In 1996, the 50 greatest NBA players of all time were assembled at Gund Arena during the halftime ceremony of the NBA All-Star Game. They were chosen by a panel of former players and coaches, current and former general managers, and media members.
The selection of the players on this esteemed gathering of legends of the game was met with applause, but it was also filled with controversy.
Many believed that there were some deserving players who didn’t make the cut, while there were others who shouldn’t have been in it in the first place. It was one of the first major sports lists that assembled all of the greats, setting off a common trend for years to come.
Nowadays, ranking the best players ever is one of the most common things that NBA fans and media do. We at ClutchPoints have decided to get in on the action. A lot of players have emerged as generational stars since the NBA’s list in 1996, meaning a lot of players from that list had to be left off of ours.
Being named one of the best NBA players ever is an extremely prestigious nomination. So without further ado, here are the 50 greatest players in NBA history, ranked and updated (often) for everyone to debate. The latest update was finished prior to the start of the 2023 season, and a lot of current superstars made the list for the first time.
10. Shaquille O’Neal
Career Averages: 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists
MVP Awards: 1
All-NBA: 8x First Team, 2x Second Team, 4x Third Team
All-Star: 15x
Championships: 4
An immovable object down low, Shaquille O’Neal is one of the most mobile big men in NBA history. At 7-foot-1 and more than 300 pounds, O’Neal dominated the paint with his unusual combination of strength, skill and speed.
O’Neal nabbed the Rookie of the Year award in 1992, and he never looked back. After only four years in the league, O’Neal carried the Orlando Magic franchise, an expansion team in 1989, to the 1995 NBA Finals. In 1996, O’Neal left the Magic to join the Lakers, where he would eventually team with coach Phil Jackson and fellow superstar Bryant to form one of the greatest trios in league history. They soon won three titles in a row from 2000 to 2002. O’Neal changed teams again in 2004, this time with the Heat, who had up-and-coming superstar Wade on its roster. The two teamed up to give the franchise its first-ever championship in 2006 as he won his fourth championship in seven years.
O’Neal is one of only three players to win the regular-season MVP, All-Star Game MVP, and Finals MVP awards in the same season (1999-2000). The Diesel led the league in scoring twice (1994-95, 1999-2000) and is currently eighth in all-time scoring.
9. Kevin Durant
Career Averages: 27.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists
MVP Awards: 1
All-NBA: 6x First Team, 4x Second Team
All-Star: 14x
Championships: 2
Kevin Durant is already arguably the most unstoppable scorer ever behind Michael Jordan, and he is climbing the rankings of the greatest overall players in NBA history. With an MVP and two championships, the Durantula is as tall as a center at 7 feet with the skills of a shooting guard, playing the small forward position and defending the paint like a power forward.
Regardless of the issues surrounding him and his future, Durant has shown that he is one of the greatest players in the game. With tons of talent around him currently on the Phoenix Suns, he has a chance of collecting even more accolades, although 2024 was a disappointment after being swept out of the first round of the playoffs.
8. Wilt Chamberlain
Career Averages: 30.1 points, 22.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists
MVPs: 4
All-NBA: 7x First Team, 3x Second Team
All-Star: 13x
Championships: 2
Wilt Chamberlain was a larger-than-life figure who is one of the most difficult to rank in an all-time greatest list. The Stilt suffered from the perception that he wasn’t as good as advertised, when time and time again, his teams would be eliminated by Russell’s Celtics. But can you imagine how many rings Chamberlain would have owned if he and Russell had not played simultaneously? We’d probably rank him No. 1 on this list, along with every other sports website.
The 7-footer changed the game as the NBA decided to widen the lane to limit his dominance over smaller players. He was the second real giant (after Mikan) on the hardwood, and it was only the Celtics who truly humbled the league’s unstoppable mythical figure with the defensive prowess of Russell, their own immovable object.
Despite the setbacks in the playoffs, Chamberlain owns records that will likely never be broken, such as his 100-point performance against the New York Knicks and the 55 rebounds he grabbed in a game against the Celtics.
There was a season in which Chamberlain never left a basketball game to rest, averaging 48.5 minutes a game. That shows us that he was merely toying with the league through his massive size and talent.
Before Jordan tied him, Chamberlain held the record for the most consecutive seasons leading the league in scoring with seven. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was when he led the league in total assists in the 1968 season, averaging a career-high 8.6 assists per game. There was nothing he couldn’t do on the hardwood as long as he set his mind to do it.
7. Magic Johnson
Career Averages: 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists
MVP Awards: 3
All-NBA: 9x First Team, 1x Second Team
All-Star: 12x
Championships: 5
The Lakers would not have had Showtime in the 1980s without Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Magic was perfect for LA and Hollywood with his trademark smile and passion for the game.
His Finals MVP as a rookie is perhaps his single greatest accomplishment after he replaced the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Game 6. He started the game at center and played all five positions by the time the game was over, recording 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
His near-annual battles with Bird for the championship drove the league to heights of popularity it had never known before. His five championships cemented him as one of the greatest players to play the game.
Johnson retired from the game prematurely in 1991 at 32 years old after contracting HIV. Who knows how much more he could have accomplished had he played five or more seasons?
6. Stephen Curry
Career Averages: 24.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.4 assists
MVPs: 2
All-NBA: 4x First Team, 4x Second Team, 1x Third Team
All-Star: 10x
Championships: 4
The only unanimous MVP in league annals, Stephen Curry is the greatest shooter to ever walk the hardwood floor. With the 6-foot-3 point guard around, no part of the court is a safe zone for defenders because he can make a shot from virtually every area of the court.
His 3-point records are likely going to stand for a long, long time. Curry currently owns four championships and two MVPs with the Golden State Warriors.
He is much more than just a shooter, however. Curry is one of the best ballhandlers and paint finishers for a guard ever. No one has ever revolutionized the game of basketball as much as Steph Curry.
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Career Averages: 24.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists
MVP Awards: 6
All-NBA: 10x First Team, 5x Second Team
All-Star: 19x
Championships: 6
No one has eclipsed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s six MVP awards, and that’s for a good reason. His excellence extends over two decades, winning six championships along the way. Before being part of the Lakers’ Showtime, Jabbar had already won a championship ring with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971.
His 38,837 career points once seemed like a record that would never be broken. While the number was surpassed by LeBron James, Abdul-Jabbar still has over 1,000 more than the third-leading scorer.
It is impossible to talk about Kareem without talking about the skyhook. His signature move is one of the most enduring images in NBA history and one that is likely never going to be replicated. The shot was nearly unguardable.
4. Larry Bird
Career Averages: 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists
MVP Awards: 3
All-NBA: 9x First Team, 1x Second Team
All-Star: 12x
Championships: 3
If you want to show a kid how to play basketball, you show him Larry Bird. Looking at the 6-foot-9 forward, you would never think that he could play in the NBA, but boy oh boy could he play!
The Celtics legend is one of the most revered players to this day because of his intelligence, competitiveness, and all-around ability to do just about anything on the court. Bird overwhelms you with his cockiness, smarts, supreme confidence, and ability to get off his shots with regularity.
No. 33 won three-straight MVP awards, the only player since the 1960s to accomplish that feat. He revitalized the struggling Celtics in the 1980s and brought back the glory days of the 1960s when Boston ruled the NBA.
During his playing days, he added three championship banners to the rafters of the old Boston Garden and brought in legions of fans from the NCAA to the NBA along with Magic Johnson, his chief rival and now close friend.
Bird is most known for his incredible shooting, as he won the first three 3-point contests and was hitting 3-pointers before it was cool. As good of a shooter as he was, he was arguably an even better passer. His vision and passing touch was special, and it was enhanced by the fact that he was tall enough to see over defenders.
3. Kobe Bryant
Career Averages: 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists
MVP Awards: 1
All-NBA: 11x First Team, 2x Second Team, 2x Third Team
All-Star: 18x
Championships: 5
Some say he’s the greatest Laker of all time, and after playing incredibly great for 20 years, Kobe Bryant deserves to at least be part of the argument. He entered the league as a teenager who could barely contain his excitement to be playing hoops as a career.
Basketball was the perfect outlet for the young man’s competitive nature, and he’ll forever be missed by the NBA community and our world as a whole after his tragic death.
Bryant accomplished what most NBA players can only dream of. He won the Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie and was a member of the All-Rookie Team. In only his second season, Bryant became an All-Star, the first of 18 such selections.
Soon, he would win three-straight titles along with fellow superstar O’Neal. When the two parted ways, Bryant waited a few more seasons before he won two more championships, one more than his former teammate.
One of the elite scorers in NBA history, the Black Mamba is fourth in all-time career scoring with 33,643 points. He won his only MVP award in 2008, but it can be argued that he was robbed from a couple more. He was also the Finals MVP twice in 2009 and 2010. Bryant won the All-Star Game MVP a record four times (tied with Bob Petit), with one of them as co-winner with O’Neal.
2. LeBron James
Career Averages: 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists
MVPs: 4
All-NBA: 13x First Team, 3x Second Team, 3x Third Team
All-Star: 20x
Championships: 4
Entering his 21st season in the league, LeBron James has not shown signs of slowing down. No one has ever come close to reaching his sustained success, and his longevity is truly unbelievable.
The first pick of the 2003 NBA Draft straight out of high school is a four-time MVP and a perennial All-Star.
He’s the first player to reach 30,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 8,000 assists, and he is on pace to reach the unfathomable—40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists. When James finally pioneers the exclusive 40K-10K-10K club, we may not see anyone else join him for the next 50 years or so.
The “Greatest of All Time” debate is discussed by the media every season because of James’ nightly exploits. In fact, never has this discussion become as prevalent as these last few years after he claimed that elusive championship in 2012.
Since then, he has been working his way up the greatest of all-time ladder, passing other players in the discussion, such as Bird, Magic Johnson, Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, and Chamberlain. Getting knocked out of the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs didn’t help his argument.
1. Michael Jordan
Career Averages: 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists
MVP Awards: 5
All-NBA: 10x First Team, 1x Second Team
All-Star: 14x
Championships: 6
The greatest player ever to lace a pair of basketball shoes is none other than Michael Jeffrey Jordan. The 6-foot-6 legend took the league by storm the moment he set foot on an NBA hardwood. When the lanky but athletic young shooting guard started his career, Jordan was thought of more as a scoring machine, even though he was an excellent defender and a willing passer.
It wasn’t until he won his first championship that he was taken seriously as one of the greatest players in the game. Six championships later (with no loss in the Finals), Jordan sits atop the discussion of the greatest player debate.
The five-time MVP was an assassin on the court, taking down opponents of all shapes and sizes. No one was safe from Jordan’s competitive fire as he extinguished all comers on his way to winning six Finals MVPs to go along with his six rings.
Jordan owns numerous awards and records, most of which continue to endure to this day. Jordan is both the leader in scoring titles, as well as (tied for) times on the All-Defensive First Team, showing just how dominant he truly was.
Aside from the championships, Jordan is well-known for hitting one clutch shot after another, culminating in a number of game-winners and buzzer-beaters that are the stuff of legend. What is especially incredible about Jordan’s legendary status is that none of this is made up. He lives up to the hype and the mystique. None of it is a product of the imagination.
That’s why if there is anyone who deserves to be at the top of the greatest players list, it’s Jordan.
