Player Tiers
Which player had the greatest career in NBA history? How does one determine the answer to that question? And why do we care so much? Plenty of basketball minds have put together lists like this and called their version the definitive ranking of basketball players, but we can admit, that’s not what we are going to do. We cannot claim to know more or have seen more than other people who have participated in this exercise, but we are obsessed with this game and league and spent an unhealthy amount of time figuring out exactly how to go about compiling this list. So, let us go over some of the guidelines we used to determine who was the greatest player in NBA history.
1) Why tiers instead of a straight ranking? It is simply a better reflection of where everyone sits in the hierarchy of pro basketball history. When a list is a straight ranking, people get way too caught up in the actual number, rather than the general tier that they are in. In this tier rankings, our thesis is that you can more or less change the rankings within a tier based on different criteria. For example, we have Oscar Robertson in our Galaxy Opal tier, players 11-18, which means we think you can credibly make the case that he is as high as the 11th best player of all-time or the 18th best player, but not above or below that. The players are listed in alphabetical order within each tier. I repeat, we have listed the players in each tier in alphabetical order! After the top tier (Mt. Rushmore) the tiers are named after the levels of MyTeam cards on NBA 2K.
2) Championships matter, but are not the be all and end all. Basketball is a team game, and so much of who wins the title each year depends on health or just plain luck. We feel that it is completely unfair to only use rings as the primary source of judging careers. If rings are all you want, then this list would read like a 1960’s Boston Celtics roster and Robert Horry.
3) Longevity and health matter. Both of those things just have to mean something. Every once in a while on our list we may have a case where Player A has slightly better career numbers, but Player B’s peak was higher than Player A, so we moved Player B up the list. But, more often than not an injury-riddled player is going to get penalized, which may sound unfair but that’s life.
4) We did not use some algorithm or formula to determine our list. Stating that may have just lost some you more math inclined readers, but there are just way too many variables involved when comparing players from a span of nearly 80 years.
5) We did, however, use a wide range of stats. We looked at basic counting numbers, such as points scored, total blocks or number of titles and finals appearances. We took a look at per game stats and career accomplishments like All-NBA teams and MVP votes. We also heavily took into consideration advanced stats like VORP, total win shares, win shares per 48, player efficiency rating and Basketball-Reference’s Hall of Fame probability and similarity scores.
6) This list is a tier ranking of the greatest careers in pro basketball history, which means that we are not just using NBA stats. Other pro leagues and international play did come into consideration for this list. We did not, however, include college or sub-pro stats or accomplishments into the making of this list. Obviously, NBA stats are going to weigh more heavily than any other league, but we here at Hooper’s Almanac pride ourselves on being students of the entire history of the game.
Now that you see how we went about compiling the list, let us explain why we are even doing it. Some people consider trying to do something like this a fool’s errand, and to some extent those people are correct. No one person or group of people can come up with a definitive answer to who had the greatest careers of all-time and rank this many players in the process. The main point of this list is to learn about the players on it and create a discussion about them among our readers. Obviously we were thorough in our research and we believe the list we have is great, but people are going to disagree, which is kind of the point. The list is done on our end, and from now on the only thing that will change is a yearly update to the active players. If they deserve to move up a few spots, then we will do that. This whole thing was a labor of love and we hope you enjoy it.
MOUNT RUSHMORE (top four)
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lasted 20 seasons in the NBA, and this was after the greatest college career of all-time, where he captured three national titles and three player of the year awards during his time at UCLA. He was incredibly durable, only playing less than 76 games twice in 20 years. His list of accomplishments in the league is truly staggering. The man won six MVP’s (a record), scored 38,387 points (a record for nearly 40 years), was a 19 time All-Star (also a record for over 25 years), was named to 10 All-NBA 1st Teams, won two Finals MVPs and won six championships.
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LeBron James
LeBron James is perhaps the best high school basketball prospect of all-time, and he has turned that hype into the greatest NBA career of all-time. He was drafted 1st overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003 and immediately made a huge impact on the franchise and the league. James won Rookie of the Year in 2004 and in 2005, LeBron made his first All-Star and All-NBA Team, accomplishments that he has matched every year since then. The first seven years of LeBron’s career were played in Cleveland, where he blossomed into the best player in the league…
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Michael Jordan
You do not need me to tell you how good Michael Jordan was, but here we go. The man was a monster in college at North Carolina, won an Olympic gold medal in ’84 before making his Chicago Bulls debut and upon making that debut was immediately one of the best players in the game. By 1988 he had become an absolute force on both ends of the court. In that famous season, ’87-’88, Jordan won the scoring title, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP, an unprecedented accomplishment. After falling short in the playoffs in ’89 and ’90, to the eventual champion “Bad Boy” …
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Bill Russell
Bill Russell is the greatest winner in American team sports history. The man was the anchor of a true dynasty, the likes of which the league will never see again. In his 13 years with Boston, the Celtics won the title 11 times, the last two coming with Russell as the player/coach. But it really isn’t all about the titles. His impact on a game-to-game and play-to-play basis has been rivaled by only a handful of players to ever grace an NBA court. He is the greatest defensive player of all-time and could kick-start Boston’s trademark fastbreak with pinpoint outlet passes. He led the…
DARK MATTER (5-10)
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Larry Bird
It is probably impossible to overstate Larry Bird’s contributions to the game of basketball. From his storied career at Indiana State, to his legendary run in Boston and final statement on the Dream Team, Bird left behind a basketball legacy almost unrivaled. By the way, he also is the only man to be named NBA MVP, Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. Not bad for a “Hick from French Lick”. Drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird decided to play his final season at Indiana State before actually signing with the pro club. The college basketball world greatly benefited…
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Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain was perhaps the most physically dominant basketball player to ever live. That is not to undermine the immense skill he possessed as a player, leading to seven NBA scoring titles and all kinds of scoring records. Wilt was also an excellent passer and shot blocker. After a season with the Harlem Globetrotters, Wilt spent the first six years of his NBA career with the Warriors franchise, where he racked up numerous accolades. In 1960 he was named league MVP and Rookie of the Year. In ’62 he put up utterly preposterous averages of 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds per game…
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Tim Duncan
The story of Tim Duncan and how he became one of the ten greatest players of all-time has been well documented. He grew up a swimmer in St. Croix, Virgin Islands and came to basketball late. Swimming’s loss was definitely basketball’s gain. Drafted 1st overall in the 1997 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, after a stellar career at Wake Forest, Duncan immediately made a huge impact on his new team. He took home Rookie of the Year honors in his first season, as well as being named to the All-NBA 1st team. In just his second season, the 50-game, lockout shortened season, the Spurs…
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Magic Johnson
Earvin “Magic” Johnson is one of the rare players in sports history that can claim that he defined an entire decade in his sport. His rivalry with Larry Bird is one of the most famous in team sports history, as the league’s two marquee franchises, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, did battle at the leagues summit multiple times in the 80’s. But the rivalry began in college, when Magic’s Michigan State squad beat Larry Bird’s Indiana State team to earn the 1979 NCAA title. After that, the Lakers made Magic the 1st pick in the ’79 draft. Magic immediately became a star…
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Hakeem Olajuwon
The #1 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft was Akeem Olajuwon, who had just had a remarkable college career at the University of Houston. He didn’t have to travel far to get to his pro team, which was the Houston Rockets. Olajuwon immediately made an impact on the Rockets, making the All-Rookie 1st Team in 1985. In 1986 he helped lead the Rockets to the Finals, where they fell short to the Boston Celtics. Olajuwon was a force for the remainder of the 80’s, but as the 90’s rolled in, the team struggled just a bit. After two ever so slightly down (relative to him) seasons…
GALAXY OPAL (11-18)
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Kobe Bryant
As a senior in the class of 1996 at Lower Merion High School, Kobe Bryant so thoroughly dominated the competition that it only made sense for him to take his talents to the NBA. Just a year prior Kevin Garnett became the first player in decades to make the jump from the preps to the pros, and Kobe believed he could do it as well. After a sterling, 20-year NBA career, he was proved correct. The Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe with the 13th pick in that fabled ’96 draft and promptly traded his rights to the Lakers for Vlade Divac. It was the only transaction Bryant would ever be a part of…
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Steph Curry
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Kevin Durant
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Julius Erving
Julius Erving was the living embodiment of style and grace in the 1970’s pro basketball world. He started his career in the ABA and is that league’s greatest ever player. He won three ABA MVP’s, two titles and created a legendary following in Virginia and New York. Julius was nicknamed Dr. J because he operated on the court. His game was so smooth and Afro so cool that it had imitators all across the country. In 1976 the ABA and NBA merged, and Erving ended up with the Philadelphia 76ers, controversially. Erving ended up playing 11 magnificent years in Philly. He was an All-Star in all of his NBA seasons and led the Sixers to the Finals in ’77, ’80 and ’82, winning league MVP honors in ‘81…
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Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett grew up in Mauldin, South Carolina, attending high school in the town before eventually transferring to Farragut Academy in Chicago for his final year. It was there, in 1995, that he wowed scouts and became the first player in 20 years to jump straight from high school to the NBA. Drafted 5th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, KG would have a somewhat slow start to his career before blossoming into one of the greatest players of all-time, while playing with a ferocity matched by very few.
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Moses Malone
Despite playing for nine different franchises in two different leagues, Moses Malone put together a Hall of Fame career worthy of landing in the top 15 of this list. Malone began his career with two seasons in the ABA, joining the league right out of high school. In 1976, Malone played two games for the Buffalo Braves before being traded to the Houston Rockets, where he would really shine. Malone won the ’79 and ’82 NBA MVP awards as a member of the Rockets, and he would help lead the team to the Finals in ’81. In September of ’82, however, Malone was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, forming a superteam in Philly…
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Oscar Robertson
After a truly stellar college career at the University of Cincinnati, Oscar Robertson was made a territorial pick by the Cincinnati Royals of the NBA in 1960. Robertson played the entire decade of the 60’s with the Royals and became one of the best players of all-time in the process. He had an all-around game that caused every guard of that era major problems. The Big O was an oversized point guard who had excellent court vision and could take advantage of smaller guards by backing them down and getting to his spot…
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Jerry West
Jerry West is an absolute legend of the game, whose influence reaches far beyond his playing days. West was a Laker lifer who was named an All-Star in every season of his 14-year career. He teamed up with Elgin Baylor to lead the Lakers to the Finals seven times throughout the 60’s and early 70’s, but was bettered by the Boston Celtics in nearly all of those trips. In 1969, the Lakers and Celtics played a classic series, with Boston winning in seven games. West was so good that he was awarded Finals MVP anyway. It was the first time the award was given and the only time a player from the losing team has won it.