10 Best NBA Players Of All Time

Even though basketball is a team sport, it is also a game of individual stars and compiling a list of the 10 Best NBA Players of All Time involves looking back through the game's history and finding which stars have shined brightest. In a league that prizes height, these top ten best players stand as giants, and they have shaped both the rules and the culture of basketball. 

1. Michael "Air" Jordan is one of the most dominant figures in the history of basketball. He's a five-time MVP, ten-time All-NBA first team, nine-time All-NBA All Defensive team, 14-time All-Star and six-time NBA champion - a perfect six for six in the NBA Finals. His effect lasts past the basketball court, however. In addition to all the records he holds, he holds the imagination of millions of basketball lovers around the world. Most of the stars in the NBA grew up wanting to be "like Mike" and while Kobe Bryant has certainly come the closest so far, nobody will be able to realistically equal what Jordan did for the sport.
2. Fifty years after his heyday, Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain still holds many of the NBA single-season and single-game records in scoring and rebounding. Statistically Chamberlain is the most dominant center ever to play, though lack of similarly skilled teammates for much of his career limited him to two NBA championships.
3. Bill Russell is the single athlete with the most victories in the history of the NBA (by a wide margin!). In his 13-year career with the Boston Celtics, he won 11 NBA titles and his defense was one of the biggest keys to the team's success.
4. Oscar "Big O" Robertson was a walking triple double threat and the only NBA player to average a triple double for an entire season. He is the only guard to average over ten rebounds in a season and his ability to fill the stat. sheet is legendary. The year after he retired, his Milwaukee Bucks went from the NBA Finals to the worst team in the division.
5. Earvin "Magic" Johnson is widely regarded as the best point guard to ever play the game of basketball. At the end of his five-NBA-title career, he averaged an unheard of 11 assists per game and his amazing court vision led to dazzling passes that fueled the Showtime Lakers' near-domination of the 80s.
6. Julius "Dr. J" Irving revolutionized basketball. His flashy style lifted the game from the hardwood to the heights above the rim. One of the best dunkers of all time, players generations later are still trying to emulate the moves he brought to the floor.
7. Kareem Abdul Jabbar, master of the Skyhook, was as dominating a force for the Bucks as he was for the Lakers. With Jabbar on the roster, both teams were larger-than-life forces that were nearly unstoppable.
8. Walt "Clyde" Frazier was one of the quickest players and one of the best defenders of all of the top NBA players. His outside shooting touch and defense were the engine behind the only two championships won by the New York Knicks.
9. Larry "Legend" Bird revived the Boston Celtics dynasty and kindled one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the NBA with the Showtime Lakers. Bird famously entered the locker room of the first-ever Three-point Shootout with the quip, "Who's coming in second?" and seemed to be asking that question throughout his playing career of every team that played against him.
10. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is the NBA all-time leader in blocked shots. His defense, paired with his devastating Dream Shake, led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles. His smooth mix of offense and defense allowed him to dominate opponents. He was quick enough to score on any big man in the league and finished his career as the only center ranked in the top ten in steals.

These ten players represent the pinnacle of basketball. Every active player yearns to be among their ranks but only time will tell if any one from the current crop has what it takes to supplant these NBA legends.

Reference: 

Association for Professional Basketball Researchers