Top 25 Basketball players of all time

Jordan is the greatest scorer in NBA history, averaging 30.1 points per game; he was also a great on defense, averaging 2.35 steals per game, which is third in NBA history. Jordan won six NBA championships in six appearances. Jordan became the first player in league history to win both the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award and NBA MVP in a career.

A 3 time NBA champion and 3 time Finals MVP, James has been named to 15 All-NBA teams, which is tied for the most in league history. While playing for the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, James led his teams to eight-straight NBA Finals appearances from 2011 to 2018.

Kareem used his signature "skyhook" shot to dominate his opponents. During his career, Kareem took his team to the Finals 10 times, winning 6 championships. He also won six MVP awards. When Kareem retired at the age of 42, he held the record for most points scored, most rebounds, most blocks, most games played and most wins.

"Magic" Johnson was point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers for 13 seasons. A three-time NBA MVP, he made nine NBA Finals appearances and won five NBA titles. Johnson's 11.2 assists per game average is the best in NBA history. He has 2,346 assists which is most in NBA playoff history. Johnson finished his career with 17,707 points, 6,559 rebounds, 10,141 assists, and 1,724 steals.

7-foot 1-inch giant managed to rip down 22.9 rebounds per game. His scoring average of 30.1 points per game was second highest in the game history. He has scored more 50 points times in over 100 games.

Shaq stood at 7'1" and weighed in around 325 pounds. During his career, he scored 28,596 points, grabbed 13,099 rebounds and blocked 2,732 shots. He broke the backboard with one of his strong dunks and this caused the NBA to have a backup hoop in every arena. Opposition coaches would use "Hack-a-Shaq" defensive strategy to stop him from scoring.

Bird played his entire professional career for Boston Celtics. He led Celtics to 3 NBA championships and 5 NBA Finals appearances in 1980s. He averages 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in his career. After retiring, Bird served as head coach of the Indiana Pacers and led them to a berth in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Bill Russell currently has the most championships in NBA history with 11 titles. He is one of seven players to ever win an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He was 5 times League MVP, 12 times All-Star selection

Duncan spent his entire 19-year playing career with the Spurs. He was 3 times Finals MVP, 5 times NBA Champion and selected 15 times on All-Star. Duncan's number 21 jersey was retired after he stopped playing.

Kobe spent his entire 20 year career with the Los Angeles Lakers where he was a 5 time NBA champion and 2 time NBA Finals MVP. Known as "Black Mamba" he was an 18 time NBA All-Star and 15-time All-NBA selection and 12 time NBA All-Defensive honoree.

Olajuwon is the only player in league history to win the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. He finished his career as the NBA leader in blocks at 3,830. He was 2 times NBA Champion and 2 times NBA Finals MVP.

Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists during the 1962 NBA season; he was the first player in league history to average a triple-double. “The Big O” ranks in the all-time top 10 for points per game (25.7) and assists per game (9.5) and to top of average of 7.5 rebounds per game.

Jerry has only won a single championship with LA lakers despite leading them to nine NBA Finals. West’s career scoring average of 27.0 points per game is the fifth-best in history and he was selected 14 times for All-Star Game. He was voted the MVP of the 1969 NBA Finals despite being on the losing team.

Karl Malone scored 25 points and 10.1 rebounds per game for his entire career of nearly 20 years but unfortunately never won any championship. He was a his peak during 1988-1993 while playing for Jazz where he averaged nearly 29 points and more than 11 rebounds per game.

Known as “Dr. J”, he averaged 24.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for his career and he was named to 12 All-League teams.

Elgin Baylor led the Lakers to 8 NBA Finals appearances in his 14 seasons but unfortunately never won any. Baylor averaged 27.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game for his career. He was part of All-NBA squad 10 times.

Charles Barkley is one of the 4 players in NBA history to have more than 20,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. 3 others who has acheived this feat are Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

Robinson is one of only 4 players to have a quadruple-double in a single game. In a game against Detroit Piston in 1994, he finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks. He is also a 2 Olympic gold medalist. He is the only player from the Naval Academy to play in the NBA.

Malone is a 3 time MVP, a 6 time rebounding champion, named to 8 All-NBA teams and won a championship in 1983. He averaged 20.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game during his career.

Curry is 3 time NBA Champion and 2 time NBA MVP. He led the Warriors to their first championship since 1975. The Warriors broke the Chicago Bulls' record for most wins in a single season (73), but they lost to Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

Following few players missed out of top 20 narrowly:

> Bob Pettit (1954–1965)
> Kevin Garnett (1995-2016)
> Kevin Durant (2007-Present)
> John Havlicek (1962–1978)
> John Stockton (1984–2003)