Top 5 Most Influential Players in NBA History

[Scholar]

This is just my opinion. If you disagree, at least explain why.

5. Julius "Dr. J" Erving
He is the pioneer of highlight dunks. I'd argue he's the GOAT fast break performer, but I think LBJ has him beat by a slight margin. The Doc made basketball exciting back in the '70s when people started losing interest basketball.

4. Larry Bird
Let's just say without his rivalry against Magic drawing millions of viewers, the NBA was likely going to go bankrupt. Bird wasn't a highlight reel player, but he is arguably the most clutch performer of all-time.

3. Magic Johnson
No, I didn't rank him higher than Bird because I'm a Laker fan. I think Magic gets a slight edge over his rival simply based on so mny players' games being influenced by the Point God (eg. LeBron James).

2. Wilt Chamberlain
He influenced basketball so much that new rules had to be added and past rules had to changed. He's still a top 5 all-time scorer, and even current NBA players tend to rank him as a top 3 player all-time (pretty sure there's vid of Kobe saying, "Me, Jordan, Wilt.")

1. Michael Jordan
Come on. Did you really think it'd be anyone else? The guy made the NBA globally popular. There are more player influenced by Jordan's game than anyone else in NBA history. Jordan is the player every elite player today gets compared to. He's such an amazing and influential player that even people who never saw him play know he's top 3.


Honorable mentions:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (his off-season training is said to have inspired others to follow the methods in order to prolong their careers. He made yoga cool for ballers before exercise programs made it cool)

Bill Russell (what more can you say about a guy who won 11 rings in 13 years. Showed that defense is just as important, if not more, than offense)

George Mikan (basketball's first superstar)

Allen Iverson (agree to disagree here, but he's the reason every baller you come across HAS to do dribble moves all possession)

[The JKidd Kid]

Shaq

[lakerspng]

Shaq

Just like Kobe is not as influential as Jordan, mainly because Jordan came first, Shaq is not as influential as Wilt, mainly because Wilt came first. Wilt was the first megalith, the bigger than life big man that crushed opponents and bent the game to his will. That's not to say that Shaq and Kobe in their own right have not towered over their respective generation and inspired millions of young players, etc... but Wilt was the first Shaq and Jordan was the first Kobe, and both Wilt and Jordan's legends cast very large shadows.

[WayOfWade]

I like that you didn't put LeBron there. He is influential, but nowhere near the level of those guys. Maybe when his career is over though, he's certainly one of the most polarizing figures to play the game.

[BoutPractice]

Moses Malone (one of the pioneers of the high school to pros trend), Kevin Garnett (driving bigmen away from the key), Dirk Nowitzki (driving bigmen even further away from the key and proving that Europeans could dominate in the NBA), and Yao Ming (self-explanatory) should definitely be on that list as well.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Elgin Baylor. Seems like many of the top NBA players in the generation after him said they looked up to his game.

[selrahc]

kobe needs to be on here. he is the most influential player of all time

[L.Kizzle]

Elgin Baylor has to be first. He bought the game above the rim.

Bill Russell for defense. Wasn't a lot of D played before Bill entered the league.

Bob Cousy for dribbling and passing.

George Mikan. First dominant force in the league.

Wilt Chamberlain changed so many rules, as you already stated.

Earl Monroe/D. J/Tiny: Playground ball to the league.

[The Rock]

I like that you didn't put LeBron there. He is influential, but nowhere near the level of those guys. Maybe when his career is over though, he's certainly one of the most polarizing figures to play the game.

LEBRON?

SHOWING MANY KIDS AROUND THE WORLD TO "CHECK THEIR STATS"?

SHOWING MANY KIDS HOW QUIT IN THE 4TH QUARTERS OF GAMES?

SHOWING MANY KIDS THAT WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, QUIT, BREAK A PROMISE WITH 1 HR SPECIAL, AND JOIN A STACKED TEAM?

JABRONI PLEASE..

[NumberSix]

Jerry West is more influential than Michael Jordan.

[Scholar]

I like that you didn't put LeBron there. He is influential, but nowhere near the level of those guys. Maybe when his career is over though, he's certainly one of the most polarizing figures to play the game.

I think LeBron and Kobe will be influential for future ballers. Hell, Paul George already credits Kobe for influencing his game and off-season training... And Kobe hasn't even retired yet!

Only reason I can't place them on this list is because they aren't the originals. Sure, you can say the same for MJ. He was influenced by Dr. J & Bernard King's game, but he took what they did up several notches.

@The JKidd, I think Shaq is an influential figure, but again, it's about the originals. Wilt is the most dominant player of all-time. I'm not removing Wilt for Shaq.

[EnoughSaid]

LeBron is going to go down as one of the top 5 as well. Dude has changed the way young basketball players want to play. He's changed it from that "Be like Mike" mode to a "Team player, pass over shot"

[QuebecBaller]

Jordan
Iverson
Dr.J

[lakerspng]

LeBron is going to go down as one of the top 5 as well. Dude has changed the way young basketball players want to play. He's changed it from that "Be like Mike" mode to a "Team player, pass over shot"

He's changed it for the negative. His approach to the game is to play for the stats. he's a PER era player, only take high% shots not because they're the best for the team, but because they keep my fantasy stats higher. He's the opposite of Magic, Magic played team ball for the team's good. Lebron plays ball dominant force feed team ball for his personal glory. I don't get how people can't see it. Lebron's as selfish as any "chucker" in the game.

[thefatmiral]

hakeem the dream, still influencing with hsi big man camp. I remember fourth grade imitating and fainting the other kids.