This list is based on the NBA since 1980; the year the 3 point line was introduced and Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had their rookie seasons.
Michael Jordan
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Tim Duncan
Shaquille O’Neal
LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Hakeem Olajuwon
Dirk Nowitzki
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
What do you think?
Missing:
Malone
Stockton
Erving
Drexler
That’s a good list, but Kareem had peaked by 1980 and was coasting, even if he did have to drag Walton & Lanier up and down the court. 
I swap Isiah Thomas at G in for Kareem at Center.
Right. 1980 is around the midpoint of Kareem’s career, and there’s no way the second half of his career is greater than the whole of Karl Malone’s or David Robinson’s or Charles Barkley’s.
In addition to who Marley mentioned, might want to throw Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul, Reggie Miller, and Jason Kidd.
The following chart from Basketball Reference might be of interest. It’s a list of players, with 15 pts per game, sorted by cumulative Win Shares from the 1980-81 to the present day.
1 Karl Malone* 1986-2004 234.6
2 Michael Jordan 1985-2003 214.0
3 John Stockton* 1985-2003 207.7
4 Kevin Garnett 1996-2013 187.2
5 Tim Duncan 1998-2013 184.2
6 Shaquille O’Neal 1993-2011 181.7
7 David Robinson1990-2003 178.7
8 Charles Barkley1985-2000 177.2
9 Reggie Miller* 1988-2005 174.4
10 Dirk Nowitzki 1999-2013 173.9
Yay counting stats! Let’s try this again.
A list of all players with WS over 15 in a season, sorted by the number of seasons they did it.
1 Michael Jordan* 1987 1998 CHI NBA 10
2 Karl Malone* 1989 2000 UTA NBA 9
3 LeBron James 2006 2013 TOT NBA 6
4 David Robinson1990 1996 SAS NBA 5
5 Larry Bird 1985 1988 BOS NBA 4
6 Magic Johnson* 1987 1991 LAL NBA 4
7 Dirk Nowitzki 2003 2007 DAL NBA 4
8 Charles Barkley1988 1990 PHI NBA 3
9 Kevin Garnett 2003 2005 MIN NBA 3
10 Tim Duncan 2002 2003 SAS NBA 2
11 Kevin Durant 2010 2013 OKC NBA 2
12 Moses Malone 1982 1983 TOT NBA 2
13 Shaquille O’Nea 1994 2000 TOT NBA 2
14 Chris Paul 2008 2009 NOH NBA 2
15 Chauncey Billups 2006 2006 DET NBA 1
16 Kobe Bryant 2006 2006 LAL NBA 1
17 Tracy McGrady 2003 2003 ORL NBA 1
18 Hakeem Olajuwon1993 1993 HOU NBA 1
19 John Stockton 1989 1989 UTA NBA 1
Weird that Kobe’s so low. I wonder if WS favors rebounding heavily? Not as much as WP48, but still. Anyway, that should get us talking. My own list is:
Paul’ll get there if his knee holds up. Durant should be there too. I like Barkley, Robinson, Garnett, but who do you kick out? Stockton? We’re already only with one PG.
Actually, it’s a good list. I’d probably say mine looks like this:
Michael Jordan - no question for me and I’m a Detroit fan who cheered against him so many times. Best of all time and today’s players may come close, but he’s still better.
Larry Bird - The ultimate “go to” man and one of my faves. I think he could have adjusted and scored loads of point even in today’s game.
Kobe Bryant - Again, I’ve cheered against him countless times, but I admit he is amazing.
Magic Johnson - Again, one of my faves and just a great point-creator/maker.
Lebron James - Didn’t like the way he announced his move to Miami, but he is a great player. Not my fave in any way, but I can see his talent.
Shaquille O’Neal - best center of all time perhaps, but certainly since 1980.
Tim Duncan
Hakeem Olajuwon.
Karl Malone
Isiah Thomas - Personal bias perhaps as a Detroit fan, but I really do think he was one of the best. Like Magic, he created scoring opportunities like few out there, while still scoring a lot himself. Not being on the Dream Team in '92 was a huge snub and a shame, as he deserved it.