Greatest NBA Players of All Time: 1-29

Note: all stats and evaluations are through the NBA's 2024-25 season (Thunder over Pacers).

Recently, I've been updating my personal list of the greatest players in the history of professional basketball. It is a personal list, so grant my evaluations as much or as little credence as you please, but please know that when I make lists like this, I take the project seriously and I question my initial assumptions.

Players are organized into tiers, rather than into a strictly numerical ranking; everyone within a given tier is assumed to rate close to equal. For each player, I'll share a brief description of the accomplishments that led me to rank him where I did. In a few cases, I'll also explain why a particular player doesn't rank higher. Those few are reserved for players I rank lower than most, and they are intended as explanations of the difference rather than as attacks or "hating."

For each player, I'll list teams and years played, some basic statistics, with per-game averages in parentheses, and Wins Shares as well as Wins Shares per 48 Minutes, as reported by basketball-reference.com. I have also calculated the harmonic mean (WSHM) of WS and WS/48*1000, to provide some balance and perspective between the two figures. TS is true shooting percentage, a relatively simple statistic that accounts for two-point field goals, three-point field goals, and free throws. TS% is weighted according to each player's frequency of each type of shot, so that (for instance) good foul shooters who draw a lot of fouls will be rewarded. If you're looking for a deeper explanation of true shooting, I recommend this video from Thinking Basketball's Ben Taylor.

Top Three

The three best players of all time are, in my mind, roughly equal. I know some people will consider this wishy-washy, but I just don't see enough difference between them that I really care whom you rate highest.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Milwaukee Bucks, 1969-75; Los Angeles Lakers, 1975-89
Center
38,387 points (24.6); 17,440 rebounds (11.2); 5,660 assists (3.6)
56.0% 2P, 5.6% 3P, 72.1% FT, 59.2% TS
273 Wins Shares, .228 WS/48, WSHM 248.9

Six-time NBA MVP, two-time Finals MVP. Michael Jordan holds the record for NBA Finals MVP Awards, and LeBron James has the most All-NBA selections, but no one has won more regular-season MVPs than Kareem. Abdul-Jabbar was All-NBA 15 times — only LeBron has more — and he ranks 2nd all-time in All-Star selections (19) and points scored. Kareem has the most Win Shares and highest WSHM of any player in history.

2. Michael Jordan
Chicago Bulls, 1984-93, 95-98; Washington Wizards, 2001-03
Shooting guard
32,292 points (30.1); 6,672 rebounds (6.2); 5,633 assists (5.3)
51.0% 2P, 32.7% 3P, 83.5% FT, 56.9% TS
214 Wins Shares, .251 WS/48, WSHM 230.8

Five-time NBA MVP, six-time Finals MVP. Most dominant player in the league at the least dominant position. Prior to Jordan, George Gervin was the only two-guard who was ever really among the best players in the league for more than a year or two. Jordan was the first shooting guard to win NBA MVP, and he still has more MVP Awards than every other shooting guard in history combined. Second-highest Win Shares per minute in history (Nikola Jokic, .260).

Through the 2023-24 season (Celtics over Mavericks), James Harden had played exactly as many regular-season games (1,072) as Jordan. Harden is a historically great player himself, especially in the regular season, but Jordan led by 6,400 points, 600 rebounds, 1,000 steals, 300 blocks, and 1,000 fewer turnovers. Harden was ahead by 2,000 assists.

3. LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers, 2003-10, 2014-18; Miami Heat, 2010-14; Los Angeles Lakers, 2018-25
Forward
42,184 points (27.0); 11,731 rebounds (7.5); 11,584 assists (7.4)
55.6% 2P, 34.9% 3P, 73.7% FT, 59.0% TS
271 Wins Shares, .221 WS/48, WSHM 243.4

Four-time NBA MVP, four-time Finals MVP. Twenty-one-time All-Star (the record), 21 times All-NBA (the record), including 13 times first-team All-NBA (also the record). He and Michael Jordan are the only players to win regular-season and NBA Finals MVP Awards more than three times each.

LeBron is difficult to pigeonhole at a single position, but he mostly played small forward in the first half of his career. He ranks 1st all-time in points, 4th in assists, and 6th in steals.

Rounding Out The Top Five

While I believe Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan, and James are the greatest players of all time, I think there are two others for whom one could make a well-founded argument. Those are my fourth- and fifth-ranked players.

4. Bill Russell
Boston Celtics, 1956-69
Center
14,522 points (15.1); 21,620 rebounds (22.5); 4,100 assists (4.3)
44.0% 2P, 56.1% FT, 47.1% TS
164 Wins Shares, .193 WS/48, WSHM 176.9

Five-time NBA MVP. The league didn't recognize a Finals MVP until his final season, but he would have won half a dozen. In Russell's 13 seasons, the Celtics won the NBA championship 11 times. It is the greatest dynasty in the history of major-league North American professional sports. The Celtics had other Hall of Famers, but Russell was the engine. Boston never won anything before Russell joined the team, and after he retired, they missed the playoffs in back-to-back years. Probably the greatest defensive player in history, and since that doesn't show up in box score stats, he is sometimes underrated by stat-oriented rankers.

5. Wilt Chamberlain
Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, 1959-65; Philadelphia 76ers, 1965-68; Los Angeles Lakers, 1968-73
Center
31,419 points (30.1); 23,924 rebounds (22.9); 4,643 assists (4.4)
54.0% 2P, 51.1% FT, 54.7% TS
247 Wins Shares, .248 WS/48, WSHM 247.6

Four-time NBA MVP, one-time Finals MVP but it probably would have been more if the award had existed the first time he won a championship. Of the top 100 single-game scoring performances (well, really 105, because there's a tie at 59 points), Chamberlain has 40 of them. Averaged 50 points per game in 1962, all-time leading rebounder in history, led league in assists in 1968. Blocked shots were not an official statistic during his career, but historians agree that Russell and Chamberlain blocked the most shots of all time.

The Top Seven

You will notice in this project that I am not attached to round numbers. I don't believe there is a clear top ten among the greatest players in NBA history, but I do have a top seven.

6. Magic Johnson
Los Angeles Lakers, 1979-91, 1995-96
Point guard
17,707 points (19.5); 6,559 rebounds (7.2); 10,141 assists (11.2)
54.1% 2P, 30.3% 3P, 84.8% FT, 61.0% TS
156 Wins Shares, .225 WS/48, WSHM 184.1

Three-time NBA MVP, three-time Finals MVP. Joins Jordan and James as the only players to win both awards at least three times. His 1987 regular-season MVP was the first by a guard in a quarter of a century. One of only five players with at least nine top-three MVP finishes. During the twelve seasons before Magic's retirement, the Lakers made the NBA Finals nine times, winning five. All-time leader in assists per game.

7. Larry Bird
Boston Celtics, 1979-92
Forward
21,791 points (24.3); 8,974 rebounds (10.0); 5,965 assists (6.3)
50.9% 2P, 37.6% 3P, 88.6% FT, 56.4% TS
146 Wins Shares, .203 WS/48, WSHM 169.8

Three-time NBA MVP, two-time Finals MVP. First or second in MVP voting seven times, one of only five such players (James and Jordan, 8, plus Abdul-Jabbar and Russell). Bird struggled with injuries late in his career, but in his first nine seasons, the Celtics had the best record in the Eastern Conference eight times, the best record in the NBA six times, made the NBA Finals five times, and won three championships. Bird was the greatest pure shooter of his era — he had the first two 50-40-90 seasons in history, and he won the All-Star three-point contest every year — but he was also a good rebounder and a dazzling passer. The Celtics improved by 32 games the year he was drafted.

The Top Twelve

As with the previous tiers, I see this next group of players as a group, and I'm not attached to the numerical rankings. Shuffle the order around as you please.

8. Tim Duncan
San Antonio Spurs, 1997-2016
Power forward / Center
26,496 points (19.0); 15,091 rebounds (10.8); 4,225 assists (3.0)
50.9% 2P, 17.9% 3P, 69.6% FT, 55.1% TS
206 Wins Shares, .209 WS/48, WSHM 207.7

Two-time NBA MVP, three-time Finals MVP. Fifteen All-NBA selections, tied for second-most, behind only LeBron James. Duncan is similar to Bill Russell, a defensive virtuoso and nonpareil team player who always cared more about team success than personal glory. During his 19 seasons, the Spurs won five championships and had a record over .600 every year. Duncan is officially the postseason leader in blocked shots (568) by 20% (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 476), and he has the most All-Defensive selections in history (15).

9. Shaquille O'Neal
Orlando Magic, 1992-96; Los Angeles Lakers, 1996-2004; Miami Heat, 2004-08; Phoenix Suns, 2008-09; Cleveland Cavaliers, 2009-10; Boston Celtics, 2010-11
Center
28,596 points (23.7); 13,099 rebounds (10.9); 3,026 assists (2.5)
58.3% 2P, 4.5% 3P, 52.7% FT, 58.6% TS
182 Wins Shares, .208 WS/48, WSHM 194.0

2000 NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP. Fourteen-time All-NBA selection. Top-three in MVP voting five times, and top-ten 13 times. Couldn't shoot free throws and always had trouble staying healthy, but the most dominant player in the world during his prime: he dictated the game. High-percentage field goal shooter, strong rebounder, excellent shot-blocker.

10. Hakeem Olajuwon
Houston Rockets, 1984-2001; Toronto Raptors, 2001-02
Center
26,946 points (21.8); 13,748 rebounds (11.1); 3,058 assists (2.5)
51.4% 2P, 20.2% 3P, 71.2% FT, 55.3% TS
163 Wins Shares, .177 WS/48, WSHM 169.4

1994 NBA MVP, two-time NBA Finals MVP. Twelve years All-NBA. He is (officially) the all-time leader in blocked shots (3,830) and he is 11th all-time in steals (2,162), an unheard-of combination. In the 1988-89 season, Olajuwon had the only 200-200 season in history, with 213 steals and 282 blocks. He has the most five-by-fives in history (6), by far. All-time postseason leader in blocks per game (3.26).

11. Oscar Robertson
Cincinnati Royals, 1960-70; Milwaukee Bucks, 1970-74
Point guard
26,710 points (25.7); 7,804 rebounds (7.5); 9,887 assists (9.5)
48.5% 2P, 83.8% FT, 56.4% TS
189 Wins Shares, .207 WS/48, WSHM 197.7

Prior to 1960, guards were not dominant players. By whatever measure you choose, Bob Cousy was the best guard of the 1950s. He had the best statistics, he was first-team All-NBA ten times, he even won an MVP Award. The MVP was silly, but it demonstrates the regard in which Cousy was held.

Bob Cousy was a 37.5% shooter in his career, and that's without a three-point line. Cousy shot below 40% in every season of his career. He averaged 7.5 assists per game, which was extraordinary in the '50s, but Robertson blew him out of the water immediately, averaging 9.7 as a rookie, then 11.4 ... other than his final season, Robertson averaged more than 7.5 assists per game in every year of his career. He exposed how shallow Cousy's greatness was, and how little was expected of guards.

Cousy and his teammate Bill Sharman were the most celebrated guards of the 1950s, but the Celtics never won anything until Bill Russell joined the team. In the '50s, you could win without good guard play, but you couldn't win without a dominant big man. Guards were role players, not superstars.

That changed as soon as Oscar Robertson and Jerry West joined the league. Robertson did everything Cousy did — but much, much better. In Robertson's second season, he averaged a triple double: 30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, and 11.4 assists per game, breaking the single-season record. Two years later, the Big O was named league MVP, the only non-center to win an MVP Award during Wilt Chamberlain's career, and the last guard to win until Magic Johnson 24 years later. Robertson was among the leading scorers of his era, but he did everything else, too: his 181 triple-doubles were the record for 50 years. When Robertson retired, Chamberlain was next on the list, more than 100 behind. Robertson was a PAR-7.5 player, meaning he averaged at least 7.5 points, assists, and rebounds per game — he is the only such player in history.

Robertson is often underrated today, a mistake I think is spurred by his playing for teams in small markets and only winning one championship. Robertson was first-team All-NBA nine times (one of only 13 players), but during those nine seasons, Russell's Celtics won eight NBA titles. Those Celtic teams had Hall of Famers at every position, and it should not be held against Robertson that he — like Chamberlain, and West, and so many others — was unable to overcome the Celtics juggernaut. The Royals improved by 14 games in his rookie season, and another 10 games the next year, even though they did not add another significant player. Robertson made the team a lot better, which is what superstars are supposed to do.

Relative to his peers, Robertson is as statistically dominant as any player in history. He was a good shooter in an era when guards couldn't shoot, he was the best rebounding guard of his generation — and maybe of all time — and he was the best ball-handler and passer until Magic Johnson two decades later.

12. Nikola Jokic
Denver Nuggets, 2015-25
Center
16,210 points (21.8); 8,141 rebounds (10.9); 5,383 assists (7.2)
61.1% 2P, 36.0% 3P, 82.4% FT, 63.8% TS
128 Wins Shares, .260 WS/48, WSHM 171.6

Three-time NBA MVP, five times first or second in MVP voting (one of eight such players). Has led NBA in field goals, rebounds, and triple-doubles. High-percentage shooter, top-ten all-time in true shooting percentage. Granted that his career is still playing out, but Jokic has the highest Win Shares per minute in NBA history (Michael Jordan is second). 2023 NBA Finals MVP.

There is a strong argument to put Joker in the top 10 already, but I try to rate active players conservatively.

The Top Twenty-Eight

I think most of these players have plausible arguments to rank as high as the top 10, or just outside the top 25. I'm giving up on numbered ranks now, and I'll just present this tier in chronological order.