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) to comprise 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 and 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.

Players

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, John 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; Shaquille O'Neal was injured and could not attend; Jerry West elected not to participate.

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 2006-07 season.

Players selected

Players italicized were active during the 1996-97 season during which the team was announced. Players starred had, upon the close of the 2005-06 season, 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 eligible for the Hall of Fame has been inducted. Players with an asterisk have been inducted as of March 2007.


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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, including four former players and two panelists who voted on the initial NBA list, released a list of the Next 10 Greatest Players, considering for selection 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.

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. Duncan, Bryant, Iverson, Garnett, Kidd, and Payton were active upon the opening of the 2006-07 season.

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, of whom four—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.

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 None [2]
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

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 amongst all single season individual teams. Each won its league championship, and the teams combined to average 66 wins per season.

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 Kevin McHale, power forward Larry Bird, 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 [6] Point guard John Paxson, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Horace Grant, center Bill Cartwright, point guard B.J. Armstrong Zero [7] Two (Jordan, Pippen)
1995-96 Chicago Bulls 72-10 (.878) Won 1996 championship Phil Jackson [6] Point guard Ron Harper, shooting guard Michael Jordan, small forward Scottie Pippen, power forward Dennis Rodman, center Luc Longley, small forward Toni Kukoc Zero [8] Two (Jordan, Pippen)

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Bracketed record and winning percentage reflect all games played through the 2005-06 NBA season; the preceding record is that of the coach at the time of his selection.
  2. ^ a b To be considered for induction, a head coach must have been retired for at least five calendar years or must have been a coach at the professional, collegiate, or secondary level for no fewer than 25 years; coach is ineligible for induction.
  3. ^ Italicized players were inducted subsequent to the announcement of the ten best teams.
  4. ^ a b Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.
  5. ^ Having been injured during the ninth game of the season, Baylor did not play for the team after November 11, 1971, and retired from professional basketball soon after the completion of the season.
  6. ^ a b c Having neither been fully retired for five years nor an active head coach for at least 25 years, coach is as yet ineligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coach.
  7. ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, Jordan, Pippen, and Grant are, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, ineligible for induction.
  8. ^ A player is not eligible for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame until he has been fully retired for five calendar years; of the six, only Rodman, having retired after the 1999-2000 season is, as of the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, eligible for induction.
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