1. Michael Jordan
MJ is the greatest basketball player this world has ever seen. He
refused to lose, a trait possessed by few in the era of high-paid NBA
players afraid to get dunked on today. He won six championships against
John Stockton, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and other
Hall-of-Famers. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
2. Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt is the most dominant basketball player to ever play the game. At
some point, you have to throw out the “he played in a much worse era”
argument, because Wilt was so far above everyone else he played against.
He scored 100 points in a game, averaged 50 for a season, and even led
the league in assists when he decided to pass more.(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
3. Magic Johnson
Magic was the only player who one-upped Larry Bird during the
80s. He’s LeBron James plus four inches and a whole bunch of
championships, which is why James has lots of work to do if he wants to
be included in a top 10 conversation. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
4. Tim Duncan
Duncan is the most under appreciated player basketball has ever seen.
His fundamental offensive moves were supposed to work in the 1960s, not
the 2000s, yet he’s been a career 20 points per game player. In an era
that should’ve been completely dominated by Shaq, Kobe, and LeBron,
Duncan won four championships with his best teammates being Tony Parker
and Manu Ginobili. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem played for a ridiculous 20 years, which is no easy task for a big
man (just ask Yao Ming, who is struggling to make it through one full
season). His name is synonymous with the sky hook, a shot attempted by
youngsters across the globe along with NBA centers today, and his six
MVPs only bolster an already impressive resume. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
6. Larry Bird
Larry reinvigorated the Celtics franchise and led them to three
championships during the 80s. He averaged a cool 24 points and 10
rebounds in 13 seasons, and helped put the NBA on the national
television map with his rivalry against Magic Johnson.(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
7. Kobe Bryant
Bryant is the closest thing the NBA has seen to Michael Jordan since
MJ’s retirement. Similar to Michael, Kobe has adapted his game as age
slowly catches up to him. Formerly a high-flying dunker, Bryant is now a
prolific jump shooter and phenomenal defender. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
8. Shaquille O'Neal
For Shaquille O'Neal
to dominate this era the way he did was incredible (just imagine what
he would have done against competition from previous eras).
As a
Laker, he won three titles, made seven All-Star teams, eight All-NBA
teams, he was named league MVP once and NBA Finals MVP three times.
He's
first in team history in Player Efficiency Rating, second in points and
blocks per game, fifth in rebounds per game and second in field-goal
percentage.(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
9. Bill Russell
Russell isn’t just the greatest winner, he’s also on the shortlist of
best defenders to play the game. He would more than likely own the
record for blocks (not a category during his career), and was rewarded
for his efforts with five MVP awards. So why isn’t he higher on this
list?
It’s simple: the era he played in. Just like the “Big O,” we don’t
know how Russell would have done in a 30-team, much more competitive
league. He also averaged less than 16 points per game for his career, so
at the end of games, Bill wasn’t a guy you could turn to for big shots. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
10. Hakeem Olajuwon
The smoothest big man the league has ever seen. Olajuwon could
do absolutely anything he wanted on the offensive end, and blocked shots
at a high rate to boot. In a Jordan-less league, he would very likely
be ranked much higher on this list, as evidenced by his two championship
wins when MJ was busy playing baseball.
Nowadays, chiseled big men like Dwight Howard are the ideal, but I’d
take Hakeem’s freakish athletic ability over that any day of the week.
10. Scottie Pippen
If Michael Jordan was this generation’s Batman, Pippen was certainly Robin.
(http://bleacherreport.com/articles/358840-top-ten-nba-players-of-all-time/page/3)
