The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History: Part II
In my experience, finding 50 players in a league with nearly 75 years of history isn’t an issue. The most daunting task I’ve faced thus far is deciding who doesn’t belong. Unlike the last installment though, at this stage, all of these players rightfully deserve their place, so it’s merely a matter of where they land.
Basketball aficionados are very opinionated people, and by opinionated I mean subjective, and by subjective, I mean abhorrent when other fans disagree with them. So with only 31 players left, everyone’s favorite player is bound to appear sooner or later — whether they’re cult-classics like Rick Barry and Bill Walton or phenoms like Julius Erving and Dwyane Wade. With that said, don’t fret if your favorite players aren’t exactly where you think they should be. On second thought; fret, raise hell, cry out to the Basketball Gods in agony — or leave a comment, whatever works for you.
If you missed the first entry or would like to review players 50–32 and the list's criteria, then you can find it here. Now, without further ado, I introduce to you — Part II:
Tier 2: Bona Fide Superstars
31. Bill Walton
I find this question particularly relevant: would you rather play 13 remarkable seasons, but never win an NBA championship like Patrick Ewing — or experience one transcendental season, and win an NBA championship like Bill Walton? That’s fundamentally the question I asked myself when assessing the career of Bill Walton. Obviously, I lean towards the latter. Only a handful of players in NBA history have essentially guaranteed their team a chance to win an NBA championship, at any given time: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and for the briefest period, Bill Walton.
30. David Robinson
David Robinson was a 250-lb. war-machine and the paragon of professionalism, spending the first act of his career dominating in every fashion imaginable. It’s the second half of the Admiral’s illustrious career that is often lost in the shuffle though — relinquishing his status as the face of the San Antonio Spurs in the wake of Tim Duncan’s assumption with extraordinary decorum.
29. Kawhi Leonard
An evolutionary fusion between Kobe Bryant and Scottie Pippen, Kawhi Leonard is a rare occurrence of substance preceding brand, denying the iconicism that accompanies twenty-first-century superstardom — shrewdly choosing the rules of engagement on his own terms.
28. Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley is the cult of personality: amiable, deferential, highly entertaining, hysterical, etc. So it comes as no surprise that he’s brilliantly transitioned into his broadcasting career, becoming one of the most polarizing pundits in sports media. Unfortunately, Barkley’s excellent career as an analyst has led younger fans to turn a blind eye to his playing career. Make no mistake though, Sir Charles was a force of nature; perfectly blending a linebacker’s physique with unprecedented skill at the power forward position.
“Barkley is like Magic and Larry in that they don’t really play a position. He plays everything; he plays basketball. There is nobody who does what Barkley does. He’s a dominant rebounder, a dominant defensive player, a three-point shooter, a dribbler, a playmaker.” -Bill Walton in an interview with SLAM magazine
27. Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett epitomized every cliche that basketball fans revere and his undying love for the game was only matched by his ubiquitous skillset — unprecedented at the time for a 6’13 forward.
26. Isiah Thomas
Isiah Lord Thomas III was Bobby Knight’s magnum opus — leaving Indiana University with the tact and maturity it would take to quarterback a team in the Magic-Bird era. And, to their chagrin, Zeke did just that. Beyond his mean stroke and wizardry with the ball, has the NBA ever embraced a more polarizing villain?
25. Dwyane Wade
At his zenith, Dwyane Wade was a sheer force of nature, typified by his 2006 title-run — where the 24-year-old demigod, relentless in his pursuit of victory, excelled on the game’s grandest state. Of course, Wade’s athletic prowess slowly gave-way to injury, and Flash was reborn anew as Father Prime, a savvy maestro who excelled in the subtlety of his craft.
24. Karl Malone
Whether it be his refusal to endorse Magic’s return to basketball, slugging Isiah Thomas for being better than Stockton, or a variety of other reprehensible acts — let it be known that I’m not a big Karl Malone fan. With that said, the Mailman clearly won the genetic lottery — a gift from the Basketball Gods that served as the ultimate canvas for his equally impressive intellect and work ethic. Malone crashed the boards, found cutters near the rim, played hellacious defense, filled the lane, muscled his way through defenders, finished with his signature running hook, and dominated for 17 years. What else could you ask for?
23. George Mikan
Assessing George Mikan’s career and attempting to compare it to that of anyone else on this list feels markedly bizarre. Still, Mr. Basketball’s sheer dominance was the hammer that forged basketball into the sport we know it as today. Not only forcing the rules themselves to change, but by standardizing the practice of playing the pivot, and paving the way for generations of dominant big men to come.
“Without Number 99, there is no me.” Shaquille O’Neal on George Mikan, shortly after the legend’s passing
22. Julius Erving
Julius Erving’s indelible brand of basketball epitomized the ABA — exuding grace, fluidity, and individuality. Unfortunately, in the case of this list, those five brilliant ABA seasons Erving put forth are inconsequential. That still leaves Dr. J with 11 impeccable NBA seasons though, dominating the small forward position throughout the late seventies and early eighties — instilling an unprecedented sense of style in a league in desperate need of an identity.
21. Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry’s place on this list is unassailable, as are his bona fides. Make no mistake though, while his sheer body of work warrants praise, his contributions to the game extend far beyond MVP awards and NBA championships. The three-point boom will always be the house that Steph built — casting an indelible shadow that will hang over basketball for generations to come.
20. John Havlicek
If Julius Erving epitomized the bombastic style of the ABA, John Hondo Havlicek embodied a bygone era — an idealistic time, when trite concepts like pride and competition were held in higher esteem than financial security. On the court, his ubiquitous skillet and limitless stamina left him with the wherewithal to star as the Celtics sixth man in the late sixties, winning six championships alongside Bill Russell, and later assume the role as the Celtics venerable captain, leading them to two more championships in the seventies.
“On stamina alone, he’d be among the top players who ever played the game. It would’ve been fair to those who had to play him or those who had to coach against him if he had been blessed only with his inhuman endurance. God had to compound it by making him a good scorer, smart ballhandler and intelligent defensive player with quickness of mind, hands, and feet.” -Hall of Fame coach Red Holzman on John Havlicek
19. Bob Pettit
For far too many basketball fans, Bob Pettit’s career resides in the realm of the unknown, which is in every sense of the word, tragic. For a crash course, Big Blue was the progenitor of the traditional power-forward and a dominant rebounder — who devastated defenders with his reliable swinging-hook and, moreover, patented jump shot. The pinnacle of Pettit’s career, however, came in the 1957–58 season, when his St. Louis Hawks bested the Boston Celtics in six-games, delivering Bill Russell his only loss in the NBA Finals.
“Bob made ‘second effort’ a part of the sports vocabulary. He kept coming at you more than any man in the game. He was always battling for position, fighting you off the boards.” -Bill Russell on his longtime adversary Bob Pettit
18. Rick Barry
Rick Barry was more than just a practitioner of the granny toss. In many ways, he was the spiritual precursor to Larry Bird — an extraordinary passer who supplemented his less than stellar physique with his intellect and an insatiable appetite for winning.
“Brent Barry and Jon Barry asked me recently, ya’ know, where their father would have fit in, and I told them, ya’ know, my initial reaction was top 10, and then I thought, well you know what, not top 10, ya know, top 15. … I said, ‘your father was every bit as good as Larry Bird.’” -Longtime NBA columnist and former Rucker League coach, Peter Vescey, on Rick Barry
17. Dirk Nowitzki
If George Gervin’s pristine finger-roll was reminiscent of a signature move in wrestling, then Dirk Nowitzki’s one-legged fadeaway is the Stone Cold Stunner or RKO of basketball-moves. Throw in a whopping 17 years of quality production, a career-redefining title run, and a million different haircuts — and you have the premier European import, who all European imports aspire to be.
16. Elgin Baylor
The true forerunner of high-flying small forwards, Elgin Baylor inspired an entire generation of acrobatic wings who ultimately succeeded him; however, Baylor was more than just basketball’s first extravagant acrobat. He was a virtuosic maestro, whose command of the game propelled the then Minneapolis Lakers to the NBA Finals in his rookie season — beginning a long and storied rivalry with the proverbial wall that was the Boston Celtics.
15. Moses Malone
Moses Malone established himself as the acme of persistence, and a peerless force on the glass, like very few before him, or since, for that matter. The Chairman of the Boards was far more than just a rebounder though — punishing his adversaries underneath the rim in a bid for position and averaging a triple-double between 1979 and 1990: 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 24 bruises per contest.
14. Kevin Durant
What can I say about Kevin Durant in 140 words or less that hasn’t already been said? He is, in my estimation, the most effortless scorer in NBA history — who uses his length, height, quickness, and body control to bolster a vast arsenal of offensive weaponry. Couple his unrivaled scoring prowess with the myriad of ancillary skills he’s steadily accumulated, and you have a swiss-army knife — malleable enough to play off-guard or small-ball center, and fill any role in between.
If you’d like to read the next installment, wait no further. Here is Part III:
