Best 5 players in NBA history.
The first place is indisputable, the best player in NBA history is Michael Jeffrey Jordan.
He played in the Chicago Bulls and in the end of his career he signed with Washington Wizards.
With Chicago he won all the possible trophies. He also was a remarkable member of the famous “Dream team”.
Here’s a list of his honors:
Six-time NBA champion (1991–93, 1996–98); MVP (1988, ‘91, ‘92, ‘96, ‘98); 10-time All-NBA First Team (1987–93, 1996–98); All-NBA Second Team (1985); Defensive Player of the Year (1988); Nine-time All-Defensive First Team (1988–93, 1996–98); Rookie of the Year (1985); 14-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1988, ‘96, ‘98); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (‘96); Olympic gold medalist (1984, ‘92). His bulls make history with a record of wins in a regular season, that record was recently broken by the Golden State Warriors but in that time it was incredible, 72 win matches and only 10 losses. The Bulls of Michael were the most dominating team in the league, great contemporary players were overshadowed by MJ and company like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Larry Bird, Earvin Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar . Bulls disputed one of the greatest finals against New York Knicks, it was epic, 7 games. Of course MJ was not alone, he had excellent teammates like Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Horace Grant, etc.
I think Michael Jordan is the best player ever because he revolutionized the game, also he had the ability to score crucial shots. When he attacked the basket was unstoppable, along with his enormous jump ability and also defended in an extraordinary way which made him the ideal player.
In my opinion the second place in this list is for Kobe. Bean Bryant. He’s an American retired professional basketball player, he played in L.A. Lakers his 20 years of career (1996–2016). He entered the NBA directly from high school and won 5 NBA championships, also he is an 18-time all star, 15-time member of All-NBA team, 12-time member of the All-defensive team and he holds the NBA record for the most seasons playing with one franchise for an entire career.
He has incredible numbers:
Points 33,643 (25.0 ppg).
Rebounds 7,047 (5.2 rpg).
Assists 6,306 (4.7 apg).
In 20 years of career, he shared courts with great players, like Tim Duncan, Lebron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Paul Pierce, etc.
People that put James in the same level that Bryant say they’ve a big rivalry for many reasons, but in words of Kobe “my rivals are «Magic» Johnson and Jordan, Lebron isn’t”. I think he said that because Lebron is would never be at the level of Kobe and he know that.
The real rivalry is between Bryant and Tim Duncan of San Antonio Spurs. Spurs and Lakers shared conference since 1981, they weren’t considered rivals until 1999, when Spurs swept Lakers 4–0 and eventually winning their first NBA title. Bryant and Duncan were very young but they were when the rivalry started and they continued until the end.
Kobe style was very similar to Jordan’s style, is very knowledge that Kobe admired Michael and he always want to overcome Jordan and it’s very normal, I mean, who doesn’t want to be known like the best basketball player in all time? Every single player should try to do that. Of course Kobe can’t overcome Jordan but he was very close in all aspects, that why he is my second place.
The third place in this top 5 is for Shaquille O’neal. Standing 7 feet tall and weighing 315 pounds, “Shaq” was one of the most dominant players in the NBA.
O’neal was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas, enrolled at Louisiana State University. He played in a lot of teams.
Orlando Magic (1992–1996) Los Angeles Lakers (1996–2004) Miami Heat (2004–2008) Phoenix Suns (2008–2009) Cleveland Cavaliers (2009–2010) Boston Celtics (2010–2011)
6 teams in his entire career. He was very dominant in one-on-one game, he was big, strong and powerful. But when he had to go to the free shot line, he was killed, he failed approximately 5,000 free shots. The other teams, obviously know that and they used to make fouls tho Shaq, the strategy was called “ hack-a-Shaq”. He played 19 seasons, 17 playoffs. 4 NBA titles, 15 times called to the All star game.
The fourth place is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in New York City in 1947. A dominant high school basketball player, Abdul-Jabbar was recruited to play at UCLA and led the Bruins to three national titles. His dominance continued in Milwaukee Bucks, and later he played for Los Angeles Lakers there he won 6 NBA titles, 6 MVP awards and he finished his career as the league’s all time scorer. He was very tall, 7.2 feet tall, he was very dominant, his body is very thin, that helped him to move fast under the hoop.
And finally, the fifth place is for Earving “Magic” Johnson. Born in August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan.
Earving showed his talent for 12 years in NBA, his inimaginable vision of the game gave him the nickname “Magic”, where other NBA player saw a closed door, Magic saw it opened, his assistants were brilliant so far.
He won a lot of trophies, here the list of his honors:
Hall of Fame (2002); NBA champion (1980, ‘82, ‘85, ‘87, ‘88); NBA Finals MVP (1980, ‘82, ‘87); NBA MVP (1987, ‘89, ‘90); Nine-time All-NBA First Team (1983–91); All-NBA Second Team (1982); 12-time All-Star; All-Star MVP (1990, ‘92); Olympic gold medalist (1992); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
He dominate the NBA courts during 12 seasons but in 1991, he announced his retirement because he had tested positive for HIV.
His game mode was unique, it was called “show time”.
