Stats: 22.1 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 3.9 APG in 16 seasons with Philadelphia 76ers (1984-85 to 1991-92), Phoenix Suns (1992-93 to 1995-96) and Houston Rockets (1996-97 to 1999-00). The 10 Most Athletic NBA Players of All Time - YouTube 10:30 The 10 Most Athletic NBA Players of All Time Austin Sweatt 450K subscribers Subscribe 9.7K Share Save 355K views 2. While most offenses nowadays are built around guards and fast players, being tall also has its advantages. Dr. J floated through the air as his lanky limbs cut to the rim and his hair blew in the wind. The NBA is filled with giants. Dwyane Wade has said AI is part of the reason he woreNo. ZF, While we can argue all day and night about the value of the triple-double in todays position-less game, when Oscar Robertson became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double over a season it was nothing short of monumental. Just look at the accolades. Anybody else going to averaged 22.9 RPG during their career like Wilt did? In case you hadn't noticed, the Wiz from Wuerzburg has been outscored by only five playersAbdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. But never forget what the GOAT, Michael Jeffrey Jordan, told us in the documentary: Everybody said I won all these championships, but I didnt win without Scottie Pippen and thats why I considered him my best teammate of all time. If ya dont know, now ya knowwwww.Pippens numbers will likely never wow you because he wasnt the scorer Jordan was. Accomplishments: Four-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA, 1967 NBA champion. Of course he made the NBA 75 squad. Once there, he would finish with an emphatic dunk, a foolproof strategy that helped ONeal lead the NBA in field-goal percentage 10 times in his career. When the Complex Sports crew started to put together this list, we didnt waffle over whether LeBron deserved to be ranked higher than MJ. LeBron James: . Stats: 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG in 13 seasons with Boston Celtics (1956-57 to 1968-69). Accomplishments: Two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Defensive team, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, seven-time rebounding champ, five-time NBA champion. It upsets me that people might be shocked that Allen Iverson is included on this list. 17 because of the way he changed the game. Maybe we have Robinson too low, but when you get to this point, and youre comparing ultra great players to ultra great players, its basicallylike splitting hairs. Tim Duncan (1997-2016) Points: 931 15x NBA All-star, 10x all NBA 1st team, 3x all NBA 2nd team, 2x NBA MVP (2002-03),. Stats: 27.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.2 APG in 14 seasons with Seattle SuperSonics (2007-08), Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-09 to 2015-16), Golden State Warriors (2016-17 to 2018-19) and Brooklyn Nets (2019-20 to 2020-21)*. Whatever.) Pippen is inarguably one of the greatest defenders in NBA history having made 10 All-Defensive squads (8 First-Team selections) during his 17-year career and regularly stifled the oppositions best player like it was nothing. Cant argue with the results. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Plus, he was hilarious in Airplane! An average male aged 20 or older in the United State stands just 5'9.5"whilethe typical height of an NBA athlete is usually around 6'7", but varies year to year. Accomplishments: Four-time All-Star, six-time All-BAA/NBA, 1953 All-Star MVP, three-time scoring champ, 1952-53 rebounding champ, five-time BAA/NBA champion. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, three-time All-Defensive team, three-time MVP, two-time Finals MVP, 1979-80 Rookie of the Year, 1982 All-Star MVP, three-time NBA champion. Stats: 19.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.5 APG in 19 seasons with Boston Celtics (1998-99 to 2012-13), Brooklyn Nets (2013-14), Washington Wizards (2014-15) and LA Clippers (2015-16 to 2016-17). Or write about sports? The No. LeBron James is one of the best players in NBA history. Stats: 10.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG, 3.9 APG in 13 seasons with Baltimore/Capitol/Washington Bullets. Top 10 NBA Players Of All Time! In that series, Magic played center in Game Six for the injured Abdul-Jabbar and finished with 42 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists. I would say something to him and he would stare. Hes made five All-NBA squads, four times hes been named to one of the NBAs All-Defense teams, hes an All-Star MVP,was the Most Improved Player of the Year in 2017, and was named to the leagues 75thanniversary squad. Accomplishments: Nine-time All-Star, 1971 All-Star MVP, 1969-70 assists champ. Stats: 17.6 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 3.8 APG in 11 seasons with Boston Celtics (1970-71 to 1979-80) and Milwaukee Bucks (1982-83). Stats: 23.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 8.5 APG in 13 seasons with Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-09 to 2018-19), Houston Rockets (2019-20) and Washington Wizards (2020-21)*. The best rebuttal for that would be that he was the best player on the Warriors during his tenure, winning two Finals MVPs. Clutch. His signature play of tapping the ball to a teammate helped him invent the fast break. Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest player that the NBA has seen and won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. He was overshadowed by Duncan, whose numbers are slightly better, but Garnett was by far the more fun player to watch. Technically, Baylor earned one since he was part of the 1971-72 Lakers squad that won it all, but he only played 9 games that season, retiring well before the playoffs started because of a nagging knee injury at age 37. Wilt Chamberlain is ranked higher on this list because his numbers are just too ridiculous, but he couldnt beat Bill even with Jerry West and Elgin Baylors help. The Bad Boys wreaked havoc on the NBAs Holy Trinity ofMagic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan and most of the damage that was done was on the orders of the 61 point god. Magic simply changed the game of basketball when he burst onto the NBA scene out of Michigan State in 1979. One of the most ebullient personalities to ever play in the NBA, Johnsons charm was a major factor in the massive increase in the leagues popularity during the 1980s. A four-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP, O'Neal averaged a double-double during a career that spanned almost two decades. From the high-flying dunks to the clutch mid-range jumpers off that patented D Wade pump fake, there was moment after moment where No. (12 reps is the combine average for big men.) You can browse players in the entire NBA or per team. Accomplishments: 12-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA, two-time All-Defensive team, 1968-69 scoring champ, two-time rebounding champ, 1978 NBA champion. His free-throw shooting, on the other hand. Accomplishments: 23.7 points (per game), 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.3 blocks, 15-time All-Star, 1992-93 Rookie of the Year, 1999-20 MVP, three-time Finals MVP, four-time NBA Champion, Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The Admiral was able to do it all and then some. Stats: 20.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG in 12 seasons with Detroit Pistons (1966-67 to 1974-75), Washington Bullets (1975-76 to 1976-77) and Boston Celtics (1977-78). Blocks and steals werent tallied back then, but there are researchers that claim Russell averaged anywhere between 8-12 blocks per game. Accomplishments: 10-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA, eight-time All-Defensive team, 1994-95 MVP, 1991-92 Defensive Player of the Year, 1989-90 Rookie of the Year, 1993-94 scoring champ, 1990-91 rebounding champ, 1991-92 blocks champ, two-time NBA champion. 1 - Hakeem Olajuwon Country: Nigeria NBA Career: 1984-2002 NBA Teams: Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors Topping my list of the best international NBA players of all time is Hakeem Olajuwon. Even more impressive for the context of Olajuwonscareer is that he did all of this while big men ran the NBA (outside of Michael Jordan). 20 Best NBA Players Of All Time - #10-6 10. His season with the Raptors catapulted him up the all time ranks, if were being transparent. Stats: 23.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.1 APG in 10 NBA seasons with San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1965-66 to 1966-67; 1972-73 to 1977-78) and Houston Rockets (1978-79 to 1979-80); also played four ABA seasons with Oakland Oaks (1968-69), Washington Capitols (1969-70) and New York Nets (1970-71 to 1971-72). Michael Jordan is the best in the top 10 basketball players of all time. There was a point in ONeals career where no one could stop him. You could easily argue for him being the best center of all time over Shaq and Abdul-Jabbar. 3 left fans in awe. NBA Table; Rank Player PTS; 1. The Dream Shake will forever be one of the most iconic moves in NBA history and for that, we will always be thankful for Hakeem Olajuwon. Accomplishments: 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA, 15-time All-Defensive team, two-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, 2000 All-Star MVP, 1997-98 Rookie of the Year, five-time NBA champion. Magic Johnson 5. 15-20 range when its all said and done, but this seems like a fair spot to start. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2. I know I risk getting run out of my beloved Chicago on a rail for daring to suggest His Airness isnt the best player ever but, well, I just dont think he is. But how much more credit do you give Bryant for winning more rings and drawing legit comparisons to Michael Jordan? With 38,387 points throughout his entire career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deserves to be the top scorer of all time. While his famously vanilla playing style and quiet demeanor kept him from having a cultural impact similar to the other greats, his four championships, 14 All-Star Games, and two NBA MVP awards are indisputable evidence of his fantastic ability. Mitchell averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game last year on a very deep Jazz team. As each individual involved in this incredibly difficult and necessary endeavor lobbied for the player they thought deserved proper billing, we quickly realized it was going to be hellacious coming to a consensus. My guy was brought to tears when he looked back at how maniacal he was towards his teammates. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. A guy this young isnt supposed to have so many accolades on his, , especially after he entered the league as such a project. But just because Baylor technically never won a title in his 14 years with the Lakers, two of which he spent in Minneapolis, dont let that cloud how incredible of an offensive force he was and GOAT candidate during the leagues early days. Oscar Robertson once asked. Jordan retired for the first time at the . In 2019, twenty-six players were listed at 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m) or taller. After he saw Abdul-Jabbar, He wanted the ball every single possession, and he ended the game with 61. Not only does he routinely pull off feats that Ive never before seen, he has consistently evolved his game to fix the relative weak spots he was previously criticized for. He is, without a doubt, thegreatest shooter of all timeafter becomingthe careerleader in made 3-pointers. Because of Chamberlains domination, the league widened the lane, outlawed players rebounding missed free throws before the ball touched the rim, changed the definition of offensive goaltending, and forbade inbounds passes over the basket because it was an automatic alley-oop to Wilt every single time.