from somebody. He is also a turnover machine. He is doing a horrible job in Miami. We watched him dance after his 'decision' and less than 6 rebounds per game and tons of turnovers is all we get?!? The guy is a BUM.

Lebron, in my opinion doesn't need to win a flippin championship ring to determine if he is good or not! Lebron should be ranked in the top 3!

LeBron leads the NBA in turnovers. He wants double digit assists but doesn't possess the skill set to handle the ball like he desires. Somebody has to tell him to stop pretending he's a 'distributor' like a Magic. Nobody will. That will be all of LeBron's teams' downfall-----nobody will man up and tell the brother that he is NOT what he thinks he is out there. Slide down to the block and post up, LeBron. Get a baseline game. The league is giggling with delight that you choose to be 25 feet from the basket in a halfcourt set like you're Chris Paul.

lebron should not be on the list

You cannot run to somebody else's team and be a Top 3 All-Time Player. You gotta man up and get it done where you are to be Top 3. LeBron is a coward who wants no part of being the man.

Dude practically runs and hops with the ball. It's called a traveling violation unless David Stern has annointed you a star.

Hey, win something already... the most self-absorbed unaccomplished 'star' in recent memory... You gotta beat the best to BE the best---and he chose to be Dwayne Wade's caddie instead.

He overdominates the ball. He's 6'8" and 260 and he doesn't have a post game. He can't shoot well from where he insists on handling the ball (out beyond the top of the key)... He'll have to change his game to make it work in Miami. 7 years in, he has yet to win a single Finals GAME. I have no idea what that makes him the 'King' of...

even though Lebron doesnt have any rings, he proves himself time and time again that he deserves on and is the best nba player that is playing today. kobe always had a better team and lebron need more than one person to help him win a championship. the cavs are a good team but they arent really giving lebron any support in the playoffs. Lebron is the best but just needs more help like kobe had. then lebron could have as many rings as he wanted

how can lebron be higher than kobe. Kobe has 4 championship lebron stil has none Lebron can't be in the top 20 till he wins a championship

Russell, Thurmond, Reed, Bellamy, Beaty, Jabbar, Hayes, Dukes, Ellis, Felix were some of the centers Wilt played against in the 1960's and none of these guy were 6'8 white guys. They were all black guys ranging in height from 6'9 to 7'. In fact Wilt wasn't even the tallest player in the league his first 2 years. That honor goes to 7'3" Swede Halbrook of the Syracuse Nationals. If it was all about height why didn't Swede dominate like Wilt? And no Kevin Love wouldn't make the HOF if he played back in the '60's.

100 Points in 1 Game says it all

id like to think if i was around back then id be a huge celtic fan but also a wilt fan, as he got older seemed to get stronger, and he did defeate the celtics in the middle of there 13 year 11 championship dynasty, so he did win against russle once that counts for somethin, but...lets be honest, his stats dont mean as much because...well...for the most part he played against 6'8 white centers, werent any shaqs or hakeems or ewings or moses malones. kevin love would be a hall of famer if he played back then. now , im not saying wilt couldnt be dominant in todays game or that he wasnt skilled, but the 50 ppg and most of his stats need to be put in the right perspective. i think that translates to 30 or so in future eras. plus once he joined the star studded lakers still lost 2wice in the finals

Wilt is the only person who could even POSSIBLY be better than Jordan

To ME, you almost have to set aside the historically iconic big men and put them in their OWN wing. They did things that made the orchestrators of the leagues they played in CHANGE the rules because it just wasn't fair they were SO dominant. With Wilt, they had to widen the 3-second lane from 6 to 12 feet. He averaged 50ppg one year. He was ridiculous. He also (no matter what that self-serving entity/ boot-licking ESPN says) was a greater athlete than Michael Jordan ever was (and so was Jim Brown and Jim Thorpe and a guy named Deion Sanders and the list goes on and on...). I wonder how many shots he blocked. A shame we don't know.

Wilt was the sports greatest defender, greatest scorer, greatest re bounder and while block shots were not keep during his career he exceed anything that Russell did. Also led league in assisst. With all the players from the past to present day, if you had first draft choice in a draft ...you pick Wilt

DIIIIIIRRRRRK in the german moses Best clutch shooter ever. carried the mavs to a championship this past year

He changed the game like no other, he is the most talented and creative player in the history of the game, not only in the NBA, I'm talking about what he did for basketball overall. He made basketball as we know it today.

Do people realise that if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have Slam Dunk Contests, Alley-Oops and the ABA would never merge with the NBA? He truly revolutionized the game of basketball, and no other player had a bigger impact in professional sports, culturaly and ideologically. Not to mention his MVP, 1983 Title and his amazing style. If we count the ABA years, he won 3 titles, 6 MVPs and averaged 35+ points per game, with 30,000+ points in his career, that would rank him 5º All-Time in USA professional basketball. Dr. J is considered, by far, the greatest player in ABA history and, as I said before, was the main reason for the ABA/NBA merger in 1975, so Erving is the most important player for basketball evolution.

He is thee best

Every kid growing up with ME wanted to be HIM. He gets short changed sometimes because he had some GREAT ABA years that get discounted to a large degree. A power dunker on the break with NO peer. An acrobatic artist who could have beefed up his own stats if he chose not to play a team game.

he was a straight beast in his day but managed to only win 1 championship in the 70s, a weaker era then the 60s and 80s as far as the elight teams, and he had an older oscar robertson so he wasnt by himslef, then had one of the greatest squads ever around him in the 80s that he aquired 5 more rings from. wouldnt put him at number 1 although his legend status is up there.

Jordan had talent, but other players had greater impact.

M. Jordan he is just has natural talent and he is amazing at playing. Yes there are other people out there that are good and close to him, but they aren't there yet. In my opinion though. There are many others

LeBron James averages 5 rpg and is among the league leaders in turnovers. He is a super talent who won't be a truly great PLAYER until he starts doing the things his TEAM needs. Abdul-Jabbar is an all-time great, as is Jordan. Kobe is another flawed player who is super talented---yet doesn't always do what the TEAM needs.

there is no way he should be #1! Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, or the best, Michael Jordan should be #1

They banned dunking in the NCAA because of him. NOT Chamberlain... NOT Russell... but because of HIM. 6 MVPs. 6 championships. He was, according to Wilt, the '1st player I ever needed help defending'... When he was 27, he was a monster-----10 years later, he was still torching the league's best in the playoffs (except a lot of people who comment on these things are too young to remember him being unstoppable)... I remember him dropping 40 on Olajuwon and Sampson in the 1986 Western Conference Finals---and he was in his late 30's... Unreal.

6 NBA Championships with two teams – 6 times MVP - Holds NBA career record for: Most points (38,387), Most minutes played (57,446), Most field goals made (15,837), Most field goals attempted (28,307), Most All-Star selections (19), Most All-Star games played (18) – 3 NCAA Championships – Points 38,387 – Rebounds 17,440 – Assists 5,660 – Blocks 3,189 --- More Assists, Points, Block shots and Rebounds that Michael. -- Magic only surpassed him in assists

while i don't rate him higher than magic..go to this page for a convincing argument that he was better than m.j. www.bleacherreport.com/articles/187016-michael-jordan-is-not-the-greatest-player-in-nba-history

181 lifetime triple-doubles. The next closest is Magic with 138 (in virtually the same number of seasons). Nuff said.

oscar was great from his stats never really see things to impressing on the films ive seen though, did he just never get a squad around him or was he just a fluke in the playoffs? dont remember him doin anything significant till he won with kareem in 72 was it?

Averaging a triple double for an entire year is just ridiculous.

Wilt, Kareen and Bill Russell all said the Big O. was the best player ever, so ...

I am 42 yrs old and even know that bill makes the top 5 no matter what

Bill Russell is number one and its not even close! 11 rings! thats the only arguement I need but I'll argue anyways, he has overcome every challenge; racism, the boredom of winning and competing every year (Jordan's only flaw), he overcame Wilt; When you hear about Wilt scoring 50 or 60 points, they were'nt against Russell! Russell has held Wilt scoreless for an entire half in the playoffs! he beat him every time, Even when Wilts team was favored to beat the celtics, Russell still won. Jerry West and Elgin Baylor could'nt stop him, he played in 10 game 7s and won all 10. During those game 7s he averaged 18 points and 30 rebounds so he was clutch. I love Jordan, but when when Pippen and the Zen master were leaving, Jordan bailed. Russell won without his best players, and when Red left, Russell became the player coach and still won. He really won with like 3 or 4 DIFFERENT teams. notice he is the ONLY player with 11 rings, Sam Jones has like 8. He also won 2 in college. He won in the olympics also. Other teams were'nt quick enough, tough enough or smart enough to beat Russell. He was a world class athlete that won in the high jump in the olympics, hurdles, and sprinting. He knew how to maximize the abilities of his team, If you play with Russell, he'll make you a hall of famer.

He's great in a timeless fashion like Babe Ruth and baseball---and he can't be knocked off that perch. Nobody will play 13 seasons, go to the Finals 12 times and win the Championship 11 times as the team's most indispensible player.

He won 11 championships and for his career averaged 20/20

russles greatness...GREATNESS is what makes him so special. he had a vicous squat of hall of famers but wow 11 in 13 years defeatin LA (the celtics biggest rival and only real challangers threwout the years) with wilt(russles biggest personal rival) in game 7 down to the wire IN LA!!!! hes old and everbody thinks there done, he sees that jack kent cook put the ballons in the rafters before the game to celebrate the game 7 victory and he tells his team "there gonna have to clean those ballons out te rafters one by one...wow thats the stuff of legend right there. i dont know if hes the best player ever of even if i would put him 3 4 5 6 or 7, but hes the motha Fing man

That anyone would deny Bil Russell a place in the Top 6 is just sad.

nope he should not be this highly ranked!

He gets to Boston where they had never won a championship and they immediately win... 11 in 13 years. Greatest sports dynasty ever. 5 league MVPs in a league that had Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest statistical beast in NBA hisory... Russell provided exactly what the team needed to win---things it could not get from anybody else.

The most overrated player of all time. He did not win without Kobe and DWade and great centers. But there is no denying in his skills.

Wilt played on a 12 foot lane---not 6. It was moved to 16 feet after Wilt scored 50 ppg.

If this guy had had the work ethic of, say, Moses Malone he'd own every record in the books.

no way

bird should be at least in the top 10

Bird the best SF of all-time? Not even by a long shot, there's no way somebody would consider him better than Baylor or Dr. J at the position, so there's no way he can be higher than number 3 at the SF list. For me even Dominique and Gervin were better, so he's number 5 in my SF's ranking. I can understand people who think that he's better than Gervin or Nique, but there's zero chance to win any kind of case against Erving or Baylor.

18? Are you serious? Greatest SF of all time is Larry Legend His only weakness was he couldn't jump

Bird always beat Jordan. Bird's teams couldn't function on NEAR the same level without Bird. Jordan's teams weren't markedly better with him than without. Bird EASILY is better than Jordan.

Without a doubt, Bird was better than Jordan. I don't know about THE greatest all-time------but better than Jordan? Without question.

You had several GREAT teams in the 80s that were on 'what could have been' dynastic runs----had the OTHER great teams not existed. Multiple teams were on great runs CONCURRENTLY---or at least with much overlap... and only ONE of them could win the championship. If the Sixers, Celtics & Lakers didn't have each other to contend with----they all could have been dynasties. The Bulls in the 1990s faced none of this. The Pacers and the Knicks and the Jazz of the 90s were weak sisters compared to those 80s beasts. Without interference from the Celtics & Lakers, the Sixers would have been champs in at least 1980, 1981, 1982, &1983. Boston would have been champs in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 had they not been interferred with by Philly & LA.... The Lakers could have been champs in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 & 1988 had Boston & Philly not interferred. Then, later in the 80s, the Pistons finally broke through and THEY could have won at least 4 in a row (1987-1990) had Boston and LA not interferred. And Jordan was there playing when that Pistons team grew up-------and he couldn't them, either, until they got old and ran their course.

Bird 'lost' almost as many Finals as he won? Jordan was on 5 teams that weren't even winning teams. Bird's teams never won fewer than 51 games as long as he was playing. The 80s were MUCH rougher to win in than the 90s----particularly in the Eastern Conference. Bird had to get his team through the Sixers and the good, young Pistons just to GET TO the Finals. Then he had a younger Magic and a still dominant Jabbar waiting 3 of those years (not to mention Worthy, Scott, etc). Jordan lost to the Pistons until they go old and he faced nothing that compares to the '84, '85 and '87 Lakers in the Finals. Jordan never 'went through' another great team in the middle of that other great team's dynastic run. And don't compare the Jazz to those Laker teams. People can blab on about 'how good' those players were in the 90s that Jordan beat----but the truth is none of them ever won anything.... and stop saying it was because Jordan beat them because a lot of those players started in the NBA in 1984. The Barkleys, Karl Malones, Stocktons, Ewings, etc. They didn't do anything. Those great players that came just before them did-----the Magics and Birds and Isiah Thomas's and guys before them who were still winning in the 80s-----the Dr. Js, Jabbars, Moses Malones. Jordan beat a bunch of guys in the 90s who never won anything themselves in the 80s. He didn't start winning until greater players got old. He was there when those greater players were still at the top------he just could do anything with them and neither could anybody else who became stars in the 90s.

Bird didn't compile huge career stats because he was healthy for only 9 years and hobbled for another 4... but he was THE best player in the world at the top of his game and he lost ZERO sleep when he came up against any team Michael Jordan was on as long as he (Bird) was healthy.

Lack of longevity is a valid knock on Bird's claim to GOAT

lost almost as many finals series as he won, only was efficent in the league for 8 years, cant be the greatest compared to what pther players have acomplished longevity wize as well as in winning and numbers

bird was another magical player, put on his best performances when greatness called for him to do so, one of the cleverest players ever as well. the leader of one of the best teams ever played in 5 finals won 3 only lost to magics lakers but 2wice. one of the most clutch players ever. if he had more longevity in his carreer that would have been nice. I believe he played with as good as a TEAM as magic did, but magic played with better players then bird, they made for a perfectmatch up i felt.

NOT BETTER THAN CAMBERLAIN,JORDAN,RUSSEL,SHAQ,or KOBE. REAL LIST 1.Jordan 2.Chamberlain 3.Russel 4.Magic Johnson 5.Shaqulle O'neal 6.Kareem 7.Tim Duncan 8.Kobe 9.Bird 10.Dr.J 11.Elgin Baylor 12. Hakeem the dream Lebron is #32

This impact on team winning is the most important thing, IMO.... much more important than any personal statistics.... and it's not like Bird's personal stats are lacking, either.

He joined a bad team in 1980 and they led the league in wins... he left a very good team in 1989 and they couldn't play .500 ball without him. You add him, you increase winning games a TON. You lose him, you can't win 1/2 your games even with everyone else there. Who else can claim this?

I looked up the Celtics in 1988 with Bird and 1989 without him (he limped around for 6 games, then missed the next 76)... In 1988, they went to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 57-25 record. In 1989, they went 24-28, then traded Danny Ainge for front court help (Brad Lohaus went with Ainge to the Kings for Ed Pinckney and Joe Kleine)... Robert Parish and Kevin McHale and Reggie Lewis had played in all 52 games to that point for Boston!! Dennis Johnson played in 48 of those 1st 52 games, and Boston was 22-26 in HIS games and 22-23 in Ainge's 45 games with Boston that year. They absolutely fell flat on their faces without Bird. Unbelievable. Compare that to how well the Jordan-less Bulls did with Pete Myers starting...

Only non-center to win 3 consecutive League MVPs (Chamberlain, Russell)... Played 34 times VS Jordan and his team won 23 of them... before injuries compromised him (startinng with season-ending double heel surgery in 1989), his team won 20 of the 1st 23 meetings VS Jordan's teams... Team never lost to a Jordan team in a single playoff game... He is the only player in NBA history in the top 10 in playoff points, assists, rebounds and steals... Sparked the biggest single-season W/L turnaround in NBA history where just one player (him) was different from the previous season's starting 5 (Celtics were 29-53 in 1979 and 61-21 in 1980 with him as the only change to the starting lineup)... The Celtics--- who had been 57-25 with him in 1988---went 42-40 with him gone for 76 games in 1989, despite still having Parish, McHale, Dennis Johnson, Danny Ainge and Reggie Lewis... 1 of only 2 players in NBA history whose teams won 60+ games for every 82 he played in (Magic Johnson).

Man if Lebron James is three Dwyane Wade should be #2 because D Wade is always 1 step ahead of Lebron James don't hate me it's just facts

Yes, nice of him to let LameBron on his team.

Is Batman to LeBron's Batgirl. I guess that makes Chris Bosh Alfred. At least Wade had DONE something in his career.

wade should definetly be number 1 without a doubt

Kobe is a very good basketball player don't get me wrong me wrong but he belongs at number 5. He should be way ahead of Dirk Nowitski.

my favorite basketball player

Kobe is far from being a top 5 all-time, being ranked as no. 3 in this list it's just ridiculous, not even in a top SG list he'd be the third, MJ, Sam Jones, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Drexler are ahead of him, if you consider only the player, individualy, I'd put Reggie Miller, Wade and Iverson before Kobe on the list, and that's just among SGs, there's no way Kobe can be ranked higher than Dr. J, Magic, Wilt, Russell, Baylor, Kareem, Isiah, Gervin and Shaq, that's just preposterous.

Kobe is a selfish, arrogant, egomaniac, imature, less talented version of MJ. Don't get me wrong, Kobe is good, but not top-10 good, there's a lot of guys more important and impressive than Kobe in NBA's history, pound-for-pound even players like Iverson are ahead of Bryant, the main reason of KB's succesful career can be credit to the teams that he played on, he rarely had to carry a franchise on his own like AI and LBJ did for several years, and at the only time he was alone he couldn't lead LA past the first round of the playoffs, Kobe is clearly overrated and his achievements are missleading, his name is bigger than his game.

kobe bryant blocked michael jordan so i think kobe is better

Ok, so now we have 2 Michael Jordans, LeBron James who never won anything and Kobe Bryant as the greatest players of all time? Did bus loads of 19 year olds just find this poll? Kids! The NBA goes back farther than 1991!

Kobe is to arrogant to realize that he will never be as good as michael jordan

shaq won the lakers the first 3 rings with REDICULOUS missmatches at his position, kobe was a contributer to those rings though. he was the best player on his last 2 rings but he didnt really put up the best performances the whole time. he LOST 2 finals already so he can never be on jordans level in that perspective. hes a decent defensive player but this has only been in the last couple years and he ussually doesnt gaurd the best player so that he has energy for offense, pretty sure jordan gaurded the best player on EVERY team and was all defensive 10 straight seasons. kobe is a clutch player...in games that dont matter ussually. he consistantly comes up short in big game clutch situations and suprisingly hes been in the finals 7 times already and has how many signature highlights from those finals games? kobe is also a dominate offensive player...ussualy against bad teams though. jordan scores 63 agianst the celtics in the playoffs, kobe score 80 agianst the rapters in the regular season. thats all im sayin. besides that and the fact he tried to destory his dynasty and couldnt play team ball till 5 years ago, im a kobe fan

Kobe COULD have more rings if he kept things nice with Shaq---and he is stupid and less a winner than he COULD have been because he didn't take care of Shaq... HOWEVER... this is NOT to say that Kobe is or ever will be on a level of greatness with Michael Jordan. It will NEVER be. He had to be sat in Game #7 this year so that the rest of the team could get involved and beat the Celtics. He wasn't getting it done HIS way (which is me, me, me) and Phil had to give him a blow and let Gasol and Fisher and Co. breathe.

Jordan participated in the 1995 playoffs. You can't say the Bulls woulda won with him----they LOST with him that year. Also, in 1994, if the man's heart wasn't in it------why assume the team wins anyway with him? You gotta play to win----Jordan didn't play in 1994, then played 15-20 games in 1995 before the playoffs and then lost in the playoffs to the Magic. You can't 'not count that'. Kobe could have more rings if he let Shaq be the man longer. His ego wouldn't allow it. That's all I'm saying.

You can say Kobe might have 8 rings if he could control his ego, I doubt that. Michael Jordan would have 8 rings if he didnt retire for two years. That is a fact, Kobe was the second wheel for the first three championships, and he might get another ring, at the most. But that will leave him with three finals MVPS, and one MVP. Jordan has 6 finals MVPs 5 regular season MVPs. Kobe willnever be as good as MJ

No one in the world can compare to Kobe Bryant.

Possibly the best basketball player of all time.

kobe will be in the top 5 when he retire !!

This guy isn't even CLOSE to being the greatest LAKER of all time. There must be a lot of 15 year olds voting here on this stuff.

Knucklehead might have 7 or 8 rings if he could keep his ego in check with Shaq. That there alone reduces any 'greatest' claims to hogwash.

Kobe just had to be sat in a Game #7 at the end of the 3rd Quarter and to start the 4th Quarter so his team could actually get involved in the game. That's a BAD reflection on Kobe. Phil Jackson knew the only way to get the REST of the TEAM going was to sit Kobe. He is a tremendous TALENT. I don't know how GREAT he is, though. He doesn't understand TEAM.

Kobe is the best player currently, and is going to be the best of the best when he retires(5-6 years). Who ever is saying that Lebron is better should die. Lebron is good but not as good as Kobe. Lebron has better stats because he is like the only maxed up player in his team. In the other hand, the Lakers are a team of all-star players. If Kobe wants to, he can shoot 40-50 a night if he wants. Also, Kobe can shoot extremely difficult shots that Lebron can't. GO KOBE!!!!

Most skilled big man of all time on both sides of the floor. Top 5 all time with mj, king james, wade, and shaq.

The best big man of his era.

Started playing basketball at a very late age, then rose meteorically. Was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 1983 Final Four despite not winning. He averaged over 20 points and 20 rebounds per Final Four game that year. Was better than his contemporaries Sampson, Ewing & Robinson and outplayed a young Shaq (even though the NBA was looking the other way when officiating Shaq). Probably closer to 6'10", he was a rabid defender, great rebounder and tremendous scorer on the block.

Iverson best HANDS DOWN

It's amazing how a player so short, was capable of leading the league in scoring for multiple years playing against people much taller and stronger than him every night, being 5 inches taller he would be the greatest ever.

Great talent but his field goal percentage put a hole in his legacy.

A talented little fool who never understood the responsibilities that come with being a leader. Never won a title and it's no suprise. Durable for a gnat, I'll give him that.

The best true point guard of all time. A magician and orchestra conductor unparalleled. I never saw Isiah turn the ball over. Ever.

'Pocket Magic'... Arguably the best ball handler I've ever seen in the NBA. Picture John Stockton with better scoring ability.

An entry in that evolutionary line of graceful athletes who floated and soared... those darned Celtics tarnished many a player's legacy from Elgin's era----as multiple championships were denied in all likelihood.

He was to ball-handling what Dr. J was for dunking and hang time, revolutionary player ahead of his time on the ground.

i'm not so sure, duncan has 3 finals mvps, bird only has 2.

larry bird's better than him what the hell!

i am from boston and love the celtics but only a fool would take jones over west

He is the original Mr. Clutch, the Offense to Russell's Defense, 8 consecutive titles with the Celtics, 10 rings total, played for 13 years in Boston and was their leading scorer in 4 straight seasons, during the playoffs he was the main scorer in 7 of the 10 championship runs he participate, more clutch than Jerry could ever be.

The 'Ice Man'... great scorer... known for the finger roll---made it famous. The greatest Spur of all time before Duncan came around.

great player, if we are makiing a list of best player ever conisdering a moment in time he def has allot of pull to be number 1, i love players like him. another fav of mine was barkley id love to see them on opposite teams

Without a doubt, at his best, was the best rebounder I've ever saw. If this was a list of top glass cleaners ever, Wilt would be on top if figured on his entire career but if we were to go by "at his best" Moses would top it by a mile. If anyone was within 100 poits I'd be amazed by the lack of knowledge here.

The man who said: 'There's only one ball... and I want it' ---when asked what makes him such a great rebounder. Destroyed Jabbar in the 1983 Finals in a sweep of the Lakers. Took a 40 win Rockets team to the Finals in 1981 vs the Celtics. Could score and rebounded like an animal. THE baddest cat in the league for a window in time during the late 70s-early 80s. For those who appreciated Rodman's rebounding, just imagine if Moses Malone could do ONLY rebounding---and wasn't the focal point of his team's offense, having to post up instead of boxing out all the time for someone's else's miss. He averaged 17+ rpg as the number one option on offense. He would have grabbed perhaps rebounds per game in the low 20s had he just been allowed to rebound----and that would be closer to the early 80s, not 60s.

Highlight of his career was probably a shoot out with Larry Bird in the Eastern Conference Finals where he scored 47 points in a loss. Bird dropped 20 in the 4th Quarter to counter the Human Highlight Film's finest hour... Not a great ball handler, he reportedly had a 47-inch vertical and he was just a phenomenal power dunker who may have surpassed Dr. J in that category has he a better handle and had he been as good a soarer as he was a leaper... Had he played a decade later, he'd have his ring(s).

Can you actually say that Ray Allen was better than Jerry West?

Ray allen has the stroke and rhythm to mixed with the quickness of his release so i think he is one of the shooters that is difficult to guard specially when you're a meter away. He is my idol too....

ray allen has the prettiest jumpshot ever.he is the best three point shooter ever.he will pass up reggie miller after the 2011 season.dont argue with me.this guy can shoot the lights out.did you see in 2010 nba finals 8 three pointers.kobe couldnt even stop him.celtics should have won the finals.they were up by 13 with 7;50 to go in the third quarter.enough of that.ray allen still has the best jumpshot ever.best three point shooter ever.all time greats.no dought

thats great if your name is mike tyson

MY BABY

Malone is WAAYYYYYYYYYY higher then 57

Awesome pick-and-roll finisher. Good mid-range shooter for such a thick man. He might have a ring if those normally strong hands didn't allow Jordan to steal a ball late in a Game 6.

A great, young, old-school point guard.

Jordan needed him more than he needed Jordan... better record as a Pro than MJ... he was the facilitator on those Bulls' offenses that brought the team together... his achilles heel was that he didn't know what he wasn't great at and he let his ego cause him to quit on his team because Kukoc was set up for that fateful last shot---a black mark Scottie will never live down.

Not as strong a rebounder early in his career as you though he should be (nor was he in college, for that matter---despite the gushing praise for him as a collegian). Some of the bigger rebounders in the league got old/ retired in the 90s and you saw his numbers go up. Looney Hubie Brown once coached him and tried to make him a power forward alongside Bill Cartwright because Olajuwon and Sampson were able to pull it off in Houston... No one should let Hubie Brown near an NBA roster ever again..... Good shot blocker and he developed a terrific offensive arsenal for a classic center during his NBA career.

Tracy WHO?? Seriously. lol

he's not better than jordan...

i see where your coming from.hey tracy mcgrady is a great ball player.but is not the best ever.i think he could beat kobe but not lebron or jordan.i love t-mac but not the best ever.jordan is the best ever.

best player ever, better than kobe, lebron, and jordan, and he can beat them by himself

celtic fan dosnt stop me from realizing that magic and west are top ten all day

He is literally the logo for the NBA. If they had a 3-point line in HIS day, HE would be the all-time leading ppg champ. Absolutely. He was shooting from where they give you 3 nowadays. He was also a tough defender. Nicknamed Mr. Clutch, was the Finals MVP----when his team LOST. He is a Top-10 player that kids don't know a darned thing about.

Everybody remembers Willis Reed's heroics----but many forget that this guy had one of the great Game 7s in ANY sport, any time. 36 pts and 19 assists, I believe.... without it, nobody talks about Willis limping his way to 4 pts that night against Chamberlain as some transcendent moment in NBA history.

Every kid growing up with ME wanted to be HIM. He gets short changed sometimes because he had some GREAT ABA years that get discounted to a large degree. A power dunker on the break with NO peer. An acrobatic artist who could have beefed up his own stats if he chose not to play a team game.

An entry in that evolutionary line of graceful athletes who floated and soared... those darned Celtics tarnished many a player's legacy from Elgin's era----as multiple championships were denied in all likelihood.

bill russel is the best all around player that has every lived!!!!

He gets to Boston where they had never won a championship and they immediately win... 11 in 13 years. Greatest sports dynasty ever. 5 league MVPs in a league that had Wilt Chamberlain, the greatest statistical beast in NBA hisory... Russell provided exactly what the team needed to win---things it could not get from anybody else.

2nd greastest 11 championships enough said

Awesome pick-and-roll finisher. Good mid-range shooter for such a thick man. He might have a ring if those normally strong hands didn't allow Jordan to steal a ball late in a Game 6.

Best passing point guard after magic. Also best pure shooting point guard.one of the best at making players around him better.

The problem with figuring out ppg 'had there been' a 3 pt line is that IF those shots were worth 3s-------defenses would have guarded him more tightly out there!! Teams were more than happy to let a guy who shoots 44-45% launch bombs if they're worth only 2 points. Maravich got his name 'Pistol' because he loaded his shot from his HIP-------which would be BLOCKED by defenders guarding him more closely. There are a lot of 'IFS' to consider. But the reality is that he didn't win a lot at all... he wasn't a great team player and he got numbers on teams he never helped be relevent. You think he gets his numbers so easily if they meant something... if the opponent was afraid they would lose if he 'went off'? Think again. Nobody cared that Pete Maravich got 40 in a 20 point loss----nobody on the winning team did, anyway. Most of his teams stunk. Most didn't make the playoffs. Doesn't an all-time great get a team in the playoffs more times than not? He was flashy... he was a highlight reel guy. That doesn't make him an all-time great.

To be fair to Maravich, he shot closer to 45% in college. Dale Brown figured that from where Pete was shooting, had there been a 19'9" 3-point shot, that he would have average 57 ppg at LSU. I don't know if this is true---it's just what I read somewhere (maybe Wikipedia).

Pistol Pete was a unique TALENT. I don't know how great a PLAYER he was, in terms of 'all-time' greats. He never played in an NCAA Tournament. He won 5 post season GAMES in his entire NBA career until he was picked up off of waivers by Boston for the end of his last season. Magic DID compliment Maravich when speaking to his 2 boys about 'borrowing' (or something to that effect) SHOWTIME from him. Pete was a SHOWMAN, no doubt. He just is often overrated as a great ballplayer. He was virtually irrelevent when it came to WINNING in the NBA.

Wrong, Maravich is the only player on this list who was 20 years ahead of his time. Of the 10 greatest passes ever made Maravich made 8 of them.. Ask Magic about how great Maravich was..

I don't get the fascination with this guy. Another shoot-first guy who was good for the highlight reel... but did he WIN? Played for his daddy at LSU and shot everytime he touched the ball. I don't even know if he shot 40% in college, but he's the all-time leading scorer. He should have been a Globetrotter... he wasn't THAT great at playing winning basketball, though.

Get Will the ball, Carlton

really

Got My Vote!

Wrong, Maravich is the only player on this list who was 20 years ahead of his time. Of the 10 greatest passes ever made Maravich made 8 of them.. Ask Magic about how great Maravich was..

I don't get the fascination with this guy. Another shoot-first guy who was good for the highlight reel... but did he WIN? Played for his daddy at LSU and shot everytime he touched the ball. I don't even know if he shot 40% in college, but he's the all-time leading scorer. He should have been a Globetrotter... he wasn't THAT great at playing winning basketball, though.

Low post 101 starts here no matter how much he looks like Frankenstiens nephew

nash is the best pg ever has passes are so crispy and nice

Steve nash is 6'3, he has two MVPs and is definitey not # 15

3 NBA MVP awards. not bad for white, 6'0 Canadian.

I agree!

no way not should be in top 100 especially karl malone and isah tomas wow

A historically great collegian who played his 1st pro season in the ABA (and was awesome), then started out his NBA career just as well... He was going for lines like 26ppg, 5rpg, 4apg and he just couldn't stay healthy, I guess. Nice to see him mentioned.

Don't know how you can make a list without Havlicek. He won 9 titles, 1 at OSU and 8 with the Celtics, he was an All-Star 13 years in a row, and consistently made the All-Defensive team. He was 6'5" and could play forward and guard, perhaps better than anyone else on this list. You want to look at how much a team dropped off without someone, look at the '77 - '79 Celtics, when a 37 year old Havlicek was playing out his career and before the Celtics landed Bird, Parish, and McHale.

An often underrated all-time great. Constantly moving, he would tire out defenders. A hustle player who is the all-time leading scorer in Celtics history.

Simply the best player ever!

putting this name in this list makes this a joke.

haha