Best Basketball Players Of All Time

Best 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.

The best player ever! Everybody will know the one who is going to surpass him. (if that day will ever come)

Amazing how quickly people forget how good he was. Bobby Knight who coached him in the 84 Olympics once made a statement saying he is the best player to ever play any team sport. Knight might has been an ass at times, but he knew talent and if one of the few who knew Michael would be as great as he was. He also made Pippen and Rodman the players they are due to his desire to win. Paul Westfall after getting beat by Jordan was asked by reporters did you say you had to stop Michael. Westfall replied, nobody can and we never said we could, the only way stop Michael is rip his heart out. He was red in the face and left the podium. How many great players did he keep from winning a championship: Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone and basically everyone on the Dream Team unless they played for the Bulls or when Jordan was playing baseball, Hakeem O. Who was picked a head of Jordan in the 84 draft. It was a good pick, with Jordan playing baseball he was able to win 2 championships with the Rockets. Heck I would had picked him over Jordan in 84 not knowing how great his Airness would be. To compare LeBron to Jordan doesn't even make sense. LeBron is a good passer because other defenders can stop him from going to the bucket. If Jordan wanted to score nobody who ever played the game could stop him period! If he wanted to shut any guard down in the league, consider it done. Actually Dewayne Wade is the best player in the league at this time and can take over games like Jordan, but don't have the players to finish the game off like when Jordan played. He is only 6'4, but I've seen him where defenders can't keep him from scoring either. There may never be another Jordan, buy his 3 disk collection to jog the memory!

Kobe = 81 points, most by a wing player in NBA history.

HAD 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.

It 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.

Kobe 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

Lebron 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

Lebron 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!

Seriously, 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!

Now 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.

Magic 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!

Larry 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.

He 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!

Scored when ever he wanted to. Anywhere he was he was great.

WIlt 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 defense and get rebounds from both side of the court and take passes and to score on some occasions and pass them on occasion and that gave in more of an passer and still a scorer later in his years while playing strong on defense a lot too.

Did you know he was an athlete and had taken a race against Browns football player? Brown and had his run with his taller size and legs surpassing the football legend who was remarkably pretty strong and a an good runner too. And he(Wilt) was able to run good during his earlier or mid years mostly to take the ball and run down half court some and dunk or lay the ball in and if he would need to jump for height he would excel over the basket of of his upper body and why not needy too when he can just loop the ball over and score and dunk it from the distance he jump from or off the ground! He said he would able to score more later in his years and but when the team just needing you play your area and get the ball or boards he would do that or just do that and had focused to be a team to help them score etc. More times! He had a leaping show with two former Harlem Globetrotters to leap to one height and touch an object and etc. And the first Harlem Globetrotter was the smaller man and he had leap and reached and touched a branch or object and so he did and the next Harlem Globetrotter did and then did Wilt Chamberlain while he needing too just take a leap to do that and it went to the next challenge and a higher reach and one player couldn't and he went out and the second player went to 48 to 52 vertical leap where the second player had did and Wilt and taken the leap and achieve it and so the next round Wilt had taken a leap and it went to 52 to 58 inches high of his leap and the was it! I fhe can jump that high for a tall men and the reach of to dunk a ball that distance the board and basket would be 2feet higher and you can imagine a tall guy jumping or leaping for a dunk and with some kind of leaping jump to the basket and etc. He had admit the only player really Wilt couldn't do much in a regular play in the position he was or just needed some help to guard was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and he got in a play around Kareem to score at a older age and he had team with Nate Thurmond and admits he had the smoothest clean block shots and more than anyone and said he would average more than 4 and had average more than 5 before and he had or was capable of averaging 11 blocks a game and he was able to play Kareem on defense and to block him from close of the three point perimeter zone and Kareem considered him the toughest defense center to play against and second was Wilt Chamberlain etc. Wilt can play Bill in the scoring zone and Bill can put a move then and there certain occasions to score a few or? In a game and Wilt can get an open position and block Bill up close then sometimes and if Bill had been in a closer position and lost body contact and can sometimes still get around sometimes too make a play or Bill can block Wilt on a short run and good reach with a leap get it and Wilt can block Bill from close and from above to block Bill from scoring or making a play or Wilt can get a rebound from there close to the court from Bill or the players and Bill would need to run some and leap jump and grab a board which he's probably the greatest at it and etc from the court for blocks.
He can overplay and to score with some good scoring or continuing feat from other great or good basketball players and on any team and from the smaller legends of height with some speed and leaping ability or maybe quickness too and even though they may score and perform good or great etc.
Michael Jordan was a scoring treat performer and unbelievable long distance throw mades he had taken and acrobatic mover in the game of his height and leaper to perform in the game with different kind of players and smaller players and bigger players and there had not been a player to perform with many scoring feats and rebounding feats or blocking feats like Wilt or Bill russell of his days and who achieve the totals they had gotten during their prime or high times. Oscar Robertson was a good player and great team player and like Michael Jordan was a good player and maybe Oscar Robertson was a smarter player than Michael Jordan as a team player or passer and maybe or maybe Michael was only on play when running and getting his play and being there to make a scoring feat play or dunk but Oscar had play tremendous on teamplay and passing and receiving plays and making some baskets and focusing on team plays and team players locating positions too and Kobe was a good player and to get a play to finish a regular or good play done occasionally and a lot of his similarity moves to play and etc. Plays! And Elgin Baylor was the stronger or probably tougher player or the same like Michael or Kobe and to say juluis Erving he can fit the fast forward position just right and perform the feat needing for a fast forward to score or receive a pass and to dunk it or to make a passing play or for a three pointer from a further distance! I can mention Rick Barry who excelled in his own scoring feat performance etc and there were other players and achieve remarkable scoring feats too. If I mention Larry Bird and player just good and right for a kind of distance three pointer there's others too and like from the beginning of the NBA like the player from Philadelhia46ers or 76ers"? " team named Joe Fulks and read books that said he was a remarkable uncanny or outside shooter and from other players oo and was the same height of Larry Bird and strong like him too and he had lead the league with the first remarkable single scoring record with 63 or"60" points a game and there was Dolph Schayes who can make baskets from long distance and higher ones then many orall players in his league and was a strong rebounder for a forward and center too during his days and said he can play Wilt Chamberlain"? ". And why not mention Marques Hayes who had played games with the Harlem Globetrotters against the Lakers of Minneapolis and starring Jim Pollard and George Mikan etc. WHy not a player played of a different team of the league and really no other player in the league of the NBA had a good control of a remarkable dribble feat or control to do in the game of basketball and that can make better to play the game and around the players and play them and like other players with special skills with quickness or defense of blocking and jumping ability etc. And Marques Haynes was one of a kind. And Michael Jordan had pretty good control of the ball and Julius had good control of the play of all around to carry the ball of his physical to make it easy and even Wilt too butt lesser on certain plays for a taller guy etc. And Earvin Johnson of his strength of plays. So I may put Wilt as the #1 player or a #1 player! And #1 player for the league or what we read about him or plays we had view on T.V. and their may be other players but for their performance or kind of skills they only had that was good or great and Connie awkins may be good or Pete Maravich or street legend Herman Knowles a strong rebounder and leaper or Rabbit W. A really good ball handler point guard I had read something similar in a book etc. And Joe Hammond the Wilt Chamberlain forward scorer and from L.A. and to complete it with players to perform good or as good as these players in the game from the renaissance team or original Globbetrotter or etc. And players from earlier leaques of the ABL or NBL etc. Like Harry Hough and Bob McDerMott a long distance great ball shooter and with some blazing speed too and Bob Kurland was a expert one hand blocker he may be as good as a player like Shaquille O'Neal or? And any one like Curly O'Neal or Reese "Goose" Tatum put a good show of fine shooting etc. And Meadowlark Lemon a master of acrobatic leaping moves and and from all areas of the 2 point court and from long 3 distance too and and from half-court too. And don't forget about E.E. of the Harlem Globetrotters of the 70's okay and you may be the player who has the skills to play!

He 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)
Had a 33 game winning streak
Of the 62 times more than 60 points have been scored by a single person in a game, 32 of those times were by Chamberlain
Blocked shots were recorded after he retired, but Harvey Pollack asked his statisticians to count Chamberlain's blocks, and they got up to 25 one night. Well above the record for most blocks in a single game.
Elgin Baylor said that Chamberlain was the only player that could dominate on both end of the court. He recalled one particular game against the bulls where he blocked every single shot for 4-5 minutes and how no one from the bulls could get a shot in.
In a sport where one game is 48 minutes for a season he averaged 48.5 minutes a game, thanks to overtime.
Bill Russell, the man who won more rings than he has fingers, said that Wilt Chamberlain was the best player he ever played against and that it wasn't even close.
He scored a lot but he was also an accurate shooter. Through more than 70 years of the national basketball association Wilt Chamberlain still holds the record for the highest season field goal percentage at 0.727.

This man was unstoppable

Wilt 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.

No one could guard the sky hook. Most points scored in a career - not even close

Kareem 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.

Most 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

I 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 played with much more physical play, and in most cases the player had more rules that restricted much of the modern day displays of athleticism, no doubt. But back to the main quest for who was the most dominant individual player of the game. There are only two names that stand out above all others, Statistically that should go to Wilt Chamberlain, but when you look at the ultimate goal for playing the game, it was to win a championship, and no one, not even M. J. , nor Kobe, came even close to the overall domination of the entire sport itself. Also remember that No rules were ever changed for M. J. , or Kobe, that would slow them down in there pursuit of excellence. Both Wilt & Russell did just that, they were so dominant, that the entire game was revamped in order to take away there athletic abilities, and that did not even change what Bill accomplished as a winner of the ultimate prize.

M. J. & KOBE, and all other modern day greats have had the rules enhanced in order to show case and favor there great athletic abilities, and never did they have rules which would take away there already physical advantages. So there you have it, if you are playing Golf, then stick with the man who won the most trophies, and Tennis the person who won the most titles, but when talking about a 5 man team, who else contributed more and accomplished more at every level of the game, College, 2 championships, Olympic Gold, 11 NBA championship out of 13 years playing, and the 2 years he did not win, he was injured. THIS IS A TEAM GAME, and the comparisons are right there in full view, the stats don't lie, you tell me how was it possible for someone to dominate to that level, and then there is the additional social and society issues that these black players had to endure, that were not as prevalent in the more modern era. Different times, different circumstances. A lot of hype in those modern showcases, I would never count this man out as the most dominant player who made the biggest impact at every level of this game we call basketball, Collegiate player, Professional Player, Coach, and so on, life experiences, and the continued respect of the people who surrounded him.

In RUSSELL'S AUTO-biography, he writes: It was at a Thanksgiving family setting when my Grandson had asked me a question? , Grandpa? "were ever as good as Michael Jordon? , Grandpa Russell looked down at his grandson, and said, "son, you've got that question backwards, you should be asking, "if whether or not M. J. was ever as good as your GRANDFATHER? "

And the footnote in a joking gesture bill said he was thinking of writing his grandson out of his will, lol.

Most 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.

Russell got the rebound, turned, made his outlet pass, and the ball was near half-court by the time russell hit the ground. No wonder he was not scoring many points. Chamberlain, on the other hand, rebounded, shook his body, then handed off to his guard (hal greer most of the time).

When chamberlain got the ball, the rest of his team could take a nap, for all that it mattered. Wilt was gonna shoot, score or miss.

When russell blocked a shot, it almost always "miraculously" ended up in the hands of a celtic. Chamberlain's blocks went out of bounds. According to stats, each had a blocked shot. But in no way did they have equal effects.

With russell on defense, he intimidated shooters, because his body could get to places that no one else could. There is no stat at all for that.

One of the two years that russell did not win - he got hurt in the playoffs.

The celtics did not have the best individual talented players. But they had the most valuable player, and one that made everyone else better.

This is why the russell celtics were so dominant. I think russell's abilities were so unique that it might take 100 years to see another russell.

As long as the Celtics had Russell, they kept winning. I remember Red Auerbach saying that the year after Russell left (1970) and the team went dowhill. Russell blocked shots and kept the ball in play. His defense won games. He played against WIlt Chamberlain and except for 1967, when WIlt's team won, the Celtics won every year and beat out WIlt. Russell has a record nobody will ever achieve again- 11 championships in 13 years. Today, the game has changed. There are more big men and we now have essentially two centers. One is the traditional center and the other is the power forward. Kevin Garnett is a Russell-type shot blocker, but he plays power forward. It is much harder today for a center to dominate a game because there are two "centers" or big men per team. Russell made the Celtics world champions 11 of 13 seasons he played. I don't believe Russell could be this dominant in today's game. He was an intellectual player and basketball is an intellectual game. He was a student of the game. In 1970 in college I asked Bill how he could continually beat Chamberlain's teams as Wilt was about 4 or 5 inches taller. My recollection is he said, "Young man, I can jump flat footed and grab the top of the backboard. " He was an incredible athlete, a fact not that many people recognize today because Bill didn't lay the glamor position of a big time scorer. Guys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade are great players. They just could not have the impact of a big man like BIll Russell. Look at Wade. He needed Shaq to win. Look at Kobe. He needed Shaq and later Gasol. Jordan needed Cartwright and Pippen. These days one man on the team cannot make the impact Russell did in the 1950s and 1960s.

He 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

Shaq 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!

Can'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

USBWA College Player of the Year was started in 1959, which makes it the oldest running trophy for the college player of the year. The USBWA annually selects a player of the year and All-America teams for both men and women in college basketball. The USBWA men's player of the year award is now called the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

The USBWA also selects a national coach of the year for men and women, with the men's award named after legendary coach Henry Iba. It was renamed after the college and professional legend Oscar Robertson in 1998. Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award during the NCAA Final Four. The Oscar Robertson Trophy, previously known as 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.

Um 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

You 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.

Wade? How could he not be in top 10? His shots are almost perfect.

Dwyane Wade bar none is one of the 3 best basketball players on the planet today. His averages right now may not stun you, but when this guy retires and you look back on his career, there's no doubt he'll be considered one of the greatest of all time. He's a champion, an all-star and has had many MVP worthy seasons even though he hasn't won the award yet. In my opinion, by the time he gets in to the hall of fame, he'll be one of the top 15, maybe top 10 players of all time. If top 15, probably only behind Jordan, Magic, Russell, Bird, Wilt, Kareem, Big O, Kobe, Duncan, Shaq, Olajuwon, Mailman, Jerry West and LeBron.

Dwayne wade is the best basketball player sorry lebron but he's good

Earned an NBA championship ring, won an NBA MVP award, went to 11 NBA all star games and took home the all star MVP twice... And that doesn't even count the two ABA titles, two ABA MVP awards and 6 ABA all star games. Dr. J was the dominant player of his era and completely changed the way the game is played today.

Dr J was Dr Dunk. His move over Kareem was monumental... Remember the under the basket hang time it was forever... Or his famous dunk from the free through line... Now there is history!

Doc is the Best thing to happened to the game since the BALL! Erving won only 1 title in the NBA, but all fail to remember that he led a garbage team in 80 and 82 to finals to loss in 6 against the 7 all star Lakers and the sixers had no one, but the Doc! Also greatest flyer, dunker and hang timer Ever! Class act.

Nobody can realistically challenge his creativity, well-honed talent and flair which was WAY ahead of it's time. If he were playing in today's game, he'd still accomplish the things that he did in his day. Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of Pete was his athleticism. Great combination of speed, jumping ability, height and quickness.

Best player to ever play the game. The other nba players hated Pete for his money. He made 400,000.00 per year and other guys made 40 thousand. No one mentions he could light up a crowd like a match to gasoline. Who else could do that. How about being another player and everyone is coming to see this guy the Pistol? Tough to swallow. God made this man special and he did it all missing a ventrical out of his heart. HATERS only says this guy was not the best. There is not one guy in the NBA right now that could beat him 1 on 1. Would never happen. If you think so ask Walt Frazier (the best nba defender)why he hung 68 points in his face? Walt was trying to switch defenders and his teamates refused. Walt is one of the best defenders to play the game. How fitting. Hate if you will, no one will ever be the complete basketball player he was. Now he plays for GOD. How many will get that?

Averaged 44 points per game three years in a row at LSU!

He gave his life to the game! Way ahead of his time.

Kevin Durant is amazing. As a player and as a person. He dominates and scores more points then Lebron and Kobe. In the summer he's the one who calls up his teammates to go up to the gym and shoot. Great leader. And the reason he wears the #35 jersey is because his HS coach was murdered at the age of 35. Humble.

the best to play basketball period better than derrick rose he is not the mvp durant should of got that award

Up to Top 10... he got the most points in 2010-2011. Yao Ming only played just a tiny bit of games but ahead of Kevin Durant. Are you kidding me?! Dude, he's an all arounder!

He's got the skills, basketball height and knows how to use his body parts for offense and defense! Why is this guy underrated? After they win the 2011 finals, everybody will know the real Dirk! Go Dirk!

Even Magic Johnson is saying, on ESPN, that he is probably one of top ten best players in NBA History, perhaps even in the top five!

Dirk is 7'0 and is a beast. He can shoot, drive to the hole and does the greatest post moves ever! Although a lot of times compared to larry bird he is better and should ranked higher

DERRICK ROSE CAN DO EVERYTHING HE CAN SHOOT, DRIVE IN THE BALL BETTER THAN ANY BODY I've EVER SEEN I MEAN HE IS THE COMPLETE PACKAGE FOR A POINT GUARD.

Derrick Rose is amazing, he is the player who get the attention of the crowd from his unbelievable moves and no one can stop him inside the court. The best point guard I've ever seen. Derrick Rose is the best.

GO BULLS! DERRICK ROSE IS THE BEST PLAYER OF ALL TIME. WELL AFTER MICHAEL JORDAN. BUT IF DERRICK ROSE GETS MORE MVP'S HE WILL BE BETTER THAN HIM BY A LONG SHOT. EITHER WAY THEY ARE BOTH IN BULLS SO THEY ARE ALREADY THE BEST OF ALL TIME.

watch The Dream's dream shake vs. David Robinson. That is all you gotta see to realize that he was the most phenomenal player of any generation. All time blocks leader. two rings. thats 2 more than nash, tmac, stockton, malone, james, and ai. did it single handedly. only had drexler half the season in 95. The Dream did it all. double-double, triple-double, quadruple-double, you name it.

Watch the games that this man played Jordon, Shaq, Duncan, Robinson; he schooled them. Because he wasn't in one of the popular teams, he wasn't watched. You have no idea how good this player was. (white, 60 year-old lady that watched basketball because of him)

Hakeem Olujawon the leagues greatest shot blocker of all time he has over 3800 blocked shots in his career now Olujawon is my favorite player of all time he lead the league in all time blocks is one of the greatest centers of all time not only could he block shots but he was ninth place in all time points scored with just over 26,000 points scored in his long eighteen year career

HE WON AN MVP 2 TITLES AND SEVERAL BLOCK LEADERS

Are you kidding me?! 18? Tim Duncan is in the Top Ten at the very least. I sense a bit of Spurs hating on this list. The guy is a perennial All-Star, League MVP Winner, Finals MVP Winner, Rookie of the Year all NBA etc... And possesses the traits that all true champions have, the ability to modify his game over time as needed. Duncans entry into the league was marked with moves and grace the likes of which hadn't ever been seen at the Power Forward position and will from here on out be the standard by which other Power Forwards will be judged. As he got older he continued to find ways to remain relevant, even if he was no longer dominant. His basketball IQ is through the roof and his mere presence on the floor makes his team better while simultaneously frustrating his opponents and making them worse. I'm not sure why you have so many players ahead of Tim that have not won as many championships if they even won one at all. I'm sorry, but this Hall of Fame player deserves to be way higher on this list than he is. Not bad for a kid from a tiny little island with 50,000 people on it and no real basketball program.

The best defender ever, the best power forward ever, the best passing power forward ever and the greatest player ever.
Remember when he was on his way to a quad double he was just two blocks short.
Remember his fundamental style offense and defense.
Remember his four championship rings.
Remember his back to back MVP awards.
Remember those 20 something thousand points.
No one has even come close to Timmy D's career he is a first ballot hall of FAMER ( who ever wrote this list put him bellow LeBron, Kobe, Steve Nash and Derrick Rose I mean who the hell put Rose in the top 15 I mean he will when it's all said and done don't get me wrong but he will never be better than Tim DUNCAN.

He has 22,558 points, 12,533 rebounds, 3,428 assists, 2,469 blocks, 822 steals, while averaging 20.3 PPG,
11.3 RPG, 3.1 APG, 2.2 BPG, 0.7 SPG and he was a 2x MVP, 13x All-Star, 4x Champion, 13x All-NBA and
13x All-Defense and you say he isn't a top ten player please, please stay away from your mums crack

Dwight Howard is my favorite player. He's the best. He's an amazing shot blocker and an amazing dunker. Superman is really good. He's on the Orlando Magic and like they're good. They would be terrible with Dwight Howard. Go Dwight Howard!

When Dwight Howard is on the court you know that he's going to get 5 blocks and 10 dunks. He should of been in the Dunk Content in 2011. The Orlando Magic will win a championship in a few years

If you watch dwight at the 2008 slam dunk comp ud vote him for top 10

Nash is a beast what can he not do this year he is doing everything when he first got drafted by the suns they made a huge mistake now look at if he would have played so many years there would be number 1 named Steve Nash

STEVE NASH IS DEFINITELY AT LEAST THE 2ND BEST BASKET BECAUSE HE AVERAGES 12 ASSISTS A GAME AND IS THE 2ND HIGHEST STEAL LEADER

He is so good he could make every shot but instead he passes it to other people and he gets no credit for after this year 4 assists titles in a row

Greatest player- NBA symbol- admired by all NBA greats and only 6' 2" - "Mr. Clutch" -at a time they called traveling, three seconds in the key, and no three point lines. When basketball was real basketball!

I have to agree with the other comments posted here. Jerry West absolutely must be in the top ten. Someone who doesn't know much about the GREATEST game ever invented must have started this.

Any list without Jerry West in the top 10 is stupid. This list must have been made by 15 year olds because most of the all time greats are not here. Vince Carter as number 19. No Baylor...no West. You're kidding...right!

What of the all time best shooters in the game and has one of th fastest releases I have ever seen

Greatest 3pt shooter and history, good playmaker, very special. He hasn't been with a good team, now that he is with the Celtics it just boosts his career,

I recken that ray allen should be number 11 just in front dwane wade because I've seen them play eash other ray allen scored 49 out of 83
but dwane wade only scored 32 out of 76.

My idol, my hero, a guy who won (or was runner up) everything in Europe and with national teams, best European basketball player of all time, I can't say that he is better than MJ but, he is in top 10, against dream team in 92 Olympic games he scored more than MJ, he was underrated in Portland, but great in Nets, and with career average of 17 points, Draz is magnificent, he scored 112 in one single game, he led his team ibenka to win a title in teen years, all in all, great man and player, our hero, drazen petrovic

The best... Search in youtube espn once brothers... It's worth it... You will be moved... You will cry

Best european Player of all time, I don't care what people say about him in the comparison to Nowitzki, the fact is Drazen opened the gate to the NBA for european and international players. He invented a new style of basketball, a few experts saw him as the best player of the world during his Career in europe. RIP

KG is the best! MVP... best defense. Can get 3's and also he didn't even go to college. Just play basketball the whole 24 hours. You'd better be sure KG is up to No. 1

Kevin Garnett is the greatest basketball player of them all he just didn't have the right team. Now that he's with the celtics he's going to be number one

Garnett will put it over Shaq and Wilt (RIP) he is a great in the game

Chris paul is one of the best point guards. But then again everyone has their opinion who cares who's better at this or that just have your best b-ball player and like it

Chris Paul is an amazing player and should be up in the top 20! he doesn't deserve to be down here! he scores points and assists with style! he deserves better.

He should definitaly be higher than rondo he has the drives but can shoot plus gets Moore assists with worse teammates

The best dunker I've ever seen. Won 2011 dunk contest for petes sake! This guy is crazy awesome and deserves to be just a little higher!

Not the best ever... But he is great... He should be nearing the top 20 at least I recon... He can do everything apart from free throw...

Biggest fan right here - tuisamoa

He was the big support for michael jordan. He was such a all around player and one of the best defensive players bulls ever had. When michael was not around he led the team for almost all category.

2nd best after michael jordan, people don't realise that for many of the bulls games jordan needed pippen!

Was essential to MJ being the dominating force that he was.

Scalabrine isn't the white Kobe. Kobe is the black Scalabrine

Scalabrine is the best basketball player in the world and should be number 1 he does average 25 hi fives per game
White Mamba for life yeah

He can do the dream shake like Hakeem. He can dunk like Wilkins. He can shoot like Miller. He has clutch like Kobe. He can pass like Magic. What sets him apart from all these players, is that no one hates him, and everybody wants him on their team; fans and players.

This whole thread was made by people who do not know crap about Basketball! Charles Barkley is the player with the highest Basketball IQ of all times. A 6'6 forward who ranks in the all time's leaders on rebounds and points! WTF and you have Yao, Pau Gasol, Carmelo Anthony, Rondo, Dwight Howard, McGrady, and many more above Charles LOL! Oh Lord this is sad!

Charles is really undervalued because he had such a big mouth. In terms of his ability, he is closer to top 10 than number 36. He was as good as Kevin Durant, not as good a defender as LeBron, but better in the post and a better overall shooter than James. He is a guy that people don't remember well enough.

The round mound should be way up, he changed the game allowing shorter players to dominate in big man positions. Come

HE WAS THE BEST WHEN HE WAS YOUNG. Now he is old he can't perform as well and because he is such a high flyer he is having problems with his knees. He was an awesome dunker and shooter and deserves to be in at least the top 10.

He is my favourite. Is the best dunker ever and is the best after MJ.

Ok to all you who didn't post this man... Up yours. He is definitely one of the best of all time. At his peak, he was averaging 29.5 points per game. Not as high as Kobe or Lebron but still he is a BEAST. Slam Dunk Contest winner 3 times, Three point Shootout winner 2 times, all star appearances 4 times, and had the ball handling skills to make even the best point guards cry.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK IS BETTER THAN HALF THE PLAYERS HE SHOULD BE UP WAY BETTER THAN JOHN WALL UPDATE LIST AND ACTUALLY WATCH THUNDER GAME

Russell Westbrook should be number one of the year

You guys are crazy! This guy is a monster in the paint. Get your mind striaght and WATCH HIM PLAY.

He is simply incredible. He And Duncan Were like ''Who can stop us'' Also Player Of The Olympics 2004 When He Absolutely Demolished Your USA Crapheads Why not on the list I tell you why because you don't have a brain!

Manu is a dog. He can possibly be the most unstoppable player ever. Maybe the best player

Excelent clutch. Good defense. He can penetrate over the most closed defense like any one can do. In or out, he can make that the impossible shoots looks like an easy routine. In other words, Manu is the best.

Respectable player of the San Antonio Spurs for many years.

Pierce has led Celtics to greatness multiple times

Paul Pierce was always the top prospect, and he has lead the Celtics to greatness

Rank him 30 ranks up please. How can he be 47th. He is the captain of the celtics.

Whoever said that Adonal Foyle was the most talented center of all time must be smokin somethin. And whoever said Jerome James is the greatest center of all time is even dumber. Ewing is top 50 or so and don't even vote for Foyle or James there average players.

How can you forget patrick ewing he is one of the best centers of that time and to not put him there is just crazy.

The best center of all time. In his prime he was better than Shaq, Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Arvydas Sabonis is a talented man from Lithuania and he's great at basketball. His team mates are also talented and they work on really well and give advises to each other, this man never let me done! Amazing basketballer

It's really funny how he is past Pau Gasol, Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard in this list... Even when he was 40 years old he would destroy them. And can you imagine him being NBA before 1986 injuries? He would really be the best center of ALL TIME.

How does Elgin Baylor not get on this list. Highest season scoring average in history, highest point total in an NBA finals game, one of the true greats to ever play the game.

Wow and you put Allen Only Practice Iverson above Elgin Baylor. I demand a recount and we send the results to Iverson in the minor league.

He is the best
He should be in top ten
Because he is stronger faster shorter

Chris Bosh is a strong person...
He is my idol
4th idol
BOSH!
-Kunimitsu Tezuka

Chris is amazing better than Lebroin James He is Awesome better than god best in the world and Most importantly tallest in the world Chris is amazing

this guy is awesome. . He fits in easily and his shots are on point. Three pointers and everything

He is not better than michael jordan but his is very very good

Melo is a great player, if only he really focused on his defense! He can be a good defender but only if he puts his mind to it and does it consistently!

He was an awesome SG in the MJ era I say about number 20

Ten time All-Star. Took College teams to Final four twice. Took NBA teams to Finals three times winning once. Played on the original Dream Team. Very athletic scorer who could hit the three and play good defense well. Best rebounding guard of his era. Dunked on the highest rim in history.

One of the best 5 shooters in NBA history. Pity that people in USA don't have a clue about Game. Good enough for the top shooter in NBA doesn't make him top 20 Yugoslav player.

One of the greatest shooters of all time, fast and clever, with a lot of solutions, with great apearences in NBA and Europe(Serbia and Greece in PAOK). He motivated the fans with his pasion and a memorable 3 point bit the buzzer winning shoot in the semifinals greece vs osfp

Earl "The Goat" Manigault, Earl "The Goat" Manigault G. O. A. T
Best ever, he never turned pro. but greatest of all time.
Rebound:The legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault one of the greatest basketball movies.
Who today can jump to the top of backboard with 6.1 (1.85), or do doubledunk in the mid air, some of the things that this legendary player could perform.

Said by many NBA legends to be the greatest ever, including Kareem. Search for him online and you'll see.

He could touch the top of the back board at 6 ft 1, it proves a lot of thing and what he could've done for the game!

Dominique Wilkins is a slam dunk champion like michacl jordan nobody in
The nba could stop. He's on my top three list of best players of old time. Laugh out loud!

Dominique wilkins was a great basketball player he should not be in 51 place he should be in the top 3 players of all time

I go to school wit him he's awesome!

He played with 2 of the most talented ever and still made his presence known on the court.

James Worthy was one of the best players to ever play in the NBA, as well as college. He should definitely be way higher up on the list.

Worthy is the most underrated player of all time. He is on my all-time first team, meaning he is in the top 12 all time. He was a "revolutionary" player, as he was able to play either forward position, and showed more speed and agility of any player 6'9" or over, ever. He was also an excellent defensive player.

... And he had great glasses

Greatest center of the pre shot clock era controled the entire game on both ends of the floor still doing drills named after him

Greatest basketball player of all time. The guy couldn't be stopped. Magic Johnson was scared of him. His magical dunks wowed crowds all over the world.

Agent zero deserves to be a little higher rated than this!

The best little man in the NBA, soon to overcome A.I. and if he grew 5 inches would dominate Lebron. Calls his own shots!

Simply unstoppable. With the highest carrer ppg ever I think it was something around 32. He was maybe the only playaer who litteraly could destroy the opponing defense all by himself. His movement legendary his streangth hard to beat. Furthermore he won against the best players of his time and even in america was best college scorer after larry bird before he went on to aris greece.P.S. he might be the only player on the list who literally changed sports history in a whole country. Greece was never again the same after him.

He was leading of a non talented national team and we won a gold medal and a silver in 2 eurobasket in a raw. Against ussr and yugoslavia both united, so putting Nick in place 90 the less I have to wright is that your knowledge about the game is zero! Try to find and watch videos in youtube with galis and then consider about the ranking! Hellenic basketball rules behind only from the U.S. finally for me the best player of the world is Ervin Magic Johnson!

One of the greatest scorers of all-times. He owned Drazen and Sabonis in Euro Competition. He didn't play in the NBA Because he's manager was too busy managing Diana Ross

3-times NBA Champion and Finals MVP ans he's far behind players like Sabonis, Stojakovic or Vince Carter? It's a joke!

He's the best player ever

Fast, fearless, nice guy too

He is beast. He is one of New Yorks best players. He averages good points per game. He is also a good slam dunker.

He is a beast what can't he do

He is an amazing mid range shooter and a great hook shooter as well. The time he blocked Lebron was the best or when he stole the ball against Paul Pierce and dunked yeah. There is plenty more I could list but he's the man.

Was Probably going too be the 2nd best player of all time if he didn't die

R.I. P

Never made it to the nba but died of... I believe a cocaine overdose, was projected to be better than mj, R.I. P

He was absolutely unstoppable in his first five to six years in the league. Very underrated as a defensive player and was very unselfish. David Thompson was as good as any of the top players in the history of basketball

If you never saw this guy dunk a ball then you've seen nothing. He is simply awesome. One of the highlight players of the 70's. The people who can lack to his level are a short list. Jabbar, Chamberlain, Barry, and West.

He is the best player of all time please put him in at least the top 50 PLEASE!

He takes charges all of the time and gets the calls he can even make most of his threes he slould be rated in the top 60 for sure not at 83.

This man can shoot he's blocked kobe and lebron like million times

Kevin Love doesn't deserve top 10 or even 20 but, he is way better then half these guys on the list. You have majorly under rated him, he can shoot he is great in the paint. He does lack Defensive abilities but come on 1/4 of the guys above don't start or are even welly known.

The best girl basketball player form college. Got drafted to Detroit!

Nobody got more heart than this guy. Simply the GOAT. He's faster than AI, shoots better than Kobe, and has more heart than Duncan. He's a beast.

-InsideHoops

Amazing player, sheer joy watching him play...

Obviously someone is smoking the tree if Mully is not top 50 of all time. Shawn Kemp? Chris bosh. Are you kidding me

Why is Earl number 82 on this list he would destroy Jordan he could shoot well, pass well, block exceptionally, he also averaged 31 points and 13 rebounds he dunked on Wilt and blocked him, and he destroyed Dr. J in a one on One he should be #3 behind Wilt CHamberlain and Raymond Lewis

He won everything in world of basketball

If coaches let him loose, he could pull up many 3's like he did in Florida game. Even Reggie Miller was impressed. He is too unselfish. If NBA coaches let him shoot freely, he could cross a few feet on the run past the half court line and launch 3's before they guard him. He made 3 3/4 court shots in a row. I bet Ray Allen would have a hard time doing that!

No one can shoot threes like Jimmer Fredette and I don't no Why he wasn't the 1st pick in the NBA draft, And Why is he not a starter? I do not Know. Even Ray Allen would have a hard time beating him in a 3 point shoot out. And scored 43 points at Kentucky which is a final four team at one of the toughest places to play. And should be higher on this list.

The best ever he was the best college basketball player ever he never misses a three pointer and had a 43 point game at Kentucky and now is in the NBA averaging 8 threes a game! Jimmer Fredette can also dunk.

The guy who is one of the best ballers in europe. He got 3 MVP titles in the last 4 years.

The most talented center ever.

Look him up, one of the greatest scorers of all time
He averaged 50 points in college an scored 113
Points in a game he is truly the greatest

My Vote Is Grant Vaccarabo, He Is The Greatest Of All Time By So Far, He Scored 9000 points in a game as a freshman in 1st grade. Ian on the other hand scored about 5points in a whole year. He Sucks Pretty Bad, What A Loser.

5"6 men calm on he should be the top 40 best dunker for a small guy whoever made. This they don't know basketball

Great tiny but dunks a lot

One of the best little guys in the NBA. Can really score and can dunk really well at 5 feet 9 inches.