The Greatest Professional Basketball Players of All-Time

Author: David Friedman
Published on: Sep 9, 2005

There have been many attempts to determine the greatest pro basketball players of all-time. The two main approaches to ranking players are (1) relying on statistics and (2) focusing on subjective observations/historical context.

The NBA's Official All-Time Anniversary Teams

The NBA has selected official all-time teams in conjunction with its 25th, 35th and 50th anniversaries. The first of these, the Silver Anniversary Team, consisted of the ten greatest retired players at that time (1971): Paul Arizin, Bob Cousy, Bob Davies, Joe Fulks, Sam Jones, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Bill Russell, Dolph Schayes and Bill Sharman.

Ten years later the NBA expanded the roster to 11 and modified the selection process to allow the inclusion of active players; the 35th Anniversary Team included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, John Havlicek, George Mikan, Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell and Jerry West.

In 1996 the NBA honored its 50th Anniversary by creating a list of the 50 Greatest Players of All-Time. This list included everyone from the 25th and 35th Anniversary Teams except for Davies and Fulks. The youngest player on the list was Shaquille O’Neal.

In 1999 an Associated Press panel voted for Basketball Player of the Century. The top ten finishers were Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Earvin Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Julius Erving. One could probably make a case for any of those players being the all-time greatest.

Julius "Dr. J" Erving

The greatest player of all-time must display both durability and a high peak value; durability means sustaining a long career (at least 10 years) at or near the top of the game. Peak value refers to the top level that the player reached, even if he stayed there only briefly.

As an example of peak value, consider Julius Erving’s performance in 1975-76 for the New York Nets. Dr. J ranked first in the ABA in scoring, fifth in rebounding, seventh in assists, third in steals and seventh in blocked shots. He also placed eighth in two-point field goal percentage and seventh in three-point field goal percentage. Incredibly, Erving increased his production in the postseason.

It is possible that no one has ever played basketball better than Dr. J did in that season, particularly his playoff performances against talented San Antonio and Denver teams. Newsweek’s Pete Axthelm, in a May 1976 article titled “Sky King,” suggested that Erving was indeed the greatest player the game had seen at that time.

ABA Commissioner (and Hall of Fame forward) Dave DeBusschere offered this summary of Erving’s impact: “Plenty of guys have been ‘The Franchise.’ For us, Dr. J is ‘The League.’” Erving combines a high peak value with impressive durability, ranking among the best players in the game for most of his career.