# The ten greatest-ever basketball players **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** basketball-nba\ **Created:** [July 28, 2022, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687 "2022-07-28T03:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/21 "2022-07-29T21:16:37Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I know we have a tendency to overlook players before the age of TV, but I can’t believe no one has mentioned [Bob Cousy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cousy), the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty in the 1950s, who virtually invented the position of point guard; I gave serious thought to including Cousy on my list. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/22 "2022-07-29T21:36:53Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I can’t believe no one has mentioned [Bob Cousy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cousy), Also not getting any mentions is Isaiah Thomas. Ten greatest-ever is a really high bar. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/23 "2022-07-29T21:49:40Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Also not getting any mentions is Isaiah Thomas. You mean Isiah Thomas, with one a. They’re two different people. Isiah Thomas is the Hall-of-Fame point guard who won two championships with the Pistons. Isaiah Thomas was relatively speaking a flash-in-the-pan. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/24 "2022-07-29T21:52:16Z")
I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2022, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/25 "2022-07-29T22:19:57Z")
Jordan LeBron Kareem Wilt Magic Bird Duncan Shaq Kobe Russell Only players I’ve actually seen play: Jordan LeBron Magic Bird Duncan Shaq Kobe Curry Barkley Iverson ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/26 "2022-08-03T04:01:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 1. Michael Jordan > 2. Bill Russell > 3. Lebron James > 4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar > 5. Wilt Chamberlain > 6. Magic Johnson > 7. Shaquille O’Neal > 8. Oscar Robertson > 9. Tim Duncan > 10. Stephen Curry > > I found this really, really hard to come up with. > > I feel like point guards are underrepresented here but, weirdly, many of the players that statistics SAY are the greatest point guards of all time - Stockton, Chris Paul, Steve Nash - never won a title, and I count that as being important. > > Objectively I realize Curry is likely on this list a little early, but here’s the thing: > > 1. Curry is easily the greatest player on a great, great team, > 2. Curry isn’t yet done so I’ll assume here he has a few more great years left, and > 3. I am given him some credit for being such a transformative player. I’m curious, why did you leave Larry Bird off of your list? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/27 "2022-08-04T00:57:51Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’m curious, why did you leave Larry Bird off of your list? I didn’t have room for him. He was a great player. I do not believe he was as great a player as the ten men I listed above. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/28 "2022-08-04T22:16:06Z")
Not a basketball fan, but enjoy analytics in general. Kobe is on a lot of lists here, but it’s my possibly mistaken understanding that he’s considerably overrated in general? Like, he scored points because he shot a lot and he won titles because Shaq was on his team. Like, without Shaq is he considered any better than James Harden? > [@RickJay](#): > > I didn’t have room for him. > > He was a great player. I do not believe he was as great a player as the ten men I listed above. Isn’t this just you restating his question? Alice - Why did team A win? Bob - They scored more points. Alice - Yeah, but why? Was their defensive scheme too solid, did the ref blow a key call, were they too athletic to handle. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/29 "2022-08-05T00:07:37Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > and he won titles because Shaq was on his team. He won _three_ of his five championships with Shaq on the team, but he won two as the undisputed leader of his team, with Pau Gasol as the #2 player. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/30 "2023-08-17T11:07:33Z")
Okay folks, coming back to this after a year, I tallied all of our votes and bolded our cumulative top 10. Kareem and Wilt top the list, with MJ right behind them. 1 Charles Barkley 3 Elgin Baylor **6 Larry Bird** **5 Kobe Bryant** **10 Wilt Chamberlain** 1 Bob Cousy **6 Steph Curry** **6 Tim Duncan** 1 Julius Erving 1 Elvin Hayes 1 Allen Iverson **10 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar** **7 LeBron James** **7 Magic Johnson** **9 Michael Jordan** 1 Jason Kidd 1 Karl Malone 3 George Mikan 4 Shaquille O’Neal 1 Bob Pettit 1 Scottie Pippen 4 Oscar Robertson **7 Bill Russell** 1 Isiah Thomas 2 Jerry West ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/31 "2023-08-17T13:35:22Z")
Karl Malone but no Moses Malone, huh. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2023, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687/32 "2023-08-17T16:50:20Z")
The Chairman of the Boards was not mentioned at all, until you said him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ten-greatest-ever-basketball-players/968687.md?page=1)