My Top 5 Basketball Players Of All-Time

Grant Anschuetz | Slump Sports

LeBron James won his third NBA Championship a few days ago if you hadn’t heard.

Naturally, this lead to debates about if he is now a Top 5 player of all-time or even the best player of all-time.

I’m here to settle that debate.

Here is the criteria I came up with in order to select my Top 5 (because I can’t stand when people make lists without letting you know what their initial criteria was).

-I’m pretending I am a GM for an expansion team, and my draft pool is every basketball player that ever existed. And they are all in their prime.

-I’m also not considering filling each starting 5 position to ensure that it is the best 5 overall as opposed to the best at each position.

-I’m not taking personalities/egos into account either. Strictly on-court production.

Starting with my 5th pick to 1st pick. Let’s Go.

5th Pick: Tim Duncan

Defense wins championships, and Duncan is 3rd all-time for defensive rating. He also is 7th all-time in rebounds and 17th all-time in points scored. He’s won 5 rings and knows how to be consistently effective in the pick and roll scheme.

4th Pick: Wilt Chamberlain

I never saw him play, but he averaged 30.1 points per game and 22.9 rebounds per game. He checks in at 7’1” and 275 lbs. In other words, an absolute beast. The only reason he isn’t my first pick is because the game has changed a lot since then, and I don’t know how dominant he would be now.

3rd Pick: LeBron James

I don’t like James, but I respect him. Real recognize real, right? He is an all-around machine. He can do anything you need him to do, and he back packed the Cavaliers to a title against one of the greatest teams of all-time.

 

2nd Pick: Magic Johnson

Johnson, a lot like James, can do it all. For my team though, he is my facilitator because I regard him as the best facilitator of all-time. I’ve seen his highlight films, and they don’t lie. He knows how to set up teammates. I’m just imagining the pick and roll between him and Duncan. Good luck stopping that combo. Not to mention, he won 5 titles.

1st Pick: Michael Jordan

The GOAT. He is my go-to scorer. Mr. Clutch. Team Leader. I don’t need to list any statistics to convince you. Back to Back 3 peats. 6-0 in the Finals says it all.

Agree or Disagree? Let me know with a comment. I always welcome and appreciate feedback.