My Top Ten (Well, Eleven) Basketball Players of All Time

Basketball has been a major part of my life. I played the game and, in the early 1990s, became a young head high school basketball coach in Louisiana. Over the years, I have watched generations of players come and go. I have also seen the NBA grow from an era when championship games were sometimes shown on tape delay into the global powerhouse it is today. Like my love for movies, my love for basketball calls for a top-ten list. This one is meant to spark fun debate, but it is also my personal attempt to rank the greatest players of all time.

10.     Tim Duncan – Not the most spectacular to watch but among the most consistent and the best player for the man I consider the greatest coach in NBA history, Gregg Popovich. One of the most fundamentally sound players ever to take the court, Duncan wasn’t flashy, didn’t need or want the accolades and reflected the same understated, team-first approach as his head coach.

9.       Hakeem Olajuwon – One of the best two-way players ever and a terror on the baseline. Probably one of the most underrated players as well. His “Dream Shake” move in the post was a pleasure to behold and impossible to stop. His beautiful, sometimes ballerina-like footwork made him a joy to watch.

8.       Kobe Bryant – Killer instinct. Winner mentality. Comparing him to Jordan is fair game, but what appeared to be the beginning of a second act in Hollywood excited me as well. He even won an Academy Award for his short film, Dear Basketball.  His death in 2020 was a gut-punch to me. I was hoping to see him blossom off the court and produce more art. Gone way too soon.

7.       Oscar Robertson – Revolutionized the game and, along with Bob Cousy, showed how passing could be an art form. An extraordinary all-around player who gets lost in the modern era.

6.       Wilt Chamberlain / Bill Russell – This is one of the hardest comparisons on the list: Wilt’s overwhelming individual dominance against Russell’s unmatched team success. Wilt’s statistics remain almost unbelievable, including his 100-point game. Russell, meanwhile, may be the greatest winner in basketball history, with 11 championships in 13 seasons. He also broke ground as the NBA’s first Black head coach while still leading his team on the court. When one player represents statistical dominance and the other represents championship excellence, separating them is nearly impossible.

5.       Larry Bird – Along with Magic Johnson, Bird helped save the NBA. Before their rivalry transformed the league, championship games were sometimes shown on tape delay. Bird remains my all-time favorite player - not because he was the biggest, fastest, or strongest, but because of his grit, pride, and relentless willingness to outwork everyone else. He never backed down.

One of the greatest pieces of sportswriting I have ever read captured him perfectly. I have searched for the original article without success, so I cannot properly credit the writer. From memory, I will paraphrase: One day, Celtics coach K.C. Jones offered to cancel practice if any player could make a half-court shot. Knowing their place in the cosmic lineup, only one Celtic ventured to the ball rack: Bird. Three seconds and 47 feet later, 12 rich men had been given a valuable gift - time.

I tried to imitate his game. I bought his jersey and even flew to Boston to watch him play in the old Boston Garden. And, of course, I hated the Lakers. I still remember walking through Boston’s Logan International Airport wearing my “I Hate L.A.” shirt. He remains my all-time favorite athlete because of his blue-collar background and work ethic.

4.       Magic Johnson – Alongside Larry Bird, Magic helped save the NBA and turn it into must-watch television. He was the most charismatic player of his era and, in my view, the greatest passer the game has ever seen. The Bird-Magic rivalry became one of basketball’s defining stories, and I treasure having watched it unfold. Magic’s impact did not end when his playing career was over. As a highly successful businessman, he has remained deeply connected to sports while continuing to give back to communities in need.

3.       LeBron James – The most gifted and talented player I have ever seen, LeBron could easily sit at the top of this list. The game’s all-time leading scorer is still going strong at forty-one, and his longevity alone is remarkable. Still, I think player movement and team-hopping have complicated his legacy more than helped it. Playing for what will be his fourth franchise and fifth stop has, in my view, taken something off an otherwise extraordinary career. If he becomes the first player to win championships with four different teams - perhaps in Philadelphia – then the debate may change again.

2.       Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Six MVPs, six championships, and the most unstoppable shot in basketball history: the skyhook. My respect for Kareem has grown with age, especially as I have come to appreciate his second act as a writer. I admire his willingness to address issues beyond basketball with intelligence and perspective. As a young, passionate Celtics fan, I did not fully appreciate him then; now, I see him as far more than a basketball player and follow his writing on Substack. I only wish I had understood that side of Kareem sooner.

1.       Michael Jordan – Who else but Jordan? We all wanted to be like Mike. He was the complete package: an unmatched competitor, a global icon, and the player who took the NBA to another level after Bird and Magic helped save it. From the Nike commercials to the six championships and two three-peats with the Bulls - and even his stint in minor league baseball - Jordan became the standard by which greatness is measured. To me, he is the GOAT.

I remember holding my newborn son, Sean, in 1998 as Jordan won his sixth championship and realizing I was watching the best ever. Experiencing that moment with my son made it even more meaningful.

Conclusion

A twenty-year-old would probably have a very different top ten, and that is understandable. The game has changed and so have the players and the ways we experience it.

Still, these are the players who defined basketball for me. The best part of a list like this is not the ranking itself, but the memories it brings back: traveling to Boston with my dad, uncle, and friend while I was still in college; discovering Kareem’s writing; being moved by the ESPN special on the Bird-Magic relationship; and holding Sean during Jordan’s last championship.

Sports - not just basketball - has a way of shaping us in small but lasting ways. For that, I am grateful.

*Just outside my Top Ten (Eleven) are: Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, and Stephen Curry.