50 Greatest Players in NBA History

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The 50 Greatest Players in National Basketball Association History (also referred to as the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team) were chosen in 1996 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The list comprises the fifty best and most influential players of the first half-century of the NBA, with respect not only to performance at the professional level but in consideration of sportsmanship, team leadership, and contributions to the growth of basketball. The list was selected irrespective of positions played; only players to have played at least a portion of their careers in the NBA were eligible for selection. Selected and announced in conjunction with the 50th anniversary team were a list of the ten best head coaches and ten best single season teams in NBA history.

Contents 1 Players 1.1 NBA team 1.1.1 Players selected 1.1.1.1 A 1.1.1.2 B 1.1.1.3 C 1.1.1.4 D 1.1.1.5 E 1.1.1.6 F 1.1.1.7 G 1.1.1.8 H 1.1.1.9 J 1.1.1.10 L 1.1.1.11 M 1.1.1.12 O 1.1.1.13 P 1.1.1.14 R 1.1.1.15 S 1.1.1.16 T 1.1.1.17 U 1.1.1.18 W 1.2 TNT addendum 1.2.1 Players selected 1.2.2 Other Nominees 1.2.3 Other Pre-Nominees 2 Coaches 2.1 Coaches selected 3 Teams 3.1 Teams selected 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Players

[edit] NBA team

The list was compiled based upon unranked voting completed by fifty selected panelists. Sixteen of the panelists were former players voting in their roles as players, thirteen were members of the print and broadcast news media, and twenty-one were team representatives: contemporary and former general managers, head coaches, and executives. Of the last group, seven were former players. Players were proscribed from voting for themselves, but only three voting players (Bill Bradley, Johnny Kerr, and Bob Lanier) were not selected to the team.

The announcement of the team, undertaken by commissioner David Stern in New York City, New York, United States on October 29, 1996, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which occupied the site of the former Commodore Hotel, where the original NBA charter was signed on June 6, 1946, began a season-long celebration of the league's anniversary. The players were assembled in Cleveland, Ohio, during the 1997 All-Star Game Weekend, and only three were absent. Pete Maravich, having died in 1988, aged just 40 years, was represented by his two sons, Joshua and Jaeson; Shaquille O'Neal was injured and could not attend; Jerry West was undergoing surgery.

At the time of the announcement of the team, ten of the fifty players were active. Only Shaquille O'Neal was still active upon the opening of the 2007-08 season.

[edit] Players selected

Players italicized were active during the 1996-97 season during which the team was announced. Players with an asterisk (*) had, as of April 2007, been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as players; Bill Sharman and Lenny Wilkens were each inducted as a player and as a coach. Thus far every player from the list who is eligible for the Hall of Fame has been inducted.

[edit] A

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*
• Nate Archibald*
• Paul Arizin*

[edit] B

• Charles Barkley*
• Rick Barry*
• Elgin Baylor*
• Dave Bing*
• Larry Bird*

[edit] C

• Wilt Chamberlain*
• Bob Cousy*
• Dave Cowens*
• Billy Cunningham*

[edit] D

• Dave DeBusschere*
• Clyde Drexler*

[edit] E

• Julius Erving*
• Patrick Ewing

[edit] F

• Walt Frazier*

[edit] G

• George Gervin*
• Hal Greer*

[edit] H

• John Havlicek*
• Elvin Hayes*

[edit] J

• Magic Johnson*
• Sam Jones*
• Michael Jordan

[edit] L

• Jerry Lucas*

[edit] M

• Karl Malone
• Moses Malone*
• Pete Maravich*
• Kevin McHale*
• George Mikan*
• Earl Monroe*

[edit] O

• Hakeem Olajuwon
• Shaquille O'Neal

[edit] P

• Robert Parish*
• Bob Pettit*
• Scottie Pippen

[edit] R

• Willis Reed*
• Oscar Robertson*
• David Robinson
• Bill Russell*

[edit] S

• Dolph Schayes*
• Bill Sharman*
• John Stockton

[edit] T

• Isiah Thomas*
• Nate Thurmond*

[edit] U

• Wes Unseld*

[edit] W

• Bill Walton*
• Jerry West*
• Lenny Wilkens*
• James Worthy*

[edit] TNT addendum

On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the release of the fiftieth anniversary team, fourteen broadcasters employed by the American television network Turner Network Television, a broadcaster of NBA games and the network on which the programs The NBA on TNT and Inside the NBA air, released a list of the Next 10 Greatest Players. The panel, which included four former players and two panelists who voted on the initial NBA list, considered contemporary players who were unestablished in 1996 and historical players not already included on the original list. Released on February 18, 2006, the ranked list was presented in conjunction with the NBA's 2006 All-Star Weekend.

[edit] Players selected

Players italicized were active during the 2005-06 season during which the team was announced. Players starred had, upon the close of the 2005-06 season, been inducted as players into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

• Jason Kidd
• Kevin Garnett
• Allen Iverson
• Kobe Bryant
• Bob McAdoo*
• Dominique Wilkins*
• Reggie Miller
• Connie Hawkins*
• Tim Duncan
• Gary Payton

[edit] Other Nominees

• Walt Bellamy*
• Joe Dumars*
• Adrian Dantley
• Alex English*
• LeBron James
• Dennis Johnson
• Bernard King
• Artis Gilmore
• Bob Lanier*
• Dennis Rodman

[edit] Other Pre-Nominees

• Mark Aguirre
• Maurice Cheeks
• Bob Davies*
• Joe Fulks*
• Tommy Heinsohn*
• Dan Issel*
• Kevin Johnson
• Dirk Nowitzki
• Steve Nash
• JoJo White
• Dwyane Wade

[edit] Coaches

Alongside the selection of the greatest players was completed the unranked selection, undertaken exclusively by members of the print and broadcast media, of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History. Four of the coaches—Phil Jackson, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, and Lenny Wilkens—were active at the time of the list's announcement. Only Jackson, Nelson, and Riley coached teams during the 2006-07 season. Wilkens was also the only member of the coaches list to have been a member of the players list.

[edit] Coaches selected

Coach	Professional team(s) coached	Overall regular season coaching record (winning percentage in parentheses)	League championships won as coach	Coach of the Year Awards won	Year of Hall of Fame induction as coach
Red Auerbach	Washington Capitols (of the Basketball Association of America; 1946-47–1948-49) Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1949-50) Boston Celtics (1950-51–1965-66)	938–479 (.662)	1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966	1964-65	1969
Chuck Daly	Cleveland Cavaliers (1982) Detroit Pistons (1983-84–1991-92) New Jersey Nets (1992-93–1993-94) Orlando Magic (1997-98–1999)	605–420 (.590) [638–437 (.593)][1]	1989, 1990	None	1994
Bill Fitch	Cleveland Cavaliers (1970-71–1978-79) Boston Celtics (1978-79–1982-83) Houston Rockets (1983-84–1987-88) New Jersey Nets (1989-90–1991-92) Los Angeles Clippers (1994-95–1997-98)	944–1106 (.460)	1981	1975-76, 1979-80	None
Red Holzman	Milwaukee Hawks (also as St. Louis Hawks; 1954–1956) New York Knicks (1967-68–1981-82)	696–604 (.535)	1970, 1973	1969-70	1986
Phil Jackson	Chicago Bulls (1989-90–1997-98) Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2000–2003-04, 2005-06–present)	545–193 (.738) [877–353 (.713)][1]	1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002	1995-96	2007
John Kundla	Minneapolis Lakers (1948-49 [in Basketball Association of America]), 1949-50–1958-59	423–302 (.583)	1949 (in Basketball Association of America), 1952, 1953, 1954	None	1995
Don Nelson	Milwaukee Bucks (1976-77–1986-87) Golden State Warriors (1988-89–1994, present) New York Knicks (1995-96) Dallas Mavericks (1997-98–2004-05)	867–679 (.575) [1190–880 (.575)][1]	None	1982-83, 1984-85, 1991-92	None
Jack Ramsay	Philadelphia 76ers (1968-69–1971-72) Buffalo Braves (1972-73–1975-76) Portland Trail Blazers (1976-77–1985-86 Indiana Pacers (1986-87–1988)	864–783 (.525)	1977	None	1992
Pat Riley	Los Angeles Lakers (1981-82–1989-90) New York Knicks (1991-92–1994-95 Miami Heat (1995-96–2002-03, 2005-06–present)	914–387 (.703) [1151-589 (.661)][1]	1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006	1989-90, 1992-93, 1996-97	None[2]
Lenny Wilkens	Seattle SuperSonics (1969-70–1971-72, 1977-78–1984-85) Portland Trail Blazers (1974-75–1975-76) Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-87–1992-93) Atlanta Hawks (1993-94–1998-99 Toronto Raptors (2000-01–2002-03) New York Knicks (2004–2004-05)	1120-908 (.526) [1332-1155 (.536)][1]	1979	1993-94	1998

[edit] Teams

Alongside the selection of the NBA's fifty greatest players was the unranked selection, undertaken exclusively by members of the print and broadcast media, of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History, chosen from among all single season individual teams. Each won its league championship, and the teams combined to average 66 wins per season.

[edit] Teams selected

Team and season	Regular season record (winning percentage in parentheses)	NBA Playoffs result	Head coach	Most common starting lineup and sixth man	Players inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame[3]	Players placed on the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team
1964-65 Boston Celtics	62-18 (.775)	Won 1965 championship	Red Auerbach[4]	Point guard K.C. Jones, shooting guard Sam Jones, small forward Tom Heinsohn, power forward Tom Sanders, center Bill Russell, small forward John Havlicek	Five (K. Jones, S. Jones, Heinsohn, Russell, Havlicek)	Three (S. Jones, Russell, Havlicek)
1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers	68-13 (.840)	Won 1967 championship	Alex Hannum	point guard Wali Jones, shooting guard Hal Greer, small forward Chet Walker, power forward Luke Jackson, center Wilt Chamberlain, combo forward Billy Cunningham	Three (Greer, Chamberlain, Cunningham)	Three (Greer, Chamberlain, Cunningham)
1969-70 New York Knicks	60-22 (.732)	Won 1970 championship	Red Holzman	Point guard Walt Frazier, shooting guard Dick Barnett, small forward Bill Bradley, power forward Dave DeBusschere, center Willis Reed, small forward Cazzie Russell	Four (Frazier, Bradley, DeBusschere, Reed)	Three (Frazier, DeBusschere, Reed)
1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers	69-13 (.841)	Won 1972 championship	Bill Sharman	Point guard Gail Goodrich, shooting guard Jerry West, small forward Jim McMillian, power forward Happy Hairston, center Wilt Chamberlain, shooting guard Flynn Robinson	Four (Goodrich, West, Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor[5])	Three (West, Chamberlain, Baylor)
1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers	65-17 (.793)	Won 1983 championship	Billy Cunningham	Point guard Maurice Cheeks, shooting guard Andrew Toney, small forward Julius Erving, power forward Marc Iavaroni, center Moses Malone, power forward Bobby Jones	Two (Erving, Malone)	Two (Erving, Malone)
1985-86 Boston Celtics	67-15 (.817)	Won 1986 championship	K.C. Jones	Point guard Dennis Johnson, shooting guard Danny Ainge, small forward Larry Bird, power forward Kevin McHale, center Robert Parish, center Bill Walton	Four (McHale, Bird, Parish, Walton)	Four (McHale, Bird, Parish, Walton)
1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers	65-17 (.793)	Won 1987 championship	Pat Riley[6]	Point guard Magic Johnson, shooting guard Byron Scott, small forward James Worthy, power forward A.C. Green, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, small forward Michael Cooper	Three (Johnson, Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar)	Three (Johnson, Worthy, Abdul-Jabbar)
1988-89 Detroit Pistons	63-19 (.768)	Won 1989 championship	Chuck Daly[4]	Point guard Isiah Thomas, shooting guard Joe Dumars, small forward Mark Aguirre, power forward Rick Mahorn, center Bill Laimbeer, shooting guard Vinnie Johnson	Two (Thomas, Dumars)	One (Thomas)
1991-92 Chicago Bulls	67-15 (.817)	Won 1992 championship	Phil Jackson	Point guard John Paxson, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Horace Grant, center Bill Cartwright, point guard B.J. Armstrong	none	Two (Jordan, Pippen)
1995-96 Chicago Bulls	72-10 (.878)	Won 1996 championship	Phil Jackson	Point guard Ron Harper, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Dennis Rodman, center Luc Longley, small forward Toni Kukoc	none	Two (Jordan, Pippen)

[edit] See also

• ABA's All-Time Team

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• NBA's 50 Greatest Players page
• National Basketball Association Top 10 Coaches page
• National Basketball Association Top 10 Teams page
• TNT article detailing "Ten Next" selection process
• Article on SI.com about quick overview of 31 pre-nominees

v • d • e NBA Anniversary Team
NBA 25th Anniversary Team · NBA 35th Anniversary Team · NBA 50 Greatest Players

es:Anexo:50 mejores jugadores de la historia de la NBA

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