40. Dolph Schayes (1950-1964) – PF – 1 MVP Runner Up, 6 time 1st team All-NBA, 6 time 2nd team All-NBA, 1 time champion (finals MVP was not awarded during his playing days), 1 time rebounding leader
39. Dave Cowens (1971-1983) – C – 1 MVP, 1 MVP Runner Up, 3 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion
Dave Cowens has the distinction of being the only player to be named MVP of the league without ever being selected to first team All-NBA. I guess that’s the kind of thing that can only happen when you play center in the same league as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I love the fact that Cowens never backed down from the much taller and much more gifted Kareem, as is epitomized by Cowens and the Celtics taking down Kareem and the Bucks in the ’74 finals, which included Cowens’ iconic dive for the loose ball to help seal game 6 of that series. I love it when one play can truly capture the essence of a player and define what made that player special (this will be a theme throughout this portion of the list).
38. George Gervin (1973-1986) – SG – 2 MVP Runner Ups, 4 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 4 time scoring leader
George Gervin was the epitome of cool in the 70s and was such a graceful yet devastating scorer, as his patented finger roll came to symbolize for generations to come. And “Ice Man” is just an all-time remarkable nickname, which was made even cooler by his iconic poster that happens to be hanging on my wall as we speak.
37. Chris Paul (2006-Current) – PG – 1 MVP Runner Up, 4 time 1st team All-NBA, 3 time 2nd team All-NBA, 4 time assist leader
36. Steve Nash (1997-2014) – PG – 2 MVPs, 1 MVP Runner Up, 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 5 time assist leader
35. Allen Iverson (1997-2010) – SG – 1 MVP, 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 3 time 2nd team All-NBA, 4 time scoring leader
I love Allen Iverson (see my Top 50 Players of My Lifetime post for more details). One thing I will add here though is that looking back I have come to appreciate even more the crossover Iverson gave to Michael Jordan during his rookie season. The move itself was probably not even in his top ten career plays, but the context and career foreshadowing is what makes it so memorable. That one play told you really all you needed to know about Iverson: He was ridiculously skilled, but more importantly, he was not afraid of anyone, and I mean anyone (this was the GOAT he was going against, and as a rookie). That crossover of his is crazy, but his never back down relentlessness, despite his small stature, is what I believe makes him legendary.
34. Walt Frazier (1968-1980) – PG – 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion, should have won finals MVP in 1970
33. Rick Barry (1966-1980) – SF – 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 1 time 2nd team All-NBA, 1 time champion, 1 finals MVP, 1 time scoring leader, 1 time ABA champion
Rick Barry is quite the interesting character. Listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Revisionist History, Episode 3, The Big Man Can’t Shoot (every episode of that podcast is amazing and I highly recommend binge listening to all of them) to hear the remarkable story behind his underhand free throw shooting. The story of this unique and highly effective technique tells you all you need to know about Rick Barry: All he cared about was becoming the best possible basketball player that he could be, regardless of whether he looked silly or rubbed his teammates the wrong way, which ironically probably hindered him from becoming the best basketball player since you kind of need your teammates at some point. But he was an MVP and a champion, so I guess he got pretty close nonetheless.
32. Bill Walton (1975-1987) – C – 1 MVP, 1 MVP Runner Up, 1 time 1st team All-NBA, 1 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion, 1 finals MVP, 1 time rebounding leader
Bill Walton’s peak was cut extremely short by a string of foot injuries, but his two year run from ’76-’78 was about as good as it gets. Add to that the fact that he was a two time National Champion and three time national player of the year at UCLA, and it is evident to me that his impact on the game of basketball transcends his injury riddled professional career.
31. Willis Reed (1965-1974) – C – 1 MVP, 1 MVP Runner Up, 1 time 1st team All-NBA, 4 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion, 2 finals MVPs
Willis Reed hobbling out of the tunnel before game 7 of the ’70 finals is perhaps the most often replayed and often cited moment in NBA history. Pretty much anytime a player is injured going into a big game, the image of a limping Willis Reed and a roaring Garden crowd is inevitably referenced. That moment, however, could not be as iconic as it is without Reed being the heart and soul and best player on those two 70’s championship Knicks teams.
30. Scottie Pippen (1988-2004) – SF – 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 6 time champion
29. David Robinson (1990-2003) – C – 1 MVP, 2 MVP Runner Ups, 4 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion, 1 time scoring leader, 1 time rebounding leader
28. Bob Cousy (1951-1970) – PG – 1 MVP, 10 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 6 time champion (finals MVP was not awarded during his playing days), 8 time assist leader
One of my favorite NBA clips which finds its way into every NBA highlight video that references the old days is Bob Cousy dribbling out the clock to close out the ’62 finals and ensure another title for the Celtics. Cousy was the NBA’s first great floor general, but his remarkable Celtics career almost didn’t happen as he was drafted by the Tri-City Blackhawks and refused to report because he didn’t want to relocate and give up the driving school he was in the process of starting. I guess times sure have changed. Can you imagine Lonzo Ball getting drafted by the Grizzlies instead of the Lakers and deciding “Nah I’m good. I’m going to stay here in LA to work on this ice cream shop I’m opening up.”
27. Dwayne Wade (2004-Current) – SG – 2 time 1st team All-NBA, 3 time 2nd team All-NBA, 3 time champion, 1 finals MVP, 1 time scoring leader
26. Stephen Curry (2010-Current) – PG – 2 MVPs, 2 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 3 time champion, 1 time scoring leader, only unanimous MVP in NBA history
Steph Curry made a jump on this list after winning another championship last season. He still hasn’t been handed a finals MVP award, but with three titles and two MVPs, I now have him as the fourth best point guard of all-time. Not bad for a skinny kid from Davidson who many people thought would more likely be out of the league due to perpetually injured ankles than become a two time MVP. As a side note, I mentioned earlier in the Ray Allen section that Ray had the most beautiful jump shot I have ever seen. I stand by that, but believe that Curry is the best shooter I have ever seen. Trust me, those two statements are not mutually exclusive.
25. Kevin Garnett (1996-2016) – PF – 1 MVP, 2 MVP Runner Ups, 4 time 1st team All-NBA, 3 time 2nd team All-NBA, 1 time champion, 4 time rebounding leader
24. Isiah Thomas (1982-1994) – PG – 3 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team All-NBA, 2 time champion, 1 finals MVP, 1 time assist leader
Isiah Thomas was an amazing point guard and a competitor in the truest sense as he was the unquestioned leader of those back to back champion “Bad Boys” Pistons teams. But my favorite Isiah Thomas story has nothing to do with his basketball ability. It comes from the 1985 All-Star game where he was the ring leader behind freezing out then rookie Michael Jordan, who was getting a little too much attention and hype for Isiah’s taste. That, however, is not where this story ends. Several years later, when USA Basketball was putting together the Dream Team for the ’92 Olympics, Jordan told them that he would play, but only if Isiah did not. The selection committee obviously chose Jordan in this ultimatum, and the rest is history. Add the All-Star game freeze-out to the Pistons torture of Jordan and the Bulls in the late 80s to the Pistons heading to the locker room before the game was over as they lost to the Bulls in the ’91 playoffs, and the notoriously grudge-holding Jordan had no choice but to stick it to Isiah one last time. I love it so much (Isiah = Bad Guy; Jordan = Good Guy; just so we are clear).
23. Karl Malone (1986-2004) – PF – 2 MVPs, 1 MVP Runner Up, 11 time 1st team All-NBA, 2 time 2nd team Al-NBA
22. Charles Barkley (1985-2000) – PF – 1 MVP, 1 MVP Runner Up, 5 time 1st team All-NBA, 5 time 2nd team All-NBA, 1 time rebounding leader
21. George Mikan (1949-1956) – C – 6 time 1st team All-NBA, 5 time champion (MVP or finals MVP were not awarded during his playing days), 3 time scoring leader, 1 time rebounding leader
George Mikan looks like a giant accountant, but that was basketball in the 40s. Obviously Mikan would not have stood a chance athletically in today’s game, but he didn’t play in today’s game. He played in the first years of the NBA where there were around a dozen teams and no African American players. And he dominated, winning five of the first eight championships. He can’t control the circumstances in which he played. He took the floor against whoever the other team had to offer and came out on top more often than not. You cannot tell the true history of the NBA without giving credit to the league’s first truly transcendent player, so here’s to you Big George, the twenty-first greatest player in NBA history.
The Jello's Jiggling 