1Michael Jordan
+747Best player the world has seen and will see. Just looking at him inspires you to become a basketball player. No matter what anyone says, Jordan is the best basket-baller.
+580The best player ever! Everybody will know the one who is going to surpass him. (if that day will ever come)
+501Amazing how quickly people forget how good he was. Bobby Knight who coached him in the 84 Olympics o
2Kobe Bryant
+357Kobe = 81 points, most by a wing player in NBA history.
+203HAD KOBE PLAYED THE FOURTH QUARTER AGAINST DALLAS WHEN HE HAD 62 POINTS AT THAT TIME I'M SURE HE WOULD OF HAD ANOTHER 80 POINT GAME.
HEART OF STONE. IT'S FITTING HE IS RANKED 2ND.
HEART OF STONE. IT'S FITTING HE IS RANKED 2ND.
+173It is obviously MJ, but Kobe is probably the closes thing to him we will have. People are looking for LeBron to be the next MJ, but they don't realize that's Kobe.
3LeBron James
+155Kobe is great but LeBron James fantastic he can dribble he can shoot he can do anything he would be the next Michael Jordan in the next few years because he has got amazing potential and he won back to back MVP's I mean who else can do that
logan101
+118Lebron James is the greatest Small Forward right now in NBA but he is the right now in NBA Larry Bird and Kobe is Magic Johnson Kobe said he's number 1 idol in NBA is Magic Johnson! Kobe wants he's jersey number is 33 but Kobe said 33 is on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar so he's jersey number now is 24
+101Lebron is the best he shines over Kobe in every way. I think he's better than Jordan too all he needs are the rings and enough said. People don't give Lebron his credit just as people don't Eminem his credit well we all know Eminem is the best rapper alive and Lebron is the greatest ball player ever to touch a basket ball!
4Magic Johnson
+96Seriously, you put Iverson ahead of Magic Johnson? You have lost all credibility with 98% of your audience. No one on this list exhibited the versatility, vision and capability to make others around him better than Magic!
+89Now Magic what a player the most unselfish in NBA history he has the highest assist average in an NBA career ever he lead the lakers to the NBA crown when he was just a rookie but yet didn't win rookie of the year he has 4 rings 3 MVP's and way way more awards he is a great player and if he didn't retire on his 12 season he would probably be at the very top at this list or at least second because he was probably the best of the era he played.
logankulas
+41Magic could easily play point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward. He once played center in 1980 nba finals and won with kareem injured in game 6. The bulls struggled when Jordan played the point because he was not good at distributing. Jordan was too small in size and did not have the strength to play small forward at his prime.
Overall Talent
While I do give Michael Jordan the edge in scoring, Magic had more all around talent. He has 100 more triple doubles than Michael Jordan did even though he retired at only 32. Magic Johnson was the best passer the game has every seen not even john stockton, jason kidd, steve nash, or chris paul can pass as good as Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was best rebounder who played out of any guard position averaging 7.2 rebounds a game for his career.
Competitiveness
While Jordan did win 6 rings. Magic Johnson won 5 rings in the 1980's era that was best in basketball there was celtics who had bird, mchale, and parish. Pistons who had isaih thomas, dennis rodman, joe dumars. 76ers that had moses malone and Dr.J. and Magic beat all those teams which were the only other teams to win a championship beside lakers in 1980's. The teams Jordan beat had only one top 50 player of all time or at most 2 like jazz. Magic Johnson save the NBA and he is the Greatest Player OF All Time!
Overall Talent
While I do give Michael Jordan the edge in scoring, Magic had more all around talent. He has 100 more triple doubles than Michael Jordan did even though he retired at only 32. Magic Johnson was the best passer the game has every seen not even john stockton, jason kidd, steve nash, or chris paul can pass as good as Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was best rebounder who played out of any guard position averaging 7.2 rebounds a game for his career.
Competitiveness
While Jordan did win 6 rings. Magic Johnson won 5 rings in the 1980's era that was best in basketball there was celtics who had bird, mchale, and parish. Pistons who had isaih thomas, dennis rodman, joe dumars. 76ers that had moses malone and Dr.J. and Magic beat all those teams which were the only other teams to win a championship beside lakers in 1980's. The teams Jordan beat had only one top 50 player of all time or at most 2 like jazz. Magic Johnson save the NBA and he is the Greatest Player OF All Time!
5Larry Bird
+123Larry was a great shooter with few dunks unlike Jordan who had many dunks to increase his shooting percentage. Larry was also a better rebounder, free throw shooter, and passer than Jordan. Larry entered the NBA one year late, after sitting out a year in college, and missed almost another full year in his prime with a foot injury. He was not a selfish shooter but just wanted to win and would get all of his teammate involved. He averaged over 10 rebounds per game for his career - not bad for someone who couldn't jump! He was both the first AND second player ever to shoot over 50% from the field AND over 90% from the line for a season - and this from a long range shooter! He was the best ever with a ful command of the game and awareness of what was happening - always.
+127He was the best ever: the greatest, most creative passer ever; one of the greatest defensive rebounders, the greatest all around shooter, the greatest clutch shooter, and played great team defense. Add to all these qualities his great basketball intelligence, mental toughness, and pure skill, and you have, by far, the greatest player of all times!
+83Scored when ever he wanted to. Anywhere he was he was great.
6Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
+93No one could guard the sky hook. Most points scored in a career - not even close
+56Most points scored in the history of the NBA- He has so many blocks as well as some great assists. That is why He deserves number 1
+10Kareem was THE GREATEST BASKETBALL PLAYER OF ALL TIME, NO QUESTION. Kobe doesn't even compare, Lebron is good but doesn't even compare to Kareem, Who had the most points of all time in the NBA (38,387), Surpassed all these people for rebounds, Had an incredible amount of assists for a point guard, and mastered the hook shot. He won just as many championships as MJ, and just as many MVPs. Also, Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all-time leader in minutes played (57,446, field goals made (15,837), field goal attempts (28,307), All Star Games (18), and All Star Selections (19). He is now 10th in Field Goal Percentage (.559), 2nd in Games Played (1,560), 3rd for most Rebounds (17,440), 3rd for most Blocks (3,189) Note: Blocks were not officially counted until the 1973-74 season, 2 years after Abdul-Jabbars debut in the NBA, and 14th in PPG. He had ten 50 point games, all with the Milwaukee Bucks. His career high was 55 points on December 10, 1971 against the Boston Celtics. He was also a two time player of the year (1967, 1969), Three time NCAA Champion (1967-1969), Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Tournament (1967-1969), and Naismith College Player of the Year (1969), along with Rookie Of the Year (1970), Six-time NBA champion (1971, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88), NBA MVP (1971-72, 1974, 1976-77, 1980), and the first player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. Kobe Bryant or Lebron James will never be as incredible player as he his, and they will never score more points then him, even as Shooting Guards and Small Forwards.
7Wilt Chamberlain
+24WIlt was the athletic and over powering many players and scoring many occasionally and can play for different areas of the court to just regularly run or to sneak around or go around the players to get the basket and score and to grab rebounds or just stay in short range area zone and help his team with some plays and play d.E. of the Harlem Globetrotters of the 70's okay and you may be the player who has the skills to play!
+133He averaged 50 points in a single season
Scored 100 points in a single game
Got 55 rebounds against the Celtics led by Bill Russell (2nd all time career rebounder behind chamberlain)
eason field goal percentage at 0.727.
This man was unstoppable
Scored 100 points in a single game
Got 55 rebounds against the Celtics led by Bill Russell (2nd all time career rebounder behind chamberlain)
eason field goal percentage at 0.727.
This man was unstoppable
+70Wilt Chamberlain was by far the most underrated player to ever play basketball. People are so quick to discredit Wilt by saying he played "lesser" quality players and would not be as dominant in this day and age. Kareem Abdul Jabar, Willis Reed, Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, Wes Unseld were all excellent players who played in the post at the same time as Wilt, are you saying they weren't quality basketball players. He played 48.5 minutes a game in chucks, and all 82. He averaged 8 assist a game as a center in season, his records in scoring and rebounding remain untouched. Wilt Chamberlain was the greatest player to ever play on the hardwood.
8Bill Russell
+28I would simply like to say that with all due respect to the names listed here, you must remember that this is a TEAM game. If you wanted to talk about who is the best 1 on 1 player based on his individual talents and all around skills, then that is a different subject all together. The overall skill level of the game has certainly changed over the last couple of decades, but, some good, and some maybe not so good. The game was first
And the footnote in a joking gesture bill said he was thinking of writing his grandson out of his will, lol.
And the footnote in a joking gesture bill said he was thinking of writing his grandson out of his will, lol.
CRUISERJ
+9Most opinions that I read about come from people who use stats. They simply are very misleading. And how does one define "best" basketball player? Is it the one with the best overall skills? Russell was not too good at dribbling or shooting.
But in a team game, I think it makes more sense to talk about how "valuable" a player is. In other words, what would occur if the team lost that player? How easy would it be to replace that player's skills with someone else?
If we look at it that way, then russell is a clear first. No one is even close. Russell was the Boston Celtic fast break, possibly the most dominating aspect that basketball has ever seen.
Rusceltics were so dominant. I think russell's abilities were so unique that it might take 100 yea
But in a team game, I think it makes more sense to talk about how "valuable" a player is. In other words, what would occur if the team lost that player? How easy would it be to replace that player's skills with someone else?
If we look at it that way, then russell is a clear first. No one is even close. Russell was the Boston Celtic fast break, possibly the most dominating aspect that basketball has ever seen.
Rusceltics were so dominant. I think russell's abilities were so unique that it might take 100 yea
basketballer
9Shaquille O'Neal
+65He gave the NBA a lot more image and he has a lot of NBA Championships he is an important part of the Greatest NBA players of all time
noahhurrle
+54Can't see any better center other than O'neal. I think people are just being stupid by voting for lebron instead of oneal oneal should have been in top 5
+47Shaq has it all - Now that he is retired, his stats will be known more and he will jump up to #1. No reason for LeBron or Kobe to be higher than the Shaq!
10Oscar Robertson
+15Um honestly don't jump on me MJ fans but he is the greatest Player to ever step foot on the hardwood he has over 180 career Triple-Doubles That wouldn't be impressive if it was a double double with an assists and points but he rebounded as well and he was 6'5 who else can do that well there are a few that can do that lie LeBron, D-Wade and maybe Jason Kidd but the Big 0 should be the best or at least top 3 only trailing to SHAQ Wilt and maybe MJ but he is the best all round player ever there's no doubt about that he averaged a triple double for an entire season enough said
+4US
s the Player of the Year Award, was renamed in 1998 because of Robertson�s outstanding career and his continuing efforts to promote the game of basketball. He averaged 32.6 points per game in his sophomore year at Cincinnati.
s the Player of the Year Award, was renamed in 1998 because of Robertson�s outstanding career and his continuing efforts to promote the game of basketball. He averaged 32.6 points per game in his sophomore year at Cincinnati.
+7You guys do realize that he is the only player 2 average 27 points, 6 boards, and 6 assists a game for more than 3 strait seasons an HE DID IT 8 YEARS IN A ROW. If that's not being a complete player I don't know what is.
