Most important players of all time?

[WillC]

The most important NBA players of all time? Of course, these individuals would have to be more than just great players. They would have to transcend beyond the court and into the hearts and minds of millions around the world. A few players like that come to mind.

In no particular order: These players transcended the game and pretty much built certain foundations for future generations.

1.Michael Jordan
2.Larry Bird
3.Magic Johnson
4.Jerry West
5.Julius Erving
6.Bill Russell
7.Shaquille O'Neal
8.Kobe Bryant
9.Oscar Robertson
10.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
11.Hakeem Olajuwon
12.Charles Barkley
13.Scottie Pippen
14.Allen Iverson
15.Dennis Rodman
16.Gary Payton
17.Isiah Thomas
18.Tim Duncan
19.Lebron James
20.Yao Ming

Some of your selections make little sense to me.

How can Gary Payton be more important to basketball than George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Pete Maravich, Elgin Baylor, Earl Monroe, etc?

Poorly thought out list.

[BoutPractice]

In no particular order, NBA players only (so no David Stern, Red Auerbach, pre-NBA players etc.):

Michael Jordan: self-explanatory

Larry Bird / Magic Johnson: revitalize the game, attract a racially diverse audience

George Mikan: blueprint for the superstar bigman

Bill Russell: defensive innovator, integration accelerator

Wilt Chamberlain: blueprint for the NBA player as mythical Hollywood figure, main reason why basketball is seen as the most "individual" of collective sports

Bob Cousy: first in a long line of spectacular, crowd pleasing ballhandlers and passers

Elgin Baylor: blueprint for the spectacular NBA wing

Oscar Robertson: gives players the freedom to set the terms of their contracts, paving the way for today's multimillionaire free agents

Julius Erving: ambassador for the game, gives the NBA the playbook it will use to market Jordan: spectacular dunks and a cool yet clean cut/"acceptable" image.

Moses Malone: first prep-to-pro superstar, long before the days of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James

Kevin Garnett: every 6-10 or taller player who's allowed to face up and pretend he's a guard owes something to Kevin Garnett, who "validates" their ambition.

Dirk Nowitzki: proves that Europeans can be superstars in the NBA and that it can pay for bigmen to shoot from the perimeter if they do it well enough

Yao Ming: got the most populous country in the world interested in basketball

LeBron James: first postmodern superstar whose every move is dissected by the entire world from an early age. Handles it remarkably well, proving the NBA can survive this shift

Allen Iverson: imposes hip hop culture to the NBA.

[GimmeThat]

Big O is up there.

Maybe Baylor, Kings.


Probably players who helped their team/franchise/fan carried through a stretch instead of letting a change in ownership take place.

[WillC]

Very similar list to mine, BoutPractice. Good work.

However, I personally think Maravich and Monroe have to be in their for their flashy individual brilliance which paved the way for other great ball-handlers that followed.

Also, leaving out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar seems like a big oversight. He was remarkable for his combination of size and skill, remembered for his scoring records and longevity, resonant as a dominant big man, resulted in change to the NCAA anti-dunking rules, and representative of a post-Martin Luther King politically-charged America. You can't leave out the NBA's all-time leading scorer and, arguably, most hyped prospect of all-time.

Just my opinion.

[c5terror]

Michael Jordan is probably the most impactful, influential, most idolized NBA player EVER. He didn't just change the way people looked at the NBA but inspired basketball fans. Back in the 90s you saw kids (including me) wanna go out and ball every time after a Bulls game was done. Michael Jordan is the reason why I started playing basketball. Poor families would buy their kids $200-$300 basketball shoes just because they were called Jordan. His style of play and his impact made fans all around the world wanna play basketball. Even TODAY he has provided inspiration for countless numbers of young basketball players.

There's Michael Jordan and then there is the rest of us." - Magic Johnson aka The GOAT point guard said those words. MJ was just as important on the court as he was outside of it. He made the Bulls one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. One man changed the whole city.

Now look at all his achievements...

6x NBA Champ
6x Finals MVP
5x MVP
14x NBA All-Star
3x All-Star MVP
10x All-NBA First Team
1 DPOY
2x Slam Dunk Champ

He also had a career average of 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.3 APG... I could keep going. Those aren't even HALF of his achievements. All I can is... Michael Jordan was by far the most important/impactful NBA player of all time.

Another guy that impacted the NBA was Dr. J. His afro, his amazing flashy slam dunks... oh man. I wish I was alive when he was playing. Way before MJ there was a guy named Julius Erving. Before Michael Jordan did the memorable free throw line dunk, Julius Erving did it. If you combined his NBA & ABA stats he would've been a top 5 scorer of all time. Erving was definitely important.

And finally the two guys who came after Dr. J and before Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Easily the biggest rivalry between 2 players ever. In the 80s it was always about either Magic or Larry. There was no clear cut best player in that decade because you had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. It was always a debate about who the best player. Even when either one of them won the MVP there was STILL a debate. I didn't really get to see the 80s because I was born in 1989 but I KNEW that those two guys were god damn important when my dad told me about them. From 1980-1989 you either saw Larry or Magic. Or even both. Those guys dominated the 1980s and that's why they were important.

- Lead the league 3x in steal while averaging 30+ ppg
-# 3 All time leader in Steal behind
-Have More Offensive rebound in his first 9 years than Lebron Entire Career up to date.

[BoutPractice]

WillC > I kind of see them as being in the continuity of Cousy, but since I have both Dr. J and Jordan on my list it would make sense I suppose. It's all about degree and scale, if you take something that's already there and bring it to a whole new level you deserve a place as an innovator.

I hesitated to bring Kareem into the picture. He's undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever but I wasn't sure what was necessarily "different" about him (The same thing applies to Duncan: I have him as one of the greatest of all time but from a historical perspective, he's "merely" keeping up with the tradition. Duncan is the wise leader of an already established institution.)
Kareem had great skills for his height and was hyped as a prospect but can be seen as a logical extension of Wilt. However, thinking about it, the rule changes and the political resonance of his name do justify putting him on the list, you're right.

[the mesiah]

If we talking bout just players in general and not just nba , besides the wilts,jordans,magics,Julius', got to bring up the FAB 5 in michigan.Before iverson ,they brought that swag/bravado ,REAL baggy loose shorts,black socks to the world mainstream.

[La Frescobaldi]

by the years they broke molds and had impact on the public not just hardcore fans:
1950s
Mikan
Cousy
Russell

1960s
Baylor
Chamberlain
Logo
Oscar

1970s
Dr. J
Maravitch
Havlicek
Lew Alcindor / Jabbar
Earl Monroe

1980s
Bird
Magic
Moses Malone & Gervin

1990s
Jordan
R. Miller
Shaq
Barkley

2000s
Kobe
Dirk
Iverson
Ginobili
Y Ming

Were they the best of their times? Yeah, mostly. But the public doesn't know anything about NBA but marketing so it's "who's most popular" just as much as "who's most important."

Connie Hawkins is more important to the modern game than anyone on that list other than the very biggest superstars, but he was never well known because of the college scandal. The game is based heavily on his playing style and he was tremendously influential on all that came after.

Ginobili and Dirk & Yao spread the game enormously overseas.

If you cut the list down to the very top superstars, that spread basketball popularity the most of anybody, it would be
Chamberlain
West
Bird
Magic
Jordan
Ming
Bryant

Many players of those days say the league would have collapsed if not for Wilt. His name alone was good for thousands of tickets anywhere in the world - remember he was a Globetrotter too, and spent several off-seasons in Europe. As far as importance to the game itself? Nobody comes close, they made whole pages of rules to stop him.

You also have to remember the country was very regional until the mid-80s. Jerry West spread the game across the country far more than somebody like Reggie Miller or Iverson, who showed up long after it was already in the national spotlight. Moses Malone same thing, dude was a huge fan generator in Texas.
Barkley was the Ambassador of Basketball in the Olympics and that big mouth alone promoted the game to thunderous levels.

I prolly forgot somebody but that's how I see it

[the mesiah]

by the years they broke molds and had impact on the public not just hardcore fans:
1950s
Mikan
Cousy
Russell

1960s
Baylor
Chamberlain
Logo
Oscar

1970s
Dr. J
Maravitch
Havlicek
Lew Alcindor / Jabbar
Earl Monroe

1980s
Bird
Magic
Moses Malone & Gervin
human highlight film

1990s
Jordan
Penny hardaway
Big ticket Garnett
R. Miller
Shaq
Barkley

2000s
Kobe
Dirk
Iverson
Ginobili
Y Ming











I prolly forgot somebody but that's how I see it

Yea, u forgot the bolded easily..

[Pointguard]

Also, leaving out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar seems like a big oversight. He was remarkable for his combination of size and skill, remembered for his scoring records and longevity, resonant as a dominant big man, resulted in change to the NCAA anti-dunking rules, and representative of a post-Martin Luther King politically-charged America. You can't leave out the NBA's all-time leading scorer and, arguably, most hyped prospect of all-time.

Just my opinion.

I left out Kareem intentionally. He wasn't that important to the game outside of his most impressive resume. Somebody impressive was going to lead the league in scoring if not him. The league was in dire straights and nearly collapsed when he was the man for 10 years. Surely not his fault but when other guys are building, helping the league grow and have considerable influence on the game its kind of hard for them to be overlooked for a guy that didn't have a particular niche that furthered the game along for the next generation. Certainly, Kareem didn't do this like others did.

[ottooooooo]

v span

[Cold soul]

Bird/Magic saved the NBA during the 80's. MJ brought globalization into the game to whole other stratosphere especially around the world.

[Pointguard]

1) Wilt/Russell. In that order. They put the game on the map. Wilt was first to put mythical numbers up and the first who played above the rim. These two set up how the game was to be played on both sides of the ball. Set a bunch of unreachable standards.

2)Magic/Bird. The rebirth and Renaissance players who added a new level of chess and brain power to the game along with great skill, excitement and competition. Set and built the stage for...

3)Jordan. Globalization. Excitement, Flight, Determination, Skill, Excellence, Entertainment all rolled up into one. The Super Package.

4)Mikan/Globetrotters (Tatum, Meadowlark) were the one's who lit the initial flame. Globetrotters were the first international ambassadors. When they beat the Lakers people were really intrigued about the game.

5)Dr J. Without his excitement the 70's would have ship wrecked.

6)Oscar Schmidt/Hakeem/Yao Ming/Dirk for inspiring people on their continent. Exum might bring it to new heights in Australia.

7)Earl Monroe, turned the game into a marvel of moves and counter moves.

8)Iverson - the little man can be among the best. His influence on popular culture might have been the biggest in any sport?

9)Elgin Baylor - You see a bit of most exciting players in him.

10)Oscar/West/McAdoo the first 7 tool players, great all around games with superskills.

Wilt, West, Oscar, Kareem, McAdoo, Walton, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Hakeem, Pippen, Garnett, Duncan, Kobe, Wade, Lebron represent the game in its many facets, dimensions and all around play. Russell and Marques Johnson might be in this category as well: 7 tools is a combination of several skills, excellence and proficiency on the court like scoring/shooting/defense/passing/team play/post play/slashing/blocking/intelligence/middle game or some other value.

Bob McAdoo was the first super-skilled center. Was the first bigman to slash hard to the basket from 23 feet, had real three point range, a very accomplished true jumpshot, probably the best handle for a center, one of the best middle games ever, best center ppg average - outside of Wilt - (and he did it in Kareem's prime while outrebounding Kareem too).

Added my number 10.

[AKADS]

The way I look at these questions is ask someone who hates sports if they know player x.

Most people will know

Lebron
Kobe
Micheal Jordan
Bird
Magic
Wilt

The there are some who will know

AI
Dr J
Russell
Big O


One I would add for a true basketball fan is Len Bias.

[joeyjoejoe]

Magic Johnson - yeah he helped the nba heaps in popularity not just with the whole magic bird battles but he's this likeable guy always smiling with a big heart, think he made the assist exciting and more popular and his showtime style can be seen in some point guards who definitely grew up watching magic like cp3. He's had some of the most well known moments in NBA like the skyhook, he for sure helped open peoples eyes about hiv and aids. And there's this other mj guy too