Greatest NBA Players of All Time: 150-189

This is part five in a list of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. I recommend that you start from the beginning:

Greatest NBA Players, 1-29
Greatest NBA Players, 30-65
Greatest NBA Players, 66-100
Greatest NBA Players, 101-149

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

Next 40

At this point, we'll transition to shorter summaries. Rather than listing all of a player's teams, I will name only those for whom he made significant contributions. Here are 40 more great players. I would disagree pretty strongly with ranking any of them in the top 100, but they could easily make an argument to rate in the top 150. As with the previous section, players are presented in chronological order by position. Starting with point guards...

Point Guards

Bob Davies — Point guard, 1948-55, Rochester Royals — The most celebrated guard of the early '50s, even more than Bob Cousy. All-League seven times in seven years, including four years first-team All-NBA. Cousy was the only player of the early '50s with more points and more assists.

Dennis Johnson — Guard, 1976-90, Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns — Five-time All-Star, first-team All-NBA in 1981. Nine times All-Defensive. Three-time NBA champion, 1979 Finals MVP. From Dave Heeren's 1989 Basketball Abstract: "Johnson has managed to milk the prestige gained from an excellent rookie season for the full length of an average 13-season career . . . He was a good defensive player for the first three seasons of his career, but Seattle traded him when he lost interest in defense in his fourth season and he hasn't been an effective defensive player since that time. He's the weak-shooting link who goes unguarded when opponents put double-teams on Boston's Larry Bird and Kevin McHale."

Fat Lever — Guard, 1982-94, Denver Nuggets — There are eight PAR-6 players — players who averaged at least 6 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds per game — with at least 500 regular season games. Those players are: Oscar Robertson, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook, Larry Bird, Jason Kidd, and Lafayette Lever. All except Lever are ranked in my top 50 — most of them in the top 12. Over a four-season span from 1986-90, Lever averaged 18.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 7.5 apg, and more steals than turnovers. The Nuggets played at a breakneck pace, but even accounting for that, Lever was a little underrated: he made only two All-Star Games, and he was second-team All-NBA once. He fared a little better in MVP voting, with two seasons in the top 10. One of only three players with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a playoff game (Wilt Chamberlain and Jason Kidd). Injured in 1990, and never the same after the injury. Sixth all-time in steals per game (2.22).

From 1981-91, the only players to lead the NBA in triple-doubles: Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Fat Lever.

Terry Porter — Point guard, 1985-2002, Portland Trail Blazers — Second-highest WSHM (127.1) outside of the top 149. Starting point guard for the Blazers when they reached the Western Conference Finals three years in a row (including two NBA Finals). Top 20 all-time in assists. Averaged a double-double in the 1987-88 season, two-time All-Star (1991, 1993).

Mookie Blaylock — Point guard, 1989-2002, Atlanta Hawks, New Jersey Nets — One of two players in NBA history with at least 2,000 steals and more steals than turnovers (Mo Cheeks is the other). 14th since 1974 in steals. Six times All-Defensive. Most steals of the 1990s, also 6th in assists and led all point guards in defensive rebounds and blocks.

Baron Davis — Point guard, 1999-2012, Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, Golden State Warriors, L.A. Clippers — Two-time All-Star, also received MVP votes twice. Played 40 minutes a night for 82 games when he was 21 and 22. Injured in each of the next five seasons, missing large chunks of what should have been his prime. Two-time steals per game leader, all-time leader in postseason spg (2.28).

Deron Williams — Point guard, 2005-17, Utah Jazz, New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets — Three-time All-Star, twice second-team All-NBA. Averaged 15 points and 10 assists in four consecutive seasons.

Shooting Guards

Richie Guerin — Shooting guard, 1956-70, New York Knicks, St. Louis Hawks — Career 17/5/5 average. Six-time All-Star, three times All-NBA, MVP votes in four seasons.

The Early '70s

No player is perfect, and if you don't want to read a realistic summary of some of the shortcomings of Pete Maravich and Earl Monroe, and lengthy explanations of why I've rated them lower than usual, just skip down until you see Paul Westphal's name in bold.

My top 189 doesn't include any shooting guards between Hal Greer (1958-73) and Paul Westphal (1972-84). This is extremely unorthodox: Earl Monroe and Pete Maravich are usually ranked in the top 75. Gail Goodrich rarely sneaks into the bottom of the top 100, and I have never seen Hudson, Smith, or Brown on a list of the 100 best players in history. Omitting Monroe and Maravich from a ranking of the 100 greatest players is unusual. Leaving them out of the top 200 is borderline heresy.

But can you look at this chart and make any kind of logical argument for Monroe over Goodrich? Monroe did some show-time tricks and had a crowd-pleasing style, plus he had a memorable nickname and he played in New York. But Goodrich had basically the same scoring and shooting efficiency — in a longer career. Goodrich averaged more rebounds and a lot more assists, and he made more All-Star games. They were both first-team All-NBA once. Both won a championship, but Goodrich was far more important to the 1972 Lakers (25.9 / 3.6 / 4.5) than Monroe was to the 1973 Knicks (15.5 / 3.3 / 3.8).

How about Monroe and Hudson? This is a straightforward comparison, because they played at almost exactly the same time and almost exactly the same number of career minutes. Hudson scored 500 more points, on fewer possessions (Monroe attempted almost 600 more free throws). Monroe had 1,162 more assists, but Hudson had 1,130 more rebounds, so there's not much difference there. Hudson made 50% more All-Star games, and they were both All-NBA once. Hudson ranked 7th in the 1970 MVP race; Monroe was never top-10 in MVP voting. Even if you rate Monroe ahead, surely it's pretty close. Ranking Monroe 58th and Hudson off the board entirely is incredible.

Randy Smith? Monroe scored 1,200 more points, but Smith had 800 more rebounds, 900 more assists, and 500 fewer missed field goals. Monroe made more All-Star games, but he was soaking up public attention in New York City, while Smith was playing for the Buffalo Braves when they couldn't schedule home games on the weekend.

Fred Brown is trickier to compare because he only averaged 25 minutes per game for his career, and the others all averaged over 30. But in the three seasons when he played at least 2,500 minutes (1974-76), Brown averaged 20.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 3.8 apg — plus 1.9 spg. When the Sonics got Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson, he transitioned to a sixth man role. He was a great outside shooter, nicknamed Downtown Freddie Brown, who led the NBA in three point percentage (1980) and regularly flirted with 90% free throw accuracy.

Maravich averaged 24.2 ppg over his brief career. He was talented and flashy, a crowd-pleaser, but with weak defense, reckless shot selection, and far too many turnovers. His generous award recognition doesn't reflect his subpar efficiency. For example, Maravich was second-team All-NBA in 1978, when he only played 50 games but managed to miss 700 shots and commit 248 turnovers. We don't have full turnover data for Pistol Pete's career, but the first two seasons turnovers were recorded, he had 448 in 99 games, and based on the team data we have in the early '70s, his teams were always among the worst in the league. Like Kobe Bryant, he acquired something of a halo following his premature death in 1988.

Maravich and Monroe were really combo guards, so let's throw in some contemporary point guards and fellow combo guards:

Dave Bing, Monroe, and Maravich are perhaps the three most overrated players in history. What do they have in common? Volume scoring on low efficiency, and low win shares. Monroe did play a season and a half for the Knicks when they were championship contenders, and won a ring in '73, but Bing and Maravich are two of the most remarkably unsuccessful team players ever to reach the Hall of Fame.

In 12 seasons, Bing's teams won only one playoff series, never advancing to the Conference Finals, even though he [1] teamed with great big men in Detroit, and [2] played for the Bullets during their late-70s mini-dynasty with Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. From 1975-79, the Bullets made the NBA Finals three times, winning once. Bing started for them in the two seasons they didn't reach the Finals. Furthermore, when the Pistons traded Bing they immediately won a playoff series, for the first time in over a decade. In his final season, Bing played 2,256 minutes for the Celtics, who declined by 12 games and ended a streak of seven consecutive winning seasons, including two championships.

Maravich's record is equally discouraging. The Hawks went 48-34 in 1969 and 1970, then drafted Maravich — and dropped to 36-46 in 1971 and 1972. He only had a winning record in one season (1973), and never won a playoff series until his final year, when he joined Larry Bird's Celtics halfway through the season and averaged 9 minutes in their four-game sweep of the Rockets.

All these guys have mediocre stats apart from their scoring, and even that is severely tempered by poor shooting efficiency. They weren't good defensive players, and other than maybe Monroe — remember, the '73 Knicks also had Frazier, Reed, DeBusschere, and Lucas — they didn't play winning basketball.

Bing is overrated because everyone liked and respected him, and he scored a lot. Maravich and Monroe are overrated because they were flashy and exciting, and they scored a lot.

I can't in good faith rank Maravich and Monroe in a higher tier than Goodrich, Hudson, Smith, Brown, and maybe Jerry Sloan, who was a contemporary shooting guard with a different style but of similar caliber. But I also can't in good faith rank seven shooting guards from the early '70s. And as much respect as I have for guys like Randy Smith — who played in 906 straight games, a record that lasted for over a decade — I just don't think they're top-190. That means Pistol Pete and Earl the Pearl aren't, either. They're close.

Paul Westphal — Shooting guard, 1972-84, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics — All-NBA four times, including three years first-team. NBA champion with the Celtics in 1974, led Suns to the Finals in 1976. Short career, but averaged at least 20 points and 5 assists every year he was a full-time starter.

David Thompson — Shooting guard and small forward, 1975-84, Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics — Five-time All-Star (one in the ABA, four in the NBA) and three years all-league, including two times first-team All-NBA. Top ten in NBA MVP voting three times and ABA MVP voting once. Very short career: under 600 games and 20,000 minutes.

Walter Davis — Shooting guard, 1977-92, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets — Rookie of the Year, six-time All-Star, two years All-NBA. Top-ten in MVP voting twice. Teamed with Paul Westphal from 1977-80 and played small forward.

Michael Cooper — Shooting guard, 1978-90, Los Angeles Lakers — Excellent defensive player, eight times All-Defensive. 1987 Defensive Player of the Year. Five-time NBA champion.

Alvin Robertson — Shooting guard, 1984-96, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks — One of 18 players in history to average a PAR-5 (5 ppg, 5 apg, and 5 rpg). Also the all-time leader in steals per game (2.71) and single-season record-holder for an NBA season (301). Eleventh since 1974 in steals (2,112), three-time league leader. Had double-digit steals in a game four times, including a quadruple double in 1986. Four-time All-Star, six-time All-Defensive selection, 1986 Defensive Player of the Year.

Joe Dumars — Shooting guard, 1985-99, Detroit Pistons — Six-time All-Star, three times All-NBA, 1989 NBA Finals MVP. Four times first-team All-Defensive.

Mitch Richmond — Shooting guard, 1988-2002, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors — Six-time All-Star, five times All-NBA. Received MVP votes in three seasons. One of only 23 players with over 20,000 points, 20.0 career ppg, and 55% true shooting.

Eddie Jones — Shooting guard, 1994-2008, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets — Three All-Star selections, one year All-NBA. More steals (1,620) than turnovers (1,507).

Joe Johnson — Shooting guard, 2001-18, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns — Seven-time All-Star, one year All-NBA. 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists.

Small Forwards