The Puma Top Ten Basketball Players of All Time

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, shout out to the Mickstape Podcast, and they had the ambitious idea of ranking the top 50 players of all time. I have a sales job and a family so 50 was absolutely out the question. I will give you my top ten because it is what you, my loyal fives of readers demand! Just as a spoiler alert to this list, many of you will notice that Karl Malone is absent from my top ten. Well that's because this space is a "Fuck Karl Malone" zone and shall remain so. Now without any further ado...The Top Ten!

10. Hakeem Olajuwan -C
Kicking off my list is none other than the Dream himself. He was probably the first hybrid center in modern history. With the footwork of a soccer player, for the better part of 17 seasons he shook big men out of their respective shoes with some of his moves.

For his career he averaged 21.8 pts, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. He also led the league in blocks 3 times, averaged over 3 blocks a game 9 times, not to mention 5 seasons of averaging over 2 steals a game. The man was a true defensive wizard.

9. Shaquille O'Neal- C
The scary thing about Shaq is that without even really trying he is still a top 10 player ever. It's weird in a sense you're mad that he didn't show the effort others did or even the commitment to getting into shape as some of his peers but even with that being the case, still an all time great. People will always remember him for the power he exhibited which is totally fair but never forget about the agility the Big Aristotle displayed. In fact if you need proof of this look up the all star game showdown he had with Michael Jordan in warm ups for confirmation of this.

For 14 consecutive seansons he averaged over 20 points, 10 times he led the league in field goal percentage and I defy to find a player to give you the fire nicknames like the Big Shaqtus.

8. Wilt Chamberlain- C
Another spot, another big man. I think Chamberlain may have been the most gifted scorer of his era, on and off the court.

If we're talking about his off the court accomplishments, that may be a post for another day. For his career he averaged over 22 rebounds a game and 9 times he led the league in minutes per game. One of the most amazing stats you'll ever see is he holds the record for most 60 point games with 32, the next closest has 5. He is the ONLY player to ever average 40 or 50 points for an entire season. The man was a video game character for sure.

7. Bill Russell- C
You can't mention Wilt without in the same breath mentioning Bill Russell. For as dynamic a force offensively Chamberlain was Russell was his perfect defensive dance partner. When Russell blocked shots it wasn't just a show of dominance over another player, it also was used as a means of starting the fast break.

In this case proving adept at ending a fast break

The man may be the most decorated athlete of all time regardless of sport. 11 time NBA champion, 5 time MVP, 12 time All star, 11 times voted to All NBA first or second team, 4 time rebounding champ and even grabbed 50 rebounds in one game. I'm going to repeat that because it bears repeating...he grabbed 50 rebounds in ONE GAME.

6. Larry Bird- SF
I was scrolling through twitter one morning and I saw someone say Larry Bird wouldn't get off the bench in today's NBA. I blocked that person and reported them as spam for such blasphemy. Don't let that creepy mustache fool you, Larry Joe Bird would give the league problems no matter the era. For his career he averaged 24 points and 10 rebounds, not to mention 6 assists per night. A 12 time all star, a 9 time All NBA first team member, and 3 time MVP of the league. And the scary part is had he not had an injured back, these numbers all could have been even higher.

Not to mention the swag to walk into the locker room at the 3 Point Shootout and announce "So who's coming in second place?" Boss.


5. Magic Johnson- PG
Again another duo that will be forever linked. The battles from college to the pros, NCAA championship games to the NBA Finals they were destined for each other. Not since Oscar Robertson had the NBA seen a a big guard so adept at running the point guard position.

Magic didn't stop there, he may have been the most complete player of his era. Able to guard and play all 5 positions, while he may been known mainly for his passing prowess please believe that he would give you the business scoring as well averaging 19.5 points per game over the course of his career.

4. Tim Duncan- PF
I think it may be because he had the personality of a warm cup of chamomile tea but while his career was going on I don't think I realized how great of a player he was. Like you could set your watch to the 21 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks he was going to give you.

Tim! Calm down, you're getting too worked up.

The Big Fundamental is one of those you can't see the forest for the trees type of players. In the moment you just think oh he's solid. But when you zoom out and look at his accomplishments then you can truly be wowed. 15 times he was an all star, 15 times he was All-NBA, 15 times he was All Defensive Team and only the second player to have  26,000 points,  15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks joining Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Add in the 5 NBA titles, 3 Finals MVPS, and 2 regular season MVPs and you have the greatest power forward of all time.

3. Kareem Abdul Jabbar- C
I have always had an infinity for the man formerly known as Lew Alcindor. No, not because we share a name but because if you factor in his college accomplishments with his professional then you may have the single most impressive resume of any basketball player ever. College alone saw him become a 3 time AP Player of the year, 3 time Final Four Most Outstanding Player, 3 time National Champion, and 3 time First team All American.

You knew it was coming and yet you still got that work. 

We get to the pros and the first prodigy to have the weight of expected greatness not only handled it, he exceeded those expectations. He averaged 28 points and 14.5 rebounds out the gate and while blocks weren't calculated at the time his defensive rating per 100 possessions was 89 which is ridonculous. And it's fair to say that had blocks been calculated during his time he would be sitting at number as he sits at 3 even with the blocks from his first 4 seasons not being counted.

1B. LeBron James- SF
I've written about LeBron and his statistical prowess numerous times already and by year 15 I was thinking we would see a decline. Instead what we got was a 8th consecutive trip to the NBA Finals with arguably his weakest supporting cast since the 2006-07 Cavs team he led to the Finals. For his career he is a 14 time all star, 14 time All NBA, 4 time MVP and only the second player to win an NBA MVP, Championship, Finals MVP, and a Gold Medal all in the same year.

What truly is most impressive about the man is his versatility. He is the only player with 30,000 points, 7,000 assists and 8,000 rebounds. Given that in year 15 where a little drop off would be expected he gave us 27.5 point. 8.6 rebounds and 9 assists like it was nothing. Heavy is the head that wears the crown but if ever there was a king built for it, it's King James.

1A. Michael Jordan- SG
To the surprise of no one who knows the king of the mountain is his Airness himself. There may have been players who were physically dominating, or came into the league as more proficient shooters but none of them could put it together to have one of the most dominant careers of all time like Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

The 14 time all star and 10 time scoring champ is responsible for helping usher in the globalization of the NBA. Everyone wanted to be like Mike and for good reason. He was an 11 time All NBA selection, 9 time all Defensive selection, led the league in steals 3 times, and there are the 5 MVP awards as well. It got to a point where he was not getting votes for MVP because the press was so tired of voting for him because he had a stretch where he could (and probably should) have won every MVP award. Seriously go back and look at the stats to his 87/88 season and if a single tear doesn't roll down your cheek I question your commitment to this nerd life.

Well folks there you have it, the definitive top ten greatest players of my favorite sport. And we didn't use things like the eye test or hustle either! Straight stats baby! Holla analytics fans!