The 10 most significant players in basketball history

[WillC]

One more thing for MJ which i think is ridicilously significant:

-Highest career PER average in NBA season & playoff history...

Good point, although PER is a bit flawed.

Interestingly, Wilt has the highest single-season PER (31.8). Both Jordan and LeBron's best seasons, respectively, were just 0.1 off Wilt's record.

[lilblingy]

AI should definitely be in that list somewhere in the top 10 idc who you have to cut out.

[KyrieTheFuture]

Yao Ming not being on there is a joke.

[lilblingy]

Yao Ming not being on there is a joke.

This as well.

[pauk]

Good point, although PER is a bit flawed.

Interestingly, Wilt has the highest single-season PER (31.8). Both Jordan and LeBron's best seasons, respectively, were just 0.1 off Wilt's record.

Its just a rating of a player stats and it doesnt lie imo if you check those players stats... check Jordans stats and consider the more modern era he played in with much less pace, possessions compared to the 60s for example (something which PER takes into account aswell, which also explains why Wilts/Oscars crazy numbers didnt give the highest career PER rating although the non recording of blocks/steals had something to do with that to, so it might be flawed that way anyways as im sure Wilt non-officially averaged probably more than 2 bpg-2 spg, god knows)...

[WillC]

Yao Ming not being on there is a joke.

You make a convincing argument.

...oh wait, no, you didn't make any argument at all.

Constructive.

[WillC]

Stats dont lie, check Jordans stats and consider the more modern era he played in with much less pace, possessions compared to the 60s for example (something which PER takes into account aswell, which also explains why Wilts/Oscars crazy numbers didnt give the highest PER rating although the non recording of blocks/steals had something to do with that to)...

I quite like PER... but it generally favours the big men at the expense of guards.

(Obviously that adds further weight to your Jordan PER argument, but it was never up for debate that Jordan belongs in the top 10 most significant players list)

[Pointguard]

Pretty much in this order for me.

Bird and Magic - for the rebirth and de-center-rising of the game. The league went perimeter with them. Brought the mental aspect of game to life. Their Yin Yang affect and fan appeal was incredible. All the while being great winners.

Chamberlain - because of his influence in the post as being a position of dominance. First one to play the game above the rim. Transfixed us with incredible and unreachable feats. Was literally the first Giant of the game, in terms of effect, and pivotal to it being a national success. Was part of the initial thrust that made it a big time sport. Showed the value of having an all around game, skills, fundamentals and tenacity. Demonstrated great effort and hustle and provided most of the games great cornerstones.

Jordan - for his international flavor, flair and flamboyance. Took style and content to the highest level. Had great traits that would shine in any sport. Took basketball beyond the court and into every corner of the world. People identified with his winning hunger and winning ways. Had storybook wins.

Russell for setting the example that the game can be won consistently.

Cousey - for his impact on the flair and skill of the game.

Earl Monroe - Made moves with a madness that caught on like fire.

Dr J - brought the aesthetics of the game to a new level. Made people daydream about flying.

Meadowlark Lemmon/Goose Tatum - Great as the introduction to the game and made it very approachable and fun. Excited the imagination of millions of kids around the world.

AI - The relentless abandon of the little man. Made little... Big! and brought to life all the axioms: "the measure of a man is what's in the heart." Kind of like the Wizard of Oz or David and Goliath in that proportions are not always seen.


Mikan

[WillC]

I've got Goose Tatum in my honorable mention list but meant to include Meadowlark Lemon too. Good call.

[Freedom Kid7]

You make a convincing argument.

...oh wait, no, you didn't make any argument at all.

Constructive.

Yao Ming may not have changed the way the game was played, but he is a huge factor of why the NBA is global. That's pretty significant.

[WillC]

Yao Ming may not have changed the way the game was played, but he is a huge factor of why the NBA is global. That's pretty significant.

For sure. And that's why he was already on my honorable mention list.

But you think he is top 10 most significant of all-time? Maybe. But to say it's a "joke" that he's not in the top 10 is a little OTT.

[Freedom Kid7]

For sure. And that's why he was already on my honorable mention list.

But you think he is top 10 most significant of all-time? Maybe. But to say it's a "joke" that he's not in the top 10 is a little OTT.

I did not say it was a joke, that was KyrieTheFuture.
Also, I think KG is significant for reasons I stated earlier (kickstarting the prep-to-pro movement).

[Kews1]

Surely Allen Iverson belongs on that list

[jlauber]

I've got Goose Tatum in my honorable mention list but meant to include Meadowlark Lemon too. Good call.

I will admit that I know very little about pre-NBA history, and only slightly more about the decade of the 50's.

But these two certainly deserve consideration. I grew up watching Lemon and the Trotters, and I get a kick out of the younger, or more ignorant posters here, who claim that the players of the 60's couldn't dribble. Most of the kids of my generation were doing behind-the-back, between-the-legs dribbling back in the 60's BECAUSE of Lemon (while whistling "Sweet Georgia Brown.")

As for the rest...I don't know if 10 would do the list justice. And many of the truly significant names have already been mentioned.

Mikan
Cousy
Russell
Oscar
Wilt
Lucas
West
Monroe
Hawkins
Maravich
Alcindor
Kareem
Dr. J
Walton
Moses
Magic
Bird
MJ
Shaq
Lebron

The biggest, I suppose, would be Mikan, Russell, Wilt, Oscar, Kareem, Magic, Bird, and MJ.

As for the anti-Pistol comment...he also LED the NBA in scoring, and his 68 point game against Frazier, among other's, is on YouTube. But in any case,
I have long asked this question: Most all of us have played some kind of organized basketball, and at some level, in our lifetimes (I'm not talking about friendly games with the neighborhood kids.) Be truthful, and ask yourself this...how many times have you scored 40 points in an organized league game? I know that I never came close. And yet, Maravich, with opposing players taking the challenge, and entire defenses set up to stop him, AVERAGED 44 ppg in his three-year COLLEGE CAREER. I don't care who you are...that was an amazing accomplishment, and achieved against Division I schools.

And I'll be very honest here, too. There has never been a player SINCE, that could do everything that guy could with a basketball. White Chocolate Williams couldn't hold his jock. Here again, for the uneducated who make fun of Jerry West's perceived lack of a left hand dribble, and dribbling in general, in the decade of the 60's...Maravich was playing college ball IN the 60's. Oh, and as a sidenote, ...for those that rip West (and Oscar), as talented as the Pistol was, West and Oscar were ALWAYS ranked ahead of him when they played together.

I have said it many times, too, but virtually everything you see in today's NBA, has been done before, and probably 50+ years ago, too.

[L.Kizzle]

Elgin Baylor should be on this list in front of The Pistol.